#the pandemic

[thoughtportal]

[awesomesaurous]

I’m almost done with this comic

[todays-xkcd]

The vaccine stuff seems pretty simple. But if you take a closer look at the data, it's still simple, but bigger. And slightly blurry. Might need reading glasses.

Anti-Vaxxers [Explained]

[funkle420]

We're still in a pandemic, and it's getting worse. Get your bivalent booster, avoid crowded events if possible, and fucking give a shit about disabled people. WE don't have the luxury of pretending COVID is over.

[diet-poison]

The thing about covid is that my adulthood was supposed to be free. I got through 4 years of high school. I got through 4 years of college. Then I had about 6 years of freedom. But now I've spent 4 years trapped inside away from the activities and people I love because of covid

[pandemichub]

New methods for testing need to be standardized, well communicated and disseminated. These posts describe testing approaches that are experimental and still, may be of interest and or benefit so I decided to share.

*Note: Please continue to test. And try to request PCR if possible. Getting a record of your illness will be important for your health records and contact tracing. If you experience disability as a result of your infection. Covid is still here, and to the best of our ability we must try to record, notify, trace, research, treat and find treatments, and prevent it's spread. The importance of this has not waned and neither has the virus.*

Be thoughtful, wise, responsible and protect your health and others.

[wormdramafever]

Generational Distress. The End of Childhood.

By Marta Trivi.

Article in spanish by Marta Trivi about Goodbye Volcano High's themes and how it reflects the current times. Some roughly translated highlights:

In the visual novel Goodbye Volcano high, the end of adolescence and the transition to adulthood overlap with the end of times. The result is a faithful portrait of the nihilism and hopelessness of Generation Z. [...] For [Charlie] Coombs, the disenchantment that the youngest people show in regards to the future, as well as their obsession with the now and with the inconsequentiality of our existence, is nothing more than a symptom of the current times, a response to a social and political present that is totally indifferent to our actions. Because of this, it's easy to consider Goodbye Volcano High as a work as generational as Reality Bites; a game extremely stuck to its time whose construction and dramatic development are inseparable from a post-pandemic society that little by little begins to accept the harsh consequences of climate change. Some of the most sincere and realistic parts of the KO_OP title seem lifted straight from the early days of pre-lockdown uncertainty. Because, as we saw at the beginning of 2020, the news capable of changing our reality, far from plunging us into the absolute panic that other fictions reflect, often goes under our radar or is reduced to little more than an anecdote. [...] No one who has lived through the weeks before lockdown will find it strange the way in which the teenagers of Volcano High seem to live until the very end in a contradiction by which the end of the world is as real as their aspirations to go to university or win in the battle of the bands. [...] But the nihilism of Fang and company is not the only thing that makes Goodbye Volcano High a generational work. Throughout the story, the characters move between a small number of locations. [...] Unlike other stories starring teenagers, from Grease to Life is Strange, through Mean Girls or Riverdale, Goodbye Volcano High does not have "third places", meeting places outside the private home and work (in this case school) in which we can come into contact with the community and meet quietly and for hours with our friends. [...] But although these third places are, for many sociologists like Ramon Oldenburg, essential for public health, Generation Z is the first to be growing up without them, using virtual spaces to socialize (from private messaging groups to social networks). [...] Many key scenes in Goodbye Volcano High take place inside Fang's cell phone as they immerse themselves in a more than expressive immobility: eyes fixed on the screen while message balloons appear and scroll on the side. Being with their friends outside of school is, in reality, sitting and looking at your cell phone. [...] And this is not dramatic, it is simply real.

(note: the article uses gender neutral words to refer to the non-binary protagonist, using online translators may not reflect this)

[intersexfairy]

I made this post and of course people are arguing on it. So if you don't know what to do about COVID, so here are some actions you can take:

1. Wear a mask. KN95 or similar is best, but any mask is better than no mask.

2. Get vaccinated and boosted. If you can, get the new booster that targets newer variants as well.

3. Be aware of COVID stats - at least your weekly local ones - and educate yourself the harm COVID is doing. Learn about how the government and media are spreading misinformation - and why.

4. Don't attend crowded events if you can avoid it. Talk to coordinators and attendees about making events safer. Encourage virtual events. Help make life accessible.

5. Listen to disabled people's thoughts and feelings about the pandemic. Let us know you see us and affirm us. Don't ignore us. Don't invalidate us.

7. Encourage others to do all of the above. Tell them what you learn and what they're doing wrong. Do not shut up for anyone.

A lot of why this is happening is because people refuse to listen. They won't look our situation in the eyes. And it being depressing is not an excuse to do that. Ignoring it and not taking precautions only makes things worse - even more dire, even more deadly. It's not helping.

Learn how to engage with this as healthily as you can. It will always hurt because this is a mass trauma event. You will not better yours or anyone else's trauma by pretending it doesn't exist. Help us all heal and prevent more people from suffering needlessly. We all owe each other this.

[stankrhodes]

Hozier capturing death and despair so beautifully on unreal unearth is just mind blowing. he really has taken the last three years into deep consideration when putting this project together and it’s so much greater as a result.

[thoughtportal]

[radiantgardenprince]

Whoops I forgot the average person doesn’t think about all the lives we lost during COVID anymore. Someone was wondering why a factory shut down a couple years ago when it made paneras most popular soup. My blunt ass just went “provably cause all their workers got sick and died in the pandemic” and everyone was so shocked by that. Like. Y’all. It shouldn’t be a surprise.

Yes I said it bluntly but we need to be blunt about this.

I dunno maybe it’s cause everyone that works with me was in junior high during it? Or they’re that type of person that clearly never cared. But I was tracking numbers daily.

[thingsthatdontevencomebackaround]

Glass Onion spoilers

The destruction of the Mona Lisa is so powerful because it feels like the Mona Lisa is actually getting destroyed and you think no, they wouldn't actually do that but they do! and it feels like the Mona Lisa is actually getting destroyed! and here's my theory, it's so Quite Shocking because we're so used to movies and TV shows ignore the pandemic, so whenever the pandemic *is* displayed it reads like it takes place in the real world, even for things that are a little Heightened™, so when the Mona Lisa is destroyed it feels like they burned the Real Thing to make the movie, even though that's (probably???) not the case.

To me personally at least that was the movie's Holdo Maneuver moment, where it went from a pretty good sequel that understood what made the first one tick (even if it was willing to tinker with and even radically redefine a lot of those elements,) to like, probably the defining film in the series?, but, time will tell.

[piltdownlad]

Kelly Dessaint on the "Drinks with Tony" Podcast

I was a guest on Tony DuShane’s eponymous podcast/radio show, Drinks with Tony. We discuss the craft writing, how I ended up driving a taxi, my experiences with Lyft and Uber, how I landed a gig writing a column for the S.F. Examiner, the pandemic and how a little bit of success can lead to a whole lot of despair. I think. We talked for a while, and I kinda hoping he edited a bunch of stuff…

[s2z]

Albion, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 2022-05-18 19:23:52 by stuart murdoch Via Flickr: We were going in for early voting and inside this community centre was this simple abstract pattern, that was crying out to be photographed. One of several projects, that explore photography as evidence amongst other ideas. Blog | Tumblr | Website | Instagram | Photography links | s2z digital garden | pixelfed.social | glass | grainary | vero

[pandemichub]

Please be aware, data not being collected does not mean there is no data. Reach out to your local representatives to push HARD for continued funding of waste water monitoring. It is the most reliable, and an incredibly vital resource. Without information about viral trends, it becomes quite uncertain how to proceed for the average person and for communities.

I posted an article awhile back about waste water monitoring finding quite potentially being in a precarious position. Furthermore this would lead to outbreaks and the general public being unawares and run afoul of horrible outcomes.

The work of aggregating and collating of data is being left to individuals, which is not only horrifying, unethical and well out of step with science based methods and guidance, but highly unusual given data is kept and provided for other illnesses, especially ones as severe and concerning as covid-19 (SARs CoV 2).

For the time being, I personally will be assuming transmission is moderate to high in addition to my sources. In the absence or great reduction of data and reports, greater estimations and assessment of made, and when only observations, assumed. Be as safe as you can everyone 💝 - Admin

Please be aware of what may no longer be offered, operating or an out of pocket cost. Masks, tests (all types), vaccines, remote options, COVID-19 tracking apps. Also be mindful of any local or nationwide level policies, proposals, news or trends that cite mask and other NPI removals, bans, stigma or efforts towards criminalization.

For the time being, the following resources remains invaluable:

https://biobot.io

It has come to my attention the person whose account is Laughter In Light has falsely claimed a prominent disability advocate encouraged or engaged in doxxing and slander with no demonstrable proof which has led to great harm. Laughter in light has provided some very helpful information throughout the pandemic. It is also important to be aware, critical and hold people into account for their actions, ideologies, commentary/statements and or stances. There are many other wonderful sources to inform oneself and stay up to date. - Admin

Provides regular updates on infectious diseases news

Sadly they don't have a website or any links I know of. Their Twitter is public however and can be viewed even without an account.

Give incredible analysis and updates on SARS CoV-2! Excellent medical and scientific communicator!

Stella has been amazing since the beginning and continues to be. Definitely worth following! Check out their link tree! They're also on Tiktok!

If anyone has any international resources for updates and tracking, please add it via reblog and I'll definitely share! - Admin

[taxusbaccata6]