Dropping some Gil Scott-Heron (circa 2010):
Nothing like a fresh take on an old Robert Johnson classic as well as one of Gil’s own signature poems.
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, and finally, last week’s Midweek Cafe and Lounge:
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 the state of life now. Any zombie beverages would be appreciated.
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.
One thing I learned Tuesday: a supervisor of one of my elder daughter’s friends tested positive for COVID-19. The degrees of separation between those of us who are ostensibly healthy and those who have this virus are shrinking rapidly. Thankfully neither of us had visited the chain store in the mall in question, but each of us had been in what is left of our mall for other reasons. That would have been maybe a couple weeks ago for each of us. I was last in that vicinity to get some dead ends trimmed before stylists closed down. I’ve been visiting that salon for about the last 18 or so months. Same stylist each time. Had a good candid conversation with my stylist about how much my hair was thinning and what my limited options amounted to. Her advice amounted to consider shaving it all off. Probably sound advice. Props for honest stylists. Made sure she was tipped well. Male pattern baldness gets many of us eventually. It’s cool and the least of my worries. Glad I told my kids who were still not legally adults to avoid hanging out with friends and that sleepovers were not happening on my watch. We all need to shelter in place as much as possible.
My state lags way behind in terms of taking this virus seriously. Honestly not even sure if restaurants should be offering carryout services at this point. Not sure what should remain open at this point. Having said that, when I do have to run an errand, I am noticing that there is much less traffic on the roads. I am zipping through town in a manner that was unthinkable just a couple weeks ago. Without help from the Feds, My state is going to make some drastic budget cuts. That will hurt a lot of folks who depend on essential state services. That my state was Blue when I moved here and deep Red now does not help. Real workers are being hurt. Real people with disabilities are being hurt. I see no significant effort to have in place the infrastructure hospitals need to handle COVID-19 and handle the usual emergencies that are going to happen.
I am now at a point where I know a person who knows a person who is diagnosed with this virus. I am now at a point where I know a person who knows a person who died from this same virus. I am dreading the day when any of us end up mourning the death of someone we knew and valued directly. And as this crisis unfolds, I see that as an inevitability. I get bronchitis regularly. I worry. My kids are all allergy sufferers and have tendencies to all sorts of infections. I am worried. My parents are very elderly. I am worried. All I can do in the meantime is try to shelter in place as best as possible and hope we make it through. If I had picked up a gig in New York in 2010 rather than where I did, I’d been a bit freaked by the number of diagnosed cases, but comforted in having a governor who actually knew how to respond. I know our massive outbreak is going to happen soon. My state’s leadership is asleep at the wheel. This will get ugly.
I feel much the same way, and I am just one county away from the edge of the bullseye that is centered in NYC.
Where are you located, Don?
I’m staying with my dad, as I wrote earlier. I don’t like going out for groceries anymore, and I think I’m going to switch to the ordering ahead and picking them up. This shit is waaaaaaaaay too dicey for my blood.
But at least Pennsylvania is treating it seriously. Tennessee is going to be a goddamn disaster. Outside of a few grocery trips—where I have exercised as much social distance as humanly possible—I haven’t been in any close circumstance with strangers since the 17th. I really don’t want to get this shit. Even a mild case is bad, and I have asthma (I have two full, untouched inhalers on hand).
I know three people who had it and recovered, and one person who died. And of course now I gotta worry about my dad and his wife too.
I am never ever ever going to forgive Trump and the Republicans for dragging us through this. If I get this horrible virus I will fight it with all my might to survive, because I want to live long enough to see Trump in his grave so I can relieve myself on the headstone.
Here’s a Dead Kennedys doc: https://youtu.be/V6OberRtI6Q
I’m in Arkansas.. Think of the setting for “True Grit” and that’s where I am. My county now has 8 confirmed cases. I am very skittish about leaving my house. I went to a favorite trail one day last week. I hear that it is now packed with bored people who are doing the opposite of social distancing. So that option for exercise is gone. Other than grocery shopping, I’m as done with human contact as possible. Out on the west coast, I have a relative who is now a nurse for two oncology patients who tested positive for COVID-19. This shit keeps getting real, and it hasn’t even hit the fan. My state will be a disaster. Republicans simply cannot and will not govern. One of my hospital corporations is actually laying off staff here. It’s nuts.
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We had some really serious database corruption issues today, which are resolved (I hope) for now, thanks to the creator this site helping us out in the middle of the night (for him). Hope things will work smoothly from here on out.
I’ll post a new lounge when I wake up. I’ve been a bit swamped. Or I might just leave this one up another week.