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2020-04-13
Given the way this virus has inserted itself into our lives, its effects can be felt by almost everyone. In order to stave off the inaction that can easily sneak in and attach itself to me, I have resolved to do two things. Make my bed and take a shower every day. I'm not saying that anyone else has to do them. It's okay to not master a new language or learn the harpsichord. But for me, if I do nothing one day, that soon turns into three or four days of doing nothing.
When I see creativity on the web from people all around the globe, I'm inspired. So, I put artwork or drawing and painting tutorials online in the hopes that it might inspire others to be creative. You don't have to create something massive or incredible. Sometimes it's the little things that make a difference to someone else.
So, that's the way to do it. Do something. Do you paint? Do you draw? Do you build furniture? Are you a whiz when it comes to growing turnips? Whatever it is, show it to others. Step outside yourself for a minute and maybe be that inspiration for someone else.
Or not. There's a lot to be said for just keeping it together and getting up every day. If that's what you got - do that. Just wash your hands.
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2020-04-18
My brother and I have an argument that has been going on since we were children; regardless of our age, however, it has always been a rather vicious, stubborn battle, comprised wholeheartedly of hubris and the unyielding belief that one is right and the other wrong. He’ll say, You have a weak immune system, not me! And in complete disregard of the trap I have already drawn myself into, I will retort without fail, You get sick more than I do! In this situation, we’re both playing the role of the fool, blindly ignoring the vast number of individuals who struggle with legitimate health problems and compromised immune systems, purposefully sticking our heads in the sand as we burrow further and further into the gilded age of misguided youth and immaturity. Perhaps this can be said of me more so than him, given that I am older and also usually the one who instigates these petty squabbles. The question of physical health and strength has always been a sensitive spot, a result of my years spent simmering under a household ruled by gender roles and conventions. But I like fighting, even if I can never win any of these fights, even if the blatant lies I tell my younger brother are merely pitiful attempts to dissuade the truth.
In all honesty, Jonathan never gets sick; I do. Like most people in the day and age of COVID-19, I used to take my health for granted (and no, this won’t be a post about having an existential crisis regarding my mortality). But after being hauled in an ambulance twice––got exposed to the perils and fallacies of the American health care system real quick!––both for stupid reasons and resulting in a pair of pale blue socks and two missing front teeth, I have begun to realize more and more how futile my argument is whenever I try to prove to him that I am the child with the stronger body, the stronger immune system, the stronger sense of self.
My body has endured a good bit of wear and tear, thanks to several instances but most infamously when I cruised down the roads of Clifftops, a gated neighborhood in Monteagle, TN, going 20 miles per hour on a longboard. Gravity, speed wobbles, and naiveté caused me to faceplant into the ground. I spat out a mouthful of blood when I finally regained consciousness, full-body abrasions wrapped around my arms, legs, and knees, skin seemingly marred beyond repair and my face looking like a swollen, beat-up punching bag. At first, the doctor thought I might’ve broken my face (maybe I wasn’t destined to be a cool skater and carve roads after all). I had two black eyes and pus for days. Taking a shower and unwrapping and wrapping my bandages was a two-hour hassle, one that I dealt with myself, determined to do alone without the help of my parents. Afterward, I would wipe the glass mirror, stand atop the cool tiled floor of my childhood bathroom, and ogle at myself and the mass of wet, rugged flesh sagging along with my wounds. Even when I was in a drug-induced haze of Percocets and could hardly walk, I was afraid of revealing to my mother and father what my body had become after accumulating ink at various tattoo parlors. Aside from the black pigment that permanently stained my skin, I was also scared of them seeing what I’d become after skidding across the pavement.
I finally learned what it meant to be selfish when my grandmother saw me after the accident. She turned on the light and moved to look at me, taking a few hesitant steps. Then she came closer, cradled my face in her hands, and stroked the unscarred side of my cheek with her coarse, callous-ridden fingers as tears began to streak down the corners of her eyes. She murmured to me in rough, unbridled Chinese, her voice cracking at the edges and stumbling over words. My father stood in the corner. When she began to quietly cry, he looked away. My reply got mangled in the lower parts of my throat, my voice splitting at various intervals when both of us would falter. With our heads bowed in unison under the dim light of the kitchen, I imagined our two dark silhouettes of hair merging into one. It was then that I also learned what it meant to be loved.
I never tell this side of the story because it reveals the ugly, careless parts of myself that constantly depend on others to pick me up when I have been the cause of my undoing. This is the part of me that I love and hate the most, this selfish, childish impetuousness that has allowed me to experience the world, unencumbered, but at the cost of others. Usually, when I explain to people what happened at Clifftops, I am laughing, joking, making myself seem hardcore and dumb all at once. It is pretty funny if you think about it. Over time, though, while I’ve learned that my physical body is fragile and my soul and spirit deceivingly invincible, I myself am still an uncompromising idiot. Despite everything, I am reckless to this day, still very aware of how I have hurt my loved ones being like this and the many ways that I will continue to do so. Just as I sit in a black leather chair and feel the needle prick into my skin, knowing the anger that will make its way towards me if my family finds out how my skin has been violated, I throw myself into hopeless fights with my brother I will never be able to win. Just as I have grown accustomed to hiding my tattoos in extra-large clothing whenever I go home, I cling to the lies that I tell Jonathan, to the fresh, pink flesh that slowly grows along my face and allows me to forget about my grandmother’s tears.
The other day, my brother called me sickly, once again setting off another debate. I’d been coughing and developing symptoms of COVID-19, except for a fever; I was sequestered into my room for around a week and a half, and when I came out, I felt victorious. Allergies, I told myself. Just annoying allergies. I went on bike rides and wore makeup. I listened to music and made art. I still coughed, though, which he’d pointed out. And when I woke up at 2 AM with a raging 103-degree fever for the first time in years, I found myself curling up in a ball once more, grieving for something I didn’t quite understand or know.
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2020-04-19
It's been a little over a month since the start of self quarantine and social distancing. New York was said to be reopen on May 1st but been pushed back to May 15th. People, like myself, are starting to feel locked up in their homes, unsure of when this pandemic will truly be over.
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2020-03-22
My experiences of this pandemic
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2020-03-12
This one email changed everything. Every student and staff member at Central Connecticut State University received this email from the President of the University, Zulma Toro. In it, she describes the possibility that a student at the university might have been infected with the virus and that she has closed the campus because of the danger. Almost every university student around the country has some sort of email like this and it was one of the most frightening emails we've ever received in our lives. It changed everything. Students were forced to leave campus in two hours and left many of their belongings behind. Those items left in the dorm rooms are now being packed up and moved to storage containers as CT National Guard Troopers and Medical Staff are staying in the empty dorms to support efforts to fight the pandemic. All classes were canceled and shifted to online learning for the rest of the semester. In one quick email students were deprived of relationships with friends and staff and thrust into a world of unknowns. Some students who relied on campus housing and food were left homeless and without basic means to support themselves. All in the space fo two hours. Before this email, you could say Coronavirus was just something in the news that didn't effect our lives, but after this email, we all got a dose of reality. We couldn't live our lives the same way anymore. The ignorance was gone.
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2020-04-15
New York Virtual Opera Fest NYOA hosts the annual New York Opera Festival which was originally scheduled for May-June 2020. To help companies navigate the realities of the COVID-19 crisis and also encourage responsible social isolation, NYOA is refocusing the 2020 New York Opera Fest to become the 2020 New York Virtual Opera Fest.
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2020-03-13
This is an artwork that seeks to capture the prevailing sense of confusion and distrust in the institutions responsible for handling a global health crisis. This is a satirical piece and has no affiliation to presented organization or group.
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04/19/2020
Saturday 4th of April
I was lucky to muster the motivation to rise from the Persian straw mat, with a yoga mat on top, my makeshift bed, at dawn. The usual sense of grogginess was absent despite the consumed quantities of alcohol the night before. It was the spirit of red wine, the viral of red liquid swimming in the aftermaths that remained in the back of my breath, and triggered a memory that was now the time to take advantage of the time. To walk the dogs, in the cool of dawn. The air was fresh, the streets were quiet. I walked to the city and back. Upon returning the motivation continued and I went into meditation, practicing the Kundalini technique ‘breath of fire’ I’d learnt during my travels to Thailand and my days at uni, going to yoga classes in my breaks. This set me up for a productive day. I watched two films with Jeremy, Ernest and Celest, an animation about a bear and a mouse, and an animated sci-fi, ‘The battle for Tera’, a futuristic film, set on an inhabited planet called Tera, where the humans and aliens came into conflict. Left over south Indian curry, ordered the night before, from the local ‘Saffron’ restaurant in Parap. Then an afternoon spent cleaning, and de-dusting the bedroom and re-arranging the furniture.
Sunday 5th of April
Up early again, walking the dogs to the city and back. Upon returning I was delighted to have breakfast and coffee prepare for me, which I eagerly took to the front porch and watched the dark clouds loom over with occasional thing and rain. I then returned to meditate, stretch and breath as I continue to practice the ‘breath of fire’. The rest of the day was a haze, until I decided to go for a run and exercise at the park nearby. A fairly uneventful day. As Covid19 takes hold of the community I spend more and more days inside, and thus the urge to write. It’s not only that, economic recession, social distancing are other measures bearing down upon us. News, media, the radio present us with a range of mixed messages, forecasts, warnings, pointing the finger, statistics and stay safe messages. It can be rather a lot to take in.
Monday 6th of April
The distaste on the tip of my tongue. 1.5 m social distancing, that’s the policy being implemented around the world as the global pandemic, covid19 spreads. But my own supervisor, a head of English at Palmerston seemed to fail to understand. Creeping closer, as if it was a game to get close. Look, I’m not one to take the high horse, but there better be a damn good explanation as to why she was purposefully, nauseatingly, distastefully inclining closer as we went over possible applications for online learning. Maybe she was obtuse, unknowingly breaching the rules, either way it was perverted. The rest of the day I spent plodding away, establishing online communication with students and coming to grips with the impact of covid19 and all its affiliating consequences.
7th of April
The coronavirus, also known as covid19 looms on, with work limited to preparation, planning and online communication taking place of normal school day activities. Another early start, but also an early finish as the realization of working from home sets in, the workplace seems to become a place that once was. Still early days, and prepping to be in the best possible position in the scenario of a school wide lockdown takes priority. The small differences begin to accumulate, and life is certainly changing direction. Home by 11 and the rest of the day was spent on my laptop as my son scooted around on his Heely’s, as well as transitioning to online learning. A fairly uneventful day, with the radio news repeating the same issues over and over again, the dogs lazing on the cool floor and my robotic vacuum doing the rounds.
8th of April
The day ended dancing in the quietened library room to music video’s showing choregraphed moves. It was a great way to let things go as tension builds up daily, making this relatively unbearable. I begin to question whether covid19 is not a front for something else that is going on in the world. A complete day off, spent at home with Jeremy, as I completed Task 1 of my masters degree. Whether it was building a Lego tower, learning online or watching him Heely around the house, spending time with Jeremy is food for my soul.
9th of April
Today we erected the 8man tent in our backyard in anticipation of the Easter weekend. Government restrictions meant we would be doing very little over the long weekend. The tent was like a makeshift covid19 hospitalisation space, for anybody turning up with symptoms. The start of the day was keeping up to date with colleagues at school and then rushing home in the morning to ensure our home delivery of groceries would be put away before it was too late. Then I knuckled down and completed my unit outline for my flailing year 11 English class, a lot that have yet to be sparked by the thought of finishing high-school forever. I am at a low point with them, unable to switch their minds on, and turn their hormones off. The rest of the day was filled with snippets of covid19 newsbreaks and a dinner in the tent. Meatballs in sauce a la couscous!
10th of April
I’ve just about had it. It’s not just the coronavirus, it’s the claustrophobia, the media and screen time, and most of all, it’s my god damn finances. The last point makes the situation a dire straits. They say 6 months, but that’s just the virus. The reality is, it’s unlikely the economy is going to recover. But, that’s enough. Today, Good Friday, was at home, making simple Easter crafts, reading short stories playing in the tent, trying to fix holes in a blow up mattress and not much else. Most of the day was spent thinking about lost things from the past. A weird strategy my brain uses to keep itself occupied. It’s quite annoying. Tomorrow, let’s see, better things could be on the horizon.
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2020-04-19
Saturday 4th of April
I was lucky to muster the motivation to rise from the Persian straw mat, with a yoga mat on top, my makeshift bed, at dawn. The usual sense of grogginess was absent despite the consumed quantities of alcohol the night before. It was the spirit of red wine, the viral of red liquid swimming in the aftermaths that remained in the back of my breath, and triggered a memory that was now the time to take advantage of the time. To walk the dogs, in the cool of dawn. The air was fresh, the streets were quiet. I walked to the city and back. Upon returning the motivation continued and I went into meditation, practicing the Kundalini technique ‘breath of fire’ I’d learnt during my travels to Thailand and my days at uni, going to yoga classes in my breaks. This set me up for a productive day. I watched two films with Jeremy, Ernest and Celest, an animation about a bear and a mouse, and an animated sci-fi, ‘The battle for Tera’, a futuristic film, set on an inhabited planet called Tera, where the humans and aliens came into conflict. Left over south Indian curry, ordered the night before, from the local ‘Saffron’ restaurant in Parap. Then an afternoon spent cleaning, and de-dusting the bedroom and re-arranging the furniture.
Sunday 5th of April
Up early again, walking the dogs to the city and back. Upon returning I was delighted to have breakfast and coffee prepare for me, which I eagerly took to the front porch and watched the dark clouds loom over with occasional thing and rain. I then returned to meditate, stretch and breath as I continue to practice the ‘breath of fire’. The rest of the day was a haze, until I decided to go for a run and exercise at the park nearby. A fairly uneventful day. As Covid19 takes hold of the community I spend more and more days inside, and thus the urge to write. It’s not only that, economic recession, social distancing are other measures bearing down upon us. News, media, the radio present us with a range of mixed messages, forecasts, warnings, pointing the finger, statistics and stay safe messages. It can be rather a lot to take in.
Monday 6th of April
The distaste on the tip of my tongue. 1.5 m social distancing, that’s the policy being implemented around the world as the global pandemic, covid19 spreads. But my own supervisor, a head of English at Palmerston seemed to fail to understand. Creeping closer, as if it was a game to get close. Look, I’m not one to take the high horse, but there better be a damn good explanation as to why she was purposefully, nauseatingly, distastefully inclining closer as we went over possible applications for online learning. Maybe she was obtuse, unknowingly breaching the rules, either way it was perverted. The rest of the day I spent plodding away, establishing online communication with students and coming to grips with the impact of covid19 and all its affiliating consequences.
7th of April
The coronavirus, also known as covid19 looms on, with work limited to preparation, planning and online communication taking place of normal school day activities. Another early start, but also an early finish as the realization of working from home sets in, the workplace seems to become a place that once was. Still early days, and prepping to be in the best possible position in the scenario of a school wide lockdown takes priority. The small differences begin to accumulate, and life is certainly changing direction. Home by 11 and the rest of the day was spent on my laptop as my son scooted around on his Heely’s, as well as transitioning to online learning. A fairly uneventful day, with the radio news repeating the same issues over and over again, the dogs lazing on the cool floor and my robotic vacuum doing the rounds.
8th of April
The day ended dancing in the quietened library room to music video’s showing choregraphed moves. It was a great way to let things go as tension builds up daily, making this relatively unbearable. I begin to question whether covid19 is not a front for something else that is going on in the world. A complete day off, spent at home with Jeremy, as I completed Task 1 of my masters degree. Whether it was building a Lego tower, learning online or watching him Heely around the house, spending time with Jeremy is food for my soul.
9th of April
Today we erected the 8man tent in our backyard in anticipation of the Easter weekend. Government restrictions meant we would be doing very little over the long weekend. The tent was like a makeshift covid19 hospitalisation space, for anybody turning up with symptoms. The start of the day was keeping up to date with colleagues at school and then rushing home in the morning to ensure our home delivery of groceries would be put away before it was too late. Then I knuckled down and completed my unit outline for my flailing year 11 English class, a lot that have yet to be sparked by the thought of finishing high-school forever. I am at a low point with them, unable to switch their minds on, and turn their hormones off. The rest of the day was filled with snippets of covid19 newsbreaks and a dinner in the tent. Meatballs in sauce a la couscous!
10th of April
I’ve just about had it. It’s not just the coronavirus, it’s the claustrophobia, the media and screen time, and most of all, it’s my god damn finances. The last point makes the situation a dire straits. They say 6 months, but that’s just the virus. The reality is, it’s unlikely the economy is going to recover. But, that’s enough. Today, Good Friday, was at home, making simple Easter crafts, reading short stories playing in the tent, trying to fix holes in a blow up mattress and not much else. Most of the day was spent thinking about lost things from the past. A weird strategy my brain uses to keep itself occupied. It’s quite annoying. Tomorrow, let’s see, better things could be on the horizon.
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2020-04-20
During the quarantine I have needed to get out of the house for several hours a day so I decided to teach a Squat Deeper Workout to the forest creatures (squirrels, woodchucks, blue jays, etc) in the nearby arboretum.
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2020-04-08
During the quarantine I have been feeling manic - and driving my daughters, wife, and dog crazy with my mania - so have been spending a lot of time practicing softball tricks such as this.
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2020-04-06
Filmed a birthday dance in a cemetery for a friend and her son. Cemeteries are often a good place to get peace and quiet to settle my manic mind during the pandemic, and obviously presents an opportunity for dark humor.
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2020-04-18
When I was younger, my parents called me the nature boy because I was so invested in being amongst nature and spent almost all my free time outside. However as I got older, although I still had an strong interest in nature, I began to spend more of my time inside, playing videos games or at friends houses doing typical stupid teenager things. However, I have recently revived my inner nature boy due to these tough times, going on frequent hikes by myself or with my dogs and have been having so much fun in doing so. Nature has given me freedom to continue to be myself, during these unprecedented times and now I'm beginning to wonder why I ever stopped embracing nature in the first place!
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2020-04-18
The silence of the streets is only broken by the scream of the lightening these days
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2020-03-31
An image of a front-page article from the Billings [Montana] Gazette reporting that tribes in Montana are set to receive almost eight million dollars in housing funds and a slice of a ten billion dollar stimulus package to help with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds will be distributed to help tribal governments, enterprises, and businesses recover.
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2020-04-16
A Ph.D. student reminds professors to remain professional while teaching via Zoom. Her advice is received as tone-deaf, condescending, and sexist. Original article here. A response from Isis the Scientist via Skepchick here.
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04/18/2020
A response to the Inside Higher Ed Piece "Professor, please wash your hair." Calls out original author and Inside Higher Ed for criticizing women. Original article in Inside Higher ed here. Response by Isis the scientist on Skepchick, here.
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03/30/2010
Crow Tribal Chairman A.J. Not Afraid opens checkpoints to stem the influx of non-locals searching for areas that are Covid-free.
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2020-04-15
This article talks about how many places still are continuing their religious gatherings despite everything going on because of the relief it can provide. It mentions how some places are following their religious belief and going to their religious sites because the virus can be combated with belief and if something were to happen that would be the best place to die. While places like the U.S. have transferred their religious services to online ones or just stoped them many people in other places are still meeting up like nothing is going on and the virus won't get them becasue they are in a safe place.
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2020-04-16
This article is about religious group by the name of Happy Science who promote apocolyptic themes and is using the pandemic to drive their message and possible bring in new recruites.They are claiming that the virus is of supernatrual and extraterrestrial nature are offering a "spiritual vaccine" for a fee to be clear and safe from the disease. These indiviudals have an bizare and unsusal view of religion in a universal and supernatural way of looking at things. There are fees associated with joining this group and have revenues in the millions. To cure its members from the virus a private ritual must be conducted where individuals must pay hundreds of dollar to perform.
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2020-02-24
In this article talks about how one person in South Korea is responsible for the original 833 cases. They were a member of a religious group called the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. This one gathering caused case numbers to grow exponentially over the course of several days leading the the spread of Covid-19 to every major city and province of South Korea. This cause South Korean authorities to raise the virus alert level to red, which had not been done since 2009. The article also expresses the concern of some people because the religious group is not revealing who originally had Covid-19 so there is no way for people in the surrounding community to know if they came into contact with said member. They also blame the chuch for not cooperating with health authorities.
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2020-04-07
The article is about how Covid-19 has affected the religious burial practices of those who died from infection in the Middle East. Attention focuses on the contrasting differences between how the infected bodies were handled, where they were layed to rest, and traditional preparational practices that were foregone during the early stages of the Pandemic due to the lack of knowledge and fear about the virus itself, resulting in discord between deeply religious family members of the deceased and government/health officials.
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2020-04-17
Personal beliefs on the pandemic:
When glancing at the novel Coronavirus, there are plenty of questions that arise. How will the Coronavirus affect our future? How long will this pandemic last? How can we prevent such pandemics from occurring again? According to researchers across the globe, it is unclear how severe the Coronavirus is as it changes consistently. ...
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2020-04-11
Through recent news and stories, the novel coronavirus, commonly referred to as COVID-19, has brought attention to many countries and regions across the world. Currently, people have been developing symptoms of dry coughs, fevers, and pneumonia before actually being diagnosed with the virus. ...
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2020-04-09
Frimet Goldberger writes about the effects COVID-19 is having on the Hasidic community in New York City, and also points out how their traditions and lifestyle are contributing to the exacerbated effects of the virus within their community. Household numbers considerably larger than the average American household, a deeply communal lifestyle, a lack of access to the news, and distrust in secular authorities and science are all contributing to the intensified effects that COVID-19 is having on the Hasidic community. Instead of blaming Hasidic Jews as a whole, Goldberger points a finger at rabbis that are in the position to warn their community about the threat of the virus and encourage social distancing protocol but choose not to.
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2020-04-13
This article is about Saudi authorities rushing to contain COVID-19 in the Islamic holy city of Mecca. It goes on to talk about how Saudi Arabia is doing everything they can to shield Mecca specifically because of its importance to the worlds Muslim population.
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2020-04-17
This article follows the feelings and actions of religious leaders during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The article follows the journey of a pastor and a rabbi to hold religious services, though gatherings of more than ten people are prohibited in Ventura County. They believe that attending religious services are part of an American's First Amendments Rights. According to them, the prohibition of in-person religious services is unconstitutional.
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2020-04-15
The documentary about the resurgence of vinyl records, the diversification of vinyl fans and what this all means for America was ready for its premiere this spring, but well, things have changed. So the filmmakers changed their plans! You can catch VINYL NATION from the comfort of your own home the weekend of April 18 and 19---the original Record Store Day weekend!-- and help out your local record store!
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2006-04-10
The premiss of this article is how community members in Bakersfield, California plan on spending Easter holiday with the shutdowns of everything but essential places. Deborah Leary had never missed going to a Good Friday service even when 9/11 took place, has to now watch Good Friday service online due to COVID-19. Many people are relying on live streams for their religious services and believe these times will teach them that they can still get sermons or other religious services by not having to physically attend a place of worship.
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2020-04-17
Free groceries for all in need - 22 million Americans are now without work.
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2020-04-04
This article discusses the current crisis in Europe and particularly the hard impact on the Roma community and many ways their comunity was already suffering and lacking in infrastructure to be adequately prepared for the virus. The article also discusses a number of legislative actions by European countries specifically targeting Roma communities.
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2020-04-17
Six feet is considered the standard for social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This is also around the time when wearing face masks in public became the norm.
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2020-04-18
This article talks about the life for christians since the COVID-19 breakout that has happened in the United States. Most importantly is it talks about how people need hope during this time of distress and how the church can bring such thing into peoples lives. It also discusses how people have adapted to still fulfill there religious obligation even with everything that is going on. From having confession outside, park and pray, and so much more.
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2020-04-01
Ansonia, CT-based photographer Jason Edwards is compiling a photo series to document daily life in the Naugatuck Valley during the Covid 19 pandemic. He has set out to capture the many ways people are adapting during this uncertain times. His photos highlight precautionary measures put in place, like social distancing, as well as the strength of family and local communities.
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2020-04-01
Ansonia, CT-based photographer Jason Edwards is compiling a photo series to document daily life in the Naugatuck Valley during the Covid 19 pandemic. He has set out to capture the many ways people are adapting during this uncertain times. His photos highlight precautionary measures put in place, like social distancing, as well as the strength of family and local communities.
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2020-04-18
The playground is locked. No group gatherings, sports or games allowed.
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2020-04-01
I responded to our local hospital's call for donations for PPE and donated 10 N95 construction masks sitting in my garage. The same day I donated those masks I heard media reports of American companies selling millions of masks per day to be shipped abroad. It tells me that capitalism persists in this pandemic and that President Trump prioritizes the profits of some American companies over the safety of our health care workers. This reveals America First as a hypocrisy. Hence, I labeled my piece "America First, Americans Last".
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2020-04-18
Esta imagen se viralizó rápidamente en redes sociales se ve al pequeño Alen Castañeda Zelada (6) de rodillas, con los ojos cerrados y las manos juntas en una desolada calle, ubicada en La Libertad - Trujillo - Perú .
El pequeño Alen salió a la calle durante la noche para orar por el fin de esta crisis ya que solo así podrá volver a ver a sus abuelos. El menor dijo tambien a los medios "Rezo para que Dios cuide a los que están con esta enfermedad. Estoy pidiendo que nadie salga, muchas personas grandes están muriendo con esta enfermedad".
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04/18/2020
I added this because, as frustrated as I am about the continued practice of physical distancing and because I am concerned about the economy, the science surrounding the virus is clear: too easily transmitted, not enough tests, and widespread ignorance.
This photo and post spoke to me.
From the post that goes with it:
"Here’s what I can tell you after 5 days of taking care of COVID19 patients sick enough to need the hospital but not sick enough to need the ICU: this is the weirdest fucking virus I have ever seen (except maybe HIV). The constellation of symptoms that we see is honestly mind boggling. The people who seem fine and the crash. The people who I think will crash but are fine. The people who have absolutely none of the most common symptoms. The people who check every box on the symptom list. At this point everyone has it until proven otherwise (twice).
The surge is on, and we are holding steady. It is *just* manageable. We are doing it but with stress to the teams and the system.
If you think the country is ready for business as usual, I disagree. We aren’t there yet. We need tests (yes. We stillllllll can’t test everyone). We need a vaccine. And we need effective medication. We are working our asses of. We need more time. Thank you so much for staying home!!!"
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2020-04-14
Local photographers, inspired by other groups across the country, are offering families photo sessions from the safety of their own front porches. The Arizona Front Porch Project photographers are donating 30% of proceeds to local charities. Families choose props and locations, and can get creative with their photo sessions.
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2020-04-07
Local photographers are offering family photo sessions from the safety of their front porches.
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2020-04-18
A small story about my tales of working at a grocery store during our pandemic. As of the last couple of weeks, my grocery store has had a limit on certain items like meat, water, eggs, toilet paper, etc. I was working in at customer service this day and I was making sure things were in order, wasn't really busy anyway. We had this couple come up to me and ask if I was ready to check them out and I directed them to a register, but before they walked away I realized they had 2 cases of water and 5 things of chicken. I informed them of our limit on those specific items right now, even though we had signed by each of these items explaining the same thing. The husband told me " What if I just come back in and buy the rest, are you going to stop me?". That really caught me off guard because it was such a disregard for basic rules. I told him still, he has to put some of it back, he kept joking around he was gonna put it back or come back in. He played it off like I wasn't paying attention by just putting the water back. He put it on some random shelf right behind him too. He still got into line with all the chicken. I told another cashier to tell them the same thing. So as they checked out they had 2 more cashiers tell them. I was told the guy said him and his wife would split the order so they could get all the chicken. I can't imagine just wanting something so bad you gotta just bend around the rules to get it, especially when those rules are in place to make things fair to other people. In the end, he had to put the 3 extra chickens back because of a manager getting involved. I don't know why people can't respect simple rules.
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2020-04-18
This all takes place in March around the week of the 20th I believe? Sadly, I have not been keeping tabs during when the pandemic was actually announced, but I did work that week a few days when the news hit everyone. The week following the mass panic in my area I paid attention to what was going on in the other parts of the U.S. People were stocking up on toliet paper and handsanitzer, so I knew to be ready when I was here. I bought my stuff and people thought I was crazy. When the week came, my little store with only 6 registers was packed. All day long there were from 3-5 people lined up at every register. They bought everything. The shelves were just bare and the meat department was empty. People paniced that we would never get food back in as if trucks weren't going to come on their correct dates with fresh supply. Every single day the trucks came the food was gone. People thought we were hiding stuff in the back, but in reality the moment it got here it was put on the shelves and then gone. I did not work in the morning, but since grocery trucks (the ones with toilet paper) were stocked overnight in the morning it would be packed. Halfway through the week, we put limits on things like meat, eggs, hand sanitizer, and any other sold out items. This concludes for those weeks.
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2020-04-03
This is a response to "A 20 Second Project" (started by Noa Street-Sachs) where she asked people from Minneapolis to Amman Jordan to answer the following question in 20 seconds: 1) Think about 1 year from now. What is a custom/practice/way of interacting that you think may change as a result of this crisis?
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2020-04-18
I live in a city. I have lived in this city for about seven years, but I did not grow up here. I grew up in a place with space and trees and green, green grass. Birds and deer and foxes in the backyard. Sometimes I would forget how much I missed that room to breathe.
When things started shutting down, when I got sent home, removed from my day-to-day of work and grad school and working out, I started taking walks again. I got a bike and began roaming around the threads of city park sewn together from patterns of a previous century. The trees there are so tall, and the lawns so wide, the paths are empty and the remains of stone foundations and concrete ponds are hidden under the grip of viney tendrils.
Things feel slower now, they feel more like when I was a kid on long days outside, sitting on the grass with the four o'clock sun and no responsibilities. It feels strange, it feels a little guilty, to admit that right now I am more relaxed that I have been in years, but the streets are empty and silent at night and I can hear the crickets. For the first time in my life here, I walk down the street without catcalls, without fear of strangers. I am more confident in this new world where we are all afraid of each other. There is reason to keep away from me and from me to keep away from you.
And this is privilege too. I still work, I still have school, I have a car and I have good health. I wear my mask and wash my hands after going to the store, I volunteer, I leave groceries on my neighbor's porches. I donated my $1,200. But in some ways these actions feel like penance for my guilt at being okay. Being calm and centered.
It hasn't hit me yet. Maybe this is shock, maybe when it comes and I get it or my partner gets it or my parents get it everything will change. The world has changed so much already, I see both good things and bad at work. I have no ability to think about when it will end, I don't think it ever will. We are fundamentally different now and deep wounds will remain in us forever, but if men no longer yelled at me on the street, if I felt safe in my own city, if I knew the green spaces to retreat to in the worst moments, at least one small good thing would happen.
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2020-04-18
A website to facilitate Mutual Aid efforts and connect volunteers and those in need in Baltimore, Maryland.
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2020-04-16
My name is Annalise I'm 17 years old and I live in Brooklyn, New York. Each day I'm going to be writing a little song while I'm isolation. I hope these videos bring a sense of routine and creativity in this time of uncertainty as well as inspires creativity! :)
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2020-03-31
With lockdown of markets, it became important to decentralise distribution of essential goods. You entered wrote your needs and your phone number- gave the list to volunteers and got a call when your order was ready
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2020-04-18
Im sharing this picture because it shows how humans were before the pandemic. How close we are to one another all around the world should have been deemed unsafe from the beginning. Its tragic that the world has to be falling apart before we notice that something is wrong. It is important to wash your hands and keep distance from others. Not just in this pandemic but all around
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04/17/2020
Entry about 4/17/20: It's sad to think about how different things were only a month ago. On a Friday only a month ago I would have been out with friends, going to clubs at night and partying until I dropped. And now, I just sit in my apartment, sleeping all day and sitting up all night. My friends have all gone home, and I am the only one left that I know in this town. Yep, can't wait for all of this to be over.
