Items

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  03/31/2021

  Pun Time

  A comic strip about Covid-19
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  2021-03-31

  Retiring Betsy for Alani

  This was the time my mother, brother, and myself came home with a brand new truck during the Pandemic. It was by far my favorite memory of the pandemic because not only was it the family's first ever brand new vehicle, but it was my first car purchase as well. We had an old hunk of junk 2001 Mercedes Benz SUV that was falling apart on us, which we nicknamed Betsy. She served us well as a reliable SUV, but my family and I had talked at length over the course of months that we needed a new car but couldn't possibly imagine actually getting on, especially during the microchip shortage of 2020-2021. Somehow it happened, and it will always be my favorite memory of the pandemic. Why is it called Alani? Alani in Hawaiian means Orange, and that's pretty much the main feature of the truck. A giant orange pumpkin with wheels.
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  2021-03-31

  Pandemic Object: My Movie Ticket

  My pandemic object is a picture of the first movie ticket after the lockdowns of March 2020. Godzilla vs. Kong was meant to release in May 2020, but due to rewrites and the pandemic, it was pushed to November 2020 then to March 2021. Since the Godzilla franchise is my favorite movie franchise, it was only fitting that this was the first movie in theaters in a pandemic world. My dad, brother, and I traveled to the more comfortable Queensgate theater in Richland, Washington on the movie's premiere night. While I found the movie had some pacing issues and missing plot elements, I think that people needed an action-packed, fun monster movie to escape to. Two giant monsters fighting and destroying cities can be easier to deal with because we know it is not real, but they are tangible, we see the monsters. COVID is the opposite, it is real, but also an unseen threat without certain technologies. Godzilla and Kong have human characteristics we can identify with while COVID feels inhuman and impersonal. This is just something that I have noticed.
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  2021-03-31

  Gyre Oral History, 2021/03/31

  Self-Description: “My name is Gyre. I am a multidisciplinary artist based in South Africa with global ambitions. I specialize in music, but I also work as a freelance writer as well as in dance. I’m a dancer learning to choreograph. Political commentator, particularity with regard to the LBGTQA+ community. I identify as queer. I am homoromatic and homosexual at this point in my life. You never know honey, it’s a spectrum. I had my first venture into artistic expression that is rooted in queer rights and queer understanding and queer theory, was my debut album, titled Queernomics, which was a documented audio-visual book about the contemporary experiences of a Black queer South African male, and that has gotten me into the positions that I express myself in, both out of passion and out of profession. Inkosi Yenkonkoni, which means “The Gay King”, in my native language which is Zulu.” Other details available here: Works produced during the pandemic: Kithi, International LGBTQ+ Rights Festival, writing on football. Some of the things we spoke about included: “What happens at the top is just politics, what happens at the bottom is real life.” Thinking about the term “pandemic” Listening to the body The pandemic exposing state corruption Having written a song called “Quarantine” in 2018 The inadequacies and privileges of Medical Aid in South Africa, having aged out of Medical Aid before COVID, the personal impact of worse-health insurance during pandemic, the importance of demonetizing health care Pre-COVID keeping busy: organizing, walking, collaborating Transit during COVID, sub/urban and outskirt disparities Canceling shows and taking dance classes and rethinking what it means to be productive Global Americanization and the impact of Trump’s pandemic denialism on South African health Moving out of disbelief about the severity of COVID after losing a loved one in the first wave Gratitude for the global influence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and sadness that tragedy in the diaspora brings neocolonialism to the fore The importance of social media for queer counter-violence and activist fractures among LGBTQA+ Feeling allyship with the #metoo movement How homophobia intersects with everyday altercations about social distancing The anxieties of hooking up during the pandemic The importance that scientists learn to speak in lay terms about climate change and vaccines Existence as resistance and creating art “Spread love not tolerance” Other cultural references include: Trans Day of Visibility, astrology, and the TV series Pose.
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  2021-03-31

  #JOTPYFuture from Marissa Rhodes

  I look forward to spending time with friends and family that don’t live in our household, and being able them. I’m also looking forward to my kids being in school full time again. Especially my 5 yo whose ability to make friends has been destroyed by the pandemic #JOTPYFuture
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  2021-03-31

  Shot One - Community Vaccination Clinic

  I got my Moderna vaccine at the Branch- Hillsdale - St. Joseph Community Health Agency Vaccination Clinic held in Hillsdale Public High School. My first Moderna shot was on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. It was well run - I hardly had time to sit down. There was no waiting. It was held in a large gymnasium. Everyone was wearing masks, which is rare in this part of Michigan. I was relieved & quiet while I got my shot, just taking it in. Later that night my arm was sore at the injection site. I was also exhausted that evening, but I think the exhaustion was more of a psychological response to finally starting my vaccination journey, & not a side effect of the vaccine. My husband got his two weeks previously at a Rite Aid in Coldwater, Michigan. He also got a Moderna shot.
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  2021-03-31

  Mohammed Husain Oral History, 2021/03/31

  This interview speaks about a teenager, Mohammed Husain, who has described her life through the course of the pandemic including how she has felt what she had experienced including some losses, things that have changed and ways she has coped. The set of questions provided are descriptive and offer directed questions that allow the interviewee to answer them thoroughly. Mohammed speaks about how she felt lonely during the pandemic. She describes things she has missed such as shopping going out with friends and effects on her mental health. She has also spoke about the limitations and how they have made her enjoy her own presence and made her evolve into a person who enjoys her own presence. She lists some positive aspects of the pandemic including closer relationships with family members along with a time to reflect on her own self. She has included that she has taken advantage of the time of the pandemic to really look back on her life and understand the moment as not everyone in their lifetime gets to live through such a scene.
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  2021-03-31

  Trans Day of Visibility, Alberta

  This is a post from a popular Instagram page, mrfactsalberta on Trans Day of Visibility on March 31st, 2021. This message of solidarity and love towards Trans Albertans, stating that together we have the potential to challenge the discrimination in our province, which is known as one of the most socially conservative provinces in Canada which has a dark history of oppression and discrimination towards members of the LGBTQ+ community. The description of the post reads, “We all know the truth. This province is notorious for keeping Trans People on the fringes of society. But it’s important that we work to make it better and easier to live here because nobody should feel like an outsider in their own province.” Albertans must be able to call out discrimination towards Transgender people on a daily basis, this day alone represents the urgent need for Alberta to work together to defend Albertans against bigotry and discrimination, to protect Trans people and Trans rights for now and forever. The call to work however is more than just a call to visibility; it is a call for liberation.
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  2021-03-31

  Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations rejects the Alberta K-6 curriculum

  This is a tweet of a statement sent out from the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, rejecting the proposed Alberta K-6 curriculum which has become vastly unpopular for its blatant racist and white supremacist undertones. For example, one component of the curriculum would have students learning the slogan of the KKK; to be applied with learning “why some people would support” such a slogan. As I type this, this sounds unreal, or some kind of sick joke but I assure you this is real. Interestingly, when the initial flak was received for the nature of this curriculum, the Alberta government was quick to claim that there was First Nations oversight on the development of this document – this statement from the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations says otherwise. The curriculum itself has a very Anglo-centric programming, focusing on the history of Anglo-Saxons, the British Empire and the role of the Dominion of Canada in the empire. On top of this, there is little to no reference to residential schools; rather it has been removed in early grades, which goes against the call to education by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. The Confederacy of Treaty Six Nations is writing in direct response to this, stating that a proper Alberta curriculum should be able to express the diverse nature of Alberta. It should account for the horrors of colonialism, a word which the current curriculum doesn’t mention once.
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  2021-03-31

  Indigenous Peoples and Vaccine's

  One of the reasons Indigenous people aged 55+ were included in the initial COVID vaccine protocols is that is our average life expectancy. Compare this to ages 75+ for non-Indigenous people. After 154 years of Western medicine, we live half of what we did at the time of Contact.
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  2021-03-31

  Prayer Lodge Stops Line 3 Pipeline

  Prayer Lodge Stops Line 3 Chaos 7 Natives from 5 nations took direct action to defend our Mother with love and selflessness. Surrounded by people of faith, by allies with strong hearts, we sang, prayed, and sat with our ancestors in an Anishinaabe lodge in the midst of Line 3 destruction. 27 Water Protectors were arrested that day. Afterwards, police cut up the lodge and kenneled, strip searched, and shackled us for misdemeanors. This is Anishinaabe treaty territory — Enbridge is committing trespass, not us. To land defenders everywhere, we stand as one ✊🏽❤️ Support the legal fund here: ProtestLaw.org/Line3 & please find your bravery to stand with us or use your voice to contact President Joe Biden, Gina McCarthy, Deb Haaland to #StopLine3 #ProtectTheSacred #PrayersIntoAction #7thGeneration
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  2021-03-31

  Chris M. Monaghan Oral History, 2021/03/31

  This is an oral history of Chris M. Monaghan, an artist based in Dexter Michigan, conducted by Monica Ruth, a graduate student intern with the COVID-19 archive, A Journal of the Plague Year. Chris talks about his street art/chalk artwork, participating in chalk art festivals, how the pandemic has influenced the festival and artist scenes, the sense of community in chalk art, and how chalk art is a source of entertainment, hope, and outlet for mental and physical health.
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  2021-03-31

  In the Market for Thermometers

  Didn't realize there was such a wide market of thermometers until I needed to purchase one during this pandemic. Picked this one up at my local Fry's for forty dollars.
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  2021-03-31

  First Indigenous Person Confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior

  Deb Haaland made history as the first Indigenous woman to head the Department of Interior. This is a watershed moment as this department is responsible for the managing the relationship between the Indigenous Peoples and the United States. Haaland is a Laguna Pueblo from New Mexico.
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  2021-03-31

  How does the pandemic affect children?

  This link is a podcast with which talks about a specific family of 4, including 2 girls ages 5 and 7 and the two guardians who have health witnessed changes in their children's behavior due to covid. It is a very interesting read and listen as both the children now have been hearing things about deaths due to covid and because of that say things such as "I don't care if I die". The read goes on to state some factual information, some important things said include, " a sex-abuse hotline operated by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network reported that half its calls in March came from minors, for the first time in its history." This was somthing that I heard for the first time and was shaken. Not only are children going through the stress of their own during the pandemic but they stay home and are potentially being abused. For some children going to school was an escape. I was though was very happy that these minors had information on who to contact for help.
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  2021-03-31

  How does the pandemic affect children?

  This link talks about the effects the pandemic has on children's nutritional health and physical activity. With parents already being stressed about managing through the pandemic, the quality of care for children had gone down. According to this site "Families report that during COVID-19 mitigation, time spent in physical activity and sports has decreased while sleep time and screen time have increased." It is understandable that this is an issue as children are limited from going outside as families fear for their health along with the lack of social life has caused children to sleep and use electronics more as a sense of coping from boredom. Not only is this affecting children now but will affect the future of these children as these will become habits, and habits are something that is hard to grow out of when they are developed since childhood.
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  2021-03-31

  Indigenous Art

  This is a mural painted by Indigenous artist, Ivan Lee.
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  2021-03-31

  News Article: Douglas rescinds requirement for face coverings in public

  This news story relays a decision by municipal leadership in Douglas, Arizona, to rescind their mask mandates following Governor Ducey's similar order on 25-March-2021.
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  2021-03-31

  Federal Program To Bring Vaccine To Nursing Homes Missed Around Half Of Staff

  While the federal government put effort into getting residents and staff at nursing and retirement homes vaccinated, many remain unvaccinated. Some states even have less than a third percent of the staff vaccinated. This has impacted reopening timelines for the facilities and fears of spreading COVID-19.