Guy Berger

ZeroHedge is a notorious conspiracy theory site. I recommend avoiding it. SCMP is actually a high quality newspaper, but this specific story seems somewhat sensationalist... the research underlying the article is much more cautious and doesn't draw such a strong conclusion. The reinfection stories are somewhat worrisome and worth investigating, but it's still not clear how many of these are "true" reinfections vs false positives/negatives in COVID tests. One thing that seems likely is immunity to COVID is unlikely to last a lifetime - if other coronaviruses are any indication, it will wear off after a few years. So any vaccination would probably need to be like the flu vaccine (taken regularly and tweaked for strain). I think this is indicative of how much we are "learning on the fly" about this illness, and one reason why slowing the spread of the illness is important - buying time for us to learn how to treat this illness better.

I would differentiate between the two. Nashville Skyline is a classic, full of outstanding music. Self Portrait is “just” enjoyable.

I finally got around to listening to SELF PORTRAIT - it’s quite enjoyable, despite the bad rap.

It certainly suggests they need better precautions... workplaces are a prime place for transmission.

I think this stat is an overestimate for two reasons: 1) Testing is limited to more severe cases. 2) For a severe case, recovery might take longer than death

Yes. The actual health boost to a "civilian" wearing a mask isn't zero, but it's not that high. However, the gains to other people could be quite large - especially since a lot of cases are asymptomatic. I think this is a case where excessive irrational paranoia ("gotta protect myself with a mask!") is actually good for society as a whole. FWIW, a lot of these health benefits can be accrued by less sophisticated masks. Even a scarf over your mouth offers some benefits to others. Please leave the medical-grade masks to doctors and other health care providers who are in serious danger.

Thanks for calling this out, it's very likely incorrect. This is a much more dangerous illness than the typical seasonal flu.

I think you're framing this incorrectly. The recommendations you mentioned aren't, on their own, magic talismans that absolutely prevent COVID spread. They aren't 100% effective, and adherence to them is probably imperfect. 5 people all working in the same place might cross paths closer than 6 feet pretty frequently (even if they make the effort not to do so); are touching a lot of the same surfaces (it's hard to clean these sufficiently thoroughly/frequently); and may be bringing in COVID from outside of work. Restricting non-essential businesses mean that there is one common channel for COVID transmission that's shut down.

Breaks my heart

Horrible

If the US is extremely lucky, the number of COVID deaths will be in the low 6 digits. Keep in mind that some of the factors for the China undercount are likely to crop up here too.

It’s hard to know what to make of this. Presumably people in Wuhan were dying of other things during this period that couldn’t be buried. (Maybe even more than usual due to overloading of the healthcare system.) There were also probably people who died before they could get tested. Unfortunately, even if there was undercounting of Chinese deaths from coronavirus, the true number is likely to be much lower than the eventual count here in the US.

The impact of SARS was much smaller - it was less contagious. Fewer people got it, fewer people died, the public health response was much more effective.

I now know one person who definitely has it (a “serious” case, in the hospital), and another who probably has it.

Hey all... hope you are doing ok, or at least as well as possible under current circumstances. Glad we have this community.

I think it’s worth reading up on prior flu pandemics. I know it’s sometimes a little Pollyannaish to say “we’ll get through this” but... we will, even if there are hard times ahead.

Jim, 1) Most people (80%) will have flu-like symptoms and then recover. 15% require hospitalization (more serious than the flu) due to difficulty breathing, but will also recover. 5% are critical cases - need to be in the ICU. This is much more serious than the flu. 2) We have really limited ICU capacity in this country. If we blow through that (and it's a real risk), then we start facing the scenario encountered already in Wuhan and Italy. It ends up cranking the death rate way up, from 0.5%-2% to 3%-5%, because a lot of those ICU cases can't be treated. Doctors and nurses will also get sick and miss sleep. 3) The "not yet a killer on the loose" claim is incorrect... because we have been massively undertesting, the true number of cases is way higher than the official count and doubling every ~7 days.

Randy, you're making the right decision. I really hope the festival planners consider cancellation given the growing public health risk. A lot of transmission of this illness relies on close contact which is inevitable in large public gatherings. I also hope people reconsider "the flu is a greater risk" (which seemed possible earlier when there was a chance this would be contained to China)... this is a much more dangerous illness with higher mortality rates and no immunity in the US population. Those at risk should be extra careful; those that are less at risk (younger, healthy) should follow public health measures to slow down transmission.

"I Fall in Love Too Easily" was included in the August 1969 studio performance of "Sanctuary". After that, the two were paired regularly in concert. But I'd be curious why Davis specifically paired "Sanctuary" w/IFiLTE rather than another ballad. (It was genius IMHO...) IMHO we're suffering from at least some selection bias on the 2nd quintet recordings. Davis would have been more inclined to play a semi-fixed setlist on European tours (where fans hadn't seen him for a long time) than in the US. I think the performances of "RJ" and "Seven Steps to Heaven" at the 1966 Newport Festival, or the performance of "Dolores" in Berkeley during the spring of 1967, or various "oddball" standards like "Yesterdays" and "Who Can I Turn to?", suggest he was open to wildcards. (Also, think of the performances of "Footprints" and "Paraphernalia" at the Fillmore West in the spring of 1970.)

IMHO, yes, a lot of the larger events at the very least be cancelled, and there may be eventually be a need to limit use of indoor spaces. This is a very contagious illness; the danger here is lots of people congregating in large numbers, contracting it, then reinfecting a bunch of other people. Even if you can't fully contain it, there are big public health gains from slowing the spread. The "everyone should stay in their homes" comment is a straw man. Clearly there is a vast difference between being in close proximity with 10,000s of people and walking around outdoors.

IMHO this was the right decision.

I think the fact that Columbia recorded both of these around the same time highlights why the 70s was such a great era for jazz. Love them both. The Inner Mountain Flame had a huge impact on my transition from a rock listener to a hardcore jazz listener.

I’m really enjoying the November 1971 Swiss gig on this box. The absence of Jack DeJohnette is felt in a big way but Ndugu plays “good enough” and the rest of the ensemble is awesome

I love the McGregor album. A nice combination of experimentation and tradition, African American and South African music. The Ellington is imho very good, though it tails off in quality after the first 3 classic tracks. The Getz is nice but not a favorite.

Lots of worthwhile Blue Note from the 70s! IMHO the Hutcherson is the most “well rounded” of these 3, though the Morgan has the highest peaks (esp due to Bennie Maupin). I like the Byrd! It’s lightweight but enjoyable. Like Weather Report or Bitches Brew when you don’t want to think too hard 🤣