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It may be more subconscious, but people definitely do consider all kinds of trade-offs, particularly in early stages of going out together. Anytime you've heard someone say that X or Y is a "deal-breaker," then they are engaged in this sort of thinking. Of course things change. When I was a callow youth of 19, smoking was a deal-breaker. In my mid 20s, I was hanging out with an "occasional" smoker. Problem was she smoked under stress, and grad school was stressful, so there you go. If she had decided to get more serious, it would have been a hard decision, and I probably would have waived my objections to the smoking...

Just read that Patrick Ewing has tested positive for Covid-19. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nba/new-york-knicks-patrick-ewing-coronavirus-1.5581608 Best wishes for a quick recovery for him.

Ontario public schools will remain remote learning through end of school year (late June for us). Some talk of doing some pilots over the summer to see what social distancing in Sept. looks like. Basically in many, though not all, schools there will not be enough rooms and certainly not enough teachers to thin classes out to 10 or fewer (average class size about 25 in Toronto last year). Not following what's going on in Quebec as closely. I think they were going to try to open schools except Montreal, but there may have been some setbacks. In general, I do think the Quebec premiere is moving too fast with reopening.

The pre-order is a pretty sweet deal, so I took the plunge. Only a few more days and we'll get the rest of the tracks.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/masks-fan-pods-and-sanitation-foggers-arkansas-concert-to-go-ahead-amid-virus-1.5574481 There's an awful lot in the article itself that crosses the line into politics, but it is interesting that concert promoters (and the licensing authorities) are ready to give it a try. It strikes me as incredibly foolish and premature, and I'll leave it at that.

You mean Steppin' Out? I have that as a TOCJ. Haven't spun in a while. I don't think I've ever even heard of his Don't Look Back LP, so definitely hope that gets reissued. Don't know anything about this outfit, but apparently they have put a remastered Don't Look Back out on vinyl. https://thevinylfactory.com/news/harold-vick-dont-look-back-vinyl/

The province is fairly close to reopening libraries on a drop-off/pick-up basis, which is less than ideal, but better than nothing. Presumably Toronto will follow suit, though they may need a bit more time to get organized. I assume that means they will expand the hold system and there will be no browsing. Not really sure how we will arrange to get a time slot for the pick up, but they'll figure something out. This means that the clock is now restarting on the library books I borrowed before this all went down. And I definitely need to pivot back to print from all the e-books. At least the weather is a bit nicer, and I have been able to go outside more often. Anyway, I will now buckle down and get through Camus's The Plague (I really have enjoyed what I have read so far, but there have been so many distractions...) and Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Haven't really settled on what's after that, but maybe the next major book will be the Grossman translation of Don Quixote.

I've gone into other stores, including re-opened hardware stores, but I've never really been much of a crate digger, and thus will be able to hold off for quite a while. Bookstores are more my weakness, but even so, I think I can wait until at least the late fall, and then it will be mask for sure and probably gloves.

I was starting to get a bit panicky, but I read it again and the article says the first PRESSING has sold out, and there will be another pressing by the end of May. And this is confirmed on the Mosaic site. I know there is definitely some built-in demand for this set, but 2500 units in a couple of weeks?

I owned quite a few releases from this label on CD, with Burned at Boddie probably the biggest single purchase (I got it early to get a bonus disc). I only went one time to their pop-up store in Chicago, but it was cool seeing everything all in one place. Now virtually everything on the label can be streamed, so I am checking out a few releases I missed out on at the time. A couple of interesting things I've listened to lately: Rupa - Disco Jazz, Jackie Shane - Any Other Way (highly recommended), Syl Johnson - Dresses Too Short and in general anything by Syl Johnson on the label. I probably should dive back into their catalogue and see what they have put out lately...

I'm moderately hopeful about the reopening approach BC and Ontario are taking, though I don't think enough people here are wearing masks. I do feel Quebec is opening way too fast, given that they still lead Canada in terms of infections and deaths.

I've never been a big fan of audiobooks, perhaps because I generally don't drive anywhere, and I would typically prefer to sit down and read something on the page rather than have it read to me. However, I have been exploring them just a bit because our library has a fair number of audiobooks as part of its on-line offerings. They have quite a few unabridged editions of Toni Morrison novels, all read by Toni Morrison. So far I have listened to The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Paradise. I find it interesting to see what she emphasizes, particularly when she reads out dialogue between characters. Sometimes the dialogue is a bit casual, just things said back and forth or one person is passing on information to another, and sometimes it is much more freighted. (Here I am thinking of some of the things Guitar says to Milkman for instance. Hearing her read it in a certain way made me pay a bit more attention.) Nonetheless, I still don't love audiobooks, and I'll probably listen to her read Beloved, and that will probably be it. That said, I'm more than a little annoyed that regional-blocking prevents me from hearing Samuel Jackson reading Chester Himes's A Rage in Harlem. I'm sure that is a somewhat intense experience. Audible has this, but only if you live in the States. I did enjoy Neil Gaiman reading Norse Mythology, particularly when he was voicing Thor. He runs through pretty much all the key tales from the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda, and it takes just a bit over 6 hours to hear him read his book. For me it was entertaining listening to him (he has a good performing voice), and while I probably won't seek out Neverwhere or The Ocean at the End of the Lane (which he also reads), I won't completely rule it out (by the end of the lock-down period at any rate). The library has American Gods also, but this time it is read by a full cast rather than by Gaiman. Not sure how I feel about that. I've been surprisingly bad about buckling down and reading, though I am nearly done with the Stephen Jay Gould book. I think the problem is that I am not reading on transit and I can't go to the gym and read on the stationary bikes. I was going to read outside more, but it has been very chilly up here, and now it's going to rain for close to a week straight. So it's just going to take a while to really get back into the right frame of mind.

I didn't see it so much as a short-coming as a focus on the more serious cases. I would assume that most people know at least someone with a mild/moderate case of Covid, at least through 2 or 3 degrees of separation. At this point, I am most worried about my cousin and his wife in Brooklyn. As far as I can tell, they have not gotten it, though he is going out almost every day to pick up the Times. Really, I ask to myself?

There was a story of a used bookstore (in DC I believe) that pre-lockdown was scheduling one customer per hour with mandatory gloves (probably mask as well, but I can't remember). One grocery chain near me has now begun limiting entrance to only one person per HH and masks are mandatory. They actually hand out some cheap ones (using BBQ tongs) if you don't have one, though that may change in the days ahead as word gets out. They didn't mandate thin plastic gloves, but they probably should have taken that extra step. Outside, however, most people are not getting with the mask program. I'd say at most 15% of people downtown had masks on. Frustrating.

I feel the UK is behind the curve on this (not really a surprise). Sure, there is no point in making out that masks are a panacea, but my understanding is that they could be very important in cutting down transmission from asymptomatic people who don't even know they have the Covid -- and thus aren't self-isolating. But it's true, the masks themselves won't do much to protect you if most people around you aren't wearing them...

It has been a mixed message on masks from the top, all across the board, including the WHO. But it does seem that wearing a mask helps cut down on transmission from those that already have it, and there is a growing consensus on this. If masks become widespread it will help greatly, though granted it is not 100% immunity. If they ever get these instant tests (and maybe home tests) actually working (there have been some setbacks) and widespread mask usage, then life will start to get back to normal (sort of), though probably still no mass sporting events or concerts until a proven vaccine comes along. But I think most of us would accept that as a reasonable outcome in the meantime, compared to some of the alternatives.

Pretty much every place is going to have some percentage of people who will not follow the guidance/rules out of a combination of ignorance/cussedness. How large that percentage is depends a lot on the culture (including political culture) of a place and how far "consent of the governed" really goes. Looking at the huge anti-distancing rallies in Massachusetts is pretty wild (and depressing). I'm less surprised to see it in Michigan and Wisconsin and other places where the rural interests have a long history of being listened to (pandered to?) unlike say a state like Illinois where they lost all influence decades ago. I'm not gonna lie - I prefer being up north where there is a much deeper respect for authority and less automatic rocking of the boat. It doesn't always pay off or work out, but right now it's keeping us much safer, all things being relative.

Well yes and no. No question there will be a huge number of said suits, particularly in the States. But I'm not sure if they will actually succeed, as there is a legitimate cause for age discrimination in the general sense and I also expect there to be some federal directives that try to insulate employers from said suits. Now whether the House will go along is questionable, but a lot of unthinkable stuff has been happening over the past few months. The science is unclear, though the lastest reports I read suggest that the people who "caught it twice" actually were false positives in that traces of the virus hadn't quite been flushed out of the system. If true, then that is actually a positive development for once.

I think I'll risk having it sent up to Toronto. While the shipping price is a bit steeper, it's not ridiculous. (Maybe it's just that the domestic shipping rates have started to catch up .) I do worry about it getting stuck in customs hell, but sometimes you get lucky and it sneaks through without the extra fees and customs handling charges. Probably sleep on it one more day, then pull the trigger.

Haven't seen it in ages, but just watched Dr. Strangelove. My son had to watch a movie about the Cold War and write a short report, and I thought he should go with one of the very best.

I'm kind of picky about fruit, not nearly as picky about vegetables, so I could see ordering those on-line. As it happens, I have two groceries stores within a 5-10 minute walk and despite the lines and having to wear masks and all that, it just doesn't make any sense for me to start ordering on-line.

Just starting to get into Gov't Mule a bit, but it is farcical that this was on (or at least licensed to) the Blue Note label.

For a second there, I thought you were going to say using $20s would be cheaper than trying to find t.p. and paying the gougers/profiteers. Anyway, haven't had too much trouble with t.p. or paper towels here. Disinfectant wipes still in short supply, but they turn up from time to time. Eggs still being lightly rationed (2 cartons per family). Flour and sugar sometimes pretty low on the shelves.

I have to admit that I am just not in the right frame of mind to sit down and read through these books I've stockpiled. It would seem to be the perfect time, but I am actually just as busy at work (thankfully) even though working remotely. I do think as the weather gets nicer, I'll go outside and read more. I am making pretty good progress on Stephen Jay Gould's Ever Since Darwin, which is drawn from his early columns in Natural History Magazine.

I managed to see Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire two months ago. The restrictions were just starting to come in, and so there were many seats left empty (and this was a relatively small community theatre). That will probably be it for the immediate future, as pretty much all the summer Fringe festivals are over and Stratford just announced they are cancelling their entire season, which is a huge blow. There are some Zoom readings going on, and I'm actually working with some actors I know to do a Zoom reading of some of my short plays, but it's certainly not the same...