Year 2 - Day 202
Oct. 4th, 2021 04:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatGuess what? Facebook and it's family of Apps all crashed today. This came right after..."A former Facebook product manager said that she was the whistle-blower behind a leak. She said the company “has shown it chooses profit over safety.” And it happened just before she was due to testify before Congress on Tuesday.
And it's back up, finally. So they must have fixed whatever was the issue?
Meanwhile on Twitter - this article was found Why we need libraries.
I hurt today. And I slept badly. It's overcast. But not raining. Dark and overcast at the moment. We're falling into fall it seems.
**
Covid
I uploaded my vaccination information to the crazy org portal again. I feel like my life is a constant series of rinse and repeat.
While we've gotten to 700,000 deaths, it's worth noting that the cases are declining. This has happened since the beginning. Cases decline. People go out and party, cases rise, a quarter die or end up hospitalized, people stop partying and get vaccinated, the cases decline, rinse repeat. The good news is the vaccine is on the rise. More people are vaccinated and many are getting the booster shot - and the Delta variant has waned.
Per the times:
Eventually, immunity will become widespread enough that another wave as large and damaging as the Delta wave will not be possible. “Barring something unexpected,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former F.D.A. commissioner and the author of “Uncontrolled Spread,” a new book on Covid, told me, “I’m of the opinion that this is the last major wave of infection.”
Covid has not only been one of the worst pandemics in modern times. It has been an unnecessarily terrible pandemic. Of the more than 700,000 Americans who have died from it, nearly 200,000 probably could have been saved if they had chosen to take a vaccine. That is a national tragedy.
Covid also isn’t going to disappear anytime soon. It will continue to circulate for years, many scientists believe. But the vaccines can transform Covid into a manageable disease, not so different from a flu or common cold. In the past few weeks, the country appears to have moved closer to that less grim future.
Whatever this autumn brings, the worst of the pandemic is almost certainly behind us.
That's good news, right?
Meanwhile more and more folks in my apartment building have stopped wearing masks as if the pandemic is over. I guess if you don't follow the news (at all) and don't work for a state agency or have parents in a retirement living center - you could be oblivious to this? (Shrugs)
I'm waiting until 2022 before I try to see a play or movie though. The Broadway Show Aladdin keeps getting cancelled due to breakout cases.
Other Interesting News
Oh, in other news?
* Would you get a master’s degree in the Beatles? In the band’s hometown, a postgraduate program aims to turn fans into students of the Fab Four’s legacy by studying their sociological, historical and economic impact. [No. There's not a lot you can do with it. But alas folks are doing just that. ]
* Are you watching “Squid Game”? The dark Korean drama, where desperate characters play lethal children’s games for money, is on track to become Netflix’s most popular original series ever, Vulture reports. [No, I tried it and got irritated long before we even got to the game. I've been getting irritated with television a lot lately - I may go back to Star Trek Discovery. I'm already frustrated with humanity, I do not need to be more frustrated by my entertainment choices.]
Also note to evil marketing folks? The phrase "are you watching, because everyone else is..." no longer works on me. Number 1 - I know not everyone is watching, that's physically impossible and is troll logic. And 2, I'm on to your evil tactics, so bugger off. Just because it's popular doesn't mean I should watch it. Actually, sometimes it means I should avoid it at all costs.
* The The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees went on strike today. 98% of the union voted to do so.
IATSE represents a wide swath of industry workers, from studio mechanics to wardrobe and make-up artists. In total, it acts on behalf of 150,000 crew members in the U.S. and Canada. Around 60,000 of those are covered by the current TV and film contracts being renegotiated.
The union has been advocating for better working hours, safer workplace conditions and improved benefits.
“I hope that the studios will see and understand the resolve of our members,” Loeb said. “The ball is in their court. If they want to avoid a strike, they will return to the bargaining table and make us a reasonable offer.”
The AMPTP said reaching a deal “will require both parties working together in good faith with a willingness to compromise and to explore new solutions to resolve the open issues.”
Its contract with AMPTP, which went into effect in 2018, ended July 31 and was extended until Sept. 10. IATSE is calling for a new three-year agreement that would give behind-the-scenes workers higher pay, meal breaks, improved contributions to health and pension plans and a bigger cut of profits from streaming productions.
These demands come on the heels of one the most tumultuous times in the industry, as productions worked through a global pandemic to ensure studios had content to deliver to consumers.
The pandemic has also irrevocably changed the production ecosystem. For 18 months, consumers have been stuck at home watching TV shows and movies. This boost in viewership has given streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video massive gains in subscriptions and subscription fees.
It has also led these platforms to seek out more content and bolster its volume of production. This means IATSE workers have been called upon to work more hours as the number of projects increases, but compensation is not keeping up with this demand, the union said.
In short, the folks behind the scenes - the grips, makeup artists, costumers, mechanical artists, stage and set designers, etc...went on strike nationwide. So, no television and film production is happening at the moment. They've really had to put up with a lot of shit since COVID.
***
Anywho...mother is better, and informs me that each day she has less pain and more mobility. Niece is doing well in London. I just have to solider through and get my act together. May or may not keep you posted.
Random picture of the day...beach, Hilton Head, SC, 2017.
And it's back up, finally. So they must have fixed whatever was the issue?
Meanwhile on Twitter - this article was found Why we need libraries.
I hurt today. And I slept badly. It's overcast. But not raining. Dark and overcast at the moment. We're falling into fall it seems.
**
Covid
I uploaded my vaccination information to the crazy org portal again. I feel like my life is a constant series of rinse and repeat.
While we've gotten to 700,000 deaths, it's worth noting that the cases are declining. This has happened since the beginning. Cases decline. People go out and party, cases rise, a quarter die or end up hospitalized, people stop partying and get vaccinated, the cases decline, rinse repeat. The good news is the vaccine is on the rise. More people are vaccinated and many are getting the booster shot - and the Delta variant has waned.
Per the times:
Eventually, immunity will become widespread enough that another wave as large and damaging as the Delta wave will not be possible. “Barring something unexpected,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former F.D.A. commissioner and the author of “Uncontrolled Spread,” a new book on Covid, told me, “I’m of the opinion that this is the last major wave of infection.”
Covid has not only been one of the worst pandemics in modern times. It has been an unnecessarily terrible pandemic. Of the more than 700,000 Americans who have died from it, nearly 200,000 probably could have been saved if they had chosen to take a vaccine. That is a national tragedy.
Covid also isn’t going to disappear anytime soon. It will continue to circulate for years, many scientists believe. But the vaccines can transform Covid into a manageable disease, not so different from a flu or common cold. In the past few weeks, the country appears to have moved closer to that less grim future.
Whatever this autumn brings, the worst of the pandemic is almost certainly behind us.
That's good news, right?
Meanwhile more and more folks in my apartment building have stopped wearing masks as if the pandemic is over. I guess if you don't follow the news (at all) and don't work for a state agency or have parents in a retirement living center - you could be oblivious to this? (Shrugs)
I'm waiting until 2022 before I try to see a play or movie though. The Broadway Show Aladdin keeps getting cancelled due to breakout cases.
Other Interesting News
Oh, in other news?
* Would you get a master’s degree in the Beatles? In the band’s hometown, a postgraduate program aims to turn fans into students of the Fab Four’s legacy by studying their sociological, historical and economic impact. [No. There's not a lot you can do with it. But alas folks are doing just that. ]
* Are you watching “Squid Game”? The dark Korean drama, where desperate characters play lethal children’s games for money, is on track to become Netflix’s most popular original series ever, Vulture reports. [No, I tried it and got irritated long before we even got to the game. I've been getting irritated with television a lot lately - I may go back to Star Trek Discovery. I'm already frustrated with humanity, I do not need to be more frustrated by my entertainment choices.]
Also note to evil marketing folks? The phrase "are you watching, because everyone else is..." no longer works on me. Number 1 - I know not everyone is watching, that's physically impossible and is troll logic. And 2, I'm on to your evil tactics, so bugger off. Just because it's popular doesn't mean I should watch it. Actually, sometimes it means I should avoid it at all costs.
* The The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees went on strike today. 98% of the union voted to do so.
IATSE represents a wide swath of industry workers, from studio mechanics to wardrobe and make-up artists. In total, it acts on behalf of 150,000 crew members in the U.S. and Canada. Around 60,000 of those are covered by the current TV and film contracts being renegotiated.
The union has been advocating for better working hours, safer workplace conditions and improved benefits.
“I hope that the studios will see and understand the resolve of our members,” Loeb said. “The ball is in their court. If they want to avoid a strike, they will return to the bargaining table and make us a reasonable offer.”
The AMPTP said reaching a deal “will require both parties working together in good faith with a willingness to compromise and to explore new solutions to resolve the open issues.”
Its contract with AMPTP, which went into effect in 2018, ended July 31 and was extended until Sept. 10. IATSE is calling for a new three-year agreement that would give behind-the-scenes workers higher pay, meal breaks, improved contributions to health and pension plans and a bigger cut of profits from streaming productions.
These demands come on the heels of one the most tumultuous times in the industry, as productions worked through a global pandemic to ensure studios had content to deliver to consumers.
The pandemic has also irrevocably changed the production ecosystem. For 18 months, consumers have been stuck at home watching TV shows and movies. This boost in viewership has given streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video massive gains in subscriptions and subscription fees.
It has also led these platforms to seek out more content and bolster its volume of production. This means IATSE workers have been called upon to work more hours as the number of projects increases, but compensation is not keeping up with this demand, the union said.
In short, the folks behind the scenes - the grips, makeup artists, costumers, mechanical artists, stage and set designers, etc...went on strike nationwide. So, no television and film production is happening at the moment. They've really had to put up with a lot of shit since COVID.
***
Anywho...mother is better, and informs me that each day she has less pain and more mobility. Niece is doing well in London. I just have to solider through and get my act together. May or may not keep you posted.
Random picture of the day...beach, Hilton Head, SC, 2017.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-04 10:47 pm (UTC)Oh well,
kerk
O, before I forget Gorgeous Photos, which are something I look forward to whenever I see you've posted.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-05 12:50 am (UTC)FB is back up again. They really have to work on their security. They are kind of behind a few other platforms on that...
no subject
Date: 2021-10-05 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-10-05 12:56 am (UTC)Found it on Twitter of all places.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-05 02:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-10-05 10:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-10-05 10:44 am (UTC)