I watched Contagion - I still can’t believe a movie was made that so closely foretold the present we’re leaving today. I couldn’t go to sleep with the thoughts of how bad it can get.
So I watched Chef then. I can’t believe such a simple movie can be made. And still be good.
Ruth Marcus has written a wonderful opinion piece at The Washington Post on how this latest global tragedy, the pandemic feels a lot more life-altering. Social distancing enforced by the ways the Coronavirus spreads has affected us a lot deeper than what we initially thought.
How much the virus has reminded us of the mundane pleasures we take for granted — walking down the well-stocked shelves of our local supermarkets, chatting idly with our co-workers; kissing a friend on the cheek when we meet for lunch. Oh, to hug again without having to calculate the inherent risk: My mother? My daughters?
When I venture out to walk the dog, there is a grim camaraderie with those we encounter. The dogs, heedless of contagion, sniff away, and while their humans maintain a sober distance, even strangers inquire after one another’s well-being. In the barren aisles of the market, at least the last time I risked a visit, there was an air more of solidarity than panic
So true. What we thought was normal is dreaded now. And it the normalcy that we yearn for now. Together as a society.
When it is dark outside, lighten yourself from within. And there is no easier way to do so than to spend quality time with family. Make games together. Play games together.
I can attest to this study on how CarPlay and Android Auto can impair driver’s reaction. I have experienced how distracting it is to work these systems on the touch screen of the car. I have stop using them.
Even the touch screen without these are bothersome while driving.
I was completely surprised and equally frustrated, to read the only NYTimes reporting of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation. “PM urged citizens to stay at home to dissuade Hindus Pilgrims to flock to the sacred site of Ayodha,” the report read.
Here’s the full transcript of the PM’s address to the nation. I do not find any political or religion-based overtones in the speech. Why, then, should you report as if there is?
The PM called for “resolve” and “restraint” from citizens. I think same is needed from publications. These are not the times to be on the left or the right of the political spectrum. Let’s all first come out of this pandemic together as unscathed as possible. There would be a lot of time again for the political debates.
To say that the situation is not that bad yet, that it’s not scary, is a bit irresponsible at this point. For those who can read, who can find the right sources, who can segregate authentic news and facts from the rumours, it is imperative on you to inform and enlighten those who cannot do all of this. Either due to lack of resources or willingness.
Willingness to be informed is necessary and is something that is often ignored. Many people just aren’t willing to accept the fact that the situation is dire. Because we just don’t trust the media - the panic-spreading frenzy they tend to rile up every time there is even minor discomfort. Matt Ridley analyzed this situation in this brilliant article at Reaction. He said it well.
It is very easy, in other words, to bet on the tendency of journalists and their readers to engage in a competitive auction of unjustified alarm.
Absolutely. “We all have survived through many such waves of panic, it’s always nothing”, goes the narrative for a section of the society. Well, we have cried wolf often, it was bound to hit us back one day or the other.
It is easy to trust the voices what are closer to our beliefs, that are easier to follow. Distancing oneself socially is not an easy task to do. Those saying we need to follow such extreme precautions are conveniently ignored. It is important that these minds are kept informed. Enlightened.
Over the last week, I’ve added some features to Blotpub that were long in works - support for syndicating longer posts, support for updating posts. I’ve also automated sending of webmentions to the target sites for reply and like posts types. It’s been some productive week this.
Coronavirus has been affecting me, my immediate family and even the world at large in extreme ways. It was only natural to feel the urge to record my thoughts as I live through the pandemic. Hence, I have created a page that I intend to use to do just that.
I am toying with an idea to enable another option for the readers to comment on posts. I have always been very wary of enabling a commenting system of any form on my blog. So the only option I have kept till now was webmentions. Most of the responses I get on my posts are via micro.blog and I get webmentions for all these replies. However, I think there’s just no easy way to redirect people to write a response if that is the only option available.
To provide with such an option and at the same time not make it extremely easy for someone to spam the space, I am enabling GitHub issues based commenting system of utterances. It’s lightweight, needs a valid account and I believe sits well with the readers that are not already on micro.blog.
I will keep this on for some time. It sits well with my current setup, doesn’t look out of place. I may rethink again sometime in future. For now, this commenting system stays on.