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The Koonzt/Camus Thread (for writerly solidarity during a time of plague)

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Ancora Imparo said:
I hear of people in the UK who want to carry on with their shows, and meetings and marathons as if nothing's going on (Bath marathon went ahead), because "it'll be all right, we're not that affected".
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I'm pretty certain the virus is already running rampant in the UK, but they simply haven't been doing the necessary level of testing and tracing, hence the relatively low numbers at this point. At least five members of my family, all of whom live in the SW of the UK (and one of whom is a GP!) think they've probably got it. But none have been tested.

Eva Ulian said:
I have to thank you @KateESal for starting this thread.
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You're welcome! I think we all needed a place to talk about it. It's hard to think about anything else at the moment, isn't it? And it's good to share things (even if they're a bit gloomy, sometimes).

Well, it was Day 1 of online school for us today and it was INTENSE! Not only did husband and I both have to teach classes (using webcams and mics), but both our kids also had to do classes and/or be kept occupied too. Thankfully, our internet held up okay. And apart from a few stressful moments involving technical teething issues and children, it went reasonably well. Even PE is now online! Our PE teacher has been posting videos for the kids and he did an indoor workout for the staff, too. People are coming up with highly inventive ways of teaching and I suspect all our teaching will be influenced by the experience even once we're back in school. Bit exhausting, mind...but that's also because it's new and a steep learning curve in many respects.



 
Brilliant! I particularly enjoyed:

The Hobbit​
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. He planned to stay there indefinitely in order not to make the lives of essential healthcare personnel more perilous.​

...and...

Pride and Prejudice​
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be hoarding toilet paper.​
​
There's a game here, isn't there? Shall we all have a go?

I'm gonna take an opening shot with a classic:

The Odyssey​
Tell me, Muse, the story of that resourceful man who was driven to wander from kitchen to bedroom after he had sacked the sofa citadel of Troy.​
 
I think one of my neighbours is losing the plot.
I really am fortunate that I don't watch Italian TV (except for Montalbano). I hear it's very alarmist – many are watching it all day long.

Someone has been out washing or hosing down the street in front of our houses -- much of our historic centre is a pedestrianised area -- with disinfectant.
Not all of the street, just a part. I think my next door neighbour and I benefitted by accident, mistake or maybe it would have been harder to avoid the bit in front of our adjacent houses.

This is a different neighbour from the one who cleans our shared (marble) stairs with bleach. She hasn't done that since last week.

In other streets I noticed -- as I sneaked out to the chemists -- that flags were being hung out of windows. Maybe I'll nail my saltire to the TV aerial... and hang my tricolore out front. That should cover all eventualities.
 
Ansa reports:
The Italian interior ministry said today that 172,720 people were stopped on Monday to check they were complying with the government's coronavirus decree, of whom 7,890 were cited for non-observance.
A total of 229 people were cited for making false statements to police.
Some 97,551 shops were checked, of which 217 owners were cited.
 
Love the morning silliness, @Rich. and also the Classic Novel openers, @Paul Whybrow ...shared them with the rest of our English Dept for a laff.

Day 2 of online school...still INTENSE, but very satisfying when it goes well. Yesterday was a lot of confusion, but today I felt like I managed to do some decent teaching and now I'm getting the hang of it, I'm pretty impressed with the Google Classroom set up.

Seeing as we live on the mountain in a VERY quiet area, I took the children out for a short stroll just to get a bit of daylight and air...then was warned (in a friendly way) by a passing dog walker (safely on the other side of the road!) that the police have been patrolling and we were risking a six hundred Euro fine merely be being on the street (albeit nowhere near anyone else) without proof of having a dog to exercise (which is allowed). Bit sobering. I think we'll stick to the back yard tomorrow.

There was me thinking if we were cooped up at home for a while, I might at least get some more reading and writing done. Hah! So much for that. Anyway, not complaining. I'm pleased we all seem to be in good health and we've got plenty (too much!) to keep us occupied. I'm quite relieved it's the San José holiday on Thursday and Friday, though.
 
Hi all, just discovered this thread and found myself reading it all from top to bottom, pretty gripped to be honest. Just hope and pray you and your families are all safe and ok, and this certainly seems a great place to be sharing what’s going on in these crazy times.

It’s weird because I found myself arguing with some guys on our 5-a-side Whatapp group today about misinformation and media hype - while preparing for a live slot about the latest corona measures (literally half an hour after Boris said them) and then we had our game of football. Listening to you all I guess it could be our last in a while (which I’ll loathe as I love it) and we’ve got much worse to come.

I think we’re still a bit ‘but this isn’t really happening, is it?’ here in the UK to be honest. Even though I’m writing it, broadcasting it, maybe I am too.

Anyway, see you on the bidet :) And take care X
 
Just been out for the first time in a week (yes, this is my normal life!!). Not pleased. It's all very well not hoarding, but depressing when you've genuinely run out of things and the supermarket has been scoured clean. And this is in West Cornwall, where we've probably got about 1 case so far.
Only consolation is that the things I'd really hate to go without are apparently of no interest to the hoarders. Vegetables are plentiful. And ice cream!!
 
I have a rabbit client tomorrow who wants to try doing the consultation over the phone (I know: you're thinking "I didn't know rabbits could communicate over the phone" or perhaps "thank goodness the white rabbit is at last seeking help for that time-keeping OCD"). Needless to say, I'll do my best. Hopefully we can face-time so I see the rabbit and his environment - work out what's making him angry. :rabbit:

On another note: I was growing my hair for childrens' cancer wigs; decided long long hair might be a corona liability but trip to hairdressers = definite corona risk (+ I've got to save my pennies). So I worked out the length I wanted to keep, tied the rest up with bands, got out my sharpest scissors and cut, cut, cut! Now I've got a home-made shoulder length bob which I'm quite pleased with and a 9" ponytail to send to the little princess trust. Now, I'm going to grow it all over again (it took me two years to get it long enough!)

Hannahbob.jpg
 
Ancora Imparo said:
I love the original and the Young Montalbano. Fab writing and characters.
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The newest ones, out this week here, but only in Italian are, I think, better than the previous series. I've always felt the books tailed off sadly as Camilleri got really beyond writing them, but the thin plots are balanced here by the new Livia, Lina Perned. The chemistry between her and Zingaretti is much more credible than with the previous actress, Katarina Bohm. They seemed about as interested in one another as cold rice pudding.
I saw a RAI interview in which Perned explained she does her part in English -- she is Swedish -- so she knows what she is doing, as she does not speak or read Italian. It is then dubbed into Italian. But she is so bubbly, it works.
I hadn't realised Bohm (Austrian-Swiss) was also dubbed, by the same Italian actress. Maybe that accounted for her apparent lack of enthusiasm.
For me the prequel, Young Montalbano, scored on the credibility of the relationship, with the two young people seeming genuinely in the kind of love that will see them travel the length of Italy to see one another. Montalbano having a thick head of curls, being three inches taller and not bandy-legged (sorry, Zingaretti, but it's true!) went a long way to explain why the books suggest women find him irresistible.
 
Rich. said:
Morning silliness (translation below):
"Stay indoors but lead a normal life."
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I sent this to my son for his birthday today as he starts his first day at home, not travelling to work by Tube. He thought it was hilarious.
Thank you. The birthday card I sent is somewhere in the post between Italy and London, assuming some over-zealous Brit hasn't flung it into a bucket of disinfectant.
 
Please note: this makes depressing reading

Agi news agency reports, 18 March:
475 dead in one day in Italy -- not even in China have rates this high been registered.
Over 35,000 in total have contracted Covid-19 (Coronavirus), of whom 2,978 have died.
A total of 4,000 have now recovered, though 28,710 are currently suffering from the disease, 2,257 in intensive care.
 
E G Logan said:
Montalbano having a thick head of curls, being three inches taller and not bandy-legged (sorry, Zingaretti, but it's true!) went a long way to explain why the books suggest women find him irresistible.
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Agreed! :) I never read any of the books, but I can happily forgive the bandy legs. The character's mind more than makes up for them. :) And yes, I did always wonder what he saw in Livia...

Tried to go to Javea for some food shopping today – just some basics. Got stopped by the police and told only one person per car for food shopping. They were very nice, but insisted we turn around and go home, which we did, and then Malcolm went out on his own and found everything we needed. Supermarkets were full of people but also of food, so the panic buying may have slowed a bit here. They advised him to keep the receipt in case he got stopped by police again – which he did on the way home. They were just checking where he'd been and where he was going (straight home). The police are taking the quarantine very seriously, quite rightly. I feel somehow the UK government may be missing something. They might be flattening the curve, or whatever, but the more people are mingling with others, as they still seem to be in parts of London and elsewhere, the worse it's going to be. There seems to be a dearth of common sense and a general sense of denial, which I think might lift in about a week's time when the wave hits.
 
E G Logan said:
Please note: this makes depressing reading

Agi news agency reports, 18 March:
475 dead in one day in Italy -- not even in China have rates this high been registered.
Over 35,000 in total have contracted Covid-19 (Coronavirus), of whom 2,978 have died.
A total of 4,000 have now recovered, though 28,710 are currently suffering from the disease, 2,257 in intensive care.
Click to expand...
I saw that this afternoon and couldn't quite believe it. I wish we understood more about why this is hitting Italians so hard. I understand the population is older but younger people are also perishing. There's so much about this whole thing that's frustratingly difficult to understand.

Although that being said, the US had 41 new deaths today (which is only a third of the total deaths we've had since the beginning) so I feel like its only a matter of a week or so before we are feeling the same effects.
 
Malaika said:
I saw that this afternoon and couldn't quite believe it. I wish we understood more about why this is hitting Italians so hard. I understand the population is older but younger people are also perishing. There's so much about this whole thing that's frustratingly difficult to understand.
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Could it be that the Italian virus has mutated, that it's a diferent strain?
 
Viruses evolve relatively quickly (compared to humans, for example). But it's difficult to draw many concrete conclusions when your sample size is small (samples of the sequenced genetic code, that is), as it is currently for the new coronavirus.

Here's an article that reports on part of the conversation taking place in the field of genetic biology. (The article refers to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is the name of the novel coronavirus that causes the disease covid-19.):

www.sciencemag.org

Mutations can reveal how the coronavirus moves—but they're easy to overinterpret

Real-time analysis of hundreds of viral genomes helps scientists understand how the virus is spreading
www.sciencemag.org www.sciencemag.org
 
This might just be one of the most inappropriate songs for the current crisis. A human touch is what we yearn for, yet it's likely to spread infection.

Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood
It's just you and me tonight

Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch Lyrics | AZLyrics.com

 
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