Small Talk: Out of Genoa

[Cupid Stunt]

 

 And if Christmas Cranberry Candles weren't bad enough ...

 

Stevie Nicks Sells Majority Stake in Publishing Catalog to Primary Wave -- A majority stake in the publishing catalog of legendary Fleetwood Mac singer and solo artist Stevie Nicks, who recently enjoyed a surprise chart smash with her 43-year-old song “Dreams,” has been acquired by Primary Wave, according to an announcement on Friday. The company will also represent Nicks in brand alliance and brand marketing opportunities and will partner with Kobalt on administration for the catalog. Citing people familiar with the deal, the Wall Street Journal reports that Primary Wave purchased an 80% interest in the copyrights, which are valued at about $100 million.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist and biologist David Goodsell has done a painting of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine. The vaccine structure is highly idealized, with spike mRNA in magenta, lipids in blue, and PEG-lipid in green. The background is blood serum or lymph.

A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee’s recommendation.

A mounting U.S. death toll has tempered enthusiasm about the coming COVID-19 vaccine with 3000+ fatalities projected every day for the months ahead, even with a rapid rollout of inoculations, which could start as soon as Monday, December 14, 2020. Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, The numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths on December 10, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than 106,000 people in the hospital.

 

 In this Friday, March 20, 2020 file photo, extremely light traffic moves along the 110 Harbor Freeway toward downtown Los Angeles in the mid-afternoon. Traffic would normally be bumper-to-bumper during this time of day on a Friday. New calculations released on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, show the world's carbon dioxide emissions plunged 7% in 2020 because of the pandemic lockdowns. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A locked-down pandemic-struck world cut its carbon dioxide emissions this year by 7%, the biggest drop ever, new preliminary figures show. The Global Carbon Project, an authoritative group of dozens of international scientists who track emissions, calculated that the world will have put 37 billion U.S. tons (34 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide in the air in 2020. That’s down from 40.1 billion US tons (36.4 billion metric tons) in 2019, according a study published Thursday in the journal Earth System Science Data.

 

 

 

Downtown San Francisco is seen from Dolores Park under an orange sky darkened by smoke from California wildfires in San Francisco, California, September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Reuters PICTURES - FRI DEC 11, 2020 - Pictures of the year: America in 2020

 

In photo provided by the Washington State Dept. of Agriculture, an Asian Giant Hornet wearing a tracking device is shown Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020 near Blaine, Wash. These hornets are known for attacking and destroying honeybee nests.

Honeybees use poop to ward off murder hornets

 

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by Cupid Stunt

[peacheslatour]

Hi guys, please send good vibes to my dad. They took him to the hospital last night. He has Covid.

[OhioSongbird]

Prayer said and done.

I wish him all the best care and a big (((hug))) from Ohio.

[peacheslatour]

11 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

Prayer said and done.

I wish him all the best care and a big (((hug))) from Ohio.

Thank you. We're hoping for the best. The worst part is that I can't see him.

[Capricasix]

51 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Hi guys, please send good vibes to my dad. They took him to the hospital last night. He has Covid.

I’m so sorry - thinking good thoughts for him ❤️

[boes]

Oh peachelatour, I'm so sorry to hear this.  You must be so worried.  Prayers and thoughts and whatever good things can be sent through the ether on their way to you and yours.

We're here in whatever way we can be for you.

[peacheslatour]

32 minutes ago, boes said:

Oh peachelatour, I'm so sorry to hear this.  You must be so worried.  Prayers and thoughts and whatever good things can be sent through the ether on their way to you and yours.

We're here in whatever way we can be for you.

Thank you.

[peacheslatour]

Oh no! Not Henri! 

Repose en paix Henri, libre de ta souffrance et de ton sacrifice.

[Snaporaz]

You can have whatever you need from us, peaches.  Gods, this sucks even worse now that we're so close to a vaccine and he's in the group that will be the first to get it.  I hope he has a quick and easy recovery.

Adieu, Henri...😿🌈💝

[Cupid Stunt]

Lord, hear our prayers and have mercy.

Almighty Father, the Minister of our souls and bodies, visit our brother, peacheslatour's father, who is sick and in quarantine. Stretch forth Your hand that guides healing and health, and give counsel to the doctors and nurses as they treat their patients. Put away from those that suffer the spirit of disease which they are bound; and grant remission to improved health. Have mercy on Your creation, through the grace of Your Only-Begotten Son and Holy Spirit, with Whom You are blessed, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Edited December 12, 2020 by Cupid Stunt

[jewel21]

Your father is in my thoughts and prayers, Peaches. 

[geauxaway]

19 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Hi guys, please send good vibes to my dad. They took him to the hospital last night. He has Covid.

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 for recovery and for strength to you to get through this time.  

[Cupid Stunt]

A woman walks in front of graffiti showing a doctor trying to help a patient with COVID-19, in the Moscow/EPA-EFE photo

 

Four months that will decide America's future -- If Americans do not change their behavior quickly, experts warn, the weeks and months ahead will be filled with more death and despair, packed hospitals and unemployment line

 

How America Gave Up -- And how we fight back

 

‘During this interview, 10-12 people will die from covid’: Dr. Osterholm speaks to the scary reality

 

© ERIC LALMAND/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

Three snow leopards at Louisville Zoo test positive for COVID-19

 

 

 

 

Tromso, Norway, where seasonal depression rates are low even though they don't get sun at all for two full months/DIANA ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY VIA GETTY IMAGES

How To Enjoy Winters Like The Scandinavians Do

 

 

 

So wrong ...

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2020 by Cupid Stunt

[MollyB]

21 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Hi guys, please send good vibes to my dad. They took him to the hospital last night. He has Covid.

I hope it's a mild case and with all that's been learned about covid in the last year he gets treated and well quickly.  Hang in there, Peaches.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, MollyB said:

I hope it's a mild case and with all that's been learned about covid in the last year he gets treated and well quickly.  Hang in there, Peaches.

Than you all. He has now developed a cough. I just hate not being able to see him and comfort him.

[Cupid Stunt]

 

Charley Pride, country music legend, dies at 86

Pride died in Dallas of complications from Covid-19, the release said.

Born on March 18, 1934, in Sledge, Mississippi, the singer was a sharecropper's son who rose to become country music's first black superstar. His baritone voice was featured on more than 50 Top 10 country hits and he was the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He fell in love with the genre while listening to Grand Ole Opry radio shows in his youth. But his first swing at professional success came when he played Negro League baseball at 16, eventually becoming an all-star player.

Pride sang in music clubs in his spare time but decided to make it a full-time endeavor after a failed tryout with the New York Mets. Pride arrived in Nashville in 1963 and was eventually signed to RCA Records in 1965 by country guitarist and record executive Chet Atkins. His first single, 1967's "Just Between You and Me," broke into the Top 10 on country charts and garnered Pride his first Grammy nomination. Pride quit his job at a Missouri smelting plant and embarked on a career that spanned more than four decades. Between 1967 and 1987, Pride had 52 Top 10 country hits, won Grammy awards, and became RCA Records' top-selling country artist, his representative said.

Pride's early singles were released without mention of his race or a photo of him. "We're not color blind yet, but we've advanced a few paces along the path and I like to think I've contributed something to that process," Pride wrote in his memoir. Some of Pride's biggest hits include "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone" and "Just Between You and Me." In 1971, his recording of "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" became his biggest hit, reaching No. 1 on the country charts and crossing over to No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Pride was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1993 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. His final performance was on November 11 when he received the Country Music Association's lifetime achievement award at the annual CMA Awards show. He performed "Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'" with Jimmie Allen at the event, though several other groups skipped the show due to positive Covid-19 tests or exposure.

Fellow country music legend Dolly Parton paid tribute to Pride on Twitter, calling him one of her "dearest and oldest friends." "It's even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19," Parton wrote. "What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you."

Pride is survived by his wife, Ebby Rozene Cohran Pride, three children, five grandchildren, and two grandchildren, his representative said.

 

 

[Cupid Stunt]

Happy Monday!

Silent movie star and producer Harold Lloyd, seen here in 1971, while tending to his year round Christmas tree display.

 

A less miserable winter -- Tips on how to keep houseplants alive, pick up a hobby, exercise indoors, bake bread, and more.

 

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett (Courtesy of UNC Health Care)

Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American woman, is praised as key scientist behind COVID-19 vaccine

 

Cleveland’s baseball team plans to drop the name Indians after 105 years

 

The James Dyson Foundation has designed a set of 44 challenges related to science & engineering specifically for kids (ages 7 & older), which are perfect for at-home learning. The challenges include making an air-powered car out of a balloon, strong bridges out of spaghetti, a cardboard chair strong enough to hold a person, and how to determine the speed of light by melting a chocolate bar in the microwave (we did this last night ... COOL!)

 

The monarch butterfly is under increasing pressure due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change, driving down their population. The current state of the smaller western population of monarchs that overwinter in California is more dire than their eastern counterparts. The western population crashed by 99% in the latest count, reaching a historic low of fewer than 30,000 butterflies for the second year in a row, down from 1.2 million two decades ago. Both butterfly populations are below the threshold at which government scientists predict the migrations could collapse. Federal scientists estimate there is nearly a 60% chance the monarch’s spectacular, multigenerational migration in the eastern half of the country could completely collapse within the next 20 years.

 

 

 

John le Carré, author of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, dies aged 89

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Cupid Stunt

[boes]

Peacheslatour, how is your Dad doing?  How are YOU doing?  

Thinking about you.

[peacheslatour]

13 minutes ago, boes said:

Peacheslatour, how is your Dad doing?  How are YOU doing?  

Thinking about you.

Thank you. I didn't hear from the doctor yesterday. Like my DH says "no news is good news" I hope so. Me? I'm fine but my heart is breaking about not being able to see my son this Christmas. Even after he moved out and lived on his own for years, he would always stay overnight on Christmas Eve so we could open presents, have a huge breakfast and lay around all day watching A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation. I have no interest in watching those movies this year. How are you doing?

[PatsyandEddie]

Peaches, I’ve just read about your father. I will pray for him tonight and send good vibes to you. May he get better soon. 
I can feel your pain about your son. Our house will be much quieter this year without our kids and grands.
This year has been tortuous and depressing. I did feel a faint spark of hope watching people being vaccinated in both the US and Canada though. 

[peacheslatour]

58 minutes ago, PatsyandEddie said:

Peaches, I’ve just read about your father. I will pray for him tonight and send good vibes to you. May he get better soon. 
I can feel your pain about your son. Our house will be much quieter this year without our kids and grands.
This year has been tortuous and depressing. I did feel a faint spark of hope watching people being vaccinated in both the US and Canada though. 

Thank you. It has been a rotten year. Here's to hoping 2021 is better.

[Cupid Stunt]

To be honest, The Elf on the Shelf unnerves me.

 

384 Ways to Help

 

Simone Williams's afro is 4 feet and 10 inches in circumference, and breaks Guinness World Record for largest afro

 

Sesame Street's ABCs of COVID-19 Town Hall

 

New coronavirus strain spreading in UK has key mutations, scientists say

 

FDA authorizes first over-the-counter at-home Covid-19 test

 

Poor countries face long wait for vaccines despite promises

 

Vaccine comes too late for the 300,000 US dead. Covid-19 now kills more than 1 American every minute. And the rate keeps accelerating.

 

Spurred by the pandemic — what he calls “the first experience we’ve had of a global disaster affecting every single person on Earth” -- Domain of Science’s Dominic Walliman takes stock of many of the possible catastrophes that might befall humanity, ranking possible threats based on their likelihood and the number of potential casualties.

The Map of Doom - Apocalypses Ranked

 

 

 

Anglo-Saxon cross buried for 1,000 years seen in stunning detail for the first time

 

Jeannie Morris, Trailblazing Sports Reporter And CBS 2 Legend, Dies At 85 -- Thank you for you perseverance.

 

 

Banksy's latest mural titled “Aachoo!!” that has appeared on a wall in Bristol, England, Thursday Dec. 10, 2020. Banksy's latest mural has delayed - but not thwarted - a homeowner's plans to sell in Bristol after it recently appeared on the house's exterior wall. (Claire Hayhurst/PA via AP)

 

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

On 12/14/2020 at 2:28 PM, peacheslatour said:

Thank you. I didn't hear from the doctor yesterday. Like my DH says "no news is good news" I hope so. Me? I'm fine but my heart is breaking about not being able to see my son this Christmas. Even after he moved out and lived on his own for years, he would always stay overnight on Christmas Eve so we could open presents, have a huge breakfast and lay around all day watching A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation. I have no interest in watching those movies this year. How are you doing?

We're about as happy as we've made up our minds to be. Really, we're staying busy, and at the end of the day we drink and watch Food movies -- Tonight we ordered too much Chinese take-out and have “Eat Drink Man Woman” cued. 

We won't be going to my parent's for Bea's Christmas Eve birthday bash and Christmas Day -- We're planning a birthday party in June for Bea. My sister-in-law will be in town over Christmas for online divorce court <blerg> so she's celebrating Christmas with us and the Thing's. Mr.Stunt is organizing a Skype Christmas Day broadcast with the families. 

I try not to cry in the car on the way to work. Re-applying warpaint at work is annoying.

 

Keep the faith, Peaches.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Cupid Stunt said:

We're about as happy as we've made up our minds to be. Really, we're staying busy, and at the end of the day we drink and watch Food movies -- Tonight we ordered too much Chinese take-out and have “Eat Drink Man Woman” cued. 

We won't be going to my parent's for Bea's Christmas Eve birthday bash and Christmas Day -- We're planning a birthday party in June for Bea. My sister-in-law will be in town over Christmas for online divorce court <blerg> so she's celebrating Christmas with us and the Thing's. Mr.Stunt is organizing a Skype Christmas Day broadcast with the families. 

I try not to cry in the car on the way to work. Re-applying warpaint at work is annoying.

 

Keep the faith, Peaches.

You too, my sister. You too.🥂

[Snaporaz]

I was at Target earlier doing a little half-hearted Christmas shopping, and I saw a Jason Momoa coloring book.  That made me think of you, Cupid...I know how much you likes you some Hawaiian Jesus!  They also had a Keanu Reeves coloring book.  I'd be torn between the two...

Hope all you Preverts are doing well.  Those good vibes continue to come your way, trying to work their magic. 

[Cupid Stunt]

2 hours ago, Snaporaz said:

I was at Target earlier doing a little half-hearted Christmas shopping, and I saw a Jason Momoa coloring book. That made me think of you, Cupid...I know how much you likes you some Hawaiian Jesus!  They also had a Keanu Reeves coloring book.  I'd be torn between the two...

Hope all you Preverts are doing well.  Those good vibes continue to come your way, trying to work their magic. 

Why does a Hawaiian Jesus coloring book make me idiotically happy?

 

[OhioSongbird]

Ditto, peaches....keep the faith.  Your Dad's in my prayers everyday.  I hope he comes home soon.  🙏

I got out of the hospital Nov 10th and I'm getting better everyday (in small increments....just started getting into the shower by myself a couple of days ago).  Still waaaaay low on stamina.....the fatigue thing is no joke.  I am cooking...today is clean-out-the-fridge/pantry/freezer-soup day.

Same here on the Christmas gathering.  Boychild is still planning on coming for the weekend but I'm having my doubts.  Hubby and I have both been exposed...even tho they said he tested negative we don't believe it.  He was sick for several days (and quarantined) and he's usually healthy as a horse as is our son.  I hear so many conflicting stories about whether I can still infect boychild or he can give it back to us even tho he is healthy at this point, just may be asymptomatic.  I just don't want anybody to get this....well, I can think of a few folks in Washington D.C.  🙄

Everyone have as good a holiday season as you can.  We Preverts are a resilient bunch after all.  Soldier on everyone.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH & KWANZAA  to all!!

[peacheslatour]

24 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

Ditto, peaches....keep the faith.  Your Dad's in my prayers everyday.  I hope he comes home soon.  🙏

I got out of the hospital Nov 10th and I'm getting better everyday (in small increments....just started getting into the shower by myself a couple of days ago).  Still waaaaay low on stamina.....the fatigue thing is no joke.  I am cooking...today is clean-out-the-fridge/pantry/freezer-soup day.

Same here on the Christmas gathering.  Boychild is still planning on coming for the weekend but I'm having my doubts.  Hubby and I have both been exposed...even tho they said he tested negative we don't believe it.  He was sick for several days (and quarantined) and he's usually healthy as a horse as is our son.  I hear so many conflicting stories about whether I can still infect boychild or he can give it back to us even tho he is healthy at this point, just may be asymptomatic.  I just don't want anybody to get this....well, I can think of a few folks in Washington D.C.  🙄

Everyone have as good a holiday season as you can.  We Preverts are a resilient bunch after all.  Soldier on everyone.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH & KWANZAA  to all!!

I'm so glad you're on the mend! Wow, talk about resilience. You are like Super Woman, cleaning out the fridge/pantry and making and freezing soup! That's impressive! I hope you feel better every day. As much as I want to see him, my son is not allowed to come home this year. It's just too much of a risk. It breaks my heart though. 😢

[pearlite]

9 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

 

Why does a Hawaiian Jesus coloring book make me idiotically happy?

 

He's in Toronto filming, living in downtown west end at the moment. Hope he enjoys crappy weather, darkness, and third-wave shutdown.

[OhioSongbird]

I should rephrase that 'clean-out' part.  😉 I'm not 'cleaning' anything......just grabbing anything that needs to be used up before it goes bad.  Today it's potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, snow peas and broth from the freezer (I freeze any broth from cooking veggies for use later) .  

I hate to see food go to waste......plus I can chop up the veggies from the comfort of my couch while I watch my shows.  Lately it's been a Law & Order marathon....I loves me some Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) & Green (Jesse L. Martin).  Plus anything with Sam Waterston is fine with me.  Check out the old (1980) PBS series Oppenheimer (about Los Alamos and the atomic bomb).  Great show.

[peacheslatour]

34 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

I should rephrase that 'clean-out' part.  😉 I'm not 'cleaning' anything......just grabbing anything that needs to be used up before it goes bad.  Today it's potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, snow peas and broth from the freezer (I freeze any broth from cooking veggies for use later) .  

I hate to see food go to waste......plus I can chop up the veggies from the comfort of my couch while I watch my shows.  Lately it's been a Law & Order marathon....I loves me some Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) & Green (Jesse L. Martin).  Plus anything with Sam Waterston is fine with me.  Check out the old (1980) PBS series Oppenheimer (about Los Alamos and the atomic bomb).  Great show.

Me too. In fact I'm watching Law and Order right now. Nowhere Man. It's a fascinating mystery. I should really make some veggie broth. Thanks for the idea!

[Cupid Stunt]

5 hours ago, pearlite said:

He's in Toronto filming, living in downtown west end at the moment. Hope he enjoys crappy weather, darkness, and third-wave shutdown.

 (fan-girl swooning) Jason Momoa seems at home where ever he goes.

 

Third-wave is brutal.

[PatsyandEddie]

15 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

Why does a Hawaiian Jesus coloring book make me idiotically happy?

 

😍********fainting*******

[Cupid Stunt]

 

Recycling wrapping paper? Gift bags? Here's what holiday packaging can go in blue bins.

 

 

^ Christmas Decorations by Lucy Sparrow

 

Ann Reinking, Tony Winner and Star of Broadway’s ‘Chicago,’ Dies at 71

 

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Cupid Stunt

[peacheslatour]

Cool story; I grew up with the Reinking family. Ann was older that me by ten years but her brother Jeff was school president. They lived right around the corner from my parents place.

[geauxaway]

I’m praying hard for all y’all right now.  It’s tough.  We were supposed to be flying out tomorrow for our traditional Christmas vacation at Mimi’s and them.  This will be kiddo’s first Christmas not at Mimi, PawPaw’s and Grandpa / Grandma’s.  My first Christmas in a long time not at “home,” and for sure the first Christmas Eve not at Mass (live in person, we’ve been doing live online for months).  Shopping is done,  Groceries are almost made and I’ve got a VERY extensive and aggressive menu.  🤣. And my auntie also wants us to come by and pick up to go plates of her spaghetti and meatballs (or maybe have a sit down with her, but in shifts) .  🥰😋🇮🇹

I pray for peace and health to all you good people.  As my Christmas card I mailed out said “SO Grateful and SO blessed!”  Because at the end of the day, I am.

[peacheslatour]

I wish the same to you, geauxaway. Peace to all of us.

[geauxaway]

15 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I wish the same to you, geauxaway. Peace to all of us.

All I can guarantee is that I’m gonna eat and drink myself silly, if I have to do it here alone, so be it I guess. Kiddo will eat black olives, mashed potatoes and chocolate pie til he falls over, no matter what I cook.  My consolation with him is that even with all his defiance, he will always sit down and watch Christmas movies with me.  

I hope and pray your dad heals up soon. 😘

[Cupid Stunt]

Nor'easter bringing nearly 4 feet of snow to Northeast

 

Bloomberg photo

Americans Would Have No Christmas Without China

 

 Photo courtesy Jumpei Mitsui

Jumpei Mitsui, the youngest-ever Lego Certified Professional, has created a Lego version of Hokusai’s iconic woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. The Great Wave is perhaps the most recognizable (and most covered) Japanese artwork in the world. Mitsui’s Lego rendering is composed of 50,000 pieces and took 400 hours to build.

 

 

This video is three minutes and nine seconds of pure precision — welcome to the world of Japanese wood joinery. Carpenter Dylan Iwakuni wordlessly demonstrates taking two or more pieces of wood and (improbably, impossibly) making them one. Seriously, I am gobsmacked at how exactly these bits of wood fit together.

 

ICU doctor Gary Hunninghake receives the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., December 16, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

One in four people globally may not get COVID-19 vaccines until 2022

 

With the first approved Covid-19 vaccines rolling out in the US soon, some of the focus has shifted to how the vaccine will be distributed and its equitable allocation. Part of the distribution logistics puzzle is making sure there are enough glass vials to hold and transport the vaccine around the nation to those waiting to be vaccinated. For the New Yorker, Christopher Payne took some photos of two Corning factories that are manufacturing vials as fast as they can.

But back in the early 19th century, for a colonial empire dealing with overseas smallpox epidemics, glass vials were not an option. Smallpox vaccination at that time was most reliably accomplished by transferring material from cowpox blisters on one person (or cow) to another person. The freshly inoculated person got a little sick but later proved to be immune to the much deadlier smallpox. So when Spain’s Royal Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition set sail in 1803 to inoculate the inhabitants of their overseas colonies for smallpox, they used the bodies of human beings to transport the vaccine. To be more specific, they used “twenty-two orphan boys, ages three to nine”.

And so it was that, “in the era before refrigeration, freeze-dried vaccines, and jet aircraft,” writes medical historian John Bowers, “the successful circumnavigation of the globe with the vaccine…rested on a single medium — little boys.” During the long crossing, approximately twenty-two orphans who had not previously contracted smallpox or cowpox were “vaccinated in pairs every ninth or tenth day,” via arm-to-arm inoculation (taking lymph from an unbroken pustule on a recently vaccinated boy and introducing it under the skin of another). This created a vaccine chain — the vaccine remained active and viable for the entire journey.

The three-year expedition was success and an early & effective example of philanthropic healthcare, but you also have to note here that the reason the Americas were ravaged by smallpox was because Spain brought it there in the first place.

 

 

[Cupid Stunt]

© Getty

One Night Only! Jupiter and Saturn will come within 0.1 degrees of each other, forming the first visible "double planet" in 800 years

 

CHRISTMAS KITSCH MAXIMALIST HOME TOUR ! by One Sick Kitten

 

 

 

Emo Christmas Angst

 

In this Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, file photo, a droplet falls from a syringe after a health care worker was injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Providence, R.I. The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign has begun, and the few available doses are mostly going into the arms of health care workers and nursing home residents. But what about in January, February and March, when more shots are expected to become available? Who should get those doses? (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

F.D.A. Panel Endorses Moderna's Coronavirus Vaccine

 

1 in 5 prisoners in the US has had COVID-19, 1,700 have died

 

US experts debate: Who should be next in line for vaccine?

 

Can We Do Twice as Many Vaccinations as We Thought? -- In an opinion piece for the NY Times, Zeynep Tufekci and epidemiologist Michael Mina are urging for new trials of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines to begin immediately to see how effective a single dose might be in preventing new infections. If the trials do indicate that a single dose works, that would effectively double the number of people we could vaccinate within a certain time period, saving countless lives in the US and worldwide.

Quote

Both vaccines are supposed to be administered in two doses, a prime and a booster, 21 days apart for Pfizer and 28 days for Moderna. However, in data provided to the F.D.A., there are clues for a tantalizing possibility: that even a single dose may provide significant levels of protection against the disease.

If that’s shown to be the case, this would be a game changer, allowing us to vaccinate up to twice the number of people and greatly alleviating the suffering not just in the United States, but also in countries where vaccine shortages may take years to resolve.

But to get there — to test this possibility — we must act fast and must quickly acquire more data.

For both vaccines, the sharp drop in disease in the vaccinated group started about 10 to 14 days after the first dose, before receiving the second. Moderna reported the initial dose to be 92.1 percent efficacious in preventing Covid-19 starting two weeks after the initial shot, when the immune system effects from the vaccine kick in, before the second injection on the 28th day

That raises the question of whether we should already be administrating only a single dose. But while the data is suggestive, it is also limited; important questions remain, and approval would require high standards and more trials.

The piece concludes: “The possibility of adding hundreds of millions to those who can be vaccinated immediately in the coming year is not something to be dismissed.”

 

 An orchid (Gastrodia agnicellus) is seen in this handout photo taken in Madagascar on September 20, 2019. Rick Burian/Handout via REUTERS

'World's ugliest orchid' among new species named in 2020

 

Peace advocate Colman McCarthy

 

Thanks to an anonymous donation, the US National Archives has digitized and put online their collection of 374 treaties between indigenous peoples and the United States (and its predecessor colonies). You can also explore maps and see which tribes are associated with which treaties. I am sure the meaning of the words on these pages is different depending on who you ask but being able access them freely is a benefit to everyone.

 

Posing as young apartment-hunting Hungarian billionaire, artist Andi Schmied able to gain access to more than two dozen luxury apartments in Manhattan and photograph the views from them.  The resulting project is called Private Views and you can see some of her photos in this portfolio. Christopher Bonanos interviewed Schmied about the project for Curbed. Regarding the banal sameness of rich people things:

Q: Did you discover anything interesting about the apartments themselves?

A: They are all the same! I mean, really! For example, the layout of the apartments are essentially identical. You enter, and there’s a main view, always from the living room -- in the case of Billionaires’ Row, everything’s facing the park. The second-best view is from the master bedroom, which is usually the corner. Then there’s the countertop, which usually a kitchen island in the middle, and there’s different types of marble but there’s always marble --  Calacatta Tucci, or Noir St. Laurent, or Chinchilla Mink, and they always tell you, “It’s the best of the best,” from a hidden corner of the planet where they hand-selected the most incredible pieces. After five of these, it’s incredibly similar, all of them. Also they put a lot of emphasis on naming the designer.

Q: The branding.

A: Yes. And there’s a big competition for amenities, who has the craziest amenities. Of course there’s the pool and all of that, but one of the newest things in the past two years in every single development is the golf-simulator room - it’s just the standard now.

Private Views is performance art as much as it is about photography and architecture. I love the details about how she conned her way into these buildings by using the eagerness of real estate brokers against them.

But after a while I realized that it absolutely doesn’t matter what I wear: From their point of view, you’ve passed the access, and you can do anything --  anything is believable. For example, all the pictures were taken with a film camera, which is [gestures broadly] this big. I’d just ask, “Can I take some pictures for my husband?” which is a very obvious and normal thing to do. There were a few agents who noticed that it was a film camera, not a digital camera, and those who noticed asked, “Oh, wow, is it film?” And I’d always say something like, “Oh, my grandfather gave it to me --  to record all the special moments in my life.” And they’d just put me in this box of “artsy billionaire,” and would start to talk to me about MoMA’s latest collection. So anything goes.

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

James Brown Funky Christmas, Set 1, Buckhead Theater, 12-21-18

 

Carrot the deer found in Ontario with arrow sticking out of his head

 

Season's Greetings from John Waters

 

The Price of True Love -- In a setback to true loves around the world, not all the traditional gifts from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” carol are available this year as the pandemic has halted in-person public performances. The upshot is that fewer gifts means less dough and the overall cost is the lowest it has been in years.

 

10 awesome science discoveries you may have missed in 2020

 

Pandemic Atlas -- Journalists from The Associated Press around the world assessed how more than a dozen countries where they are posted have weathered the coronavirus pandemic, and where those countries stand on the cusp of year two of the contagion.

 

Atlantic photo

How Will the Future Remember COVID-19?

 

A commuter at Union Station wears a mask. © (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 

California breaks daily coronavirus case record again as deaths continue to rise

 

FDA authorizes a second coronavirus vaccine, a turning point in the pandemic

 

Congress averts shutdown; fight continues over pandemic aid

 

Sour Cream Waffles

 

Associated Press Year in Review

 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Cupid Stunt

[peacheslatour]

OMG, that poor deer.

[boes]

peacheslatour, how is your father doing? 

[peacheslatour]

17 minutes ago, boes said:

peacheslatour, how is your father doing? 

Thank you for asking. He didn't develop respiratory problems so they sent him back to his memory care facility. He is still testing positive however. The doctors say he is growing very weak but they don't know if it's the Covid or the Alzheimer's. He's not eating and he wants to get out of bed but keeps falling and since he is quarantined, they have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. He is his same cheery self though.

How are all of you wonderful Preverts doing? Christmas is less than a week away. Have you all been good little Preverts this year?

[Snaporaz]

4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Thank you for asking. He didn't develop respiratory problems so they sent him back to his memory care facility. He is still testing positive however. The doctors say he is growing very weak but they don't know if it's the Covid or the Alzheimer's. He's not eating and he wants to get out of bed but keeps falling and since he is quarantined, they have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. He is his same cheery self though.

How are all of you wonderful Preverts doing? Christmas is less than a week away. Have you all been good little Preverts this year?

That sounds kind of like good news?  I don't know...this virus is so strange.  It seems to affect everyone differently.  Every time I get a sneeze or a slight sore throat and am convinced I'm infected, I notice that I can taste and smell food.  That's the gauge I'm using for myself.  That's the one symptom that just about everyone who has had Covid reports having, and it's unique to Covid (as far as I know...but I am clueless about medical stuff.)  Maybe that's why your dad isn't eating?  Can they give him IV fluids just to try to get his strength up?  Can you get a nurse to bring a phone to him so you can face time, just to see him?  

I have been a naughty Prevent and expect to find a lump of coal in my stocking.  But it will keep me nice and warm!

[peacheslatour]

Quote

 I notice that I can taste and smell food.  That's the gauge I'm using for myself.  

Same here. 

[deirdra]

15 hours ago, Snaporaz said:

I notice that I can taste and smell food.  That's the gauge I'm using for myself.  

Same here.  When I do go out to the grocery store or to check my mail & take out my garbage/recycling in my condo bldg, only 2X a week, I often will have a scratchy throat or stuffy nose or itchy eyes later that day.  But it goes away and I've never lost my sense of smell or taste so I think the mucus membrane irritations are primarily due to the caustic cleaning solutions used, which I am very sensitive to and do not use in my own apartment.

Edited December 20, 2020 by deirdra

[boes]

20 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Thank you for asking. He didn't develop respiratory problems so they sent him back to his memory care facility. He is still testing positive however. The doctors say he is growing very weak but they don't know if it's the Covid or the Alzheimer's. He's not eating and he wants to get out of bed but keeps falling and since he is quarantined, they have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. He is his same cheery self though.

How are all of you wonderful Preverts doing? Christmas is less than a week away. Have you all been good little Preverts this year?

Thank God that he's not gotten any respiratory issues.  Now if he'll only eat.  Is that new?  

It's so hard for you to be unable to visit and I'm searching for something comforting to say and not doing too well.  I'm with you in spirit, peacheslatour, hoping for the best for your dad, you and DH and your son and his wife.

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, boes said:

Thank God that he's not gotten any respiratory issues.  Now if he'll only eat.  Is that new?  

It's so hard for you to be unable to visit and I'm searching for something comforting to say and not doing too well.  I'm with you in spirit, peacheslatour, hoping for the best for your dad, you and DH and your son and his wife.

Aww, thank you! My dad has had no appetite ever since my mom died. I used to beg him to eat. I tried bribing, letting him eat nothing but desserts, even getting mad and threatening not come over any more. Nothing worked. He is down to 145 lbs. and he is six feet tall. They have him on a high calorie, high protein diet of shakes and puddings. I hope he pulls through.

[Cupid Stunt]

'Vinny Vindaloo's Joy of Christmas' is festive, fun and interactive, with the Life Center’s Singing Christmas Tree./File Photo 2019 - KING-5 News Tacoma, Washington.

1968 Black Leather Elvis will lead us not into decadence ...

 

 

Shain Rievley Ugly Christmas Outfit 

 

'Powerful tradecraft': how foreign cyber-spies compromised America -- Hubris?

 

Health care workers were among the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine. The question is who comes next?/© Victor J. Blue for The New York Times 

The many strange long-term symptoms of Covid-19, explained

 

‘Big Fight’ Breaks Out Over Which Interest Groups Get Vaccine First -- No surprise.

 

In this May 2, 2020, file photo, a man and woman wearing masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus walk past a cartoon advising people to wash their hands on a boarded up storefront in San Francisco. A new analysis published in the journal Lancet on Monday, June 1, 2020, finds masks and social distancing help but hand washing and other measures are still needed to control the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

 

The 12 Days of Christmas: The story behind the holiday’s most annoying carol

 

Meet the Opossum Lady, the Undisputed Queen of YouTube

 

Fatu and Najin are the last two northern white rhinos left on the planet. Najin is Sudan’s daughter and Fatu is his granddaughter.

The life he lived: Photos of the last male northern white rhino

 

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by Cupid Stunt