In times like these, it's the little things
Happy Wednesday, folks, in case you were having difficulty remembering what day it is. I've heard a few folks say that the days of the week in our new normal are "yesterday, today and tomorrow." Not far from right on that one!
So my wife and I remain in our recommended sequestration, venturing out only occasionally for a trip to the grocery or to pick up carryout/drivethru food (we've done that a time or two a week since this began, just for variety). I'm very fortunate to be working for a company and business unit that considers me "essential," even if I have to do my work remotely instead of in the customary face-to-face manner.
Suffice it to say that we're consuming a lot of media around here to pass the time. Here are just a few of the things that I have taken note of:
Singer-songwriter-movie score composer Randy Newman has penned the anthem of the pandemic, called simply "Stay Away." It's what one would expect from the most sarcastic of musical satirists. You can find at least a couple of videos of him performing this ditty on YouTube. Worth the effort, I promise!
We buy movies from time to time, rent them occasionally, too. So we troll through the iTunes listings and have noticed that a lot of movies that were either recently released into theaters are now either quickly or simultaneously available for rental or purchase. For a pretty hefty price, but still less than going to the multiplex. Only problem is that a number of theater chains are now saying that they will not show movies made by the studios who have taken this route.
We're giving our movie collection a real workout. We've blown through so many series of movies, enjoyed a few old James Bond and Star Trek pictures on a free trial of a second-level pay channel and have been digging through Netflix for some things to watch. If you like action movies and have Netflix, give "Angel has Fallen" or "Extraction" a try. I spent $5 on a new 4K version of "The Hunt for Red October" and was instantly reminded of how good that movie is. Would welcome more suggestions. Oh, and we've tried a few series on Netflix and Amazon and have not found any that clicked that we haven't already watched.
Are you as incensed as I am that so many anything-but-small businesses got some of the PPP loans that Congress appropriated in one of their numerous relief bills recently? Ruth's Chris Steak House? Shake Shack? The Los Angeles Lakers? Most have given the money back after being publicly shamed, but perhaps if they didn't apply, they wouldn't have to return the funds. Saw something about how much an employer with ten employees would need to sustain the business for two months, and with the $4-plus million "loaned" to the Lakers, a rather large number of these truly small businesses would be kept afloat.
We in Kentucky are going to be opening some aspects of the economy and society rather gradually, and that will mean that we'll all be wearing masks in public. I expect that will be the norm most everywhere. But the oddest aspect of that is that we haven't yet found anyone locally who's selling these masks! I made one from a bandanna and two rubber bands that I already had. My employer is sending me a few in anticipation of returning to my usual mode of work, so that's helpful.
By the way, you may have already read this, but there was a little flap here in KY this week when our Governor, Andy Beshear, announced at his daily briefing that a large number of unemployment claims were prevented from being processed because someone filed for benefits under the name of Tupac Shakur, the late rapper. Beshear chastised the guilty party as having caused problems for many fellow citizens, but had to retract that statement sheepishly the following day, as there is a Kentucky resident whose given name is, in fact, Tupac Shakur. He apparently goes by Malik, but he and the Governor had a nice chat and all is well following the Governor's understandable apology. And his claim and the others delayed are apparently being processed.
Finally, I have to say that I'm surprised that telemarketing has not increased tenfold since so many of us are home right now. We seem to get the same two or three scam calls multiple times each day, but immediately know what they are and to hang up, so it's not a big inconvenience. Yet.
So my wife and I remain in our recommended sequestration, venturing out only occasionally for a trip to the grocery or to pick up carryout/drivethru food (we've done that a time or two a week since this began, just for variety). I'm very fortunate to be working for a company and business unit that considers me "essential," even if I have to do my work remotely instead of in the customary face-to-face manner.
Suffice it to say that we're consuming a lot of media around here to pass the time. Here are just a few of the things that I have taken note of:
Singer-songwriter-movie score composer Randy Newman has penned the anthem of the pandemic, called simply "Stay Away." It's what one would expect from the most sarcastic of musical satirists. You can find at least a couple of videos of him performing this ditty on YouTube. Worth the effort, I promise!
We buy movies from time to time, rent them occasionally, too. So we troll through the iTunes listings and have noticed that a lot of movies that were either recently released into theaters are now either quickly or simultaneously available for rental or purchase. For a pretty hefty price, but still less than going to the multiplex. Only problem is that a number of theater chains are now saying that they will not show movies made by the studios who have taken this route.
We're giving our movie collection a real workout. We've blown through so many series of movies, enjoyed a few old James Bond and Star Trek pictures on a free trial of a second-level pay channel and have been digging through Netflix for some things to watch. If you like action movies and have Netflix, give "Angel has Fallen" or "Extraction" a try. I spent $5 on a new 4K version of "The Hunt for Red October" and was instantly reminded of how good that movie is. Would welcome more suggestions. Oh, and we've tried a few series on Netflix and Amazon and have not found any that clicked that we haven't already watched.
Are you as incensed as I am that so many anything-but-small businesses got some of the PPP loans that Congress appropriated in one of their numerous relief bills recently? Ruth's Chris Steak House? Shake Shack? The Los Angeles Lakers? Most have given the money back after being publicly shamed, but perhaps if they didn't apply, they wouldn't have to return the funds. Saw something about how much an employer with ten employees would need to sustain the business for two months, and with the $4-plus million "loaned" to the Lakers, a rather large number of these truly small businesses would be kept afloat.
We in Kentucky are going to be opening some aspects of the economy and society rather gradually, and that will mean that we'll all be wearing masks in public. I expect that will be the norm most everywhere. But the oddest aspect of that is that we haven't yet found anyone locally who's selling these masks! I made one from a bandanna and two rubber bands that I already had. My employer is sending me a few in anticipation of returning to my usual mode of work, so that's helpful.
By the way, you may have already read this, but there was a little flap here in KY this week when our Governor, Andy Beshear, announced at his daily briefing that a large number of unemployment claims were prevented from being processed because someone filed for benefits under the name of Tupac Shakur, the late rapper. Beshear chastised the guilty party as having caused problems for many fellow citizens, but had to retract that statement sheepishly the following day, as there is a Kentucky resident whose given name is, in fact, Tupac Shakur. He apparently goes by Malik, but he and the Governor had a nice chat and all is well following the Governor's understandable apology. And his claim and the others delayed are apparently being processed.
Finally, I have to say that I'm surprised that telemarketing has not increased tenfold since so many of us are home right now. We seem to get the same two or three scam calls multiple times each day, but immediately know what they are and to hang up, so it's not a big inconvenience. Yet.
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