#My pandemic next to normal era may be back I fear...

[procrastinationaccount]

Doubling down hard on having Next to Normal songs in my griddlehark playlist

[alexzalben]

What do you think of all the backlash the last Riverdale episode received? I’ve never seen the writers speak out like this before on all the hate.

This is a pretty complicated topic that I probably can’t do justice with one Tumblr ask, but I’ll try to address some of the broad strokes ideas here. And hang tight, because this is gonna go long.

First of all, a caveat: I have by no means read through every comment the writers were responding to, nor do I know what they discussed or how they’re feeling about things, nor do I speak for them in any way.

However, I do think one of the joys and downfalls of making TV in the social media era is the accessibility of the creative team to fans. Joys because it opens up new ways of understanding how a show is made, demystifying the process, which is always a good thing. Downfalls because to some fans - not all fans, by any means - it makes them feel like they have a say in what happens in the show.

On the latter, it’s not to say that the writers aren’t listening, on many series they’re well aware of what fans think about their show, the plots, the ships, etc. Sometimes they’ll even shift where they’re going based on fan feedback. Nikki and Paolo on Lost are the example I always go to, where they were introduced to show the outside perspective of what other survivors were doing while Jack and his gang were going on adventures... And everybody HATED THEM. So much so that plans changed and they were literally buried alive on the show by the end of the season, in a very unsubtle metaphor.

That said, there’s a difference between what I perceive to be the tone around Nikki and Paolo, which mind you was pre-Twitter days, and what some shows have to deal with now: one is constructive criticism presented as “hey we don’t like this”; the latter sometimes veers into “you suck and you should kill yourself.”

I want to emphasize again: this is not everyone. Usually there is a small section of any group of people that delves into hyper-negativity, and they always get an outsized focus to the number of people who actually do that. Again, example here, but for a while I was part of a pretty popular online sketch comedy group. We got tons of views, tons of comments, I’d estimate 95-99% of those comments were great. Did I internalize those? Of course not. I internalized the one comment out of 100 that told me what a shitty writer I was. That’s the one that rolled around in my head all night, because it seeped into the fear that most writers have that they do suck and will never be successful, at any level. It’s Imposter Syndrome, plain and simple, and it affects everyone no matter how famous (or not) they are.

Reason I mention that is it’s entirely possible that 99% of the comments to the writers of Riverdale this episode were mostly fine, but if 1% of them were of the “fucking kill yourself” variety, that hurts, a lot. It’s not on everyone, by any means, but that pulls the focus, and it’s horrifying every time no matter how often it happens (and believe me, it happens far too often).

Specifically with Riverdale, there are another few factors that are exacerbating this. One is, and I don’t want to diminish this: the pandemic. We’re a year in and people are crumbling mentally. Nothing has been “normal” for a year, that impacts every single aspect of your life, and some things are easier to lash out at than others, like a TV show. If a deadly virus is causing inconsistency? Not much you can do about that. If your fave TV show is shaking up the broadcast schedule and changing your favorite couples? Complain to the writers, the directors, the actors, etc.

The other is the arc of this season so far, which I do think is driving people fucking nuts. This again gets back to the pandemic, but ending with episode 19, waiting months, and then coming back for a premiere that is actually the third to the last episode of the season? That’s unsettling. It throws you off kilter, because it’s not the right rhythm. I know this sounds a little silly, but it’s actually very important: stories have a rhythm to them, and a lot of TV shows in particular have had that rhythm broken. Riverdale had three episodes that were all essentially climax, then upended the show with a time jump, and has continued to mix things around almost every episode. And then it’ll be going into another three month break.

This is definitely the point where someone says “mix things around? they’re doing the same couples they always did.” Sure, theoretical person. But having sifted through fan comments and tweets over the past couple of weeks, every single week one section of the fanbase has been 100% sure it is their ship’s time to shine, and the next they’re being told it’s done forever, and then the next they’re back on, then the next they’re done... It’s an emotional rollercoaster ride, and that’s how the writers designed it, and it’s frankly not over yet. But add in that pandemic uncertainty above, and you have a recipe for people panicking.

Also, and again, this is a small section of any fanbase, but it’s very clear that because of this hyped up panic, some people are being absolutely terrible assholes to other fans. I know I don’t usually curse this much, but the amount of gloating I’ve seen from people on all sides, back and forth, is super gross. Personally, if someone is sobbing for whatever reason, my reaction has never been to quote tweet them with “you lost, get over it” and a peace sign emoji. It sucks when people are sad, and we have a moral obligation to make sure other people feel okay. Don’t know if you’ve ever heard this one, but “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Sort of an important life rule.

Overall, I think a fanbase is stronger is they support each other rather than engaging in ship wars, and I do think there’s a lot of people who do do that. Or just express their displeasure, without attacking people. But there are some people who do, and that’s overall making the whole tone of the discussion that much worse.

So what’s the solution here? I always emphasize to my writers that it’s okay to have a negative take as long as you provide something constructive about a way out of the situation, and I’ll apply that both to the Riverdale fanbase, as well as this extremely long Tumblr ask.

There are three things I’d suggest, and both of them are on you. By “you” I mean the general you, and the reason I suggest them, versus what the writers and creators of Riverdale can do is that “you” are the thing you can control and change.

The first is changing the tone of the discussion. Realize that there are people deeply, emotionally impacted in different ways by this TV show. Allow that they may be having different emotional reactions than you, and give them the space and the support to work through it. If you’re a Varchie fan, it actually makes you a better fan to check on a Barchie fan and see if they’re okay. If you’re a Barchie fan, it’s okay to be happy for a Varchie fan and sad at the same time. Mainly because none of you had anything to do with it. This isn’t even a case where you wore your lucky socks and your fave team won the game. The writers are writing what they wrote, and you are a passive observer, not involved other than the involvement you bring to it. So if everyone supports each other regardless of the circumstances, that will improve things overall.

The second? Disengage. Take a break. Stop watching the show. You have no obligation to tweet, or go on any other social media outlet for this series, nor do you have to keep watching the show if it hurts you. In fact, taking a show break if you feel too involved is a very good thing. Check out, clear your head and come back much later and look at it with fresh eyes.

Third? Think before you comment. It took me a long time to get here with this one, and I’m still working on it, but before you comment: pause, read it over again, and think “is this something I really want to send?” You do get that rush of taking whatever anger you’re feeling and getting it out of your body and mind, but ultimately it’s usually more damaging than either waiting, posting something a little more thoughtful, or not posting at all. It’s really thinking about what you’re adding to the conversation, and what you’re hoping to get back.

So there you go. Lots of thoughts there, and I’m sure there’s lots more to say. This is only my outside perspective on this, and I hope it’s helpful at least in some small way. And if not, that is cool, too!

[x-exo]

*slides into your asks with a rose in my mouth* why hello, tis me!

Apologies for the long wait but your favorite long asks anon is here and OOF so much has happened. Let us break it down one by one lol

Monsta x our beans, welp we can officially say we are army wives for them because shownu is now at the military and just welp this feels weird lol. I lowkey forgot he was meant to enlist so when the news came out I went through so many emotions. Its why the latest comeback feels a bit bittersweet to me. It is their BEST for sure and for this year, I agree so to not see him perform right before he left is a bit sad. I don't blame him of course (if anyone does i am fish slapping you) but just a shame. I'm happy we do get content with him still? Seems pre-planned so that is nice!

Onto legends exo, fantastic comeback. I cannot stop listening to the album, its just bops full of bops to me. They broke so many records and I'm over here sipping my tea because fudge yes. It isn't a full member comeback, 2 of the members featured in the comeback are off playing call of duty and they still did THAT. While having lay properly in the comeback!? (Or at least some form, better than tempo era!) Kyungsoo my beloved, the man that can swoon you off your feet, his proper solo album. Omg I am just in love? The album feels like a Playlist that you hear while taking a walk or on a raodtrip? I love it, I just love everything about this with how much thought was given. It makes me feel warm and I'm so proud of him (I think he even got a first win) but sadly xiumin got the it shall not be named virus D: I feel so bad and I can only hope he gets better! It makes me worried because I keep seeing more and more idols getting sick and I can't help but wonder why don't the kpop entertainment just put a pause with stuff? Of course that is VERY unrealistic, I am aware that is naive for me to think but its just so idk how to word it properly (my English brain is not working I am sorry) I cannot help the feeling of while I get people are being safe and yes we need to still live like normal beings, is it worth risking idols health just for some entertainment? Idk how to explain my thoughts properly but maybe I hope I made sense!!

Onto svt! That is perfectly fine to not vibe with a comeback! I will admit, I didn't fully vibe with this comeback and it shocked me because every comeback was a hit to me. Even fear, left and right or homerun where I know many fans were split on, I liked but RTL was a grower. For me, listening to it without watching the mv, helped it alot and it is a song I like. Is it their best? No I don't think so but it is alright to say "hey I didn't bop to this, not my cup of tea" (imo I blame the mv? The mv REALLY didn't do the song justice at all, I am sorry if I sound like a fake fan but this mv Just is bad in all aspects. Sure we have some pretty shots but like it just doesn't fit at all?) So if anything listening to the song or wishing the live performances does it better. Seeing the choreography amps the song up more, cannot go wrong with their dancing. As for the rest of the songs, I admit game boy is my top favorite? Idk if it is because I am a gaming nerd and found all the production of the song so creative but yeah. We can wait for the next comeback! Svt always have something up their sleeves, plus we do have their music projects to look forward too (I wonder when we will get one? Seeing as RTL promotions stopped) some positive news with the boys is they resigned like a year before their contract ends and I'm a bit emotional :') I'm excited to see the boys future projects. We did have caratland recently! Did you watch it if I may ask? We did get in the soop confirmation so I'm excited to watch that, the boys deserve that nice break (even if it was filmed for a show fjsbsns)

Ok I think that is it for kpop updates? XD I do hope life has been treating you kindly! Life has been a bit all over the place sadly so I hope it wasn't like that for you as well! Until next time my bean!

hii!!!! omg sorry for the late reply i've been pretty busy these days 🙈

indeed so much has happened! and much more since you sent this ask omg!!

our shownu is at war *looks into the distance* *wipes away tear* *sighs* by now I got used to enlistment news (see what happens when you stan 2nd and 3rd gen groups) but STILL [[IT HURT]] when they uploaded the monchannel videos of his goodbye day like ????? what kind of twisted mind diuhdfuihdifuhs but the boys were all so cute and soft but they seemed so sad they didn't want to let go of their super leader :(( I hope he's learning lots and making new friends (and also we've got our international super spy yoo kihyun giving us small updates on him every now and then so everything's fine!). Yeah I totally get you it felt empty without him this comeback and at first it didn't really clicked with me but when the enlistment news came out i understood he had to take care of his health and thoroughly check on his eye sight in order to be 100% ready for the military so it made sense he had to be absent :( everything was so close (the comeback and enlistment) that I'm sure there was no other way for doing it I'm pretty sure he couldn't maybe postpone the enlistment day any further

onto exo! my ksoo my soft boi my romantic boi 🥺 his album is so him SO HIM i can't explain it bur it's just HIM you know it's the type of album you'd play on loop on a summer afternoon when you've taken your papers and paints outside in the garden to paint a bit with the warm soft breeze moving the trees lightly 🤧 and he signs in English and SPANISH (he did it for me) my multilingual king he's a native. Also I've been watching Honeymoon Tavern with Jongin these days and OMG i could d word for him really (if you haven's watched it go do it when you have time) he's SO SOFT and SO CUTE and he works as a waiter and a wedding planner and helps with the room preparations and is also a tour guide and he's just so cute so happy al the time the way he interacts with everyone is so 🥺🤧😭 onto more serious stuff now: yeah i was so worried about minseok catching covid omg but i'm glad he went through it with our any major complication and the rest of the boys are safe too! I guess the industry doesn't stop bc that would mean a huge loss of thousands and thousands of dollars/won/etc so as long as the gov doesn't prohibit going out or gathering like at the beginning of the pandemic, they'll keep on going with the idols' schedules otherwise the industry would just shut down having no way of earning money to sustain all the companies and idols.

as for seventeen! yeah i like the songs too! the mv sure ruined rtl and listening to it without watching it has really helped it grow on me more but still it feels kind of meh to me idk i really like anyone i think it's my favourite from the album. AND NOW WE'VE GOT A COMEBACK IN OCTOBER!!!! yayyyyy i can't wait they seem to be preparing very diligently (i hope they release a sexy bop) it's a shame junhao aren't gonna be present for this comeback but i'm soooooo happy they have the opportunity to visit their families again omg they have spent 2 whole years without seeing them in the flesh they must be so happy to get back to them again!!! it's so funny seeing them be bored at the quarantine hotel and doing lives every day duhdfiudhfiuh i hope it passes quickly and they can see their loved ones finally! and I did watch Caratland!! omg the unit switch song was the best thing ever hhu doing lilili yabbay and not being able to stop laughing idfuhdifuhs perf team doing chocolate and owning it????? hello??? performance team more like main vocal team wow! and the vocal team being a complete mess during check in lmaooo i loved it! In The Soop has finally started!!! I love these kind of "normal life" concepts I love seeing the boys being themselves cooking and relaxing I've watched the first and second eps as of today and also few clips from the third and omg mingyu and jeonghan drowning in the pond dfuhidfhidfs lmao they're so dumb i love them 🤣 i'm glad they could go away for a few days and spend time together away from their hectic schedules!

I hope you're well now and if not hang in there it'll all pass soon enough! 🥰💕 bye bye!!

p.s.: I got your request for the svt this or that gifset and i promise i’ll do it one day i just don’t feel like giffing these days dhbduusi i’m out of energy 

[mypuddinghasasecret]

[Page 1 front]

                                                       Erin O'Toole                                        Leader of Canada's Conservatives

My Name                                                                           August 6, 2021 My Address City Province Postal Code

Dear My Name,

         You have the right to know...

         When the pandemic struck, you did your part.

         You made the sacrifices asked of you, abided by the restrictions, and followed the rules.

         And, you held your tongue while Justin Trudeau borrowed heavily against your family's financial future... because he told you it was to help the Canadians hardest hit by the pandemic and stabilize our economy.          But should that COVID-era spending continue... forever?

         Regardless of your answer to that question, it goes without saying that never before has so much been asked of you, your family, and your fellow Canadians.

         Now, thanks to you and others like you, Canada has rounded the corner. While we must remain cautious, the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us.

Now, after all that, don't you think you have a right to know what comes next My Name?

          I do -- and that's why I'm writing you personally to share my vision for what should come next. It's called Canada's Recovery Plan.

[Page 1 back]

          In a moment, I'll tell you more about Canada's Recovery Plan and my mission to Secure the Future for you and your family.

         But first, please let me introduce myself.

         My name is Erin O'Toole. I'm the leader of the Conservative Party and I'm running to be Canada's next Prime Minister.

        I'm a husband, a father, and a Royal Canadian Air Force veteran. I grew up in a middle-class neighbourhood at a time when we looked out for one another.

       As a young man, I enlisted to serve our country in uniform, and worked hard so I could go on to earn a law degree. I was proud to be elected to Parliament in 2012.

       Today, as a candidate for Prime Minister, I am focused on our country's post-COVID economic recovery and on providing Canadians like you with the clarity and certainty you deserve after sacrificing so much during the pandemic.

      After all, you deserve nothing less than the straight truth from your political leaders. That's what I believe...

      ... but Justin Trudeau's Liberals and their coalition allies, the NDP and the Greens, don't see it that way.

      Instead of laying out a clear plan to help you and your family move on from the pandemic, Justin Trudeau went over your head, attending a United Nations Conference to tell world leaders the pandemic was "our chance to... reimagine economic systems."

      "Reimagine...?" What does he really mean by that?

       Of course, a fair-minded individual might say one simple statement like that could be dismissed as a slip of the tongue from a Prime Minister without a strong grasp of economic fundamentals. Fair enough.

      But I was especially concerned when Justin Trudeau's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister told a Liberal gathering the pandemic was a "political opportunity."

     Here's a question... if Justin Trudeau's plan to "reimagine" the economy is such an "opportunity," why won't he share it with you?

[Page 2 front]

     The answer, I fear, is simple... for the Trudeau Liberals, the NDP, and the Greens, "back to normal" isn't the plan.

     For them, the pandemic is a chance to conduct risky economic experiments that will help them win fans among entrenched special intersts and Hollywood celeberities, but hurt you and your family.

     And the Trudeau Liberals, NDP and Greens don't care how much of YOUR MONEY they have to spend through out-of-control deficits and billions of dollars in new debt to do it.

    You see, like most Canadians, I supported increased public spending at the height of the pandemic to help those COVID hurt the most and to keep our economy moving.

    It was the right thinkg to do.

    But Justin Trudeau and his allies -- the NDP and the Greens -- think our COVID-era spending should continue FOREVER!

   That's why I believe it's absolutely crucial we replace Justin Trudeau's Liberals with a new Conservative government that will implement Canada's Recovery Plan and responsibily balance the budget over the long term.

   That brings me back to the main point of my letter and the reason I'm writing you today...

   The Liberals, the NDP, and the Greens may not want to tell you the truth about their plan for a post-pandemic Canada. But I'm not afraid to show you mine.

   Canada's Recovery Plan will:

SECURE JOBS by recovering the 1 million jobs lost during the pandemic within one year. We'll take immediate action to boost sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, helping those who have suffered the most.

SECURE ACCOUNTABILITY by enacting the toughest ethical and transparency laws in Canada, including strengthening the lobbying act to end abuse by Liberal insiders.

SECURE MENTAL HEALTH by boosting funding to the provinces, incentivising employers to provide mental health coverage to employees, and creating a national three-digit suicide prevention hotline.

[Page 2 back]

SECURE THE COUNTRY by creating a stratigic stockpile of essential products and building the capacity to manufacture vaccines here at home.

SECURE THE ECONOMY by returning to a balanced budget over the next decade while protecting important programs Canadians rely on, like healthcare, education and supports for our seniors.

          Yes, Canada's Recovery Plan truly will Secure the Future for the country you and I both cherish so much.

         And you can count on Canada's Conservatives to do it by focusing on jobs, wages, and helping Canadians right now rather than a Liberal wish-list dreamt up behind closed doors in Ottawa...

        My friend, by now, I hope I have at least opened your mind to the possibility of voting for your local Conservative candidate in the upcoming election.

        In the weeks to come, I will write you again to share more details about Canada's Recovery Plan and to tell you more about how I intend to Secure the Future for you and your family. But for now, let me leave you with this...

        If you believe it's time for a government that is ready, willing, and able to implement Canada's Recovery Plan and get our country working again, then you have only one choice - Canada's Conservatives.

      I will be working very hard to earn your trust in the coming weeks. Thank you.

                                                                         Sincerely,

                                                                         Erin O'Toole

                                                                         Erin O'Toole,

                                                                         Leader of Canada's Conservatives

P.S. Justin Trudeau's Liberals and their coalition partners, the NDP and the Greens, don't TRUST you with the truth about their plans for the post-pandemic Canada...

Why should you TRUST them with your vote?

[lokiondisneyplus]

Today I left the house wearing a face mask for the first time.

I had woken up to the sound of heavy rain, which is always surreal in Los Angeles, and when I look out of the window to the hauntingly dehumanising sight of bandana-clad dog walkers, an eerie weight settles as I remember: this is our reality now.

I’m standing in the supermarket queue, a line dotted by crosses taped on the floor of the underground car park to signify our designated 6ft distance. Easily 50 people long and snaking around the perimeter of the building, I make my way to the last available X-marks-the-spot and join the other masked Bandits. I haven’t food shopped for over a week and am in need of supplies.

There is an obnoxiously loud man two crosses ahead of me ranting into his phone with such a high energy, the surrounding Bandits have allowed an extended social distance of a cross on either side of him. I sigh, remembering I’ve left my headphones at home, so am unable to tune him out, I wait and exhale, wondering how I am going to get used to the claustrophobic sensation of hot air and fabric condensing on my face.

Loud Phone Man is not wearing a mask and it's clear we’ve passed the tipping point of mild judgement, at least here in LA, where Bandits exchange a raised eyebrow, (about the only non-verbal Bandit communication available) which somehow magnifies the annoyance of this shopper - not only loud, but breathing indiscriminately all over us in this confined space… what does he think this is? Last week??

It’s Monday on #Week4 of Covid-19 lockdown in La La Land and as I shuffle to the next X I reflect on the journey so far.

After a whirlwind press tour to promote the release of Misbehaviour in UK cinemas (sadly cinemas were shuttered just days after the film's theatrical release – but it's available to watch online at home from April 15th!) I returned to work in Atlanta for Loki, the Marvel limited series for Disney Plus I’ve been working on, so am on set when I get the news that we are going on hiatus as a precaution due to the accelerating coronavirus, initially for one week. Thinking it would be longer, but still unsure at that point, I book a flight to LA to sit things out there for the time being. The next day Trump imposes a travel ban on travelling in or out of the US for 30 days, and with my visa situation and the pace at which everything is moving, it feels risky to fly to the UK in case I cannot get back into the country when filming recommences, whenever that will be.

So, with my housemate and her dog for company, we embark on social distancing, self-isolation and Lady Macbeth-level hand-washing.

Managing a constant low-level anxiety about my parents and loved ones, and friends in New York, London, Johannesburg and all over the world, I become consumed by the news, glued to the BBC website and KCRW talk radio for the latest figures. Like families gathered around “the wireless” in wartime, everything is unfolding so rapidly and the news, never this dramatic in my lifetime, takes on disaster-movie proportions.

FaceTime and WhatsApp become my lifelines as the reality of the pandemic is tinged with a weird detachment… a numbness I later realise was a form of shock that lasts for nearly two weeks and puts me into a hyper-focused state as I race to keep up, stay informed and learn how to adapt to this new rhythm.

I am of course aware that I am so privileged to be safe and personally unaffected thus far, but grasping the truth from what is overblown, and fact from politics and propaganda, give everything an out-of-body zero gravity quality; a new normal we are all united in.

Things are kicking off in the food line as my attention is caught by an exasperated Valley Girl three Xs ahead who finally explodes at Loud Phone Man, “ OH MY GAAAAD, USE YOUR INSIDE VOICE, CANT YOU SEEEEE EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT YOU CAUSE YOU’RE TALKING SO LOUD… WE ALL HAVE TO STAND HERE, OHMYGAAAD!” As she stomps her Ugged feet to the next X the security guard and smiling store employee (no mask) approach and I can feel a repressed inside-voice-cheer emanate from the rest of the line in applause.

The Bandit Couple ahead of me raise another eyebrow in solidarity and Female Bandit begins to capture a video of Loud Phone Man on her iPhone. The air gets thin, the energy tightens, “Hey Man,” Smiling Store Employee intercepts, Security guard flanking, “You wanna keep it down a bit, people are stressed, y’know? Thanks Man.” Valley Girl scowls, Bandit couple exchange glances, while still filming, Loud Phone Man defends, “I WASN’T EVEN TALKING THAT LOUUUUUD!!!” (Collective Bandit eyeroll) “YESSSSS YOU WERE!!!” Hisses Valley Girl, “Yeah Man, sorry you were,” Store Employee placates. taking the referee stance. I notice Loud Phone Man is wearing flip-flops, on a rainy day. He continues his conversation into his device, phone held to his lips, like a dictaphone, barely any quieter. “We have to be prepared…”

I sigh and feel warm breath on my cheeks. Mouth drying I look at my phone for escape and see that Boris Johnson has been admitted into intensive care for persistent and worsening Covid-19 symptoms. I suddenly feel very far from home and very sad.

I remember the things I’ve been doing to keep grounded and my spirits up. One of the benefits of turning out old cupboards was rediscovering my long dormant art materials. Painting, such an absorbing and transporting activity for me in childhood, was once something I considered doing instead of acting, but found it a little socially isolating - so acting won because it felt more collaborative. Now, of course, painting in isolation is perfect and becomes the most comforting of pastimes and a creative channel as I make images of my family and feel like I am spending time with them.

Understanding how superfluous actors are in a crisis such as this, I come to terms with the fact that staying at home, as passive as it may seem, is my contribution for now. Having the luxury of not having to home-school any children and knowing my work is pretty much on pause until social distancing recedes, I try to reframe this time as a chance to rest and refill the creative well. I read novels for pleasure, something I rarely find time for beyond work-related reads. I take my first Zoom yoga class (alexdawsonyoga.com), I join a 21-day online meditation experience (chopracentermediation.com), I take local hikes for fresh air and make first ever batches of banana bread and chicken soup. I even buy a mini trampoline online which, after a mildly challenging self-assembly, I’ve been sweating it out on to streamed classes online (lekfit.com) with a friend in Toronto, followed by accountability FaceTime coffee dates to virtually high five!

By the end of week two, the adrenalin crash truly hits and I’m exhausted from the constant rhythm shifting, news consumption and uncertainty. I’m an eternal optimist and good at self-motivating, but even when you’re Keeping Calm and Carrying on, you need to crash at some point. I nearly cry when I get my mum an Ocado food delivery slot - nothing has been available for weeks - and the “what ifs” that I have been keeping at bay with all my other activities release with relief and gratitude.

That’s when I discover Brené Brown’s new podcast Unlocking Us and find such solace in her calm and thoroughly researched words and conversations. Since her TED talk fame as a charismatic shame and vulnerability researcher, I’ve read all of her books and there is always something practical and nourishing in her work, told with humour and in a deeply relatable way - which I’ve found comfort in while in the midst of folding laundry, cleaning the bath or chopping vegetables.

Back in the food line and things are moving; the tension of the Loud Phone Man Vs Valley Girl dispute still simmers but everyone relaxes as they get closer to the front-door finish line. Smiling Store Employee does his speech on the new system: no reusable bags allowed, sanitised trollies and a one-way system in the aisles inside marked by arrows on the floor, to minimise contact with other customers. It all feels so surreal and regimented, but the Bandits, already drained from the 30-minute wait, constant Loud Phone Man soundtrack, near car park fight and everything else they’re all adjusting to, nod wearily behind their moist makeshift masks. It’s a bizarre sight.

Still chatting, Loud Phone Man makes it in and there’s a collective “phew” eye-contact exchanged between Smiling Store Employee and the remaining Bandits. Then his smile drops and crinkles for a second. “Yeah, he’s been in every day this week. It’s kinda sad. There’s no one on the phone.” The Bandits' brows knot quizzically. “Yeah, I think he has mental health issues, he just talks but the phone’s not on and he has no ear pieces, he just talks into it… 'They’re coming, we have to be prepared.'… I don’t know what to do.”

The reality breaks my heart. It seems to highlight the collective insanity we’ve all been processing and in that moment I just feel so frustrated at the state of the world and how this pandemic has exposed so many cracks in our society - from mental health to healthcare to privilege and poverty, everything just feels so raw.

I try to look for the silver linings and, among all the fear and anxiety and loss, I’ve been so inspired by human resilience, adaptability and creativity. I’m hopeful this great pandemic leveller will bring a new era of authenticity. An opportunity to shift mentality from Me to We.

Week three in self-isolation felt almost normal, which feels weird to admit. I’m getting lots of sleep and take regular meditative baths, which I’ve renamed Home Spa. I’ve found ways to safely contribute in my local community. When the shelves were bare from panic buying, I chatted with the manager of our local grocery store, who seemed so overwhelmed, so my housemate and I volunteered to stack shelves after hours. Although not exactly the front lines, we have fun and it feels good to give something back in our small way.

We of course negotiated to be paid in baked beans and toilet paper.

[newstfionline]

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Canada Is Relieved at Biden’s Win (NYT) On a snowy evening in December 2016, a month after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada held a rare farewell state dinner for the departing vice president, Joseph R. Biden Jr. It was like a tearful goodbye between two old friends. “We are more like family. That’s the way the vast majority of Americans feel about Canada and Canadians,” Mr. Biden said to a hall packed with politicians in Ottawa. “The friendship between us is absolutely critical to the United States.” He ended with a toast: “Vive le Canada. Because we need you very, very badly.” After four years of surprise tariffs, stinging insults and threats from President Trump, a giddy jubilation and sense of deep relief spread across Canada on Saturday, with the news that Mr. Biden had won the presidency. Many Canadians hope to return to the status of cherished sibling to the United States, and that the president-elect’s personal connection to Canada, and that of his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, will help heal the wounds.

States cite smooth election (AP) The 2020 election unfolded smoothly across the country and without any widespread irregularities, according to state officials and election experts, a stark contrast to the baseless claims of fraud being leveled by President Donald Trump following his defeat. Election experts said the large increase in advance voting—107 million people voting early in person and by mail—helped take pressure off Election Day operations. There were also no incidents of violence at the polls or voter intimidation. “The 2020 general election was one of the smoothest and most well-run elections that we have ever seen, and that is remarkable considering all the challenges,” said Ben Hovland, a Democrat appointed by Trump to serve on the Election Assistance Commission, which works closely with officials on election administration. Following Democrat Joe Biden’s victory, Trump has sought to discredit the integrity of the election and argued without evidence that the results will be overturned. Republican lawmakers have said the president should be allowed to launch legal challenges, though many of those lawsuits have already been turned away by judges and those that remain do not include evidence of problems that would change the outcome of the race.

Future of business travel unclear as virus upends work life (AP) For the lucrative business travel industry, Brian Contreras represents its worst fears. A partner account executive at a U.S. tech firm, Contreras was used to traveling frequently for his company. But nine months into the pandemic, he and thousands of others are working from home and dialing into video conferences instead of boarding planes. Contreras manages his North American accounts from Sacramento, California and doesn’t expect to travel for work until the middle of next year. Even then, he’s not sure how much he will need to. “Maybe it’s just the acceptance of the new normal. I have all of the resources necessary to be on the calls, all of the communicative devices to make sure I can do my job,” he said. “There’s an element of face-to-face that’s necessary, but I would be OK without it.” That trend could spell big trouble for hotels, airlines, convention centers and other industries that rely so heavily on business travelers like Contreras. Work travel represented 21% of the $8.9 trillion spent on global travel and tourism in 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Amazon, which told it employees to stop traveling in March, says it has saved nearly $1 billion in travel expenses so far this year. The online shopping giant, with more than 1.1 million employees, is the second-largest employer in the U.S. At Southwest Airlines, CEO Gary Kelly said while overall passenger revenue is down 70%, business travel—normally more than one-third of Southwest’s traffic—is off 90%. U.S. hotels relied on business travel for around half their revenue in 2019, or closer to 60% in big cities like Washington, according to Cindy Estis Green, the CEO of hospitality data firm Kalibri Labs.

Final weeks of historic hurricane season bring new storms (AP) Just when you thought it should be safe to go back to the water, the record-setting tropics are going crazy. Again. Tropical Storm Eta is parked off the western coast of Cuba, dumping rain. When it finally moves again, computer models and human forecasters are befuddled about where it will go and how strong it will be. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Theta—which formed overnight and broke a record as the 29th named Atlantic storm of the season—is chugging east toward Europe on the cusp of hurricane status. The last time there were two named storms churning at the same time this late in the year was in December 1887, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said. But wait there’s more. A tropical wave moving across the Atlantic somehow survived the mid-November winds that usually decapitate storms. The system now has a 70% chance of becoming the 30th named storm. That’s Iota on your already filled scorecard. If it forms, it is heading generally toward the same region of Central America that was hit by Eta. Never before have three named storms been twirling at the same time this late in the year, Klotzbach said. Hurricane records go back to 1851, but before the satellite era, some storms were likely missed.

Religious Persecution Is Worsening Worldwide (CT) Dictators are the worst persecutors of believers. This perhaps uncontroversial finding was verified for the first time in the Pew Research Center’s 11th annual study surveying restrictions on freedom of religion in 198 nations. The median level of government violations reached an all-time high in 2018, as 56 nations (28%) suffer “high” or “very high” levels of official restriction. The number of nations suffering “high” or “very high” levels of social hostilities toward religion dropped slightly to 53 (27%). Considered together, 40 percent of the world faces significant hindrance in worshiping God freely. And the trend continues to be negative. Since 2007, when Pew began its groundbreaking survey, the median level of government restrictions has risen 65 percent. The level for social hostilities has doubled.

Critics, protesters call removal of Peruvian president a legislative coup (Washington Post) The little-known head of Peru’s Congress took the helm of the South American nation Tuesday amid a public outcry over the surprise removal of the country’s popular president, Martín Vizcarra. Vizcarra’s ouster late Monday and the inauguration of interim president Manuel Merino amounted to a return of the political chaos that has long plagued Peru, where nearly every president since 1990 has resigned, been indicted or been jailed amid clouds of corruption. One former president killed himself. Yet at a time when the Andean nation is confronting one of the world’s most lethal coronavirus outbreaks, Vizcarra’s ouster, based on still-unproven bribery allegations, appeared to be fundamentally different. Critics called it a congressional coup staged by Machiavellian legislators desperate to halt his anti-corruption and political reform campaigns, which took aim at their pocketbooks and threatened to end many of their political careers. Under Vizcarra, Peru adopted laws that took on festering malfeasance within the 130-member legislature, where 68 lawmakers are now under investigation or indictment for alleged crimes ranging from money laundering to murder. Members of the current Congress have been prohibited from seeking reelection, and anyone with active charges is barred from running. Critics now fear that Merino—who previously sought to turn the military against Vizcarra and attempted an earlier removal on different grounds in September—will seek to lift those rules, allowing a compromised political class to preserve itself and setting up a new period of instability in this nation of 32 million.

Generation COVID (Foreign Policy) A report from the British school inspection agency found that children had suffered from being outside the regular school system during lockdown, with some younger children regressing from being potty-trained back to diapers and older children showing reduced reading stamina. The chief inspector for schools found that the children experiencing the worst effects were those whose parents’ employment did not allow for flexible or at-home working.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tests positive for Covid-19 (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced Monday that he has tested positive for coronavirus infection and will be working in self-isolation while being treated. “There are no lucky people in the world for whom Covid-19 does not pose a threat,” Zelenskiy said on Twitter. “However, I feel good. I promise to isolate myself and I continue to work.” Zelenskiy became president in 2019 as a political neophyte, previously known as an actor and comedian. He became popular in the country for a TV sitcom, “Servant of the People,” in which he played the role of a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president after making a rant about corruption that goes viral. He handily defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko. Ukraine’s coronavirus infections began surging in late summer and have put the country’s underpaid doctors and underequipped hospitals under severe pressure.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkey wins the war? (Foreign Policy/Eurointelligence) Russia may have secured a peace deal to end a six-week conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, but Turkey has won the war. Ankara threw its political support behind Azerbaijan and employed Turkish cutting-edge drones and military expertise to allow Azerbaijan to roll over Armenian positions in the difficult mountain area under dispute. The conflict is not new, and occasional fighting has been going on there since 1994, but this time it is a decisive victory. This victory will boost Erdogan’s image as a strongman with geopolitical weight, and helps him put a foot into the South Caucasus. Hard power impresses former Soviet countries.

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers resign en masse (AP) Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers said Wednesday that they were resigning en masse following a move by the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s government to disqualify four of their fellow pro-democracy legislators. The 15 lawmakers announced the move in a news conference Wednesday, hours after the Hong Kong government said it was disqualifying the four legislators. The disqualifications came after China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, which held meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, passed a resolution stating that those who support Hong Kong’s independence or refuse to acknowledge China’s sovereignty over the city, or threaten national security or ask external forces to interfere in the city’s affairs, should be disqualified. Beijing has in recent months moved to clamp down on opposition voices in Hong Kong with the imposition of a national security law, after months of anti-government protests last year rocked the city. A mass resignation by the pro-democracy camp would leave Hong Kong’s legislature with only pro-Beijing lawmakers. The pro-Beijing camp already makes up a majority of the city’s legislature.

Iran sanctions continue (Foreign Policy) The Trump administration doesn’t intend to give up its “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran just because it lost an election. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on six companies and four people accused of supplying components to Iran Communication Industries, a company run by the Iranian military that is already under U.S. and EU sanctions. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the United States would continue to take action against those that support Iran’s “militarization and proliferation efforts.”

Frantic search after medicines vanish from Lebanon shelves (AP) She is a nurse at a Beirut hospital, and still Rita Harb can’t find her grandfather’s heart drugs. She has searched pharmacies up and down Lebanon, called friends abroad. Not even her connections with doctors could secure the drugs. Unlike many amid Lebanon’s financial crash, she can afford them—they just aren’t there. To get by, her 85-year-old grandfather is substituting his medicine with more pills of a smaller concentration to reach his dosage. That too could run out soon. Drugs for everything from diabetes and blood pressure to anti-depressants and fever pills used in COVID-19 treatment have disappeared from shelves around Lebanon. Officials and pharmacists say the shortage was exacerbated by panic buying and hoarding after the Central Bank governor said that with foreign reserves running low, the government won’t be able to keep up subsidies, including on drugs. That announcement “caused a storm, an earthquake,” said Ghassan al-Amin, head of the pharmacist syndicate. Lebanese now scour the country and beyond for crucial medications. The elderly ask around religious charities and aid groups. Family members plead on social media or travel to neighboring Syria. Expats are sending in donations. It’s the newest stage in the economic collapse of this country of 5 million, once a regional hub for banking, real estate and medical services. More than half the population has been pushed into poverty and people’s savings have lost value. Public debt is crippling, and the local currency plunged, losing nearly 80% of its value. The health sector is buckling under the financial strain and coronavirus pandemic.

‘Countdown to catastrophe’ in Yemen as U.N. warns of famine—again (Reuters) Millions of men, women and children in war-torn Yemen are facing famine—again, top United Nations officials warned on Wednesday as they appealed for more money to prevent it—again. “We are on a countdown right now to a catastrophe,” U.N. food chief David Beasley told the U.N. Security Council. “We have been here before ... We did almost the same dog-and-pony show. We sounded the alarm then.” The United Nations describes Yemen as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the people in need of help. “If we choose to look away, there’s no doubt in my mind Yemen will be plunged into a devastating famine within a few short months,” Beasley told the 15-member council. In late 2017, U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that Yemen was then facing “the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims”. “We prevented famine two years ago,” Lowcock told the Security Council on Wednesday. “More money for the aid operation is the quickest and most efficient way to support famine prevention efforts right now.”

[pjstafford]

Why I’m angry.

I haven’t written a pandemic blog in a while. Here’s the thing. When I really think about it, I’m fucking angry.

I live alone. I don’t live surrounded by beauty. I spent 2020 amazingly isolated. It got to me. I missed music live and intimate dinners with close friends and travel. I needed the world to open up. We all did.

I had a horrible reaction to a rubeola vaccination when I was a kid. I remember getting in the car and the next thing was days later, I was packed in ice and my mother was doing an alcohol rub to lower my temperature. I missed my kindergarten year of school and then had bouts and bouts and bouts of pneumonia. I’m really sensitive to any medication that dries out your sinuses. The only time I had surgery I had a severe reaction to the neuromuscular paralyzers they use so your nose don’t run. Apparently what they gave me to wake me up resulted in me throwing a nurse across the room. So with a emergency authorization of an experimental vaccine. I thought not. And I want to be really honest we cannot be sure if there might be some type of all impact twenty years from now to these vaccines. WE DONT KNOW. Hear what I said fully. I said we don’t know. What we do know is without them catastrophic deaths will occur and greater mutations would happen and there might not be a lot of us left at the end of the day. So there’s the fear of what we don’t know and the reality of the horror we ‘ve lived through. I still might not have taken it myself but, I wanted to be one of the ones that could go back into the world. I needed that. I couldn’t not vaccinate and keep isolating. So I took the vaccine.

I’m angry at the unvaccinated. Sure. But I have anger to spread around.

April. What a relief to be vaccinated! I’m less likely to die. I feel more comfortable when I do essential trips. My existential fears are mostly gone. Remember how good that felt?

May. Wait, I’m supposed to go out and eat in restaurants. Suddenly my existential fear is back. People being understanding that I needed to time to adjust but we were vaccinated people. Time to get back to normal! I am made to feel over cautious.

June. Ok. This is good. I’m meeting friends for coffee. I’m going to a museum with limited numbers. I know the vaccinated don’t have to wear masks but the unvaccinated do and there’s 50% vaccinated and no ones ask the maskless for proof of vaccination so everywhere there’s only one out of 20 wearing a mask and I’m wearing one so probably the unvax aren’t wearing masks and there’s variants and WHY ARENT WE ASKING THE UNMASKED FOR PROOF OF VACCINATION? What happened to the six feet isolation marks in the grocery stores? Is personal space a bad thing? But it’s cool for me. I’m protected right?

imagine if we had simply enforced unvaccinated have to wear a mask in June.

July. With 60% of the population vaccinated we declare an end to the pandemic. Everything is open no restriction. I even travel on a plane, march and chanted,. Everything’s back to normal!

Imagine if everything opened but we kept restrictions in place. What would you rather have-a one month bacchanalia and six more months of shut down? I would have been ok with outdoor concerts no more than 100 for a month, knowing I could travel safety, sit with a friend for a drink for months to come. We really needed lollapoolooza? Even if in September we are back in lockdown? That’s a good choice? Wild party with thousands for one month vs the possibility we might not have Thanksgiving dinner with family or friends. Did you know you were making that choice?

August. Well, there are break through infections but you won’t die. You will infect 7 other people. And the unvaccinated could die. Our hospitals are full so don’t get sick with anything else. Oh, that thing you missed concerts are being canceled because it turns out being outdoors with this variant isn’t safe, really, not in crowds. And the cases are rising and we are almost at January levels and another variant might come where vaccines will be less effective. That’s ok. Some of us will get a third shot. What about the kids who can’t be vaccinated? Oh they have to be back in school. We’ve given up even hybrid. Masks. Nah. Don’t worry about it. Wait. Didn’t we close down schools for a year to protect the children? First week of school. . 309 out of 1000 student body test positive. Entire district going virtual again. Wait. Couldn’t that have been predicted? ( not yet in NM in other states).

No closing down no matter what? Well that sounds like Trump era doesn’t it?

If they are not vaccinated they deserve to die! Well, no. Sorry. And about the strain on the health care system, our medical personnel, our children.

Well if it gets bad enough we can shut down. Doesn’t opening schools guarantee? Can we at least put the six feet guidelines back up in Walmart?

Today there are stories about how bad things are in Louisiana. I got a notice asking if I want to conference in person in New Orleans in Sept. No…it was virtual last year. Can’t do it twice in a year! But? Oh. My God, don’t get me started on holding Olympics this month.

If your vaccinated it’s unlikely you will be hospitalized. I think that’s great, but I had H1N i wasn’t hospitalized just out of work for six weeks with permanent lung scarring. So you can sometimes be pretty sick without hospitalizations.

I’m angry as fuck not just at the unvaccinated but at the stupid decisions along the way. I didn’t need a fucking free for all party for a month. I needed to know it would be safe to travel out of town in September, gather with friends for scary movie night in Halloween, spend time with love ones on Thanksgiving, attend an indoor Christmas concert in December. . I guess some people knew. We have a month. Let’s party like tomorrow the world ends. But it didn’t have to be that way. We didn’t have to be looking into the face of the potential for a prolonged shut down again. Not everyone could go see their love ones in July. When will they now? Couldn’t a little for a little bit be enough? Whether you’re vaccinated or not, if your a government official too fearful of Republicans to make cautious decisions or just the person insisting masks be damn let’s party with our 10,000 closest friends, you have been selfish. You have likely cost the rest of us what we most wanted for the rest of 2021. Our needs for the little we wanted to keep as normal matters to us as much as your party. Oh, and then there’s the deaths. So yep. I am fucking angry. There are a lot of selfish assholes in the world.

[marykayiscurrentlywriting]

Final Feature: Kids and the Zoomed Disaster

Before shelter-in-place, Guurtaj Buttar, a second grader at Guy Emanuele Elementary School, used to be proficient in both reading and writing. He is now below the first grade reading and writing level.

At Guy Emanuele Elementary, children are on Zoom for about three hours a day including breaks and a lunch.

There are roughly 30 children in each classroom. The average seven year old’s attention span is no longer than 20 minutes, so it’s no surprise that it makes parents worry about whether or not online learning is effective for young children.

“It takes up way too much of my time that I had to hire [a tutor],” said Simrat Buttar, Gurtaaj’s mother. “I can no longer do homework with him just by myself.”

Like Gurtaaj’s situation, it isn’t uncommon for children to fall behind during the pandemic. Students all over the world are struggling to pay attention during online classes, ultimately affecting their academic performance.

Gurtaaj has a tutor he sees three times a week, is brought to school for extra help during his online classes, and at one point, has even been seen by a therapist to evaluate if there’s a more serious issue than just being behind in reading and writing comprehension.

“This pandemic has seriously gotten me paranoid,” said Simrat. “Before the evaluation, I was convinced that Gurtaaj may have a learning disability. He cannot pay attention on Zoom at all!”

It turns out, the environment in which Gurtaaj is currently learning in is uncontrolled which makes the seven-year-old feel like school is optional. Gurtaaj often leaves in the middle of Zoom meetings to play with toys, eat a meal, or play with his dogs.

Even his teacher, Cynthia Gilmete, has noticed the issue with her other students. She noticed that almost all her students at some point get up to do something at least once each class period!

“I couldn’t do anything about it which frustrated me… so I came up with an effective tactic,” said Mrs. Gilmete.

Mrs.Gilmete found that implementing more breaks during her Zoom meets helps a lot with children who break off during class time. For every 20 minutes the children spend learning, a five minute break will be given after.

Doing the math, that would mean Gurtaaj would be learning for an hour and 40 minutes a day, or roughly eight hours a week, which is the time he would normally spend on a regular pre-COVID school day.

Simrat is not happy with that idea, and we can imagine that she isn’t the only parent that feels this way.

“I highly doubt they learn anything,” said Zhen Rong, a parent of two children at San Junipero Elementary School.

Like Gurtaaj, Zhen's two girls, Evie a fourth grader, and Savannah, a first grader, are in school for about two hours a day or less.

Savannah and Evie both tend to leave their Classroom meetings whenever they please. Zhen has seen Savannah make a bowl of cereal for herself while her class was being taught a lesson on numerous occasions.

When asked why Savannah thought it was okay to do that if she wouldn’t do it in in-person schooling, she replied “my teacher can’t stop me here!” And she has a point.

The feeling of an uncontrolled environment is a universal issue. Children simply know that they cannot get in trouble for leaving the frame of their laptop nor can the school necessarily enforce rules within the childrens’ homes.

There has also been research beyond being in an uncontrolled environment where young students lose their attention cycle.

In the scholarly article, “Internet Use and Child Development: The Techno-Microsystem,” curated by student Genevieve Marie Johnson at Grant MacEwan University, they conducted a study and discussed how the presence of technology can affect children’s development.

The study found that children that spent their time on the internet were less social, engaged in less physical activities, and weren't able to contain their emotions compared to those who didn’t spend time on the internet.

The article also comes up with a phenomenon in which they call the “technological ecosystem” in which they discovered that the internet creates consequences within the children’s environment.

The most interesting find was that children who spent time on their devices had a significantly lower ability to problem solve compared to the non-technological children.

“Something I’ve noticed is that this year, nearly half of my students are below their reading level,” said Tiene Hauck, a Chino Hills Elementary school teacher. “It’s a new record! And I’m very scared.”

Her main concern is how students, especially kindergarteners, will adapt once school is back to normal. Even parents feel this way.

COVID-19 has globally impacted the academic world. Consequences include a major setback in academic performance, stress on the teachers’ part for having to find methods for their students to be where they need to, and parents anxious that their child is behind.

"Pandemic politics, pedagogies and practices: digital technologies and distance education during the coronavirus emergency" is an article written by three authors, Ben Williamson, Rebecca Eynon & John Potter from Vol.45 of the Learning, Media, and Technology news journal. It discusses digital inequality, businesses seeing online learning as a sales opportunity, and the decentralization of education systems.

Focusing on the topic of digital inequality and students falling behind go hand-in-hand.

The world assumes that all young people are tech savvies or digital natives. This assumption isn't necessarily entirely true.

Education policy makers are beginning to realize that the assumption that young people understand the world of technology is wrong.

One student may know how to connect to the internet, but that doesn't mean that they are easily able to navigate their assignments. It gives a bigger chance for the student to have an excuse and give up on their work. Afterall, they're in an uncontrolled environment and the parents are probably just as confused if not more.

“Sometimes I’m late to class because of my Wi-Fi but my teacher marks me as tardy,” explained Savannah. “It’s not even my fault!”

These policy makers found that students are being excluded from their education because a few of them didn't have the luxury of technology in the first place.

Granted, many school districts are implementing technology regularly, such as loaning laptops to students, but that still isn't enough.

Low income families cannot afford Wi-Fi, and even after their loan is up for Wi-Fi or a laptop, the family will struggle to keep up with the technological world. The distance learning era is a push and struggle for low income families.

An academic setback isn’t the only concern for teachers, parents, and students.

Mrs. Hauck has been teaching for the last eight years and has seen an enormous difference with how her students behave and function, including social skills.

Social development in children is a big concern for those who have little ones who are currently enrolled in online school. In the research study, children who were exposed to technology much more than their other peers scored much lower on the social aspect, a score given by both the parent and teacher.

“I’m sure my 10-year-old [daughter] has social anxiety and this distance learning stuff is probably making it worse,” said Rong.

Rong isn’t the only parent that feels this way.

Students, no matter what age, feel the same way that their parents do.

Students may even feel that being at home away from others is their comfort zone, so much that they fear going back to in-person classes.

Of the three elementary school students that chose to speak about their classroom learning experience, two of them admitted that they’d rather stay on Zoom.

“Zoom is better because I’d rather go on Youtube than talk,” said Evie.

“No, I don’t want to go back [to school],” said Gurtaaj. “I like being at home because I’m scared my teacher will call on me in real class.”

The question now is how are schools going to transition back to in-person learning?

The New Haven Unified School District in Union City, C.A., sent out a survey to parents asking if they’d like hybrid, fully online, or fully in-person classes for the remainder of the school year and so forth.

According to the NHUSD superintendent’s newsletter, it has been reported that almost half of the parents who took the survey voted for hybrid learning which makes sense. These parents want balance between staying safe but also going back to how things originally were pre-COVID.

In early May, the district will go over social distancing protocols, train teachers in this new environment, and perform a test run. If hybrid learning does not go as planned, NHUSD will continue to be fully online until the next school year. Their school year ends in the last week of May when it normally ends in the last week of June.

Although this is the current learning environment California students are facing, there are other parts of the country where school is back to normal despite the mask fiasco.

States such as Florida, Arkansas, and New Hampshire have full in-person classes with no measures for safety protocol. Californians, however, don’t like the idea of fully opened schools.

“That’s a disaster. Those states have one of the lowest vaccination percentages. It’s irresponsible,” said Mrs. Gilmete.

So far the attitude of Californians is to be safe than sorry.

74% of elementary schools in California are still fully online, and although California holds the highest percentage of vaccinated individuals, it doesn’t mean much knowing children under the age of 12 are not able to be vaccinated yet.

The fate of new world education drives anxiety to students, teachers, and parents.

From Zoom meetings to hours of tutoring to Wi-Fi frustrations, nothing has prepared this world for e-learning.

Interview Source List

Gurtaaj and Simrat Buttar:

(510)557-91**

Savannah, Evie, and Zhen Rong:

(415)722-5800

Tiene Hauck:

(408)455-2050

Cynthia Gilmete:

c.gilmete@nhusd.ca.k12.us

[marinamitchellblog]

Week 4 Idependent Study

Collections Part 1 The real and the virtue describe the 2 ways of looking at collections and exhibitions of objects 1: Looking while being physically present in an actual exhibition space (The Real) 2: Being physically present looking into a digital, mediated exhibition space (The Virtual)  example : deep fakes , photogrammetry  Seph Rodney on the ‘new museology’ after covid really wants to escape looking at a screen virtual museums exist but still are heavily reliant on real physical museums because of the collection, preservation and interpretation of material things. The personalization of the Museum visit “the alchemy” of museums is to get someone who knows nothing about the collection to care. testing and  introducing ‘a new visual thinking process “What role do physical objects continue to play in our lived realities?” rodney argues golden age of museums and this is where; curating and classifying of objects in collections, along with their preservation and display, was the sole function of museums ideas of a ‘civic space” Delisse curates anthropological and art collections, she advocates for (and implements) the hacking of ‘new models of visual thinking and concept work’: “The metabolic museum” an era of  experimental, inter-displinary collaborative curating VR in covid times  big issue shared headsets identity and activism and the claiming of civic spaces virtually artists imagination building of a virtual world civic space as a speculative object virtual tours Can virtual spaces and collections relevant to marginalized groups participate fully in this civic space? yes gives opportunity to create new space of their own in society rather than trying to fit to a normalized civic space of restrictions that may alter the outcome of the work due to atmosphere Further Readings: 1. Seph Rodney. A Post Pandemic manifesto on looking + Black Market Reads podcast. transformation of curation in art museums didactic curation -self directed engagement care of objects education role and function of museums encourage public to care about the collection how they socialize and code behavior curators role - authoritive holds power curation and education combine new museology civic space work and home and the in-between curating curiosity meaningful experiences really construct a civic attitude 2. Rondopilot. Clémentine Deliss and the Metabolic Museum-University. idea of museum /university is carried by a new architectonic structure that enables people to study different subjects based around historical collections less collection work senses and visual thinking to fill space and surroundings curator vital not cosmetic functional necessity remarkably normative, right down to the way artworks are hung, the constructed timing of an exhibition, the periodization of installing, the manner one is allowed to engage with collections, and how the public is treated and responds to this. You change the activity and the visibility of what you do within each institution, in order to make it transform. You don't try to cure a museum with a museum. Instead you remediate it by introducing an outside interlocutor

3.   'Is there hope for virtual reality in Art and why Marina Abramovic and Jeff Koons are not the answer'.  “rising”mind blowing-ly daft example of how to take a worldwide crisis like global warming and make it entirely about yourself. experimental nature of work  inspired and influenced by an old game transported  eco -conscious If we’ve really reached the point where we need a virtual Jeff Koons sculpture of a metallic ballerina to help us love living … well, that’s goddamn depressing." “uses a fear of water as a metaphor for a kind of anxiety for the future” proponents of virtual reality insist that the medium is a groundbreaking force in expanding media’s empathic capabilities. what if this technology was ubiquitous, and not a novelty While we may feel a greater sense of empathic connection in virtual reality now, what happens when the medium becomes normal?

Part 2 The Man who never threw anything away- Ilya Kabakov Notes: labels sort and arrange garbage assumption that everyone accumulates some form of garbage whether that be papers at a desk or notes and receipts valuable memories keepsakes unforeseen occasions purges or you become engulfed relationship between saved or thrown away reinforces value and importance chains collections recollection significant personal individual attachment detached view sustainability why should common sense be stronger than my memories? reminds me of the quote another mans trash is another mans treasure boundless dump  preservation Ordinary things in ordinary places: Meditations on moving -Connie Brown kerry ann lee Notes: moving. frequent activity It demands efficiency, planning, focus questions of where I have been, who I have met, how I got here, how they helped me, and where I might head next. Photos, posters, newspaper clippings, scribbles, hand-written notes, cartoons and star-charts are among the “ordinary things” documentation The work makes reference to a common practice in the construction of public spaces wherein newspaper is used to conceal shop interiors from the street. not purely an act of concealment—it is foremost one of exhibition.  Lee lifted the narratives, people and relationships to which they gesture from the confinement and obscurity of the archive and into public view. This reversal—from obscurity to visibility—is characteristic of archival art. Lee’s work can be understood as an act of homage to the individuals and collectives who have played an indispensable role in Enjoy’s formation and development as it moves into its next phase mindless doodle in the margin of a page, has meaning beyond the action which brought it into being. totem of collective memory. whos looking at who concerned with how personal experiences and cultural histories interlock  how they are expressed or repressed in urban environments. how a space holds us Choose  examples of private or public collections of art and/or design objects. Describe their systems and modes of display. 1.Moths and butterflies, collectively called  Lepidoptera @ tepapa taxonomy free to view in person not to touch behind a palin of glass neatly pinned and mounted as a group pressumbly in some alabaetical or by type order no prior knowedgle small descriptions about the lepidoptera.collected to the  enriched entomological .from all over the world mainly  New Zealand, Australia, Europe, Pacific Islands, and Southeast Asia. 1800 named species, historical and scientific value (for example, the Hudson Collection), which were bequeathed to the Museum. Many other specimens were obtained by collecting expeditions to remote areas of New Zealand, 150 primary types researchers to study the composition, distribution, and ecology of the fauna educational and entertainment display purposes 2. Antique Vibrator Museum, San Francisco’s Sex Toy Attraction and collection/ a collection of vintage sex toys, with items dating back to the 1800s and going all the way up to the 1970s. display cabinets. dozens of styles of electric vibrators, just like those in our exhibit, were available to the discriminating medical professional." tell the story and history of female hysteria and medical tool for female disorders. left out newer addictions to the collection intentional to keep focus on the archive the old the origins.

[lewepstein]

The Practice of Mindfulness in Uncertain Times

How do we even begin to make sense of what is going on when so much is changing in our lives and around us all at once?  Does what would normally be considered sage advice sound trite when people are experiencing such different levels of danger related to COVID 19?  My concession to the pandemic is that I am not getting to see my grandchildren in the ways that I am accustomed to and my travel plans have been temporarily thwarted.  While this may feel like a deprivation to me, frontline health workers have had to self isolate and be apart from their families for extended periods of time while essential workers often live with daily risks of infection and the challenge of  protecting family members from exposure to the virus.  

Small businesses have had to shut down, some families cannot pay their bills and teachers are wondering about the risks they will face when schools reopen.  Parents who need to be at work are worrying about how they will manage if schools do not fully reopen in the fall.  For those who have lost their livelihoods, unemployment checks will eventually run out, and yet the economy may remain hobbled for years.  Many are grieving the loss of loved ones without the normal rituals that provide comfort and closure. And there are some who are experiencing multiple hits - the loss of loved ones, job loss, the threat of impending homelessnes and an inability to pursue  paths that they would normally take to improve their plight.  I also recognize that I am writing this article from a position of privilege and that mindfulness is not a primary focus when one’s survival feels threatened - especially in a society in which class and race are proving to be the primary determinants of who willl live and who may die.  

The confusion of the moment is further pronounced for African Americans, other people of color, immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community who have been on the front lines of the struggle for racial and gender justice under a regime that has continued to attack and marginalize them.  The deaths of African Americans -  a number of them murders at the hands of police - has mobilized massive, multiracial protests around the nation.  But, again, there is much uncertainty  about how all of this will play out and a broader reckoning around racial justice and inequality is simmering just below the surface.   If we add to this boiling cauldron our national elections in ninety days, with the most polarizing and lawless president in our nation’s history casting doubt on whether or not he will accept its results, our uncertainty and anxiety meters may have just crashed.  

But even under these terribly challenging circumstances and probably even more so because of them, I would argue that the practice of mindfulness can play an important role in our lives.  Mindfulness is no longer the province of the mystics as it once was nor can it simply be relegated to the arena of spirituality.  I view it as a universally available  resource and not the property of any one sect or society.  In our current era and in much of Western culture it has been secularized and mainstreamed, its concepts and practices overlapping with the world of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

There is no easy way to explain “mindfulness” that captures its essence, but Sharon Salzberg, renown Buddhist teacher makes a valiant effort in her masterful work on meditation titled, “Real Happiness.”

“Mindfulness allows us to watch our thoughts, see how one thought leads to the next, decide if we’re heading down an unhealthy path and, if so let go and change directions.  It allows us to see that who we are is much more than a fearful or envious or angry thought.  We can rest in the awareness of the thought, in the compassion we extend to ourselves if the thought makes us uncomfortable and in the balance and good sense we summon as we decide whether and how to act on that thought.” (In short, what Salzberg is talking about is: awareness, awareness and more awareness - a focal point of the all the world’s religions and spiritual traditions)

The following are some “principles” of mindfulness that intersect with the tenets of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and may be especially useful during these difficult  times:

This too shall pass. All external situations - including the current state of affairs in our country are in flux.  Our emotions are also impermanent, temporary states and that is why we need to dis-identify with them.  How we perceive and appraise our emotions can have a profound impact on how we feel and what actions we take in the next moment, hour and day.  

Anxiety and low mood are a big part of what people experience when dealing with the types of uncertainty that we are living through now.  Our conditioned response to these states is often aversion.  If we were to simply accept body and mind states and not attempt to push them away or suppress them we could greatly reduce our suffering.  Being able to tolerate a certain amount of distress can also be healing.

One alternative to aversion is investigation.  If we are willing to examine our discomfort mindfully, we may find our body and mind states less “solid” and more permeable.  This process of self examination can also be an exercise in self awareness.

Where there is anxiety and low mood there is often what CBT calls “Automatic Thoughts.”  The most common automatic thoughts and the ones that relate to uncertainty are: “Catastrophizing;”  “What-if Thinking;” “Negative Fortune Telling,” and “Emotional Reasoning” - imbuing our feelings with a meaning they may not have.  Just noting when we are engaging in these types of thoughts can raise our awareness, change our anxiety levels and alter our moods.    

Notice the choices we all make in how we appraise both the uncertainty in the world around us along with our body and mind states.  Be aware of the conclusions that you draw.  Are they “true” by some objective measure or are they our conditioned responses and projections?  Can you accept your emotions but sometimes dispute your thoughts?

We all need to avoid attaching labels to ourselves and the states that we are experiencing during these challenging times.  Rather than stating, “I am depressed,” or “I am an anxious person,” how about, “I am experiencing low mood or high anxiety now.”  These states continue to change from moment to moment and hour to hour.  More nuanced thinking allows us to see periods of our lives as a stack of photos rather than a. fixed and static period of time.

Taking action can also be therapeutic if it is done mindfully.  Commitment to personal goals that are congruent with one’s values are good to pursue even when one is experiencing stress and other types of emotional discomfort.   Political action can  be an antidote to learned helplessness if activists observe the wisdom of going into the heat of battle while keeping hearts and minds at peace.

Whatever is going on around us, we need to continue to do what psychologist Rick Hanson calls, “taking in the good” - staying with moments of pleasure and absorbing whatever is joyful and connecting with others helps to counter our hardwired “negativity bias.”  It is another road to mindfulness and healing that is based in science and brain research.

Getting back to examining our current uncertain times and our emotional response to it, isn’t it fair to question whether times haven’t always been uncertain, but in different ways during different eras.  Looking back at World War I and The Flu Pandemic of 1918, The Great Depression of the 1930s,  World War II, The Cold War, The Civil Rights Era and the Vietnam War, we can pose the question: were our grandparents, or our parents ever sure how things would turn out?  Or are we simply looking  at the human condition in which uncertainty is a part of life?  Something I have learned is that one thing we have a modicum of control over is the way that we respond to the events and situations that we are presented with.  As we wait for things to change and  participate in the changes that are occurring around us and within us may we be able to bring the gift of mindfulness into the mix.  

[impromptu-manifesto]

The Future of Travel in the age of COVID

The Future of Travel After the Coronavirus Pandemic

Travel and tourism will be changed forever. We asked seven leading thinkers for their predictions.

BY

JAMES FALLOWS, VIVEK WADHWA,  PICO IYER, ROLF POTTS, ELIZABETH BECKER, JAMES CRABTREE, ALEXANDRE DE JUNIAC

JUNE 13, 2020, 12:00 PM

EDITOR’S NOTE:

As we enter the first summer of this new era of pandemics, a tenuous easing of travel restrictions has begun. This month, the countries of the European Union will reopen their internal borders, and they plan to allow travel from outside the block some time in July. Singapore and China have begun permitting essential travel between them, but only for passengers who test negative for the coronavirus, use a contact-tracing app, and don’t deviate from their itinerary. Iceland will allow tourists, but it plans to test them for the virus at the airport.

Grounded for many months, airlines are beefing up their summer schedules—though the number of flights will be a fraction of their pre-pandemic frequency. Airports are still mostly ghost towns (some have even been taken over by wildlife), and international long-distance travel is all but dead. Around the globe, the collapse of the tourist economy has bankrupted hotels, restaurants, bus operators, and car rental agencies—and thrown an estimated 100 million people out of work.

With uncertainty and fear hanging over traveling, no one knows how quickly tourism and business travel will recover, whether we will still fly as much, and what the travel experience will look like once new health security measures are in place. One thing is certain: Until then, there will be many more canceled vacations, business trips, weekend getaways, and family reunions.

To look beyond the summer and help us think about how the pandemic will permanently change the way we travel, Foreign Policy asked seven prominent experts to look into their crystal balls.

The Collapse in Travel Will Bring Long-Term Changes

by James Crabtree, associate professor in practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and the author of The Billionaire Raj.

Just as mass unemployment leaves indelible scars on labor markets, so the current global travel collapse will bring long-term changes to patterns of international movement for both business and pleasure.Countries with strong pandemic records will deploy them as tourism marketing strategies: Discover Taiwan!

Airlines and hoteliers hope nascent “travel bubbles”—small groups of countries reopening borders only among themselves—and “green lanes” for pre-screened travelers, such as those with antibodies showing immunity to COVID-19, will allow a gradual re-opening. They also hope that roughly normal travel will then resume next year. More likely is that a new system of interlocking safe zones will operate for the foreseeable future, or at least until a vaccine is widely deployed.

Travel will normalize more quickly in safe zones that coped well with COVID-19, such as between South Korea and China, or between Germany and Greece. But in poorer developing countries struggling to manage the pandemic, such as India or Indonesia, any recovery will be painfully slow.

All this will change the structure of future global travel. Many will opt not to move around at all, especially the elderly. Tourists who experiment with new locations in their safe zones or home countries will stick to new habits. Countries with strong pandemic records will deploy them as tourism marketing strategies—discover Taiwan! Much the same will be true for business, where ease of travel and a new sense of common destiny within each safe zone will restructure investment along epidemiological lines.

The Pandemic Caused Us to Fast-Forward Into the Future

by Vivek Wadhwa, co-author of From Incremental to Exponential: How Large Companies Can See the Future and Rethink Innovation, to be published in September.

Over the past month, I’ve spent time with more CEOs than I would meet in a year. They were relaxed, engaged, and attentive. We could brainstorm on ideas for them to reinvent their companies without having gatekeepers or naysayers torpedo the discussions. These were the most productive talks I’ve had with C-level executives—and as you may have guessed, this was all done from the comfort of our homes.Our business meetings, family vacations, and leisure activities will increasingly move into virtual worlds.

Two months ago, it would have been inconceivable to be meeting over Skype or Zoom; now it is the norm. The pandemic caused us to fast-forward ten years into the future and there is no turning back. This is the way a lot of business communications will stay.

We may not realize it, but the videoconferencing technologies we are using are right out of science fiction. Remember the TV series The Jetsons? We now have the videophones that George and Judy used.

The next leap forward will come from virtual reality, which is advancing at breakneck speed and will take us by surprise. Our business meetings, family vacations, and leisure activities will increasingly move into virtual worlds. A trip to Tahiti or Mars, perhaps? The holodecks from Star Trek are on their way.

Travel Could Become Unaffordable for Many

by Elizabeth Becker, the author of Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism.

Overnight, much of the world went from over-tourism to no tourism. Since then, locals have seen how their lives have improved without those insane crowds: clear skies with vistas stretching for miles, a drastic reduction of litter and waste, clean shorelines and canals, and a return of wildlife.Whatever our income level, travel will take a greater slice of our disposable income.

But business after business went broke without those tourists, revealing how much the global economy depends on non-stop travel. The economic devastation will mean far fewer people can afford to travel. Whatever our income level, travel will take a greater slice of our disposable income.

So be prepared for two dramatically different trends.

Some national and local governments will redesign their tourism strategies to keep down crowds, keep more money in the local economy, and enforce local regulations including those protecting the environment. Many health protocols will become permanent.

Other governments will compete for the shrinking tourist dollar by racing to the bottom, allowing the travel industry to regulate itself, using deep discounts to fill hotels and airplanes and revive over-tourism.

Smart travelers will trust places with good governance and health systems. They will take fewer trips and stay longer. They will see this pandemic as a forecast of what’s to come from the climate crisis. They will act like responsible citizens as well as passionate travelers.

The Freedom to Travel Is Vital to the Post-Pandemic Recovery

by Alexandre de Juniac, the director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and a former CEO of Air France-KLM.

It’s too early for long-term predictions, but when the first travelers return to the skies, they will find measures that have become commonplace adapted to flying: reduced personal contact, enhanced sanitization, temperature checks, and social distancing. And where sufficient distance isn’t possible—onboard aircraft or in airports—masks will be required.Measures that have become commonplace will be adapted to flying: reduced personal contact, enhanced sanitization, temperature checks, and social distancing.

Within days of 9/11—the last great inflection point for aviation—flying resumed securely. But two decades later, we are still ironing out some of the inconsistencies and inefficiencies of security procedures. This time, months of being mostly grounded have given the airline industry more time to plan and prepare.

With the support of IATA and others, the International Civil Aviation Organization developed a global restart plan to keep people safe when traveling. Restart measures will be bearable for those who need to travel, with universal implementation the priority. It will give governments and travelers the confidence that the system has strong biosafety protections. And it should give regulators the confidence to remove or adjust measures in real time as risk levels change and technology advances.

The freedom to travel will be vital to the post-pandemic recovery. My hope is that we will come out of the crisis with a better passenger experience by moving people through airports more efficiently and increasing confidence in health safety. I am optimistic that this will be a winning result for travelers, governments, the airline industry, and the economy.

We Forgot How Fundamental Travel Was to Modern Life

by James Fallows, a staff writer for The Atlantic and the co-author, with Deborah Fallows, of Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America.

Because the process of travel was so routine and often so aggravating, people of the pre-pandemic era rarely concentrated on how fundamental that process—high-volume, high-speed, relatively low-cost human movement—was to the very idea of being modern.What might be lost with a long interruption in easy-connectedness is only now becoming evident.

Students took it for granted that they could aspire to an academic program in a different region, country, or continent—and still go back to visit their families. People who had emigrated permanently, or left their countries for a few years of work or adventure, knew that their homeland was still in relatively quick reach. Children saw their grandparents up close. Families could gather for weddings, births, graduations, funerals. Businesspeople from remote locations went to conventions and conferences to make deals and coordinate plans. The world’s cultural and touristic attractions became open to people from all corners of the globe. For Americans, air travel and international exposure were once such rarities that the now-absurd-sounding term “jet set” actually meant something when it was coined in the 1950s. The commodification of travel allowed people of ordinary means to compose a “bucket list” of sights they wanted to see—and to assume they’d be able to.

Before the lockdown, it was easy to recite all the harm mass travel had done, from the throngs overwhelming Venice or Machu Picchu to the standardization of hotel-and-airport life worldwide. What might be lost with a long interruption in easy-connectedness is only now becoming evident.

There Will Be a Boom in Domestic Travel

by Rolf Potts, the author of four books, including the bestselling travel-philosophy primer Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel.

One startling detail about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is that areas with concentrated outbreaks are called hot spots—which is exactly the same phrase the commercial travel industry has used to denote popular and fashionable destinations. This uncomfortable parallel reminds us that travel, in our globalized era, enabled the spread of the virus in a historically unprecedented way.I doubt the desire to go to so-called hot spots or top-ten-list destinations will drive the next wave of travel.

For many people, travel is synonymous with vacations—and that’s fine, but somehow I don’t see vacationers as the model for post-pandemic travel. A constant source of travel headlines in recent years has been tourist overcrowding in places such as Venice and Bali, and I doubt the desire to go to so-called hot spots or top-ten-list destinations will drive the next wave of travel. It will be the desire simply to go, and to figure things out along the journey. Think road trip or backpacking adventure, not package tour.

No doubt the new world of travel will see a boom in domestic travel. Many will go by van or recreational vehicle—and that makes sense, given that one is a lot more self-contained when one travels that way. International travel will also return—and it will be pioneered not just by savvy backpackers and independent travelers going on their own pace and seeing how the journey plays out, but also by working-class folks around the world seeking out family back home, whether that’s in Nigeria, Ecuador, or Poland.

We Will Keep Traveling Because Curiosity Cannot Be Expunged

by Pico Iyer, the author of 15 books that have been translated into 23 languages, most recently Autumn Light and A Beginner’s Guide to Japan.

For all our good intentions, we are creatures of habit—and of increasingly diminished attention spans. And COVD-19 has reminded us how little we can confidently say about tomorrow, or even tonight. But my suspicion is that, for better and worse, we will be traveling—and living and making predictions—in June 2021 much as we did in June 2019. For better and worse, we will be traveling in June 2021 much as we did in June 2019.

To some extent, we have to. I was obliged to take three flights in the middle of the pandemic, from Osaka to Santa Barbara, where my 88 year-old mother had just emerged from hospital. A few weeks earlier, I had to fly from Japan to California—for a day—for a public event to which I had long been contractually committed. 

It would be a blessing for the environment if we all traveled less. And anxiety about travel will be greater next season, and prices higher. 

But globalism, having spread from person to person for so long, cannot be reversed. 

Cultural curiosity cannot be expunged. My trips to North Korea have shown me what happens when people cannot get to see the world first-hand.

[theseadagiodays]

April 13, 2020

Interstices

Definition: an intervening time or space

Synonym: Aperture - an opening or gap

Gap - a space or pause between two things

Pause - a suspension of movement or activity

Space - a continuous area or expanse which is free and available

Whether our rhythms have slowed or accelerated in this moment, we all currently sit at an interstices.  A place in time between what came before and what comes next.  An uncomfortable spot for most of us, because humans habitually seek certainty.  But this time is also an opening, an opportunity where we can be free to explore new ways of being.  A time to suspend old habits, and invite shifts in perspective.  In some schools of Buddishm, they have a term for such in-between times.  “Bardo is an intermediate, transitional, or liminal state between death andrebirth.  A state of great potential for liberation, since transcendental insight may arise with the direct experience of reality” Wikipedia

But most of us resist making space in our schedules because it gives too much room to look at the bold truth of our lives.  Like the clear expanse of a mirror, this time is revealing much that we need to remember, but also much that we don’t want to see.  The decreased GHG’s from limited transport have clarified our skies and caused animals to rapidly return where humans had previously dominated.  The gardens we’d neglected are being tenderly tilled.  And the friends we’d forgotten for decades are reaching out to reminisce.  But the work that does not feed our souls, or the incessant self-deprecating thoughts, or the spouse who irritates us (speaking generally of course), or the wallpaper we regret having bought, all glare us in the face daily and force us to reflect on our real priorities and desires.  However, all at once, this can be too much for us to take in.

I remember a Vancouver talk, on my birthday in 1998, where the Tibetan monk, Chogyam Trungpa said it amazed him “how much North Americans busied their lives so as not to know themselves”.    If this is true, it strikes me that in order to assuage our fears about looking at the skeletons in our own empty closets, perhaps we can try to look at space entirely differently.

In music, space or silence can be incredibly potent.  Violinist, Isaac Stern describes music itself as “that little bit between each note—the silences which give the music form.”  One of my favorite composers, Arvo Part is a master of silence.  The pauses in many of his halting melodies require the listener to become an active participant - to fill the space with their own interpretations,  just as we can do during this time.   His Psalom for strings is a mesmerizing example of such writing.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Ssbik_dmY

Visual artists have also created substantive beauty from negative space. The images below play with absence and presence, illustrating that our perception can entirely shape what we choose to see.  Similarly, if we can stretch our understanding of what is currently missing from our lives to recognize the space this allows for other things to present themselves, it may fortify our patience and acceptance with the way things are.

But if none of this brings solace during challenging times, and we still need to cling to hope, we can remember that, invariably, after rest always comes activity.  Bamboo is a prime example of this, as noted in this proverb about the slow but mighty grower, “the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps.”

So, if we emerge from COVID anything like North America emerged from the 1918 flu epidemic, maybe we can finally look forward to an era where flapper dresses come back.  I know that I’d personally find the next Roaring Twenties a welcomed resurgence.  

April 14, 2020

Finding Stillness in Uncertainty

For hours last Tuesday, in a persistent drizzle and strong wind, I wandered my neighborhood aimlessly with a broken umbrella, mourning the shut restaurants, scared faces, and unhugged friends I hadn’t seen in weeks.

But today, the air is still and warm, and the scent of pregnant magnolias saturate my senses while I bathe in birdsong.  

Photo by my friend Cheryl’s 12-year-old son, Noah

Such is the mercurial nature of life in this pandemic.  Still, as best I can, I try to walk my talk.  Be the master of my own attitude.  Contribute where I can.  Live mindfully and gratefully.  But some days this is much harder than others.  However lately, Vancouver’s unseasonable summer weather has made this infinitely easier.  As someone who suffers from seasonal effective disorder, and who’s had a love/hate affair with my rainy though lush city, it makes me realize how important it is to find conditions condusive for optimal living. With the improved weather and a large park right behind my home, I am enticed to greet each morning with a slow, present-minded walk.  A moving meditation.  

I have also been grateful for the opportunity to lead weekly guided meditations for my husband’s work team.  His colleagues are front-line workers of a different sort.  They run our local transit system which is still critically needed by those who must continue to work in public settings, or who do not have the privilege of their own vehicle.  But with covid-fear and enforced social distancing measures, Translink is losing $3 million a day in ridership fees.  So, they are under enormous stress to adjust their service plans, make difficult decisions about lay-offs, and continue to try and plan for a very uncertain future.   However, it heartens me to know that people who find themselves even more work-burdened during this crisis still recognize the need to slow down, even for brief moments, in order to be more productive later. So, I thought I’d share a recording of one of these sessions, which people can follow at home.  It is less than 15 minutes long, just short enough to carve out of any day but still possible to dramatically alter your nervous system.

https://youtu.be/x2fjRvBB6x0

And finally, this poem by Martha Postelwaite speaks to the gifts stillness can bring.

Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently, until the song that is your life falls into your own cupped hands and you recognize and greet it. Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world so worth of rescue.                       -   Martha Postlewaite

April 15, 2020

Timely Artists’ Responses

I am normally a minimal social media user.  However, ironically, my Facebook and Instagram feeds have been my saving grace during this period.  This is probably helped by the fact that, over the years, rather than racing to accumulate friends, I have mostly only followed those people in my life who I trust to direct me to moments of grace and beauty.   Consequently, many of the links in this blog have come from my own community of thoughtful, kindness-oriented, arts-minded friends and family to whom I’m hugely grateful.

Some of my friends are the actual creators of these daily doses of inspiration.  Like my Toronto-based buddy, Lorne Bridgman (https://lornebridgman.com), whose in-demand work has graced the covers of En Route (Air Canada’s in-flight magazine), Monocle, and Travel & Leisure.  (A coup for us, since way back in 1997, we were probably the only people who ever landed him as a wedding photographer). Fittingly, his stirring nighttime images of abandoned playgrounds during the pandemic tell a very powerful story.

I have been keeping my own mental ledger of these “never before corona” scenes (like our yellow-taped playgrounds) which I observe every day.  The most striking of these I captured with my iphone just yesterday.  These four beachcombers appear to be metred-out models of social distancing with their perfectly proportioned pose.

Artists the world round are similarly documenting this time through a variety of expressive mediums.  Below, are a few of the most creative that I’ve discovered so far.

The New York Times delivers again, with 17 Artists Capture a Surreal NY from their Windows

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/16/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc-illustrators-window.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage

Katherine Lam, Queens, NY

Or this Beijing-based British map artist, who instead of his elaborate filligried-illustrations of sprawling urban areas, now maps what’s between his four walls.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/gareth-fuller-maps-coronavirus-quarantine/index.html

Globally, graphic designers have also used their talents to advocate, provoke, or amuse: https://www.dezeen.com/2020/03/18/coronavirus-covid-19-graphic-design-illustration/?fbclid=IwAR3bUYBwSkCtlj_yhlDkvUtGOFBDBJGMYXiDl3do74Gqm4JdHbkxTET48H8

Oliver Jeffers, beloved Irish children’s author and illustrator

And for 80’s kids like me, this new release, No Time to Love Like Now, from an old fave, REM’s Michael Stype, sends a sparsely-layered musical message from his home studio that feels highly appropriate for the times:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=MYgpEcXf2S4&feature=emb_logo

Finally, as I’ve stretched my social-media muscles, I confess that I’ve even ventured to Twitter and Tik Tok at times.  Most of us over-30 have probably been oblivious to the phenomena of social-media influencers, like the 15-year-old "reigning queen of TikTok", Charli D’Amelio, whose whether-you-like-it-or-not, down-to-earth appeal and smooth moves have charmed 48 million followers! But, as vacuous as many of her make-up tutorials have been, she is now using her reach for good with her originally choreographed Distance Dance which, for everyone who posts their own #distancedance video, will trigger Proctor & Gamble to donate to one of a variety of non-profits feeding those most vulnerable and hit hard by the virus.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS6913bBVek

April 16, 2020

Home Cooking

I truly believe that we all have an “inner artist” if we just find ways to tap it.  But it saddens me to hear how quickly many people say they have “no talent”.  Creativity is not magic.  It’s what humans have harnessed since time immorial to survive, adapt, and thrive.  Creativity also increases exponentially when there are constraints on our resources. The elegance of a haiku is a pure example of this.  Limited to just 5, 7, & 5 syllables per line, this simple container lends itself to essential and beautiful nuggets of expression accessible to all.  Here’s a timely one from the #quarantinehaikus project that I mentioned earlier:

I’m in quarantine But all my ideas are not. This month, they happen.

Similarly, another creative pursuit that has most given humans a window into their own creativity is the culinary arts.  Sure, for some their adventures as gourmands consist of little more than ramen, canned tuna, a boiled egg and Dijon mustard for a pantry version of Julia Child’s Salad Nicoise.  But quarantined living is certainly inspiring more imagination in the kitchen than usual. Though this expression may be overused, “necessity is the mother of invention” has perhaps never been more universally true.  However, if you’re trying to limit your grocery trips to once per week, and your mind happens to draw a blank when you open your cupboard, here are dozens of recipes that you can try with what you might likely already have on hand:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/topics/self-quarantine-recipes

My own constant culinary muse is my great friend, Belkis, whose Instagram page, Epicurious Travelista (below) is a visual and delectable treat.  Most of her images include recipes.  And while they might look elaborate, and sometimes indeed they are (this is a woman unafraid of churning her own butter, or making her own tortillas from scratch), her resourceful Honduran roots influence many exquisite meals that she makes from only a few simple ingredients.  So, for those wanting to spread their chef’s wings a bit wider, you can check out her page here:

https://www.instagram.com/epicurious_travelista/

April 15, 2020

Zoom Masters

Of course, Zoom has been the victor and the enemy in this digitally-dependent time, both allowing multi-generational families to share seders, while at the same time stealing private details from citizens.  But one can not deny that the extent to which people have exploited this format for good has been inspiring.  I’m biased towards the musical collaborations that the format has spawned.  But don’t be fooled.  This technology, designed for one-speaker-at-a-time, does not render performances like the one below, easily.  Each frame has to be recorded separately (with consistent click tracks, to keep everyone in time), and then carefully edited together in post-production. These are highly stylized efforts. And this one takes it to another level with its choreographic complexity.  So, while I wish everyone to have a weekend where they can Get Down, Stay Down, here’s a treat to enjoy:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/8/21213608/coronavirus-zoom-music-video-thao-and-the-get-down-stay-down?fbclid=IwAR3PIGg8lcGMLgQrJGISDcjrRbcy3eQG2XI-sqbc-BOGs5f8s5PNRPf54H4

[thelmasirby32]

Five great display and video advertising tactics to increases relevance and revenue in a cookie-less world

30-second summary:

Display and video advertising already have tactics that can be highly effective in a cookie-less world.

Contextual advertising is going to rise, as users will be in the right state of mind to interact with the brands’ ads.

Content sponsorship is going to build strong relationships between brands and consumers, as the values and purpose of each brand will be transmitted to the audience in a non-aggressive sales-y way.

Channel integration can become the norm as channels can support each other through insights.

User-based targeting will still allow for personalization with the consent of the user.

Let’s face it. The world is going through difficult times, and so is every method of advertising. People are suspicious and don’t trust advertising, thinking that ads may lead to fraud or that advertisers act only to their own benefit and that the consumers will get no value out these promotional banners sitting around the content they visit. They get annoyed when video advertising interrupts their user experience popping up or getting in the way of their desired content.

Things get worse when the ads are totally irrelevant to the user’s interests, which results in total waste of money. Things got a bit better with cookies, as we could target specific audience segments based on their demographics and browsing behavior so that the ads where tailored to their state of mind and interests but in a soon-to-be cookie-less world? Are we back to zero?

Fear not. During the past few years, the targeting technology and tactics became much more sophisticated and we can use numerous methods to target our audiences with relevant only ads and at the same time comply with the new GDPR normal.

Below are five must-have tactics around display and video advertising to smoothly transition to the post-cookie era.

Well, there are no must-dos in life, but realistically these will definitely make your life a lot easier and your ads will create only positive relationships with your audience. Anyway, cookies matching (the process of syncing cookies data so that Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) and Data Management Platforms (DMPs) know that they are dealing with the same user) isn’t exactly perfect. So let’s see the positive side. It’s our chance to get closer to our goal to increase relevancy, please customers, and drive sales.

1. Contextual targeting

Why?

Back to zero? Not quite.

Yes, keyword or contextual-based advertising is an old tactic, I am not talking about the invention of the wheel. But: nowadays we can use Programmatic buying. With cookie-based targeting, ads about martech platforms would keep following you around the web. But this is not you. You are more than that. You like fitness, food, minimalism, whatever.

How?

With contextual targeting through programmatic, you will be able to display your ads only when your audience is in a relevant state of mind across hundreds of sites at the same time. So when you’re looking for healthy recipes in food websites, you will see ads for organic products and when you will be reading about the future of digital advertising, you will see ads of a new analytics platform.

So what?

So the ads will be relevant to the web environment you’re currently consuming and consumers will feel more comfortable to convert, as they will see the ads as an extension of the content they are already looking at. Contextual advertising works well for all the stages of the purchase journey, as high impact formats (large sizes or video) but also native ads-teasers can be used to increase awareness and memorability and click-throughs respectively.

2. Content sponsorship

Why?

Yes. It works. People want to get value from the brands, and this is how they get to trust them. Consuming educational content brings us closer to the bran’s values, we see the world through their eyes and therefore we decide to follow them or not. Have you ever made friends without listening to them talking first?

How?

Especially during the pandemic, people started educating themselves on numerous topics that don’t necessarily have to do with their job. They love reading about how they can make their life easier. And they trust someone’s content especially when they are not trying to directly sell or only sell a product without justifying it. To my opinion, content must be branded but should be consumer-centric at the same time. These are some questions you should seek to answer through your content.

What are the benefits of the product/service?

How does it fill someone’s needs?

Does it add value to someone’s life/daily routine?

This is exactly our time as advertisers to elaborate on the challenges that our audience can overcome by using the product. This is our time to be where our consumers are and consume content, to show that we care, and we give, and this is a win-win game. And that the more we win, we commit that the more we will give.

So what?

Brands that get personal like the P&G ads are amazing. Have you seen them? They celebrate women’s/mums’ roles and contributions to society. They speak the truth, they make people relate to the content. Also, going back to my point on the pandemic now, people appreciated it so much the brands that collaborated with each other for a good cause, the brands that offered, the brands that supported also financially the situation.

Why? Because we all want to feel that someone is there for us, that brands don’t care only for their profits. So if I’m going to give my money for a product anyway, I will choose one that we have the same beliefs with.

3. Channel collaboration

Why?

And here it comes. Your boss, your client come to ask for channel integrated campaigns. They want to see how everything works together towards the same goal. They don’t like fragmented budgets anymore, as the ad investment comes from one pot and there’s one person managing all the channels so there’s no point in delivering multiple media plans.

How?

Use every channel’s success or failure (this is still a very useful insight!) to contribute to the success of other channels. For example, look at search engine marketing (SEM) like paid search or SEO to find the most successful keywords, and then implement these in your display and video contextual strategy.

So what?

In other words, what I strongly recommend is to use the terms that your customers are using in their search before they convert, to open up to new audiences in relevant webpages. This way, you can have an online presence in relevant environments, with high impact display formats and videos to increase awareness when your audience is at the right state of mind.

4. User-based targeting

Why?

This is not something new, the big platforms are already doing this and it’s an amazing source of data that I don’t think we made the most of, because we were mostly relying on cookies (that, let’s face it, wasn’t 100% accurate anyway). These data sets are quite accurate as they rely on information that the users give through forms and actions and not on our interpretation of their browsing history.

How?

This is essentially targeting through the user id on the respective platform. Users give their details and create profiles so that they get access to various platforms or make purchases to numerous websites. This way the brand can target the ideal users with cross-device recognition, using first-party data.

So what?

Who doesn’t want a consistent experience while interacting with a brand across multiple devices? Again, this is a win-win game when implemented effectively, as the brands do not waste budget while targeting the users isolating every device and at the same time the users are being targeted with the most appropriate message depending on the stage of the funnel that they are. Plus it improves personalization.

5. Sequential targeting

Why?

How many times have you noticed a specific car model in the streets after you talked about it for the first time with your friends? It’s not that all these cars magically appeared in front of you after your conversation. It’s that this car is now familiar to you, so it’s easy to notice it. Humans like what looks or sounds familiar. The brain wants to spend as little energy as possible so if it’s something already known, it’s easier to identify and memorize. That’s why we need sequential advertising in our lives.

How?

First-party data allow also for sequential targeting, which is a marketing technique that uses a sequence of ads to tell a story and convince the audience to convert over time, across different devices. The creatives used for sequential targeting should have the same look and feel so that the consumer feels familiar with them and also recalls the brand’s image but should be evolved as we walk down the funnel. The sequence is device agnostic when a user is logged in through their account, which means that shifting between devices doesn’t affect that strategy, it even enhances the experience. Someone may see an ad on their smartphone and then the second in order ad may appear the next day on their laptop.

So what?

It has been observed that awareness can be vastly increased through high impact sequential ads. For instance, Google’s research in partnership with Ipsos on sequential videos revealed a 74% ad recall lift and 30% purchase intent uplift compared to standalone video advertising. The sequential messaging drives also high-quality leads as they guide the user down through the funnel to convert.

The sequential tactic is highly effective as most consumers use multiple digital devices before making a purchase or using a service. This strategy increases visibility, as people notice a brand more when its ads appear on multiple devices and they seem familiar, plus you allow your audience to interact with your brand through their platform of choice and it prevents ad fatigue. It’s of no wonder why this tactic presents increasing CTR.

Into the technicalities now

In digital display and video advertising, I would recommend for the sequential path to involve three stages of content.

Stage one – the user sees an ad that is usually more generic, it introduces them to the brand or service

Stage two – includes ads that educate around the brand or service advertised and present briefly the benefits and happy results of using it

The first two stages should invite the user to learn more about the product and get to know the brand if needed so that they walk through the consideration phase. For these purposes, the first (or second too) stage can well be represented by a video. The videos are well known as being highly memorable and impactful, so this is what the user needs at this stage.

Stage three – ad with a strong call to action, an invitation for the audience to use the product and purchase, sometimes even offering a discount

Naturally, the call-to-action in each stage will change depending on what action we want the person to perform (Learn more Vs Buy now).

Conclusion

Therefore, it’s not the end of the world, it’s the end of a technology that worked for long but now it’s time to move on to new relationship structures, just like societies do. Because it’s time for the brands to build honest and transparent relationships with consumers, which is going to lead to stronger trust in advertising. And this is a good thing.

Anastasia-Yvoni Spiliopoulou is a Global Digital Media expert. She has recently launched her new online course in digital display and video advertising for corporates and individuals.

The post Five great display and video advertising tactics to increases relevance and revenue in a cookie-less world appeared first on Search Engine Watch.

from Digital Marketing News https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2020/08/24/five-great-display-and-video-advertising-tactics-to-increases-relevance-and-revenue-in-a-cookie-less-world/

[ecoorganic]

'It's a F------ Mess': How and Why Football Conferences Are Arriving at Opposing Medical Conclusions

How is it that the Big Ten and Pac-12 deemed it too unsafe to play this fall based on medical experts, but others are pressing on?

The first thing to pop into Greg Stewart’s mind was an anxiety-filled question.

Why did they shut down?

This was Tuesday, a

historic day in college football, when storied college conferences, the Big Ten and Pac-12, announced the cancellation of fall football. Stewart, the team doctor at Tulane, doesn’t exactly remember where he was or what he was doing. He does, however, remember what he said internally.

“Is there something that they know that we don’t?” asks Stewart, the American Athletic Conference’s lead COVID-19 medical chief. “When someone in the Power 5 shuts down, I need to understand the why. If it’s something we haven’t thought about, then that’s important. It’s not a resource thing, so what is it?”

The data, aside from variations in regional virus case numbers, is virtually the same. For the most part, schools are adhering to the same testing, quarantine and mitigation protocols. In fact, COVID-19 numbers on many teams seemed to have leveled off over the last several weeks. Some programs had even started fall camp—without much issue—and many others were easing into a more normal preseason practice regimen.

The Big Ten, just six days before the shutdown, had announced its 2020 schedule, and the Pac-12 had released its conference-only slate just five days before that. When they both pulled the figurative trigger on a 2020 fall football season, the dominoes that many expected to follow—the Big 12, then the ACC, then everyone else—never toppled.

While the medical boards advising the Big Ten and Pac-12 recommended halting activities, similar medical panels for the other six conferences supported those leagues plowing ahead. There were sparring statements from each side. “In my view, no reasonable-minded individual could have listened to the facts presented by our medical experts and believed that we had any other option at this time,” USC athletic director Mike Bohn said in a letter to fans after the Pac-12 canceled its fall season.

That same day, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and his presidents decided to continue toward a fall season. “Reasonable people can disagree on it,” he said. “The Pac-12 and the Big Ten are seeing much of the same information that we're seeing. But our board believes in our scientists and has come to a conclusion that is different and so have the leadership of the SEC and the ACC.”

How is this possible?

A host of medical professionals spoke to Sports Illustrated in an attempt to answer that question. They include Pac-12 and Big Ten physicians who gave the shutdown recommendation, SEC and AAC medical advisers who favor a march forward, one of the NCAA’s top COVID-19 experts and various independent practitioners.

BARNHART: Will Myocarditis Be Game-Changer for ACC, Big 12, SEC Too?

So what’s the answer to that question? There isn’t one. There are several. Why two medical boards ruled quite the exact opposite of others, with the same data, in the same country, about the same sport, while performing the same protocols, is not easily explained.

In such a vast nation with differing cultural ideals and local policies, factors include regionalization and politicization. But one of the most pertinent answers to the question? Risk tolerance.

“The other conferences all understand there is a high risk,” says Boris Lushniak, a member of the Big Ten’s COVID-19 advisory group and squarely in the camp against playing a fall season. “They think they can deal with it. Do they have the answer to the unknowns? They really don’t, which means it’s on the spectrum of risk-taking behavior.

“I can’t tell people, ‘You are doing the wrong thing.’ What I can tell people is, ‘You’re doing a risky thing.’”

*****

If the SEC kicked off the season this weekend, Catherine O’Neal doesn’t know if she’d approve such an endeavor. And that’s O.K., because the SEC does not play a game this weekend. Nor does it play a game next week or even in a month. That’s why the SEC, unlike its western and midwestern brethren, hasn’t shut down athletics. Using a patient and phased approach, the league isn’t skipping steps. Voluntary summer workouts turned into required workouts which became enhanced training and, next week, will arrive at full-contact practice.

The league’s medical panel cleared teams for each one of the steps. It has not yet cleared the conference to play a season.

“I can’t speak for the other medical task forces, but from our perspective, our questions have been very cautious about what is happening today and what’s happening the next couple of weeks,” says O’Neal, an infectious disease physician in Baton Rouge and the leading voice on the league’s medical panel. “We haven’t dared to address what’s happening in a month or two months. We say that every time we meet: ‘Things are going to change so rapidly. Let’s proceed cautiously and re-evaluate.’

“I have to assume from media releases that the other conferences decided to have a more long-term perspective: ‘This doesn’t seem like we can do it,’” O’Neal says. “From our perspective, we haven’t addressed that long-term view as a medical task force.”

The Big Ten’s timeline was on a different track than the SEC, which is kicking off its conference-only season Sept. 26. The Big Ten was scheduled to kick off Sept. 3, while the Pac-12 had the same kickoff date as the SEC.

Lushniak, the dean of public health at Maryland and the former acting surgeon general, describes the timing of the decision as necessary for a preparation perspective. Big Ten teams were entering or had already started fall camp.

The Big Ten’s decision, while encompassing several considerations, centered clearly around one issue: the fear of the unknown. Recovered COVID-19 patients, even young athletes, are experiencing lingering impacts to vital organs, most notably the heart, details of which were reported Sunday in SI.

During joint calls with Big Ten leaders, physicians didn’t have answers to questions about this issue and others, says Lushniak. Why? He says there are no real answers to particulars about a virus that was introduced to the world just eight months ago. “As a physician, it’s really what I don’t know about the virus that scares me. I don’t know long-term health effects,” he says. “What’s it do to that athlete’s heart? I can’t just say, ‘Go out and play this game and put yourself at higher risk.’”

Amesh Adalja is a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University and an infectious disease physician who sits on the NCAA COVID-19 advisory panel. He acknowledges that risk tolerance is a significant part of the decision making. “Any activity we do in the era of the pandemic is going to be dictated by what risk tolerance you personally have.”

Universities are sprinkled throughout the nation in regions that are culturally and politically dissimilar from one another. The debate over college athletics is, in a way, a microcosm of society in general. Reopening segments of the economy come with their own risks. The latest example of such is the return of secondary and primary education. Some school districts are returning to classes—a risk—while others are continuing virtual learning—little risk.

This works at the college level, too. In fact just Thursday, Stanford announced it would not open campus for any in-person classes this fall. Meanwhile, the University of Florida will soon welcome more than 50,000 students back to campus. Not-so-coincidentally, Stanford is located in the heart of Pac-12 country on the west coast and Florida is an SEC powerhouse in the Deep south.

A color-coded map identifying states by their football situation shows a striking similarity to a map you might see on an election night. The relaxed COVID-19 regulations in conservative states have allowed their football teams more and easier access in a sport in which contact is imperative. Liberal states, especially California, have been playing catch up. Case in point: just last week UCLA coaches were allowed to return to the office. In Baton Rouge, LSU coaches have been working out of the office since May.

Medical advisory boards report to a conference’s board of directors, encompassed by school presidents. They are the ultimate decision-makers, often themselves in a political situation. They answer to a board of trustees and the governor of the state.

“Of course it’s a political situation, which is tragic,” says Mark Cullen, a former Yale and current Stanford epidemiologist who has spent his entire career as a researcher in work-related chronic disease. “This should not be politicized.”

*****

The Pac-12’s medical advisory board looks different than any other conference’s panel. It includes more than a dozen independent infectious disease physicians and public health practitioners, some of whom do not work in athletics, says Doug Aukerman, Oregon State’s team doctor and the chair of the board.

After the presidents’ vote on Tuesday to shut down the season, Aukerman’s group released a detailed 12-page document of in-season protocols that, in conclusion, conference members could not meet. The league made its decision based on three factors: (1) the high community virus prevalence in its footprint; (2) emerging long-term health concerns, including the heart issues; and (3) unattainable testing frequency needed because of Point No. 1.

He was asked how his board reached its conclusion when other conference panels contend it’s safe. “I can’t address what other doctors are thinking or how they’ve arrived at their decisions,” he says. “There is sufficient concern. The lack of control in our communities and the potential unknown medical consequences that we are learning about and don’t know enough about… that’s how we arrived at our recommendations.”

The Pac-12’s risk tolerance is even lower than the Big Ten’s. Its medical document takes a strict and conservative approach to testing frequency. The league’s advisory panel recommends daily testing of athletes and staff for communities within the conference experiencing what it calls “uncontrolled spread” and testing every other day for those in zones of “dangerous spread.”

Those labels are determined by the number of new cases per day on a 7–14 day rolling average. In addition to that, the Pac-12 wanted its schools to test 24 hours before each competition.

Other physicians who examined the Pac-12’s document see it as overly cautious. The Power 5 medical protocols call for testing three days before a game, and most college programs plan to conduct testing three times per week. “You take the science and apply it to your circumstances. The Pac-12 chose to test more frequently than anyone else,” says Stewart, the AAC lead COVID medical chief. “Is it wrong? No, but it’s just different. We think our testing protocol is sufficient and they don’t.”

The Pac-12’s testing requirements are rooted in community spread. The amount of cases in a community raises the frequency of the necessary testing, which then makes more difficult the availability of testing and its return time. It’s a domino effect. Pac-12 leaders are attempting to protect a community from athletes and protect athletes from a community. The same goes for the Big Ten. “How can I stick my head in the sand and just pretend as if the community is not being affected?” asks Lushniak.

Optics are a problem too. The athletes are engaging in contact behavior that goes against many state and local regulations, at least out West. “This virus does not stop at the edge of a practice field,” says Aukerman. “It does not stop at the edge of a university campus.”

While the Pac-12 cites high community cases for a shutdown, the SEC actually is seeing even higher numbers. Counties in which Pac-12 schools reside are averaging 1,153 cases, according to numbers compiled from COVID-19 data. Counties in which SEC programs reside are averaging more than 1,900 positives.

However, there is a glimmer of hope. During an interview with SI, O’Neal, the Baton Rouge-based physician on the SEC’s medical board, believes that a specific advancement in testing could further move the conference closer to a kickoff. The advancement, pooled testing, isn’t necessarily new, but it is improving its efficiency and becoming more widely used. At least two SEC schools, LSU and Florida, are using pooled testing to ensure a virus-free campus as regular students return. Soon, it will be used in athletics.

Pooled testing allows physicians to test multiple samples in a single vile. Imagine a nasal swab from 20 offensive linemen being administered as a single test. If there are no positives, the entire group is cleared having used the resources—staffing and equipment—of one test. Testing equipment is one of the areas that physicians are experiencing a shortage, O’Neal says. Pooled testing not only stretches resources but results in quicker return times.

“It’s huge,” says O’Neal. “This will push us all forward faster.”

Testing is essential to identifying cases and slowing the spread. “If the testing problem can be solved, we could be in a different place,” says Adalja, the physician who sits on the NCAA panel.

While Lushniak believes pooled testing is important, he says it’s no “panacea.” He says another kind of testing is necessary for a football season: quick, accurate point-of-care or self-administered tests. He hopes the Big Ten’s decision to postpone the season to the spring buys time for such advancements to be made.

But like most issues these days, there are disagreements—including from doctors. “They’re trying to play in the spring, which I’m not sure is brilliant,” says Cullen, the Stanford epidemiologist. “I’m not sure we’re going to be done with this by spring.”

One team doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, about the warring medical experts within college athletics: “The NCAA should have pulled the doctors together to begin with. It’s a f------ mess.”

*****

On Thursday morning, the NCAA’s chief medical official, Brain Hainline, joined other physicians as part of a roundtable discussion. Many of their comments centered around the difficulties of playing football in the fall. Some of their quotes were striking. The remaining six conferences are delaying the inevitable, surmised Carlos Del Rio, a professor for global health at Emory University.

“I feel like the Titanic. I feel like we have hit the iceberg, and we are making decisions about when we should have the band play,” Del Rio deadpanned.

Just one day earlier, the ACC’s chair of its COVID-19 medical panel told Sports Business Journal that football can be played safely. “We believe we can mitigate it down to a level that makes everyone safe,” said Cameron Wolfe, a Duke infectious disease specialist.

So what gives? The novelty of the virus is at the heart of the debate. There isn’t enough information known on either side of the argument, doctors say.

Cullen, on the side of canceling fall sports, believes physicians are coming to different conclusions because they are interpreting the data differently, potentially due to an underlying motivation, political or regional, he presumes. An SEC team doctor, speaking on a condition of anonymity, contends that the Big Ten and Pac-12 made their decisions far too early.

“By kicking the can down the road, we’re trying to wait on two things: (1) students to come back on campus and (2) the NFL to get started,” the doctor said. “I don’t understand why the plug was pulled.”

But even on that, the doctors don’t agree.

In an interview with SI this week, Adalja, the NCAA’s own medical board member, suggests that college football teams choosing to play this fall will experience, because of travel, even more problems than those recently in Major League Baseball. Game interruptions. Mass outbreaks. Whole teams quarantined. “If MLB couldn’t do it with athletes paid millions of dollars to stay healthy,” he says, “it’s hard to see unpaid college players doing this.”

Though he’s disturbed by the thought, Cullen believes college football will at some point have its Rudy Gobert moment. The Utah Jazz player’s contraction of the virus in March sent the sports world to a halt. “The way it’s going to play out is there will be a tragic case,” Cullen says. “For the benefit of many, maybe it happens sooner than later.”

What happened Thursday in college football irked many administrators who want to play a fall football season. For one, the NCAA rolled out their doctors for a gloomy news conference and then followed that in the afternoon by announcing the cancellation of fall sports championships.

Is NCAA president Mark Emmert and his team attempting to pressure the six football conference to call it quits?

Many believe that’s the case. “Stop with this passive aggressive bulls---,” says one athletic director whose school is marching toward a fall kickoff.

The divisiveness within America has filtered into college athletics, even to the medical community. The physicians can’t agree. And their opinions are under attack because of their colleagues’ decisions.

Meanwhile, the NCAA, aside from releasing guidelines, has mostly removed itself from the ordeal. Instead of making cohesive medical decisions under one ruling board of physicians, college football’s fall fate will be determined among various medical boards, each with differing opinions, political beliefs and, above all, risk tolerance.

“Clearly we have some conferences that have greater risk tolerance than others,” says a high-ranking college leader. “That’s what it comes down to. Who knows who’s right and who knows who’s wrong? Who the hell knows?”

More NCAA Coverage From SI.com Team Sites:

Big Ten Medical Report Details Serious Cardiovascular Concerns Penn State Softens Risk Language of Student COVID-19 Compact UGA Taking Major Steps to Prevent COVID Campus Outbreak

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[ladystylestores]

How the outbreak has hit tourism in Africa

Safari, Cheetah, Maasai Mara, Kenya

With its game parks, beaches and historic sites, Africa attracts a huge number of foreign tourists but numbers are sharply down because of the coronavirus outbreak, writes Larry Madowo.

Maria Maile has been cooking lunches and hosting overnight guests at her home in South Africa’s coastal city of Cape Town since her first three guests checked in nearly 22 years ago.

She lives there with her daughter and three grandchildren, but the spare room has been available to book – until that is the coronavirus outbreak shut down South Africa, and her business, in March.

“Guests are not coming in so the only income I’m getting is the social grant from the government,” she told me from her home in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township.

“I fear for myself as well because I’m 70. I need the money, but my health comes first,” she added.

Ms Maile’s predicament underscores how the pandemic has crippled Africa’s tourism industry, depleted much needed foreign exchange earnings and left millions out of work.

Anxiety among travellers

A few countries on the continent are starting to allow international flights again.

But this raises a dilemma: open up too fast and foreign tourists could bring a new outbreak of Covid-19; remain closed for too long and more livelihoods will be lost and there might be little left to salvage.

“To say the impact of the crisis has been devastating is an understatement,” said Naledi Kabo, CEO of Africa Tourism Association.

“I don’t think tourism will ever look like it did before.”

Africa received 71.2 million tourists in 2019 and the sector employed nearly 25 million people, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organization.

Travel and tourism contribute 9% to the continent’s economy but global movement restrictions and virus-induced travel anxiety have kept most people in Europe and North America at home as the summer holiday season begins.

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African countries have already lost nearly $55bn (£43bn) in revenues so far, according to the African Union.

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“Psychologically, people don’t necessarily feel safe enough to travel and even then, unemployment numbers are going up so disposable income isn’t where it needs to be any more,” said Eche Emole, who runs the events and travel company Afropolitan Group.

He has already cancelled planned tour group trips to Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana. And now major end-of-year events in Accra, which attracted nearly 100,000 people in 2019, could be next.

“The goal right now is to stay alive. Whatever else you lose; you can always get it back,” Mr Emole said.

Long way to recovery

Tanzania and Tunisia, famous for their game parks and beaches respectively, are the only major African countries that have reopened international borders and are welcoming foreign tourists.

Morocco and Mauritius, both popular destinations, have ended national lockdowns but foreign visitors are not yet allowed in.

Kenya, Seychelles and Rwanda will resume international passenger flights on 1 August but with restrictions and visitors will have to test negative for coronavirus.

“Our rough estimate is that tourism revenues in 2020 will shrink by between 50 and 70%,” Clare Akamanzi, chief executive officer of the Rwanda Development Board, said in an emailed statement.

“However, this will depend on what happens in the last few months of the year after the reopening of the airports.”

The tiny East African nation, where mountain gorillas are a major tourist attraction, reported its highest annual growth in tourism in 2019, attracting 1.63 million visitors and earning $498m.

Ms Akamanzi said recovery might take “12 to 18 months depending on how the Covid-19 situation evolves”.

Rwanda is one of the few countries where rare mountain gorillas can be seen

South Africa, the country hardest hit by Covid-19 on the continent, may not play host to foreign tourists at all in 2020.

“I don’t foresee any international tourism happening within this calendar year,” said Sisa Ntshona, chief executive officer of South Africa Tourism.

He expects that it may take two to three years to return to 2019 levels of 10.2 million tourists that visited the southern African nation.

Targeting the diaspora

Many South Africans were spooked after a widely shared news story at the beginning of the pandemic falsely claimed that Cape Town’s high numbers of coronavirus infections were caused by foreign tourists.

But Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, said the first cases of Covid-19 were more likely imported by South Africans who had travelled abroad.

The agency has been researching how badly “the Mother City” has been affected as much visited attractions like Table Mountain remain largely empty.

Cape Town’s Bo-Kaap area has been a popular attraction for tourists

“About 83% of businesses indicated that they would not survive longer than six months under the current lockdown conditions with 56% of businesses not having a recovery plan in place,” Mr Duminy said in a statement to the BBC.

Few in the African tourism business want to predict the future because the virus is so volatile. But they know it will be different.

“Covid-19 has shone a light on issues that have previously existed – digitization; the need to shift traditional marketing efforts to target new diverse audiences especially the diaspora market; making intra-Africa travel easier via visas, air connectivity; and regional collaboration between destinations,” Ms Kabo said.

“Secluded outdoor spaces are the new normal and Rwanda has plenty of that “https://ift.tt/2HfCbR7;, Source: Clare Akamanzi , Source description: CEO Rwanda Development Board , Image: Clare Akamanzi

Namibia, Kenya and Rwanda are among nations adapting to a work-from-home era with virtual tours to appeal to a younger population.

“Rwanda will continue to position itself as a high value, low volume eco-tourism destination which we believe corresponds to the current trends that we are seeing today as tourists book their trips.

“Secluded outdoor spaces are the new normal and Rwanda has plenty of that,” Ms Akamanzi said.

Tourists at hotels, resorts and other properties on the continent may see less human contact as the experience evolves in an age of social distancing.

“What’s going to change fundamentally is the behaviour pattern of the tourists. This is going to be about safety and confidence and trust. And the less interaction they have with people, the safer they will feel,” noted Mr Ntshona.

Curio shops have seen a slump in business because of coronavirus

The Radisson Hotel Group, which has 45 hotels and more than 5,000 employees in Africa, has already seen the inevitable effect on headcount.

“We really have focused on perhaps reducing hours, temporary layoffs or cutting costs in other parts of our business rather than taking very difficult decisions with our teams,” said Radisson executive Tim Cordon.

Like the rest of the industry, he believes domestic tourism will be first to recover as countries gradually ease lockdowns.

As a result, Ms Maile in Khayelitsha could until next year be serving lunches to South African visitors rather than the usual tourists from Paris and beyond.

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Q&A with Michael Brenner: Content Recovery and Virtual Event Strategies in a COVID-19 Era

We recently sat down with Michael Brenner, CEO of Marketing Insider Group, for a Q&A around COVID-19 and its impact on the marketing industry. Brenner discussed where teams should be allocating resources, how content programs should be shifting and ways the pandemic has impacted event strategies for brands.

As the industry landscape changes daily, what is the #1 area that you feel marketers should be agile in?

One of the things that we’re seeing is there have been some pretty rapid changes in consumer behavior over the course of the pandemic. Search trends went down by about 35% in B2B industries during the height of the pandemic. But they never went below the level they go during the holidays. People were still searching.

In certain categories like remote work and video conferencing, we saw significant increases, as you would expect. But what we saw is, about two to three weeks in late March, where search patterns come back to normal and then in April actually go up. People are searching online more now than they did before. So, we’re seeing clients come to us because they’re shifting out of digital ad spend and physical events. Everybody’s trying to figure out: How do we rank for search now that more people are searching online for educational content?

The phrase “content is king” has been around for ages. Do you believe that this is still true in today’s circumstances?

Yes, content will always be king, because content is something that allows a company and its customers to connect. Because what’s the alternative? I love to point to the Super Bowl ad where Aquaman took his muscles off and no one can remember the brand behind it. But content has to follow a few rules:

It has to be helpful.

It has to make the customer the hero of the story, not the brand.

It has to be long enough to answer the question but short enough that you can read it and consume it.

It needs to be found.

Content is going to continue to be king, even in today’s circumstances. Distribution is queen and wears the pants, as some people love to say, but it really has to just focus on answering customer questions.

Do you feel like there’s too much content out there right now during this crisis?

I love this question. The myth of the ‘information overload‘ theory has been around since the time of cavemen when they’d first spoken a word or painted on the cave walls.

While we create a lot more content, we also consume a lot more content. We live in an information-driven world. Here’s my challenge to anyone who thinks they can’t break through the noise: You can either give up and just cede market share and share of voice to your competition, or you can become part of the conversation.

You don’t go to a party and decide that you’re not going to talk to anybody. Either you’re in business and you need to be part of the conversation, or you need to get out of business. So, I understand the fear, and I understand the concern that creating content may not be as effective as maybe it used to be. But the alternative is doing nothing and dying. My challenge to clients is figuring out a way to be a part of the conversation: Listen first, learn how we can engage, and then create and share the stories, voices and points of view that we want to share.

What are the top three marketing topics you believe will resonate best with marketers as we enter the recovery phase of this crisis? 

Number one: People need leads, especially warmer leads. Demand generation practices, marketing automation, email nurturing and personalization are all things that generate leads and fill the pipeline. Nurture leads to qualification.

Number two: Content creation is still important. The brands that stopped creating content during the pandemic are hurting. Before you have a lead, you need to engage with somebody who hasn’t engaged with you before. The brands that continued have seen large increases in market share. It’s the consistency that wins. And when you stop the train, you need momentum to get back up the hill, if you will.

Number three: Activating employees. It’s all about getting engaged experts inside your company or in your customer base to start telling their story. Again, not about you and why they chose you or why you’re great, but about them: what they know, what problems they’ve solved.

As a keynote speaker, what do you feel are the disadvantages of virtual events? How can leaders adapt to account for these changes?

There’s two sides to this shifting events model.

From a brand perspective, virtual events are less effective at closing deals but more effective at generating leads. This comes back to demand generation.

From an attendance perspective, it’s a challenge to keep people engaged. I’ve been using animated GIFs, video where I can, asking challenging questions, or busting myths. I’m not giving the same keynote I used to. I’ve seen some really creative things from speakers, as well, like using whiteboards and glass panels to draw on. It’s a challenge no matter what perspective you take.

Regarding virtual events, you mentioned your keynote speaker perspective – but is there anything from the brand side that you’d recommend for tackling these challenges?

I would first recommend using video. But, when on camera, simple things like presentable attire and being clean-shaven do matter a lot.

Interactivity and visuals are also really important. Using chat and Q&A makes the audience feel as if they’re a part of the presentation. Challenges and quizzes from the speaker are naturally very engaging and makes the audience use their brain.

My biggest and final tip for any brand speaker is to keep the thing going. Fifty minutes of a talking head is really not that interesting for anyone. I tend to use 60 slides in a 30-minute spot – I’m moving. There aren’t a lot of words on the slide, because I’m using animated videos and GIFs plus single quotes and stats.

Do you feel that virtual events are a trend that’s here to stay beyond COVID, or do you think we’ll see larger conferences move to this model permanently?

As a very inbound-focused content marketer, I’ve always believed that events are just an extension of a good content marketing strategy. And they’re – number one, from a brand perspective – a great way to tell stories. Events allow us to meet people in person and bring the humanity in front of new customers.

I don’t believe that we’re going to see physical events go away forever. As soon as people feel comfortable to get back out there, we’re going to see the large technology companies get back to their customer events, even if they’re smaller next year with a virtual component. Every company is now going to be thinking virtual components to even physical events. They’re going to look to expand their reach, something we should’ve always been doing.

It’s one of my favorite points through all this – the things that are happening now, that people feel are new, have actually always been there. Virtual events, work from home, telehealth – they’ve always been good ideas, now they’re just accelerating. So, I do think that events will come back, but we will see much more focus on the virtual side.

Was there anything else you’d like marketers to think about?

The one thing I’m asking every marketer to focus on is, are you creating the kinds of content that answers the questions the customers are asking every single day? I’m always amazed that just because I can’t rank number one for ‘what is content marketing,’ I have an audience of people that wanted to hear my answer. My advice is, define the questions your customers are asking, answer them on a regular schedule. And the companies that are doing that are winning.

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