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shadowkatI got cold this afternoon, and the heat thankfully flared back on again - I'd begun to worry about it. (Yet, another thing that I've no control over, so most of the time I don't worry. But I know the boiler needed fixing a while back and they need to replace it. I'm just hoping they wait until the Spring or Summer to do so. Preferably the summer. And give me forewarning, so I can plan a vacation elsewhere.)
Me: My crazy work place...
Mother: Oh? Now what?
Me: They sent an email reminding us that we were "returning to the regular office schedule next week" and "were off the telecommute hybrid schedule" and if reasonable accommodation was possible to get our forms into the proper authorities. Then right after that email - about ten-fifteen minutes after it, came a notification - that we should disregard the last email since they'd changed their minds and were extending the Telecommute, WFH hybrid schedule to February 15, with a memo pending.
Mother: They've been doing that all along haven't they?
ME: They can't make up their mind. It's ridiculous. And it's so political.
In March 2020, up until roughly the 16th, I was convinced I was doomed. There was no way I was going to avoid getting sick. I had no access to a mask, couldn't get hand sanitizer to save my life, and I was being forced to come in and out of a crowded transportation hub to go to work each day in a cubicle with lots of folks socializing. Plus I had to take public transportation - and no one had access to any masks at that point, we were making our own.
Then, all of sudden we were yanked out.
My anxiety was through the roof, and so was my blood pressure. It took me three weeks to calm down - basically when I figured out that we were going to stay remote, and how to work remotely off my laptop without having to go back into the office.
The problem with my work and well everything really - is it is all politicized.
***
Got into two debates, somewhat heated on WSA FB Group, making me wonder about folks.
1. Journalistic standards and practices, along with scholarly ones. When reporting on events that are more than 20 years old, isn't it required that you obtain "primary sources" and do not rely on secondary anonymous sources? I mean people don't tend to remember things very well - that took place some time ago, anyhow. And relying on a secondary source, and an anonymous one at that for something that happened twenty years ago - is kind of circumspect? There's no reason for the anonymity - no retaliation exists - it was over 20 years ago. If there was a non-disclosure agreement - it's most likely null and void now. Also, if criminal or unethical - statute of limitations in most cases would hold sway. The only reason to stay anonymous is either bearing false witness (ie - if you revealed your name people could disprove it), or made up.
People are good at lying. Particularly if you allow them to stay anonymous, and don't verify it through other named sources. That's gossip. Gossip and urban legends - aka hearsay is usually information acquired through a secondary, often third source. A friend of a friend. Even if it is primary, they still need to be named, otherwise how do we know its not made up.
Critical thinking - requires looking at a non-fictional article, book or journalistic piece, and asking the following questions: 1) how is the article structured? Is it structured in a fashion to provide information or to assert a point of view or concept (propaganda), 2) how is the information backed up, what research was done, what are the sources? Are they primary or secondary? Are they named sources? 3) Is the information vague or clear? Can it be interpreted more than one way? Does the writer have an agenda or are they just providing information in an objective manner? 4) What are the facts? Do they hold up? Can they be verified by other sources? Does the writer back them up with established sources that can be found, and followed up on or anonymous ones? Is the information that is being reported recent or in the distant past?
If the article is recounting or commenting on events in the past - the further away they are, the harder they are to verify and prove.
2. Authorial Intent. I remember having long and rather interesting discussions about this on the ATPOBTVS fan discussion board in 2002-2005.
The consensus was pretty much that it was almost impossible to determine authorial intent in a collaborative work of art, with multiple players who kept changing and jumping in and out of it. You can try, but it's most likely just bringing your own subtext to the proceedings. (And we did try.)
I'm seeing it again now on WSA Board on FB. They are discussing how they can reinterpret Angel, Buffy, Firefly, etc - based on what they now know about Whedon or in light of the recent interview. The writer posed the example of the sketchy male behavior in Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.
And I pointed out that this was tricky, since Whedon didn't write nor direct that episode - Marti Noxon did, along with two different directors, also we had various others involved. Someone else was upset with an Angel character that I have no memory of, David Nebbit - who played a nerdy character that she felt was a stand-in for Whedon. I responded that it was worth bearing in mind that Whedon wasn't the show-runner for Angel and had little say in most of the episodes. He consulted, but it was really Greenwalt and Minears and Bell's baby. I know people think he was heavily involved due to Cordelia's arc and what happened with Charisma, but that was a side thing - and only happened in the fourth season. (WB and Fox were upset with Greenwalt and Charisma, and asked Whedon to get involved. Whedon handled Greenwalt with kindness, who took off for another gig, but he was a complete asshole to Charisma.)
Reading authorial intent or looking at the series from the perspective of what the actors or writers may or may not have been doing back stage at the time - is kind of sketchy? I mean how can you back it up? It's one thing to take up patterns in their back stories, but even then? I mean Lies My Parents Told Me was not written by Joss Whedon, it was written by David Fury and Drew Goddard, and directed by either one of them or someone else.
School Hard was written by David Greenwalt mainly. Dear Boy in Angel? by Tim Minear. Whedon didn't write any of those episodes. He didn't write Helpless either. Seeing Red? It was Jane Espenson, Drew Greenberg and Steven DeKnight based on ideas Marti pitched, the only thing Whedon contributed was the line "You're shirt" and Tara being shot.
Add to that - it's hard to pin-point who wrote what in television serials. It's not always who is credited - because that has to do with who is paid for the episode not who wrote it. They have multiple people write and direct most television episodes.
Film can be impossible to analyze in this manner as well. Take Lizzie Borden's Love Crimes. While she's credited for it - I happen to know that Kit Carson re-wrote and re-shot the film. A lot of films are done that way. Paris, Texas credit's Sam Shepard with the script, when in reality Kit Carson wrote and directed it, it also starred Carson's son in a supporting role. You don't know who has written a film or some cases directed it.
Attempting to analyze a film or television show based on actor, director or writer biographical data, sketchy and loosely interpreted bio data, is not scholarly. It can be fun - but as long as it is just for fun, and not taken too seriously. It's hard enough to do this with novels, I know I tried with Joyce and decided not to go that route. You need verifiable biographical data, and that's hard to come by. Even what people tell you about themselves is often not precisely true.
We can speculate of course that certain characters represented or were avatars for the creators. But when you have multiple creators, and multiple players in that sandbox - it gets difficult to pin-point. I mean, while yes, it's true that Nick Brendan and Whedon have done sketchy things, it is not necessarily true that the character of Xander Harris reflects it or was based on it at all.
As a creative writer myself of original characters and fiction - I can tell you with absolute certainty that my characters are not based on myself or anyone I know. I do write about events or things I've seen or done, but I change them. Or change the characters. My father does it. My cousin does it. My uncles. Fictional writers make things up. It's not biographical.
You can't figure out the meaning, theme, or our intent by studying our personal private lives. Sorry.
Fiction is meant to be "interacted" with - the reader or viewer is meant to bring their own subtext to some degree. We're communicating ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. And people are more than one thing - you can do something horrible, but relate something different in the art. Or maybe seek a kind of atonement or confession, or play out dark fantasies you'd never act on.
***
COVID
"When it comes to our fight against the winter surge, we are trending in the right direction and making progress. For six days straight, our COVID positivity rate has been below 10%, the lowest since December 20.
And thanks to New Yorkers wearing their masks and getting vaccinated, boosted, and tested, we’ve been able to bring new positive case numbers down to a third of what they were just two weeks ago — and hospitalizations are down by nearly 2,700 over the past week.
But we’re not through this surge just yet. We’re working hard to bring New Yorkers more tests, more testing locations, and more places to get vaccinated and boosted — please, keep using these tools.
Let’s dive in.
UPDATES IN OUR FIGHT AGAINST COVID
TAKE-HOME TESTS FOR EVERY STUDENT. Testing is a critical tool to keep our kids safe and in the classroom. By the end of this week, we will have already distributed more than 14 million tests to schools. And to continue our efforts, we’re sending two tests home with every K-12 student ahead of the midwinter break. Tests are widely available across the state — find a testing location near you and get tested today.
MORE #VAXFORKIDS POP-UP SITES. We’re making it even easier for kids to get vaccinated with 76 new Vax for Kids pop-up sites set up to date. Vaccines are safe and effective, and over 1.5 million New York kids already have received at least one vaccine dose. Parents & guardians, if you’ve been waiting to get your child vaccinated, now’s the time to do it. Make an appointment today.
SENDING TESTS TO NURSING HOMES. Our efforts focused on controlling the spread of COVID in nursing homes are working — cases are down 30% in nursing homes as of January 22. We have deployed 2.2 million tests to nursing homes and congregate care settings already, with 200,000 more coming this week.
THE LATEST ON THE NUMBERS
THIS WEEK'S COVID TRENDS. As of January 25, 2022, 9,335 New Yorkers are hospitalized with COVID-19. Our 7-day percentage positivity average is 9.11%, which is down from 14.27% last week. There were 107.47 cases per 100K statewide.
Per the CDC, as of January 26, 2022, over 95.0% of adult New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose and 84.3% of adult New Yorkers have had a complete vaccine series. So far, 35,629,331 total vaccine doses have been administered, including 66,121 doses administered during the past 24 hours.
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS
Every week, we’re answering some commonly asked questions about COVID-19 and vaccinations. You can submit a question for a chance to get your question answered in next week’s newsletter. Submit your question here.
QUESTION: When will we be able to order home testing kits? (Allen, Erie County)
ANSWER:
Last week, the White House announced that everyone can order free take-home tests for their household. New Yorkers can order their take-home test through covidtests.gov. Tests will typically ship within 7-12 business days once ordered. I encourage all New Yorkers to take advantage of this program and order your free take-home tests as soon as you can.
There, that gives you information on the number of cases in NY, the positivity rate, the hospitalizations, what they are doing about it, how to get test kits, etc. (The only thing they've stopped reporting is the death toll, which is interesting.)
Aunt K told mother she was relieved that she had retired fully before COVID hit. She was a school nurse for the district, and therefore in charge of coordinating the vaccination effort for the H1N1 vaccine. COVID would have been a nightmare. She said the new school nurse, who took over, isn't trained for that sort of thing and doesn't have the higher education my Aunt had, she's just a school nurse - so can't do the checkups and checkins, apparently, the principal has to do them. (I didn't understand it either, not sure mother did.)
***
Mother also told me that niece's grades at the London School of Economics will have no effect on her GPA in the States - because they have a completely different grading system. Instead of grades like A, B, C, D, F - it's 1, 2,3 , and often Pass/Fail. So it will just count as Pass Fail - the credits count, but it won't raise or lower the GPA any. My brother is pleased - he prefers the Pass or Fail system, and is against the whole idea of grades. And up until high school/college hybrid - Niece had only Pass/Fail grading system. (I have to say, I agree with my brother. Neither one of us excelled in our school systems, and we were both often bored with the curriculum and teaching. Often we taught ourselves - which served us both well later. My father did the same thing - taught himself stuff, as did mother. My father used to state the only purpose for school was to teach you how to learn - many things, once you learned how to learn and how to process information and think critically - school was no longer necessary. Which is why he was in favor of a liberal arts education and frowned on other types of schools.)
Speaking of father, today they discussed the people he worked with in the past. Then towards the end, he wanted to travel - and leave the resort he was apparently in, and go somewhere else, and asked mother where they were going out to dinner. And reminded her that they had to leave early the next morning to get to whatever destination he thought they were heading too.
When he's in his right mind - he doesn't ask these questions. It's always painful. And it feels like it is almost every day. I'm not there to witness it, but I listen. That's all I can do really. My mother stays in contact with everyone in our family - she's not angry at anyone, and seemingly gets along with them all - or is oblivious to any grudges, she hand waves them, much as her own mother did.
***
Random Photo of the Evening...
Me: My crazy work place...
Mother: Oh? Now what?
Me: They sent an email reminding us that we were "returning to the regular office schedule next week" and "were off the telecommute hybrid schedule" and if reasonable accommodation was possible to get our forms into the proper authorities. Then right after that email - about ten-fifteen minutes after it, came a notification - that we should disregard the last email since they'd changed their minds and were extending the Telecommute, WFH hybrid schedule to February 15, with a memo pending.
Mother: They've been doing that all along haven't they?
ME: They can't make up their mind. It's ridiculous. And it's so political.
In March 2020, up until roughly the 16th, I was convinced I was doomed. There was no way I was going to avoid getting sick. I had no access to a mask, couldn't get hand sanitizer to save my life, and I was being forced to come in and out of a crowded transportation hub to go to work each day in a cubicle with lots of folks socializing. Plus I had to take public transportation - and no one had access to any masks at that point, we were making our own.
Then, all of sudden we were yanked out.
My anxiety was through the roof, and so was my blood pressure. It took me three weeks to calm down - basically when I figured out that we were going to stay remote, and how to work remotely off my laptop without having to go back into the office.
The problem with my work and well everything really - is it is all politicized.
***
Got into two debates, somewhat heated on WSA FB Group, making me wonder about folks.
1. Journalistic standards and practices, along with scholarly ones. When reporting on events that are more than 20 years old, isn't it required that you obtain "primary sources" and do not rely on secondary anonymous sources? I mean people don't tend to remember things very well - that took place some time ago, anyhow. And relying on a secondary source, and an anonymous one at that for something that happened twenty years ago - is kind of circumspect? There's no reason for the anonymity - no retaliation exists - it was over 20 years ago. If there was a non-disclosure agreement - it's most likely null and void now. Also, if criminal or unethical - statute of limitations in most cases would hold sway. The only reason to stay anonymous is either bearing false witness (ie - if you revealed your name people could disprove it), or made up.
People are good at lying. Particularly if you allow them to stay anonymous, and don't verify it through other named sources. That's gossip. Gossip and urban legends - aka hearsay is usually information acquired through a secondary, often third source. A friend of a friend. Even if it is primary, they still need to be named, otherwise how do we know its not made up.
Critical thinking - requires looking at a non-fictional article, book or journalistic piece, and asking the following questions: 1) how is the article structured? Is it structured in a fashion to provide information or to assert a point of view or concept (propaganda), 2) how is the information backed up, what research was done, what are the sources? Are they primary or secondary? Are they named sources? 3) Is the information vague or clear? Can it be interpreted more than one way? Does the writer have an agenda or are they just providing information in an objective manner? 4) What are the facts? Do they hold up? Can they be verified by other sources? Does the writer back them up with established sources that can be found, and followed up on or anonymous ones? Is the information that is being reported recent or in the distant past?
If the article is recounting or commenting on events in the past - the further away they are, the harder they are to verify and prove.
2. Authorial Intent. I remember having long and rather interesting discussions about this on the ATPOBTVS fan discussion board in 2002-2005.
The consensus was pretty much that it was almost impossible to determine authorial intent in a collaborative work of art, with multiple players who kept changing and jumping in and out of it. You can try, but it's most likely just bringing your own subtext to the proceedings. (And we did try.)
I'm seeing it again now on WSA Board on FB. They are discussing how they can reinterpret Angel, Buffy, Firefly, etc - based on what they now know about Whedon or in light of the recent interview. The writer posed the example of the sketchy male behavior in Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.
And I pointed out that this was tricky, since Whedon didn't write nor direct that episode - Marti Noxon did, along with two different directors, also we had various others involved. Someone else was upset with an Angel character that I have no memory of, David Nebbit - who played a nerdy character that she felt was a stand-in for Whedon. I responded that it was worth bearing in mind that Whedon wasn't the show-runner for Angel and had little say in most of the episodes. He consulted, but it was really Greenwalt and Minears and Bell's baby. I know people think he was heavily involved due to Cordelia's arc and what happened with Charisma, but that was a side thing - and only happened in the fourth season. (WB and Fox were upset with Greenwalt and Charisma, and asked Whedon to get involved. Whedon handled Greenwalt with kindness, who took off for another gig, but he was a complete asshole to Charisma.)
Reading authorial intent or looking at the series from the perspective of what the actors or writers may or may not have been doing back stage at the time - is kind of sketchy? I mean how can you back it up? It's one thing to take up patterns in their back stories, but even then? I mean Lies My Parents Told Me was not written by Joss Whedon, it was written by David Fury and Drew Goddard, and directed by either one of them or someone else.
School Hard was written by David Greenwalt mainly. Dear Boy in Angel? by Tim Minear. Whedon didn't write any of those episodes. He didn't write Helpless either. Seeing Red? It was Jane Espenson, Drew Greenberg and Steven DeKnight based on ideas Marti pitched, the only thing Whedon contributed was the line "You're shirt" and Tara being shot.
Add to that - it's hard to pin-point who wrote what in television serials. It's not always who is credited - because that has to do with who is paid for the episode not who wrote it. They have multiple people write and direct most television episodes.
Film can be impossible to analyze in this manner as well. Take Lizzie Borden's Love Crimes. While she's credited for it - I happen to know that Kit Carson re-wrote and re-shot the film. A lot of films are done that way. Paris, Texas credit's Sam Shepard with the script, when in reality Kit Carson wrote and directed it, it also starred Carson's son in a supporting role. You don't know who has written a film or some cases directed it.
Attempting to analyze a film or television show based on actor, director or writer biographical data, sketchy and loosely interpreted bio data, is not scholarly. It can be fun - but as long as it is just for fun, and not taken too seriously. It's hard enough to do this with novels, I know I tried with Joyce and decided not to go that route. You need verifiable biographical data, and that's hard to come by. Even what people tell you about themselves is often not precisely true.
We can speculate of course that certain characters represented or were avatars for the creators. But when you have multiple creators, and multiple players in that sandbox - it gets difficult to pin-point. I mean, while yes, it's true that Nick Brendan and Whedon have done sketchy things, it is not necessarily true that the character of Xander Harris reflects it or was based on it at all.
As a creative writer myself of original characters and fiction - I can tell you with absolute certainty that my characters are not based on myself or anyone I know. I do write about events or things I've seen or done, but I change them. Or change the characters. My father does it. My cousin does it. My uncles. Fictional writers make things up. It's not biographical.
You can't figure out the meaning, theme, or our intent by studying our personal private lives. Sorry.
Fiction is meant to be "interacted" with - the reader or viewer is meant to bring their own subtext to some degree. We're communicating ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. And people are more than one thing - you can do something horrible, but relate something different in the art. Or maybe seek a kind of atonement or confession, or play out dark fantasies you'd never act on.
***
COVID
"When it comes to our fight against the winter surge, we are trending in the right direction and making progress. For six days straight, our COVID positivity rate has been below 10%, the lowest since December 20.
And thanks to New Yorkers wearing their masks and getting vaccinated, boosted, and tested, we’ve been able to bring new positive case numbers down to a third of what they were just two weeks ago — and hospitalizations are down by nearly 2,700 over the past week.
But we’re not through this surge just yet. We’re working hard to bring New Yorkers more tests, more testing locations, and more places to get vaccinated and boosted — please, keep using these tools.
Let’s dive in.
UPDATES IN OUR FIGHT AGAINST COVID
TAKE-HOME TESTS FOR EVERY STUDENT. Testing is a critical tool to keep our kids safe and in the classroom. By the end of this week, we will have already distributed more than 14 million tests to schools. And to continue our efforts, we’re sending two tests home with every K-12 student ahead of the midwinter break. Tests are widely available across the state — find a testing location near you and get tested today.
MORE #VAXFORKIDS POP-UP SITES. We’re making it even easier for kids to get vaccinated with 76 new Vax for Kids pop-up sites set up to date. Vaccines are safe and effective, and over 1.5 million New York kids already have received at least one vaccine dose. Parents & guardians, if you’ve been waiting to get your child vaccinated, now’s the time to do it. Make an appointment today.
SENDING TESTS TO NURSING HOMES. Our efforts focused on controlling the spread of COVID in nursing homes are working — cases are down 30% in nursing homes as of January 22. We have deployed 2.2 million tests to nursing homes and congregate care settings already, with 200,000 more coming this week.
THE LATEST ON THE NUMBERS
THIS WEEK'S COVID TRENDS. As of January 25, 2022, 9,335 New Yorkers are hospitalized with COVID-19. Our 7-day percentage positivity average is 9.11%, which is down from 14.27% last week. There were 107.47 cases per 100K statewide.
Per the CDC, as of January 26, 2022, over 95.0% of adult New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose and 84.3% of adult New Yorkers have had a complete vaccine series. So far, 35,629,331 total vaccine doses have been administered, including 66,121 doses administered during the past 24 hours.
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS
Every week, we’re answering some commonly asked questions about COVID-19 and vaccinations. You can submit a question for a chance to get your question answered in next week’s newsletter. Submit your question here.
QUESTION: When will we be able to order home testing kits? (Allen, Erie County)
ANSWER:
Last week, the White House announced that everyone can order free take-home tests for their household. New Yorkers can order their take-home test through covidtests.gov. Tests will typically ship within 7-12 business days once ordered. I encourage all New Yorkers to take advantage of this program and order your free take-home tests as soon as you can.
There, that gives you information on the number of cases in NY, the positivity rate, the hospitalizations, what they are doing about it, how to get test kits, etc. (The only thing they've stopped reporting is the death toll, which is interesting.)
Aunt K told mother she was relieved that she had retired fully before COVID hit. She was a school nurse for the district, and therefore in charge of coordinating the vaccination effort for the H1N1 vaccine. COVID would have been a nightmare. She said the new school nurse, who took over, isn't trained for that sort of thing and doesn't have the higher education my Aunt had, she's just a school nurse - so can't do the checkups and checkins, apparently, the principal has to do them. (I didn't understand it either, not sure mother did.)
***
Mother also told me that niece's grades at the London School of Economics will have no effect on her GPA in the States - because they have a completely different grading system. Instead of grades like A, B, C, D, F - it's 1, 2,3 , and often Pass/Fail. So it will just count as Pass Fail - the credits count, but it won't raise or lower the GPA any. My brother is pleased - he prefers the Pass or Fail system, and is against the whole idea of grades. And up until high school/college hybrid - Niece had only Pass/Fail grading system. (I have to say, I agree with my brother. Neither one of us excelled in our school systems, and we were both often bored with the curriculum and teaching. Often we taught ourselves - which served us both well later. My father did the same thing - taught himself stuff, as did mother. My father used to state the only purpose for school was to teach you how to learn - many things, once you learned how to learn and how to process information and think critically - school was no longer necessary. Which is why he was in favor of a liberal arts education and frowned on other types of schools.)
Speaking of father, today they discussed the people he worked with in the past. Then towards the end, he wanted to travel - and leave the resort he was apparently in, and go somewhere else, and asked mother where they were going out to dinner. And reminded her that they had to leave early the next morning to get to whatever destination he thought they were heading too.
When he's in his right mind - he doesn't ask these questions. It's always painful. And it feels like it is almost every day. I'm not there to witness it, but I listen. That's all I can do really. My mother stays in contact with everyone in our family - she's not angry at anyone, and seemingly gets along with them all - or is oblivious to any grudges, she hand waves them, much as her own mother did.
***
Random Photo of the Evening...
no subject
Date: 2022-01-27 03:22 am (UTC)And, indeed, for something-or-other I applied for here, I forget what, they wanted to know about GPA and such, and my English university were very clear that, yeah, but no, nothing like that sorry, the systems are orthogonal.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-29 03:32 pm (UTC)