Day #45 of Self-Isolation in Epidemic Central

Well, life is slowly becoming increasingly absurd. Also aggravating.

1. This morning I watched two cable repair men with masks on figure out how to fix a cable connection in the back yard while it was kind of raining. I don't know if it will work - since it has to go across from the overhung wires to the building, with a tree next to it, also vines growing up the walls, but whatever - it's not my cable connection, so no worries.

Meanwhile, in other news, Greenwood Cemetery sent out emails warning people that it may have to close due to the fact that they are blatantly breaking the rules.

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2. The State of Maryland vs. the Corona Virus and the US Government (mostly the US Federal Government).

I shouldn't find this amusing but I do. As one friend stated on FB - "May 2020 has found yet another way to jump the shark." Or rather 2020 has...ah, 2020, the gift that keeps on giving.

Maryland's National Guard is defending the Coronavirus tests that they received from South Korea from US Federal Government Seizure.

Honestly, this is kind of becoming a case of The States vs. The CoronaVirus & the Federal Government. The Federal Government has managed to piss off all of the State Governors. By the way, as my mother pointed out, the Governor of Maryland is a Republican - his wife is Korean, so they were able to get 550,000 test kits from South Korea and they do not want to share them - they need them for Maryland. So they are keeping the Feds from confiscating them and distributing them to Trump's buddies. Keep in mind that the Federal Government is located in Washington, DC (District of Columbia) which is technically in the State of Maryland, and borders Virginia.

Hence my icon.


3. The sky has cleared from the morning rain. And the work week such as it was has come to a close. Crazy Workplace has advised that soon they will make antibody testing available to all employees of the agency at no cost to the employees.( Read more... )

I went downstairs to drop off recycling and trash, briefly ran into super's wife who was sorting it with latex gloves. And I took a brief walk outside, ran into the idiot girl on the bike again( Read more... )

Mother meanwhile told me that she was cleaning her jewelry - she found this jewelry cleaner that she bought a while back - and it's like some sort of miraculous thing, she soaks the jewelry in it and the tarnish comes right off - like that (snaps fingers). ( Read more... )

It's a ridiculously nice day all of a sudden but there are storm clouds moving in again. Making me edgy or I can feel them in my head and fingers. The air is nice and crisp though and I have the window open a quarter of an inch. I kind of want to take a walk to the park, but I'm hesitant. I am considering getting up earlier tomorrow morning and attempting it.

4. Final point - I thought I'd written about this in Feb, but apparently not? I must have just conveyed it to my mother and people at work? On the 29th of February, I had a hair cut - thank god. As a result my hair is fine - still colored and not that long. I do wish I'd gotten one that keeps my hair out of my eyes, but as my Aunt K remarked that kind of happens with her too regardless of the style.

Anyhow, while at the salon, the gal next to me who was getting her hair colored, talked about how she wasn't doing much traveling. ( Read more... )

Links and Over Things..

1. Looking for the silver lining...one of the most astonishing things about the pandemic is how incredibly creative and innovative the artistic community has been in finding ways to work around it. It's charming and kind of hopeful and magical, if you think about it.

Here's a few links:

* Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration

* At Home Metropolitian Opera Gala

* Good Omens Lockdown

* Shimmy Care A Thon - basically how to do an egyptian shimmy work out on You tube by my pal the Belly Dancer.

* Soaps in Quarantine - an actress on General Hospital interviews various actors with a friend via Zoom
[Warning - they talk about Luke being a rapist on General Hospital with Anthony Geary, so you may want to skip. Although it is a fascinating discussion of how people acted on soaps in the 70s-90s and how this has changed over time, and why. And the process of creating soap operas.]

Flashback Fridays on General Hospital - where they show old episodes with various enhancements, like inserted flashbacks. Or to stretch the series out - they have inserted lots of flashbacks, because they stopped taping March 13, and have to keep pushing the soap out to stay alive as long as possible. They tape about 4-6 weeks ahead.

I mean people are doing everything they can think of. SNL is doing it from their homes. American Idol is doing it remotely from home. The Talk Shows are airing from home, as are NY1.

Meanwhile - people are holding watercolor/drawing courses, cooking courses, singing courses, writing courses, etc via Zoom. Bible Study and Book Groups are via Zoom.
Meetup groups is doing various things on Zoom. The Center for Fiction - is doing reading group and writing workshops...along with author chats.

2. This Land Is Your Land Story Behind America's Best Known Protest Song

3. The Urge to Share News of Our Lives is Neither New Nor Narcissistic

Talks about how online blogging is not unlike dairy writing back in the day.


4. The Unsung Black Musician Who Changed Country Music

DeFord Bailey walked onto the Grand Ole Opry stage with a slight limp. Decked out in a bow tie, pocket square and polished shoes, he stood on a Coca-Cola crate to offset his 4-foot-11-inch stature. It was 1936. Bailey looked out at the audience, sitting on wooden benches in the Opry’s Dixie Tabernacle, just east of Nashville’s downtown core. He carried a harmonica, or “a harp,” as it was often referred to at the time, in his left hand. When he brought the harmonica to his mouth, he played a tune that sounded like the bold whistle of a locomotive train. For 15 minutes, he played a unique blend of country music and blues, bringing smiles to the eyes of the people in the dusty old tabernacle. Aside from his obvious talent and innovative harmonica technique, Bailey broke cultural barriers by becoming the first black country music star, and he was one of the most beloved Opry musicians of his time. He played harmonica for the Grand Ole Opry from 1925 to 1941, and toured the country with his white Opry peers during the heyday of Jim Crow. Yet it would be decades before Bailey’s pioneering contributions to country music were widely recognized — and the accomplished musician died penniless.

5. Undersung Crime Shows To Watch Under Quarantine -this is a list of crime thrillers/mysteries that you can watch. It's not my thing, but I know it's a lot of people on my correspondence list's thing.

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5. Why the Coronavirus is so confusing?

6. IT's Okay Not to be Okay

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7. Why Zoom is Terrible