This is sort of a continuation from the last Midweek Cafe & Lounge as well as the Froggy Bottom Lounge I put together over the weekend:
My usual vibe is to keep these light, and have some music and whatnot. Back when Neon Vincent was still a regular, we had some really cool beverage recipes. Probably wouldn’t hurt about now, given that the past week.
As with the previous cafe/lounge, I want to give you all something a bit more informative in hopes that it at least adds to some straight talk and keeps things in perspective as we come to grips with what is potentially a serious pandemic: Coronavirus COVID-19. First, I want you all to bookmark this map hosted by Johns Hopkins. It appears to be about the most up-to-date map of the number of cases per country, and also keeps record of deaths and recoveries. I also recommended last time this link from the Axios website – Coronavirus: The Big Picture. Axios is useful for its brief capsule summaries for those of us who may be on the go. The Axios global map is okay, but seems to be a little behind the other map. Finally, if you go to the Guardian, you will find daily live blogs of the progress of COVID-19 that provide a global perspective (including what is happening in the US). There is also a COVID-19 Tracker specific to the US that is quite accurate and will give you data about how close you are to the nearest confirmed case or cases.
At the end of the day, I think it is crucial that we have straight talk about what’s going on, rather than the sort of faux happy talk that 45 wants to spin or the bizarre conspiracy theories spread by folks on social media or even by otherwise supposedly responsible politicians (looking at you, Tom Cotton). Straight talk may not be necessarily pleasant, but it will keep you informed and hopefully alive and healthy.
I’ll try to post a video or two if I can actually get myself into the mood to do so. Obviously that’s been a bit difficult. If anyone wants to talk, here’s a space. It’s yours.
In the meantime, cheers.
We now have a confirmed case in my state. Eastern side, but only a matter of time before we have confirmed cases in my vicinity.
That Oval Office speech was awful. Wasn’t surprised. Trump looked out of it, managed to state quite a few things that were not true, and if the Asian stock markets and the Dow Jones futures are any indication, equities markets will crash down about 900 – 1000 points at the opening bell. Bonds are off the rails. And none of us has any idea of how many test kits are available or how many people are being tested. Fasten your seatbelts. This will be a bumpy ride.
Turns out there are not any good drink recipes for a pandemic. Maybe Neon Vincent is a bit more creative on that front? My dude, are you still here?
To give you an idea about where things are at. I am well aware of school and university closings. Generally that means we go online to deliver our lessons, exams, etc. My local school district is surveying parents to figure out if it can close its physical classrooms and go to some virtual format. We live in a poor part of the US, so the responses they get may be less than comforting. Not all of us have adequate internet or cellphone plans. There’s a good chance my son’s university will close. He is a dorm RA, and will lose some much-needed income. He will still get to complete his classes. There’s a good chance that where I work will close as well. We will still manage our classes. I mostly teach online, so the transition of my one seated class will be relatively seamless for me. How meetings get accomplished? We’ll see. My current admin inherited a mess. They’ll do their best. I have no idea if my daughter will actually have a physical graduation ceremony, or if any of us would want to go if one did occur. I have no idea of my institution will proceed with our graduation ceremonies as planned. We just don’t know. Panic buying hit my city long before there was a confirmed case anywhere within a 2 hour drive from us. So toilet paper, cleaning products, etc. are not exactly easy to come by. Stocking a little extra I get. Buying a year’s worth of stuff like a fucking zombie apocalypse is upon us? That’s a bit much. Perishables, sodas, and booze seem to be well-stocked. Go figure. Same with smokes. In some senses it’s pretty surreal. Things are clearly not normal, and yet there is this sort of sense of semi-normality that continues. I go about my business as normal. Will likely visit my usual diner this Friday like clockwork. My daughter will go on her normal run each afternoon. We see plenty of traffic. Businesses are still open. So far, it’s like nothing has happened. And yet we know darned well something is happening. Many of us suspect that there are people with COVID-19 in our communities, but just never got diagnosed because there was no plan in place to make sure they could be tested. Honestly, I am more frustrated than anything. I am a bit more anxious than I would normally be, which seems reasonable. But really I am just frustrated by how little care Trump or any of his inner circle put into their response to what was inevitably going to be a global crisis. HRC would have reacted so much differently. Biden will inherit this mess.
I dunno if anyone else other than me who visits this site is even remotely stressed about COVID-19. I know that I am. I no longer know how to best survive what is apparently going to affect me and mine. Just doing my best. How are you all coping?
I’ve been a fan of Brian Eno for many decades:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvh0_nlYhLI
Hi Don Durito – no you’re not the only one concerned. I’m in California, where the Governor has ordered no gatherings of more than 250 people, and as of now they say 48 cases here in Santa Clara county. I work at home and don’t need to go out much. A good friend is an usher for shows at various performance venues and she’s looking at a month or more with no work.
What’s up with the exemption for DisneyLand?
Looks like Disneyland is closing as well. Tourism will take a big hit. That affects my former home (The OC) as well as my current home. Workers are affected. I have confidence in the leadership in the House. Not really all that trusting of the Senate or White House.
There are a lot of people who are going to take a huge hit from this pandemic. Ushers and movie theater employees are going to be in a world of pain w/o paychecks. Same with gig economy workers. And I am not seeing a tangible plan in place to help these human being out. A travesty. We are now getting cases in the capital of my state. So now I think most university system branches are moving to online course delivery and trying to sort out what to do with students who live in the dorms. No known cases in my community, but then again, no one’s been testing either. I am also seeing a lot of panic buying which hurts all of us. My local grocery chain is now rationing cleaning products, and other items like toilet paper. It’s come to that. Expecting Walmart will do the same. I’m at a point where we could make do with a 2-week quarantine if it came to it. Mostly I just don’t go out any more than necessary and I am obsessive about hand washing and hand sanitizer. And I damn well will not shake anyone’s hand now. I do know that the virus is in the metro area where my parents live, so now I have that as a new worry. My dad’s health is shaky, and both are very elderly. I’m not freaked out, but I am definitely a couple notches above my usual anxiety level. And the government is essentially telling us we’re on our own, in deeds especially.
Like last time, I will continue to check this cafe periodically even with the foto flog and painting palooza knocking this off the front page temporarily. Obviously I am worried. I’ve been worried since the news first hit in January about what was going down in China. Stay safe and remember to wash your hands.
This space is still open. Hopefully all is as well as it can be in your corner of the world. My workplace extended Spring Break by a week. Employees still report for work next week, but students don’t go to class. Needless to say, things are just a bit chaotic. They will be next week as well. Converting seated classes to online is not exactly seamless. It’ll be interesting.
How is everyone? I know that a lot of us who are veterans of blogtopia (coined by the late Skippy the Bush Kangaroo) are getting up there in years. Please stay safe and healthy. Any of you whom I’ve ever interacted (including contentiously) I value. Are you physically okay? Psychologically okay? Are you able to supply yourself okay? Do you need our community’s help? Let’s talk.
hey homies. I’m laid off from work, gigs are canceled, and I’m generally worried. I went through an extensive period of under- and unemployment back in Philly, so I know how to hunker down. At the same time, it’s set off a bunch of old anxieties.
This shit isn’t fun. The fact that I can’t even slip out to a bar to commiserate with friends makes it harder.
That is a heap of bad news. I’m guessing we’ll start seeing bar and restaurant closures even in my neck of the woods soon. I have students who work at places that will have to close shop. They’re just a bit freaked at the moment. I don’t blame them. Was hoping to commiserate with a former county Democratic Party member (he moved out of state) early this week. After seeing the cluster that has become our grocery stores among other random bits of insanity, he decided to cut his trip short. Can’t blame him. Plus there are rumors circulating that stores in some parts of the US will cease receiving shipments of food by Tuesday. While I don’t believe that last bit, I do believe that high-tailing it back home and hunkering down is the best choice. My students are getting an extended spring break. I still have to show up for work. There were concerts one of my daughters and I intended to attend that we’ll be passing on now. They’ll get cancelled anyway. Would have been nice to see Black Flag, etc., but hey I’d rather be alive.
Interesting times, man. Interesting times.
By the way, I don’t know if any of us in the frog pond can help, but do you have a Patreon account? Seems to be one way creative folks have brought in some coin. I’ll chip in. I don’t have much – I’m an educator who works side gigs to get by. But I’ll still chip in.
Trump talks, and Dow Jones plunges some more. That guy really knows how to make investors feel confident. In the meantime, the real economy is under strain.
Just checking in again. How are y’all? It’s been a day. Spent some time at the office (employees report to work for the time being), and much of that seemed like prep time for when I won’t be back for a good bit. The fewer people I saw around the better. Did a little grocery shopping. From what I can see, it looks like the big box places are really struggling to keep up. Hoarders gotta hoard, I guess.I have about a couple week’s worth of meals I can prep. So likely will have to keep venturing out. Honestly though I spent most of the day feeling despondent. Anyway, I hope you all are as okay as can be expected. This is still an open thread. Will probably keep it focused on surviving the COVID-19 crisis. Hang in there. I know I am trying to.
Still hanging in. Will have a new cafe/lounge up later tonight. Wishing the best to everyone who manages to see this. Take care.