Tag Archives: virus

trepidation.

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(not me, but a cute model displaying my level of trepidation about going to my dentist,

and me exactly, if i was a goat with braces, tiny horns, and yellowing teeth.)

 

i finally got the call i’d been fearing for months

my dentist was beginning to reschedule appointments

cancelled due to coivd

and i was on the list!

i showed up

with gritted teeth and edgy nerves

as every dental visit begins for me

 as we went through all of the safety protocol

leading up to my virus-abbreviated visit

i realized there could be worse things

 still didn’t relax

until it was over

but at least

i was healthy.

had a very kind dentist.

and had teeth.

and no braces.

and no horns.

 

“before I got into rock n’ roll, I was going to be a dentist.”

-gregg allman

 

 

 

image credit: funnycity.com

floating.

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As lockdown has forced many cinemas to close their doors due to social distancing measures, many cinephiles have turned to drive-ins to watch their favorite flicks. And while drive-ins may make an exciting cinema experience, a floating movie theater in Paris takes outdoor movie-going to another level, swapping out cars with boats.

Next week, the waters of the iconic Seine river in the French capital will see the arrival of a floating movie theatre where people can enjoy themselves in socially distant boats.

The “Le Cinéma sur l’Eau”, or “cinema on the water”, will be held on July 18 to celebrate the return of Paris Plages, an annual event organized by the French capital, that creates temporary beaches along the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette during the summer.

The floating cinema will welcome 150 locals who will be able to kick back in one of 38 small electric boats to watch “Le Grand Bain”, a French comedy about a group of men who start a synchronized swimming team and “A Corona Story”, a short film about COVID-19.

Each boat will seat four to six people, making sure that the groups consist of family or friends to makes sure social distancing measures are met. Also, to make sure that as many as people can benefit from this boat-cinema experience, another 150 people will be able to watch from deckchairs on dry land.

To get the chance to attend such an exceptional movie night, Parisians can enter a raffle for free tickets from July 7 – 16.

 

“solitude is not the same as loneliness. solitude is a solitary boat floating in a sea of possible companions.”

-robert fulghum

 

 

photo/text credits: derya ozdemir, interesting engineering, daily optimist, paris

 

the circus arrives.

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to avoid crowds, montreal’s circus festival will pop up in random places

Over the course of this week, some lucky residents in Montreal will be entertained with surprise circus acts that will pop up around the city at undisclosed locations.

The outdoor performances are organized as part of Montreal’s annual circus festival and are taking place from July 6 to 12 at random locations around the city in order to avoid huge crowds from gathering and maintain physical distancing.

As artistic director of Montréal Complètement Cirque, Nadine Marchand explains, a truck called the “Bonheur Mobile” will roll up to alleys, parks, streets, and squares in Saint-Michel, Anjou, St. Henri and the Quartier des Spectacles (to name a few) over the next week.

Ten Quebec circus performers will come rolling out and put on an hour-and-a-half-long show for any unsuspecting Montrealers who happen to be passing by or looking out the window.

Apart from breathing life and joy into the city, the festival has also been organized with the goal of providing work for the artists, as many have been out of work and unable to perform or tour due to the pandemic and it’s not clear when their industry will be back up and running.

Those lucky enough to happen upon one of these surprise performances are asked to stay on their front steps and balconies to avoid getting too close to others.

“the circus arrives without warning.”

-erin morgenstern, the night circus

 

 

 

story credits: marilla steuter- martin, cbc news, daily optimist magazine

let (a few of) them eat cake!

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when reading the day’s news online

there were the expected headlines/updates/graphs:

scotus decision

virus numbers updates

calls for mayor’s resignation

protest marches continue

doctors’ opinions

iran’s decision

cruise ship passengers awaiting refunds

election polls

presidential tweets

to wear a mask or not?

europe’s reopening

and then in huge letters:

COSTCO STOPS SELLING HALF-SHEET CAKES

what?

why is this a story?

why is this a bigger-font-size-worthy story?

what is the story?

here’s the story and it’s an odd logic.:

The past few months have been chaotic for Costco customers, with product shortages, long lines and the temporary elimination of free food samples. Now, it appears there’s another change for devoted shoppers: Costco has eliminated the iconic half-sheet cakes that are the centerpiece of graduation and birthday parties.

Costco has quietly stopped selling the $20 half-sheet cakes across its US stores for the past month, instead pointing people toward its 10-inch round cakes and other assorted baked goods.

“To help limit personal contact and create more space for social distancing, Costco has reduced service in some departments,” the company explained to outraged customers on its Facebook account. 

Costco confirmed to CNN Business it’s not selling the half-sheet cakes anymore and it has “no immediate plans” to bring it back. A spokesperson added that its 10-inch round cakes “seem to be resonating with our members.”

The decision also coincides with a recommendation from several US states and health agencies to avoid or prohibit large gatherings in light of Covid-19. Half-sheet cakes feeds around 50 people, while its 10-inch round cake serves around a dozen.

my interpretation: apparently the thought is that if you don’t have a big cake, you will not have a big celebration, where people will gather around the big cake in a big group. if you have more pieces of cake, you will then invite more people to go with it. what if you just bought a few round cakes, couldn’t you invite the same amount of people and just cut from the round cakes, or would that discourage you from inviting more guests as you’d have to then open more than one box? what about people just deciding to socially distance themselves without the cake being the deciding factor? just wondering, or is this that devil math at play once again? does it come down to having to match ratios, person to piece, and not have any leftover cake to eat for breakfast? i  knew i should have listened in school. 

“cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness!

If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!”

-c. joyBell c.

 

 

 

credits: cnn business

al fresco.

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streets now closed to cars
on friday afternoons through sunday evenings
so people can move to the streets
to walk, talk, dine, and be distant
a pretty natural adaption.
“eating outdoors makes for good health and long life and good temper, everyone knows that.”
-elise de wolfe
ann arbor, mi, usa – june 2020

pox.

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“demon pox. there’s always demon pox.”

-cassandra clare

 

 

image credit: the maine renaissance faire

essential.

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(not me or my shoes, but she wore them well and they were clearly essential)

way back in march

when quarantine suddenly began

for some reason

the first things i immediately ordered were

a cherry blossom doormat and a pair of glittery shoes

(both are always good to have on hand during a pandemic)

the mat arrived quickly and is happily living outside my door

the shoes however have not yet made their way to my door

as it was determined that they are ‘non-essential’

and therefore will be delivered sometime late in june

one woman’s essential is another’s folly

all a matter of perspective.

“the first essential, of course, is to know what you want.”

Robert Collier

 

 

image credit: MGM, The Wizard of Oz

an evening at home.

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after a busy day

spent teaching, singing, walking, grocery shopping with a mask, writing new plans, meeting, and conferencing

i finally sat down

one last time

all of it behind me

settling in for an evening at home

 picturing myself like the image above

and then 

the mirror

came into play

where it was revealed

that i was actually

more like disheveled barbie

but she probably has more fun anyway. 

 

when you have a vision of where you need to go,

it sounds uptopian. but when you get to the tipping point,

your understanding switches.”

-christiana figueres

 

 

 

Watercolor painting credit: An Evening at Home, 1888, Sir Edward John Poynte, Bourne Gallery, Reigate, Surrey, UK The Bridgeman Art Library

push.

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Michigan football wide receiver Ronnie Bell has an epic quarantine workout

Ronnie Bell had a unique routine while quarantining back home in Missouri.

To stay in shape, the Michigan receiver would go outside … and push his family’s Chevy Tahoe around the block.

“I’ve been pushing the cars with my little brothers,” Bell told MGoBlue’s Ed Kengerski. “We’ll take the car outside and put it in neutral and just push it around the neighborhood. “They push the little Lexus and I push the Chevy Tahoe.”

Like many of his teammates, Bell went home for a spell after the coronavirus outbreak forced Michigan to cancel in-person classes and athletic activities, including the Wolverines’ spring practices. 

“We were probably a week out from spring ball before everything happened,” he said. “Just kind of had to shift mindsets from getting ready, mentally, for spring ball, getting all excited for spring ball, and then having that taken away from you. You’ve got to adjust and adapt to your different circumstances.”

Bell, who is majoring in creative writing, says the shutdown made his academic life more difficult, as it prevented him from participating in office hours with his professors. But he did appreciate the opportunity to go home and spend time with his family, calling the experience “the best thing about” quarantine. 

Bell is back in Ann Arbor, where he lives with running back Hassan Haskins and linebacker Cam McGrone.

Does he miss football? “Of course.”

“(I miss) just being around the guys and being around the facility with all the coaches,” Bell said. “Everything about it. You don’t realize how much you were going to miss it until you get it completely taken away from you.”

For now, Bell and his teammates have connected with each other and the coaching staff through Zoom. He says the team has tried to install the offense as best it can through virtual meetings.

Bell, who had 48 catches for 758 yards and a touchdown in 2019, has been watching film on a consistent basis in hopes of improving upon his breakout sophomore year. He says he has gone over film of himself looking at situations in which he could’ve done “something different” or “something more.” He is hoping football will return in the near future.

“Everybody’s just unbelievably excited,” Bell said. “You could tell everybody was just getting antsy and itchy, just to get back to it. Everybody’s on edge because nobody really knows when everything will somewhat go back to normal.

“whatever I engage in, I must push inordinately.”

-andrew carnegie

 

 

credits: orion sang, detroit free press, ed kengerski, mgoblue.com

intoxicating.

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happy national cocktail day

in this era of zoom happy hours, the quarantini, and more than lots of stay home time

what have you been mixing up in your quarantine cave?

do you find yourself using

whatever you can scrounge up in your kitchen?

is your go-to

a cornhattan, pickled okra and tonic, dandelion/parsley wine, a salsa sour?

what have you managed to blend, shake, mix, mash, stir, or sling together

to create your new signature drink?

all cocktails and mocktails welcome here.

“life is a crazy mixture of intoxicating cocktails.”

-ken poirot 

 

image credit: lisa zador