294 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e9d635b898fbfbd3877267283d12be66.pdf e9e5c70fc5a911afd2356dc29113a924 PDF Text Text Day 365. An entire year! by windoworks I can’t believe it. A whole year. In the beginning, I wrote this blog as if any day now, the pandemic would be over. I remember the women’s club I belonged to delaying face to face activities for 3 months, absolutely certain that the pandemic would be over by then. As each deadline neared, the delay moved another 3 months and so on. It is hard to keep things in chronological order. In the summer of 2020, there were restriction easing and some activities resumed. Craig and I chose to not participate in most things and continued to mask up and be cautious. During the summer months, Craig became a dedicated gardener. We watched weekly episodes of Gardeners World, an English gardening show and thus informed, Craig set about establishing a meadow in our back garden. In between, he painted the entire exterior of the house, changing it from all white with grey trim to white on the ground floor and red on the second floor and grey trim. Occasionally friends and neighbors sat over 6 feet apart on our front porch and we chatted - with no beverages or food, unless the visitor brought it with them. In the middle of the year, the sewer backed up into our basement and we had a plumber come and clear out all the drains. The sewerage smell persisted in the basement for days. Soon after that, the hot water heater died, and the same team came back to install a new one. This necessitated a team climbing on the roof and pushing a protective sleeve down one of our the chimneys which connected to the steam outlet from the heater. A new drainpipe was laid across the basement floor as well. Next, Craig painted the upstairs bathroom, the kitchen and his study, so that all rooms in the house have been repainted. I would not allow him to paint the dormers in the roof, so we employed the young men who had repainted our neighbor’s house and they did a good job. I had also grown very tired of constantly opening and closing the chain link gate on the driveway to get the car in or out of the garage, so we paid our neighbor TJ to build us a handsome garden fence along the side of the driveway. Lumber was just beginning to be scarce and he had to hunt all over Grand Rapids for what he needed. (I love that fence and gate, so much easier in the winter). Craig landscaped the garden side of the fence and replaced the back paver path with a wider gravel one. In September I had my first cataract surgery and by the middle of October, both eyes were done and I was coming to terms with only having to wear reading glasses. I bought my first pair of regular sunglasses in 40 years. And gradually we fell into a daily routine. After breakfast I write my blogpost while Craig goes for his morning walk. Once college recommenced at the end of August, Craig taught 3 days a week online. As fall �then winter loomed, cases began to rise and Craig became the designated shopper, as advised. We try to walk together most days. Sometimes we make a longer outing north to Spring Lake or Muskegon State Park, or south to Saugatuck or South Haven. We always take a picnic lunch which we eat in the car, usually while gazing at Lake Michigan. In the summer we had driven out very early on Sunday morning to swim in Lake Michigan a couple of times, but the beach had almost disappeared altogether so we didn’t tarry. We celebrated Halloween inside our house with no porch light shining and no decorations - that is to say, we didn’t celebrate it. Thanksgiving was the next big event and we celebrated by ourselves with a roasted chicken and homemade pumpkin pie. Our celebration was that we had eluded Covid to that point. We had been talking about returning to Australia to live for some time over the pandemic. At first we thought we would stay 4 more years until Craig retired at 70. But then we thought about going sooner. We chose October, and then brought it forward to August and finally we decided on early July. Craig submitted his letter of retirement to the university, effective May 4 and the day after Thanksgiving, Craig purchased our plane tickets online for July 5. Our next big thing was to find a new home for Miss Murphy Brown. A friend of mine facilitated this in just over a week, and Murphy went off to live with a family of four and another doodle. As I write this, it seems as though she has been gone for years. The family were very kind and at first they sent lots of photos. In the end I wrote (via my friend) and said thank you so much but no more photos - it makes it too hard. Next Christmas arrived and on Christmas Eve, for the very last time we drove over to East Grand Rapids to see the luminaries lining the streets. They had outdone themselves. Hundreds and hundreds of luminaries and the house decorations were spectacular. I guess when you’re locked down, you make a really big effort. Christmas Day was quiet with just the two of us but it was nice. Then, in January, old neighbors expressed an interest in our house. It didn’t work out but we ended up employing another friend who is a realtor - much sooner than we had thought. Almost immediately we had an interest in our house from a client in Birmingham on the East side of the state. To cut a long story short, if it all goes through, we close on April 5 and then we rent the house back from the owners until the end of June. But of course, in January, the furnace began to die and so a team of furnace workers came in and took most of one day and part of the next to get it all installed and working properly and take away our old furnace. We are nursing the washer, dryer and fridge along till we leave. And I bet you think that’s all. No. After the inspector came he retrieved the radon monitor and said we needed radon mitigation. So, tomorrow, a team will be in the basement for 4 hours installing a very complicated system under the basement floors which will accumulate the radon emissions and vent them safely well above the roofline. �We had the appraiser from Quicken Loans, and the city inspector who signed off on the furnace installation. We’re looking at houses online in an area west of Sydney, and we’re looking at new cars. We have employed an international moving team and we are slowly divesting ourselves of things we don’t wish to keep. As I write this there are 16.5 weeks until we leave and it seems to be passing by faster. New Zealand and Australia closed their borders on March 19 2020 to all international travelers and instigated quarantine rules for returning citizens. Both countries established weekly quotas in line with available rooms in quarantine facilities. As time passed, the regulations for quarantine were adjusted - two Covid tests at first, then three and possibly four. In the beginning, quarantine was free but then both countries realized that the cost to the national budget was prohibitive and a quarantine fee was established. In Australia (which has devoted a long section to quarantine rules etc) the fee is $3000 AUS for one adult and an extra $1000 for a partner. The cost in New Zealand is similar but there is talk of increasing it. We are returning as repatriating citizens. We have no idea whether we will be required to quarantine. I never imagined I would experience something like this. Its hard to come to terms with the fact that we have been doing this routine for an entire year. And it isn’t over. There is a growing light at the end of the tunnel, but I don’t think life will ever be quite the same again. Will we always be looking over our shoulders, waiting for the next big thing to arrive? Will we ever reengage with society in a truly free and easy way? Its just too hard to imagine. Baby’s steps, Pamela, Baby steps. And Oliver, because you’ll all shout at me otherwise. ��Putting the diaper on the doll. He then patted it. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-11_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-365 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-11 Title A name given to the resource Day 365 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8da2429c39c0c4db84c7209d212ef9ba.pdf dc2e22620689d1fe9de100843edb92b2 PDF Text Text Day 364 by windoworks Washington Post: In the weeks before the World Health Organization labeled the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, a flurry of emails alerted scientists to a cluster of cases in China. Those cases ticked up — and then exploded. An underestimated pathogen became the viral tsunami that smothered the world. And here we are. One whole year. Never in my wildest dreams. The Atlantic: Everything was normal, until it wasn’t. Last March, we scrambled home, used coffee mugs left on our desks, our worlds shrinking without time for a proper goodbye. �In the days, weeks, and months that followed, our “new normal” became just that. Now, a year later, our brains are both grieving and forgetting the lives we once lived. • We are still grieving our Last Good Days. “For me, it’s the last time I swam in the ocean,” our senior editor Julie Beck writes. “The way we turn those memories over and over is a symptom of grief.” • And forgetting what normal was. “I can’t stop noticing all the things I’m forgetting,” Ellen Cushing writes in her essay on how the late-stage pandemic is messing with our brains. “Sometimes I grasp at a word or a name.” Here’s what I thought one year ago today: March 10: Last night Governor Whitmer declared a State of Emergency with 2 confirmed cases in Michigan. She said our main objective is to slow the spread of the virus down. This is what was posted: Temporary requirement to suspend activities that are not necessary to sustain or protect life. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that can result in serious illness or death. It is caused by a new strain of coronavirus not previously identified in humans and easily spread from person to person. Older adults and those with chronic health conditions are at particular risk, and there is an increased risk of rapid spread of COVID-19 among persons in close proximity to one another. There is currently no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for this disease. Months later, Governor Whitmer, Dr Joneigh Khaldun and a senior advisor, sat at a virtual Roundtable and talked about that Executive Order. Dr J said she had been following the progress of the virus overseas since December and when the 2 cases presented in Michigan she asked Governor Whitmer to shut the state down. The senior advisor said he was overwhelmed by the implications of such an order and they discussed this for hours. In the end, they agreed that it was the only action to take. March 11: Pandemic Diary. Its time to think about our lives in a completely different way - and in a way thats what its all about, our lives. Everyone doing their best to not put themselves, their families and their friends in harms way. Grand Valley State University is closed and Craig considers this means he is home for the summer. So here we are at my Day One. I’ll keep you updated. At this point it was almost just a scary adventure - something to watch on TV or read in a book, but not real. How could it be real? March 12: Yesterday Broadway New York closed, Disneyland, Disneyworld and Disney Cruises have all closed down. Last night Governor Whitmer closed all Michigan schools effective this Monday. The US has a crucial shortage of test kits. There is so much misinformation out there, starting from the top down, that �a section of the community are refusing to take this threat seriously. Its hard for me to look at the desperate situation in Italy where they have effectively closed the whole country to try and combat the overwhelming numbers of sick people, and then consider the federal response here. I think it comes down to each organization making its own best choice for its members or employees. The streets near our house are very quiet as more people are staying home. This is a whole new way of living for the foreseeable future. As European countries slammed their borders shut and ordered everyone to remain inside their apartments or houses, the threat of this virus became more real. In our state, we had a stockpile of 300 test kits - a laughable number. Dr J had been writing protocols and issuing instructions on hospital readiness and best practices since December 2019. March 13: Everything around us is closing, is closed or has very limited customers. In the supermarkets yesterday the shelves were seriously depleted and the lines for the checkout were 30 minutes at least. Yesterday the Administration declared a National Emergency but the Senate has yet to consider the bill offering relief with sick leave etc. Kent County (where we live) had 4 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday afternoon and although the Governor had restricted gatherings in our state to 250 people or less, Kent County announced restricting it to 100 people or less. Experts (and they really ARE experts) are predicting that this may last for 4 months or more. This changes life as we know it. I could never have imagined just how changed our lives would be or how long that change would last and how that would utterly change my concept of ‘normal’. March 14: Outside my tv room window it is amazingly quiet. Our dog, Miss Murphy Brown, sits at the window and gazes out but the only thing she sees is the occasional bird. Yesterday Craig moved the double bird feeder to outside this window so I could watch the birds too. I have taken to waking at 3am. I wake from a deep sleep and for a moment I think it is like any other middle of the night and then I remember its not. It takes some time for me to go back to sleep. Last night I wondered if we had enough cheese or bread or eggs and in the coming days would we be able to shop for them. I read online that college students on Spring Break have flocked to Miami Florida and are partying like there’s no tomorrow. In Austin Texas life continues as normal - no one has taken any precautions. In other states you have to line up for the grocery store and every sporting, entertainment, bar etc are closed. On March 15 2020, the US recorded 702 new cases; one week later on March 22 2020, 8,554 new cases. March 9 2021, the US recorded 55,631 new cases. The total number of US cases to March 9 2021 are 29.2M. The recorded deaths in the US to yesterday March 9 is 527,000. At the height of the worst surge (there have been 3 surges so far) on January 8 2021, 300,619 new cases were recorded. �By December, Pfizer, the first of the experimental vaccines was ready to be approved. Now, with Pfizer, Modern and Johnson & Johnson vaccines all approved and the Biden Administration ramping up dispersal in the US, there is a tiny light at the end of the tunnel. This morning 1 in 10 Americans have been vaccinated so far - and the vaccinations are ramping up. I cannot express my feelings about having been vaccinated with the first dose and then 4 weeks later, the booster. We have to wait until Monday March 22 to be classified as fully vaccinated and then that tiny light glows brighter. We are cautiously thinking of what we might be able to do. Iceland cruise: After Esturoy we sailed on to the Shetland Islands and Lerwick. Lerwick is a name with roots in Old Norse and its local descendant, Norn, which was spoken in Shetland until the mid-19th century. The name "Lerwick" means bay of clay. Evidence of human settlement in the Lerwick area dates back to the Neolithic (4000–2500 BCE) and the Bronze Age (2500–800 BCE) known from paleoenvironmental records for human activity and the recovery of artefacts, including a stone axe head submerged in Bressay Sound. Iron Age (800 BCE – CE 800) settlement is known at the Broch of Clickimin, which was constructed as early as 400 BCE. Wikipedia. Sailing into Lerwick �Craig and I split up and went on different tours. �We stopped at this bay to watch seals in the water. There’s one at the far end of the bay in �the shallows - hard to see. Jarlshof is the best known prehistoric archaeological site in Shetland, Scotland. It lies in Sumburgh, Mainland, Shetland and has been described as "one of the most remarkable archaeological sites ever excavated in the British Isles".It contains remains dating from 2500 BCE up to the 17th century CE. Wikipedia The remains at Jarlshof represent thousands of years of human occupation, and can be seen as a microcosm of Shetland history. Other than the Old House of Sumburgh, the site remained largely hidden until a storm in the late 19th century washed away part of the shore, and revealed evidence of these ancient buildings. Formal archaeological excavation started in 1925 and Bronze Age relics were soon discovered. Jarlshof was one of two broch sites which were the first to be excavated using modern scientific techniques between 1949–52. Although the deposits within the broch had been badly disturbed by earlier attempts, this work revealed a complex sequence of construction from different periods. Buildings on the site include the remains of a Bronze Age smithy, an Iron Age broch and roundhouses, a complex of Pictish wheelhouses, a Viking longhouse, and a mediaeval farmhouse. No further excavations have been undertaken since the early 1950s and no radiocarbon dating has been attempted. Wikipedia ����Jarlshof covered a huge area and that’s only what they’ve uncovered. To get there, our bus had to stop and wait while a plane landed on the airport runway which runs across the road. There was one toilet in the nearby hotel and they only let us in, one at a time. On the way back we stopped a tiny hamlet with two Shetland wool shops - of course I bought a very expensive hand knitted jacket. Craig’s Shetland adventure tomorrow. Oliver ��See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-10_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-364 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-10 Title A name given to the resource Day 364 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e92ce443ecf6431d46517c10547cedc0.pdf 26fc94427f280fa133af36a829c1b102 PDF Text Text Day 363 by windoworks Yesterday we had our second Pfizer vaccine dose. Late last night our arms began to hurt. This morning mine seems to hurt less than last night. I’ll just wait and see what happens today. Then, in an amazing and exciting move, the CDC finally published an article explaining what does it mean when you’re fully vaccinated (2 weeks after your 2nd shot): Washington Post The CDC today released clear guidance about what people can and cannot do after we're fully vaccinated, which means we can finally answer (with confidence) many of the “can I do this?” questions we've received in recent months. Here are the new guidelines: • You can hang out indoors with other fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask. • You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household without masks, unless someone in that household is at increased risk for severe covid-19 illness. • If you came into contact with someone who has covid-19, you don't need to quarantine or get tested unless you have symptoms. This one doesn't apply to people who live in a group setting (e.g. correctional facility, assisted living, etc.) Fully vaccinated = Two weeks after second Pfizer/Moderna shot and two weeks after the J&J shot. The CDC also pointed out the things that haven't changed, and you should assume anything that isn't covered in the list above falls into the “guidance hasn't changed” bucket. “I am 71 and fully vaccinated, and flying to visit my grandkids in an adjacent state. Can I have dinner inside with them and/or sit in the kitchen with my daughter and visit without putting them at risk?” — Laura in Washington This falls under the second rule — yes, you can visit another household without needing to mask up, or worry that you are putting them or yourself in covid jeopardy. If someone in your daughter's home is at high-risk for serious covid illness, you need to revert back to the old guidelines. For example, does anyone in that home have a heart condition? Obesity? Does anyone smoke? Four in 10 adults in the U.S. are at high risk because of age or underlying condition. Does a vaccinated individual still have to follow state guidelines when entering one state from another state? Do they need to be tested beforehand and/or be quarantined after arriving?” —Meme in Massachusetts The blanket advice here is that anything that isn't covered by those three points up top should still adhere to previous guidance. In this case, state rules still apply (wearing masks in public, what to do when you arrive, etc.) and the CDC also noted specifically that the old travel guidance still applies to vaccinated people. �This leaves me breathless. Its a tantalizing glimpse of almost normal life. Vaccination rates are ramping up. When we drove into the Kent County Health Dept Coronavirus Vaccination spot yesterday, there was the same busy comings and goings as last time. Once again, the process worked like clockwork, except this time, we were allowed to be vaccinated, one after the other, with the same nurse. He put that shot in my arm so fast I didn’t feel a thing, but Craig struggled to relax his muscles enough. We sat for the requisite 10 minutes and then drove home. While sitting in the waiting area, I had to stop myself from crying with relief - we made it to the second shot and they had more than enough vaccine doses for all. Its still 2 days away from a full year of the pandemic and there are 3 vaccines available in the US. Here’s a few words from Crooked Media about the American Rescue Plan: With its tens of billions of dollars to fund vaccine distribution and coronavirus testing and tracing, the bill is also a crushing defeat for coronavirus. The U.S. administered an average of 2.2 million vaccine doses per day over the last week (up from around 900,000 doses per day when Biden took office), and the resources that President Biden will sign off on later this week will further accelerate the rollout. Not a bad 54th week of March! Biden will deliver a primetime address on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the coronavirus crisis, and (presumably) take a bit of a victory lap. Just a side note here: a handful of Republican Representatives signed off on this bill in the House and NOT ONE REPUBLICAN voted for it in the Senate. Not one. Why, I hear you ask. Because apparently, although the they talk about helping their constituents, they don’t really mean it. I can’t think of a single reason for not voting to approve this bill, except Socialism - and tell that to the millions of desperate Americans. But honestly, I think the best example of a Republican hand on the wheel is Texas: where millions lost power and water; some still have no running water and some residents have power bills far beyond their means. And their Governor told them: open up and throw away your masks! Will President Biden have to rescue them again as he did a couple of weeks ago? Remember those unfortunate people who survived Covid but continue to have health issues? From The Atlantic: Known as COVID long-haulers, these patients suffer from symptoms such as severe fatigue and brain fog long after their initial infection. 1. The condition resembles a variety of known ailments. It shares similarities with autoimmune disorders, dysautonomia, and more—all poorly understood conditions that, evidence suggests, can be triggered by the body’s response to infections. 2. Breathwork looks like a promising part of treatment. Long-COVID patients appear to breathe “shallowly through their mouths and into their upper chest.” When Mount Sinai introduced a breathwork program, everyone in the pilot �program reported improvement in symptoms like shortness of breath and fatigue after a week. 3. This story might be bigger than COVID-19. “I wouldn’t be surprised if people are walking about with long Epstein-Barr virus, or long influenza,” one expert said. Many researchers spoken with believed that the race to understand long COVID will advance our understanding of chronic conditions that follow infection, transforming medicine in the process. Well that’s interesting. In other news, the Harry & Meghan interview raised an enormous outcry in the British Press. It appears that the British monarchy have lived in some fear of the press and have tried to maintain a relationship with specially catered press events. In this day and age, I fail to see any reason for pandering to the press and every reason to open up, be honest and move forward into this century. From Washington Post: The interview represents a new inflection point in the global racial reckoning of the past year. While uncountable numbers of institutions have been owning up to their own ugly histories with racism, the British monarchy’s confrontation holds particular significance. That Meghan, an actress-turned-duchess whose nuptials were a national celebration, wasn’t immune to racism raises questions about how pervasive those sentiments still are within the royal family. This is a ruling dynasty of a country that traded enslaved Africans for more than two centuries — and the interview revealed the ways that anti-Black attitudes might be lingering. The couple also told Oprah that the British tabloids had published their location in Canada at one point, a breach that sparked particular concern given that the palace had refused to pay for security for their son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Shortly after he was born, the couple’s son was compared to a chimp by a BBC radio host, who later apologized. That last statement is pretty shocking. I hope the BBC host was fired. To make a remark like that on national television and have it aired shows just how much negative and destructive power the British media holds. I am reminded of one of my mother’s favorite sayings: if you can’t say something nice, then say nothing at all. Craig and I are watching (I might have mentioned this before) The Great British Menu. The season we are currently watching celebrates the 70 year anniversary of D Day. The banquet will be in St Paul’s Cathedral (really? A church?). We watch the weekly area competition and I have enjoyed the extra judges brought in on Fridays. They are all either veterans or people associated with the Second World War. It seems to me that Britain is stuck in their past glory days and unable to move forward into the future. Perhaps their position in the future is unsure to them. I really don’t know - I’m just guessing here, but I �have to say that when a portion of your population yearns for a return to the ‘good old days’, you have a problem. In Australia, really angry women are beginning to speak out loudly about the prevalent male attitude to women - in business, in government and in general. I think the men in power ignore (or denigrate) women at their peril. To use one of my favorite expressions: I can hear those chickens wings flapping as they come home to roost. There is always a price for bad behavior - perhaps not as soon as people would like, but it always arrives, sooner or later. As I write this morning, Iceland has recently suffered an earthquake swarm. Severe Weather Europe Iceland earthquake swarm from http://www.severe-weather.eu 2 days ago — ONGOING EARTHQUAKE SWARM. The current earthquake swarm began on February 24th. Earthquake swarm in Iceland continues, now with over 20.000 earthquakes detected since the start, facing an even higher eruption risk in the next few days. We left Iceland after our time in Reykjavik, and sailed on to Esturoy in the Faroe Islands. Eysturoy (pronounced ['estroi] meaning 'East Island' is a region and the second-largest of the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, both in size and population. The north, north-east, and south-east coasts of the island have been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of their significance as seabird breeding sites, especially for Manx shearwaters (2500 pairs), European storm petrels (500 pairs) and black guillemots (300 pairs). Wikipedia �Craig and I signed up to go on a bird spotting cruise. It was freezing cold, of course. �In the summer the local sheep farmers bring their small flocks out by boat to graze on the steep slopes. Sometimes when they return to collect them in the fall, there are less sheep. Some have fallen off the slope and drowned. �High cliffs are a great bird breeding ground �We’re going out that �way? �Its so narrow! �We saw lots and lots of birds but it was very hard to photograph them, especially the ones flying above the cliffs. Oliver �Making gingerbread cookies with raisins �Its a weirdly warmer day. Go out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-09_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-363 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-09 Title A name given to the resource Day 363 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4996ce0d241c6481befa6e9f6acc3d26.pdf b5dd7409feebd9468f8a81f57470f090 PDF Text Text Day 362 by windoworks This morning I read a report on Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah. When we watched the latest season of The Crown last year, it dealt with the troubled marriage of Charles and Diana. When it aired, there were cries from the British press saying ‘its a dramatic representation! It wasn’t that bad!’ After reading the 10 takeaways from the Oprah interview, I realized that the treatment of Meghan was exactly the same as the way the Family treated Diana - with almost the same consequences, but this time Harry left with Meghan. One remark stood out for me: an unnamed Royal family member asked Meghan or Harry, just how dark will the baby’s skin be? This was before Archie was born. Archie doesn’t have the title of Prince, although all William’s children do. In this day and age, I have to wonder what the overall purpose of a royal family is. The British Royal Family seem to cost Britain money in return for some charity work. I don’t feel strongly about this either way, but when history repeats itself, you have to wonder. I have no idea what Harry and Meghan will do to support themselves but they strike me as a resourceful couple. When they married I thought: at last, this is step forward and may lead to more integration. Ah well. In September 2016, Craig and I lived in Brandon, a small town in north east England, for about a month. It was about 4 months after the successful campaign and national vote to leave the European Union dubbed Brexit. You had to wonder what was the motivation to leave a larger governing body that gave a great deal of commerce to Britain. In the end, I think it was a combination of racial prejudice and a yearning for a time when Britain owned and ruled half the world. Craig had his hair cut at a one man salon in Brandon and the owner told Craig that he and his friends had made a terrible mistake. They thought voting for Brexit would make all the immigrant Poles return to Poland. (I am still astounded by this belief). There is a large population of Polish people in Brandon and in Britain. The mothers of Brandon would walk their children to school in their separate groups but the moment the children ran into the school grounds, they appeared to all play together. In London, most of the hotel maids, shop workers, restaurant staff etc are all Polish or Russian or Eastern European, and I think its the same in most of the other big cities. With the final Brexit agreement being in place at the end of 2020, I think Britain has lost far more than it gained. Many of the financial establishments have left London and moved to Amsterdam; there is no open border between Britain and the Continent ; the Republic of Ireland remains in the EU while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom. Scotland continues to think about becoming a republic and rejoining the EU; and meanwhile Wales is leaning towards leaving the United Kingdom and declaring independence. Before Brexit, Wales relied on the EU for much of its financial stability. �Its International Women’s Day and here’s a quote from the former President of Ireland and Chair of The Elders, Mary Robinson: “One lesson I've learned is that Covid has exacerbated existing inequalities and shown the intersectionality between them, which in turn has made people feel more empathy and compassion for those worse-off, which actually, gives me hope," she said. And here’s something to jog your memory: ��Today Craig and I will get our second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Then in 2 weeks time, we will be as protected as possible from the Corona virus. How long will it last? No one seems to know. And here’s another item to know - Russian hackers have been spreading misinformation online about the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines in order to elevate the Russian Sputnik vaccine. So check all sources online. From CNN: The US could be in the “eye of the hurricane,” according to one expert, instead of riding a steady pandemic decline. Cases have stopped dropping and are now plateauing at very high numbers, with the country averaging roughly 60,000 new cases daily in the past week. Loosened restrictions and mass spring break events right around the corner could spell serious danger. Plus, the B.1.1.7 variant, first found in the UK, could fuel more infections over the next six to 14 weeks. It’s also important to note that the pandemic is still tough in a lot of places. Brazil just recorded its highest number of coronavirus cases in two months, with 80,000 new infections in a single day. When I look at the statistics for Michigan and Kent County, Michigan numbers are still slowly rising and Kent County is between rising and plateauing. Scientists are warning there could be another surge. In other news from Washington Post: N.Y. State Senate leader urges Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid allegations of sexual harassment and other controversies. In a statement Sunday afternoon, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea StewartCousins (D) said there was a need “to govern without daily distraction,” citing allegations of sexual harassment and a toxic work environment in Cuomo’s office, as well as an ongoing controversy about his administration’s handling of nursing home death data during the pandemic. In a separate statement, State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he shares Stewart-Cousins’s sentiment “regarding the Governor’s ability to continue to lead this state.” The statements by his fellow Democratic officials signaled a perilous turn for Cuomo, who earlier Sunday reiterated his refusal to step down. And in a small country, far, far away: Washington Post:At least 17 people were killed and hundreds injured Sunday as four massive explosions at a military camp shook Equatorial Guinea’s largest city, authorities said. The blasts Sunday afternoon in the port city of Bata sent giant plumes of smoke into the air and destroyed dozens of buildings. Images broadcast on state-run television showed injured residents fleeing. Some seemed to be carrying bodies of the dead. The Health Ministry said it had confirmed 17 dead and 420 injured. A doctor in Bata, a former capital, told the state-run TVGE television network that at least 20 were dead. In a statement read by TVGE’s broadcasters, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema called the incident an “accident” and blamed it on the “negligence” of those tasked with guarding stores of dynamite and �munitions. He ordered an investigation and asked the international community for help in rebuilding parts of the city that had been destroyed. Equatorial Guinea is a small and impoverished country wedged between Gabon and Cameroon on Africa’s Atlantic coast. It’s divided into two parts: the mainland, home to Bata, and an island called Bioko, about 150 miles to the northwest, where the capital Malabo is located. Our next day in Reykjavik was a free one for Craig and I, and we made our way into the city center. We passed this house: Höfði is a house in Reykjavík, Iceland, best known as the location for the 1986 Reykjavík Summit meeting of President Ronald Reagan of the United States and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union. This meeting was a important step towards ending of the Cold War. Within the building, the flags of the United States and the Soviet Union are cross-hung to commemorate the meeting. Wikipedia. Authors note: I think that statue is Mikhail Gorbachev. �The Settlement Exhibition Reykjavík 871±2 is an exhibition on the settlement of Reykjavík, Iceland, created by the Reykjavik City Museum. The exhibition is based on the archaeological excavation of the ruin of one of the first houses in Iceland and findings from other excavations in the city centre. Wikipedia �The focus of the exhibition is the remains of a hall from the Settlement Age which was excavated in 2001. The hall was inhabited from c. 930–1000. North of the hall are two pieces of turf, remnants of a wall which was clearly built before 871±2, hence the name of the exhibition. Such precise data dating is possible because a major volcanic eruption from the Torfajökull area spread tephra across the region and this can be dated via glacial ice in Greenland. The hall is among the oldest human-made structures so far found in Iceland. Also on display are objects from the Viking Age found in central Reykjavík and the island of Viðey. Wikipedia �This was part of the settlement underneath the building. �Me shopping at the Reykjavik artists market. �Hallgrímskirkja is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 74.5 �metres (244 ft) high, it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–1674), author of the Passion Hymns. �Inside �Hallgrimskirkja �Standing at the end of Skólavörðustígur street and in front of Hallgrímskirkja church is one of the best-known landmarks in Reykjavik, the statue of Leifur Eiríksson. Leifur is probably the best known hero of Viking age Iceland, the first European to arrive in America: Leifur’s voyage to America in the year 1000 preceded the Christopher Columbus’ voyage by roughly half a �millennia. �Another Icelandic adventure tomorrow. Oliver: � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-08_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-362 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-08 Title A name given to the resource Day 362 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2bdd20010b845e854fb327e7475497c5.pdf 0acf043460189c7794f7c97c472e4278 PDF Text Text Day 361. 4 more days until its a whole year. by windoworks It’s Sunday morning and its sunny. Soon I will make us a picnic lunch and we will drive north for an outing. Craig is on his way to Trader Joe’s for the Sunday morning Senior hour. There’s a phrase I never thought I’d say. Eastown is adjacent to the city of East Grand Rapids and this weekend the high school switched to online learning at least until Tuesday. By Friday evening the outbreak had grown to 24 students, some of whom are on the boys varsity basketball team. Further down the page was this disturbing note, from WoodTV8: At the start of the week, the state was tracking 123 coronavirus outbreaks tied to K-12 schools, colleges and universities, 29 of which had been reported in the last seven days. Now, of course, everyone will scream at Governor Whitmer because she lifted the restrictions on face to face teaching for K-12. Which makes a change from them all screaming at her to lift restrictions. At some point, regardless of the restrictions, lifted or not, people have to decide what is safest for them and their families. I have seen articles reporting parents are saying thanks but no thanks to in person classes. I think we have to follow the rules but be ready to go back if there’s another outbreak. And the rules are still: �wear a mask and keep distancing. Tomorrow is our second dose appointment. But even though we’ll be fully vaccinated we will still be wearing masks and distancing. And here’s some troubling news - people aren’t getting tested for 2 reasons: 1. They think because the vaccine is here they don’t need to get tested and 2. They don’t want to get tested because they want to continue to go to work and not have to isolate. I can’t even express how worrying that is. Remember I told you that Zoe’s office insists that you get tested if you have a cough or runny nose - and you work from home. Obviously that won’t work in the service industry, but if you think you might have the virus and you go to work at a factory or restaurant etc., then you are spreading the virus to your colleagues. New York Times: A more contagious coronavirus variant first discovered in the U.K. is spreading fast in the U.S., even as the overall number of cases is leveling off there. One analysis suggests the possibly more lethal British variant, known as B.1.1.7, accounts for more than 20 percent of new U.S. cases as of this week. Still, experts note that the low total case counts in states with a high share of B.1.1.7 are an encouraging sign. Some state officials have continued to lift restrictions steadily, despite worry over variants and warnings from top federal health officials, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, that doing so could be premature. On Friday, he said that the country had plateaued at between 60,000 and 70,000 new cases per day, and he warned that the U.S. could be headed for yet another surge in cases. More than 30 power plants in Texas that failed in February, also failed in a 2011 winter storm - and then failed to make the upgrades to prevent another failure. And consumers are receiving enormous power bills. I couldn’t understand this until Craig explained that the consumers signed a contract to get extraordinarily cheap electricity during normal climate conditions. However, (and this part I really don’t understand) during the ice/snow storm, the hourly cost of electricity shot up to $9 an hour. So Griddy, the power company, bills at cheap wholesale rates - except during a once-in-ten-years storm. Here’s a better explanation than mine: Washington Post: Ahead of the storms, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages about 90 percent of the state’s electric load, underestimated how much power it would need. Because Texas is the only state in the Lower 48 that operates an independent electric grid, it could not receive help from neighboring states. Supply could not keep up with demand, leading the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which regulates Texas utility rates, to raise energy prices in an emergency meeting Monday.On the same day, the wholesale price of electricity spiked more than 10,000 percent, leaving many Texans with dizzying bills in the wake of the storms — ranging from four digits to one for more than $17,000.The state’s unregulated market allows customers to pick their utility providers, with some offering plans that allow users to pay wholesale prices for power. Variable plans can be attractive to customers in better weather, when the bill may be lower than fixed-rate ones. Customers can shift their usage to the cheapest �periods, such as nights. But when the wholesale price increases, the variable plan becomes the worst option. Many Texans are paying the bill and then switching to a fixed rate utility company. Meanwhile in Jackson, Mississippi, clean water is the issue: CNN: Thousands of Jackson residents have gone weeks without water access, after a winter storm hit the area in February. The storm, which also affected Texas and Louisiana, caused 80 water breaks throughout the city, which has been on a boil-water advisory since February 23. The city is now seeking $47 million from the state to improve water infrastructure, it announced Thursday. The pipes in the city are over 100 years old, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said earlier in the week, and water issues such as this one have become a common occurrence in the city. The Senate approved the amended stimulus bill (American Rescue Plan) which returns to the House for the final vote: what was approved? �Iceland. Next we docked in Reykjavik for 2 days. Our first day we joined the Golden Circle Tour and our first stop was at the Olfus steam power station which heats all the buildings in the Olfus area. �Then we went on to Bláskógabyggð This is a tourist attraction with thermal pools, geysers etc. We ate lunch there first. ���And then we drove to a waterfall ���And then, we visited Thingvellir National Park which was the site of the Alþiing, the annual parliament of Iceland from 930 CE until the last session held at Þingvellir in 1798 CE. Since 1881, the parliament has been located within Alþingishúsið in Reykjavik. Þingvellir is now a national park in the municipality of Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, about 40 km northeast of Iceland's capital, Reykjavík. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological significance, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. The park lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. To its south lies Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. Wikipedia. �Walking in the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic �plates. �What a wonderful spot to hold an annual parliament. Day 2 in Reykjavik tomorrow. Oliver ��See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-07_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-361 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-07 Title A name given to the resource Day 361 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5e408f90191a9f88b9b07e6184a1c29e.pdf 3e31bce9478122d6884cf2944b824f3a PDF Text Text Day 360. Saturday March 6. 120 sleeps to go. by windoworks In Australia, there is more development in the story of the Attorney-General and the rape allegation during his teenage years. Apparently he went on TV in an emotional state and strongly denied it. He has taken time off for stress. (I make no comment on whether the allegation is true or false. There is no investigation at this time). The Prime Minister Scott Morrison didn’t really understand the fuss (and hadn’t read the breaking story) but luckily his wife explained it to him, using his daughters as an example. Really? There seems to be an unspoken belief (not only in Australia) that women who recount stories of rape or inappropriate touching etc., are protagonists. That is, they are at fault, not men. But I think, to be accurate, it is society’s fault. Some time ago I asked Craig, with his historian’s hat on, when did women become secondary to men? His answer: during the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), women and men shared all tasks equally. But then, about 10,000 years ago, in the Neolithic (New Stone Age), the dawn of agriculture began. This meant that people became sedentary, built permanent dwellings and stayed to manage the crops. Women were then confined to the ‘house’ and in charge of all things domestic while the men began to take part in more leadership and governing roles. Women began to lose their equality. As a side note: Craig says that the common belief is that during the Paleolithic Age, men did all the hunting, but in truth, the women were often the better hunters. So once agriculture began, we lost all our equal rights - and we’ve been trying to regain them, in one way or another, ever since. And we compensate by telling our daughters how to behave in ways that won’t provoke sexual assault. I could expound on this topic for some time - but I won’t. To the virus: yesterday the mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan, apparently said that he didn’t want the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for his citizens because the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were better. Then a lot of foot shuffling occurred and he said that he would be happy to receive the J&J vaccine, of course. The problem is that there is so much misinformation out there, that his possible initial remarks helped to stoke the unease about vaccines in general. We are set to get our second dose on Monday morning. Having even the first dose makes you feel as though you have some protection from the COVID-19 virus. Scientists say the first dose offers about 60% protection. It jumps to the low 90s after the second dose. What no one can agree on, is how long this protection lasts. And the rider is: you have to keep wearing a mask and physically distancing. �Ahhh, Texas! Across Europe this is happening: Washington Post Meanwhile, Europe is also experiencing an end to six weeks of declining case numbers as the virus mounts an unwelcome resurgence. New cases have risen by 9 percent in the past week, with central and eastern Europe impacted the most. World Health Organization officials attributed some of the increase to a more contagious variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, that is driving an outbreak in the Czech Republic and Hungary. �We’re all so tired of being far from family and so constrained. Here’s some suggestions that might make you feel better: The Atlantic: Below, you’ll find five scientifically supported suggestions for improving your well-being. Although they certainly aren’t a cure-all for the very real pain that so many are experiencing, we hope they might provide a little relief. 1. Fight fear with love. “More isolation plus more hostility equals less love; less love equals more fear. To reduce fear, we need to bring more love into our lives. … Make your love overt. Today, tell someone you love her or him.” 2. Try measuring your happiness to improve it. “Understanding the measurement of happiness can itself make you better at improving your own well-being—and avoid some critical errors.” 3. Get up and move. “The stillness of pandemic life and our resulting inactivity can help explain some of the dramatic happiness declines during the pandemic.” 4. Making other people happy makes you happy, too. “Spending money on others and volunteering have both been shown to raise one’s own happiness levels.” 5. Consider giving something up. “The most compelling happiness benefit of voluntary sacrifice is that it fosters self-mastery, or—the term that social scientists prefer—‘self-efficacy,’ which refers to confidence in one’s ability to control one’s own behavior.” And here’s two snippets to consider. First: Washington Post Capitol Police ask for 60-day extension of National Guard presence at the Capitol, Pentagon officials say. The mission for the 5,200-strong force, established in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, is slated to end March 12. Two officials said the extension request has been received by the Defense Department and will be considered by Army officials and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. If approved, it would keep Guard members on duty through May, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. And second: Crooked Media: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has sued Donald Trump, Don Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) for inciting a violent mob, following a similar suit filed by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS). �Swalwell’s lawsuit also cites the Ku Klux Klan Act, and alleges that Trump & Co. broke Washington, DC, laws. Across the world, in protests and in their own language, protesters are singing this song from Les Miserables. They have sung it in Hong Kong, Poland and most recently in Myanmar: Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people Who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart Echoes the beating of the drums There is a life about to start When tomorrow comes! Oliver ���More Iceland tomorrow. �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-06_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-360 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-06 Title A name given to the resource Day 360 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2af231dc0b262e1f393064724f4f6b63.pdf 046ab47d82bcdbb2d3e0c67d5498a6eb PDF Text Text Day 359 by windoworks Its Friday and today the city is sending someone out to check that our new furnace has been installed properly. I am going to the doctor because I don’t know about you, but this has been the worst year for allergies for me, and now the cold weather is easing and the snow is melting ..... and its the first week of March. Yesterday people scrambled to higher ground in parts of New Zealand after this happened: Washington Post: A major magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck roughly 600 miles northeast of New Zealand on Thursday afternoon, triggering concerns of a potentially damaging tsunami across large portions of the Pacific. The risk spanned from New Zealand and Australia to as far east as Central and South America. The 8.1 tremor was the third major earthquake in less than eight hours on the Kermadec Fault, which passes east of New Zealand. A magnitude 7.3 hit near New Zealand early on Thursday, followed by a 7.4 about 560 miles to the north a few hours later. �That’s for all those reluctant to be vaccinated. Meanwhile they’re building a global time capsule of the pandemic because - of course they are. Washington Post On the wooded site of a former golf course in suburban Washington, archivists are building a global time capsule of the pandemic. The digital repository — to be housed at the National Library of Medicine, a Cold War-era fortress appropriately built for fearful times — holds 30 million documents from 9,000 sources, with links to similar troves from Beijing to Paris. Reading like a great international scrapbook, the archive also serves as a warning. Its podcasts, photographs, videos, health documents, website captures, news stories and social media posts will reveal to future generations what we did wrong in 2020. Some things, they’ll learn, went surprisingly right, particularly in east Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Even in nations still counting their dead, the archive tells us, humanity stepped up. Our descendants will be moved by the selfies of a London nurse, her skin blotchy with fatigue and mask marks after a nine-hour coronavirus shift. They’ll cheer the Maryland distillery that halted vodka production to make hand sanitizer. But the graduate students of the 22nd century — like some of the archive’s researchers today — might be most struck by our colossal failures. They’ll know we had our Cassandras. The infectious-disease experts. Bill Gates. The CIA. A global pandemic is inevitable, they warned. Take what we’ve learned from H1N1, SARS, Ebola and Zika. Draft strategies, and don’t stick them in drawers. Be prepared to halt movement. Share, don’t shield, information. Use consistent messaging. If you must, shut down daily life — even if it’s unpopular — to save lives. Yet despite decades of planning, cutting-edge centers for disease control and years of experience battling smaller outbreaks in “poorer” countries, the world’s wealthiest peoples, the future will learn, were unable or unwilling to halt what might mostly be remembered as a rich nation’s virus without suffering massive casualties. In piercing prose, they’ll see the lack of leadership. The failure to coordinate. The on-again, offagain lockdowns. The no lockdowns at all. The misinformation and politicization of a health crisis. The virus deniers and never-maskers from Missouri to Medellín who confused personal freedom with a criminal disregard for everyone else. The digital memorial to the Great Pandemic of 2020 (and, really, 2021) will give us a three-terabyte epitaph to an outbreak that saw humanity’s best instincts often undermined by its worst. No single country, epidemiologists and health experts say, has suffered as great a failure as the United States. It will be a cold hard fact, as evidenced by 500,000 tombstones and counting, that a nation President Donald Trump declared “more prepared” than any other has clocked the globe’s largest death toll, becoming a symbol of deadly hubris and apathy. A mad scramble for personal protective equipment and ventilators betrayed a lack of preparation, even as a sort of toxic masculinity sickened health policy. It wasn’t just the United States. A quarter-million Brazilians died of what President Jair Bolsonaro dismissed �as a “little flu.” Tanzanian President John Magufuli ridiculed masks and lockdowns, pledging “God will protect us” even as hospitals were being overrun. Social distancing, they told us, was for sissies. Face masks for pinkos and atheists. Last month in Rio de Janeiro, the maskless masses reveled in its sultry streets despite the cancellation of Carnival. In April in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador — a tropical metropolis initially reluctant to social distance — fly-covered cadavers filled the streets. In Britain, they kept calm and carried on — and died for the privilege. Prime Minister Boris Johnson kept bars, schools, museums and restaurants open, even as Paris, Rome and Madrid were shuttering theirs. The Sunday Times would denounce the “38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disaster.” “A senior adviser to Downing Street,” the outlet reported, said Johnson “didn’t chair any meetings. He liked his country breaks. He didn’t work weekends … There was a real sense that he didn’t do urgent crisis planning.” Some countries were much less of a mess. Australia got it mostly right. On a Thursday in November, when the United States had 52,049 people hospitalized and 10,445 in ICUs for the coronavirus, the Sydney Opera House had reopened and office workers were streaming back to their cubicles. The country had put its faith in science, quickly shutting its borders and severely limiting interstate, even intrastate, movement. Messaging was king. Political leaders on the right and left sent up a collective cry: Wear masks. Social distance. Stay at home. Save Australian lives. South Korea excelled through contact tracing and testing. Japan deployed its sense of the collective and a culture militantly respectful of others. New Zealand’s success was written with quarantines and aggressive shutdowns. “There wasn’t a single path out of this pandemic, but it took being proactive and aggressive and — most of all — taking the virus seriously,” said Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health. “A bunch of countries did it, and a bunch of countries just didn’t.”Asked to grade humanity’s response to the global pandemic, Jha offered a fairly decent “B-.”Then he paused. “Okay, maybe a C+.” The United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, others, they just really bungled the response,” he said. “You saw more than 2 million deaths, hundreds of millions infected, and we should have all known this was coming. That’s why we don’t get an A. But I don’t think a D or an F is fair. My God! We built vaccines — several vaccines — in less than year!” What I wonder is this - will future generations heed the lessons of this pandemic or will they forget like they did after the 1918 influenza pandemic? And here’s a new squabble developing: Washington Post Italy has blocked the export to Australia of 250,000 AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses, amid a dispute with the drug manufacturer over delivery shortfalls inside the European Union, the Italian foreign ministry said Thursday. The move was the first time an E.U. country used new powers introduced in January, after AstraZeneca announced it would deliver sharply fewer doses to the E.U. than promised for �the first months of the year. Italian leaders proposed the block on the Australian shipment, and E.U. policymakers in Brussels signed off on it, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement. The decision to block the doses was because of “the lingering shortage of vaccines in the E.U. and in Italy, and the delays in the supply of AstraZeneca vaccines to the E.U. and Italy,” among other reasons, the statement said. The European Commission announced in January that it would require vaccine manufacturers to ask permission of national governments before they could export doses outside of the bloc. Well that’s unfortunate. And just to cheer you up a little, a gem from CNN: At Paris Fashion Week, Coperni transforms a colossal arena into a drive-in runway. Sitting front row? Out. Sitting front lane? In. You’ll notice I have said nothing about the Senate shenanigans; the stubborn lifting of all restrictions in two states; and anything else newsworthy. Its just too tiring. As I haven’t given you any statistics update in, oh, forever, here goes: US confirmed case total as of yesterday: 28.9M. Keep in mind the real case total is probably 3 x that number (86.7M). However, deaths are easier to be accurate about. Yesterday the US had 520,000 deaths recorded due to the virus. In the state of Michigan, the case numbers plateaued after dropping and are now slowly increasing again. In Kent County we have an average of 100 new cases a day. I can remember when 20 new cases a day was shocking. We can all play ‘lets pretend the virus has gone away’, but that’s all it will be - a game. In Isafjordur, Craig went walking by himself. �He climbed up the steep hills. ��Wildflowers �Fishermen �A map of where Isafjordur is located �House with tin roof �The museum �Our ship anchored offshore. More Iceland adventures tomorrow. Oliver - look how grown up he looks. When we FaceTime he says: Hi Mimi. Where’s Gandad?. Yesterday we sang Twinkle, twinkle together with all the hand movements. That dinosaur picture was a gift from his Great Aunt Kym. Oliver loves dinosaurs. ��Just a note here: in Michigan all 50+ year olds with health issues etc can be vaccinated from Monday March 8 onwards. For all other 50+ residents, vaccinations are available from Monday March 22. As my friend Mary Alice says: if there is a phone number to call, hang on the line for however long it takes. Don’t give up. See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-05_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-359 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-05 Title A name given to the resource Day 359 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1582f1f36cf478ff38e43be2573b0f98.pdf 930bb62d94b7df5b814fce41d160fb82 PDF Text Text Day 358 by windoworks First off: a retraction. The Australian Attorney-General has strenuously denied the rape allegations and is taking 2 weeks stress leave. There is no investigation of the allegations planned. I have no idea why I thought he had acknowledged the allegation - my sincere apologies. And obviously, I am not cognizant with Australian politics at all. Now back to the US. From CNN: Federal law enforcement is on high alert today after an intelligence bulletin this week warned of a group of violent militia extremists discussing plans to take control of the US Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on or about March 4. The date is central to a fringe conspiracy theory among supporters of former President Trump, some of whom believe today is the “real” inauguration and that he will somehow regain power. The House even changed its schedule in light of the threat to avoid being in session. The Senate will still meet to debate the Covid-19 bill. Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says Trump has a duty to call off any supporters planning action today. And from Crooked Media: Intelligence analysts have been tracking online chatter about March 4 for weeks: Some QAnon luminaries have latched onto it as the date upon which Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 19th president, based on logic that is too sophisticated for a healthy mind to understand. DHS and the FBI released a joint-intelligence bulletin about the threat late on Tuesday, noting that extremists had discussed plans to “remove Democratic lawmakers.” So the House is not meeting but the Senate is. Of course, we all read the announcement that the House would not meet today and thought: well, that seems reasonable, but then you stop and think - wait, how did this become normal? I have researched when was the House forced to shut down before due to the threat of serious violence and insurrection and the answer is NEVER. So I ask: how are we accepting this? Why aren’t we objecting as a voting majority to the Republicans continued attempt to overturn democracy and establish authoritarian rule? Why isn’t it being made clear that if as a sitting Republican, you continue to support the erroneous idea that the election wasn’t fair and open, then you are in danger of being removed from your seat under the Constitution: Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment stipulates that: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof…” �Well that seems crystal clear and I don’t think you have to remove them from office - just threaten to remove them if they persist in contradicting their Oath of Office. Here’s a bill that I think has passed through the House: Well all that seems reasonable, but of course there will be a battle over it in the Senate. And what happened to the investigation to be set up to look at the events of January 6? Here’s a roundup: NPR In the nearly two months since the attack, cross party tensions in Congress have intensified in floor debate, in committee hearings, and in personal relationships. At an Oversight Committee hearing last �week on the postal service, Rep. Gerry Connolly. D-Va., snapped at Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, one of former President Donald Trump's most vocal allies in the House, after Jordan accused Democrats of politicizing the postal service to hurt Trump in the election. "I didn't vote to overturn an election. And I will not be lectured by people who did about partisanship," Connolly responded. The House Natural Resources Committee recently changed their rules to explicitly ban guns in their committee room, a decision seemingly targeted at one Republican: freshman and gun rights enthusiast Lauren Boebert of Colorado. Democrats have criticized her for tweeting about the whereabouts of Speaker Pelosi during the Jan. 6 invasion, and for her advocacy to carry a handgun on the House floor. Democrats have felt so threatened by Republicans that they installed metal detectors for lawmakers to enter the House chamber — which Boebert called "a political stunt" — and instituted fines of up to $10,000 for those who don't comply. Several Democrats have also also alleged — without evidence — that some Republican lawmakers may have aided Capitol rioters. "I wish we didn't have to fear that they were bringing a weapon on the floor," Casten said. "I wish we didn't have to fear that they may have incited some of what happened. I wish we didn't have to fear that they may have shown people where the tunnels were. But it's not clear to me they can be trusted." Davis says the metal detectors and those kinds of allegations have likewise eroded trust among Republicans towards Democrats. "It's very frustrating when you have colleagues without any evidence just throw out wild conspiracy accusations, and frankly there's got to be some accountability on their behalf to provide that evidence or apologize." Congress may need to hand over this investigation to an outside entity because there's no indication House lawmakers can do it together. Aguilar said most Democrats see the only path to reconciliation is for those 139 Republicans who objected to Electoral College results to say it was a mistake. "The more they continue to perpetuate the 'Big Lie,' and continue to push back against it, it's really hard to move past that," Aguilar said, in reference to conspiracies promoted by Trump that the election was fraudulent. "They need to acknowledge that Joe Biden was elected in the safest election and the fairest election ever held." So you can see that nothing good will come out of this standoff. I subscribe to the White House page and it depresses me that a positive action taken and reported on the page is immediately overwhelmed by vitriolic comments from non-Democrats. I find it hard to understand why Facebook puts any comments up under posts. I think it should be organized so that you, the reader, can choose to look at the comments under a post, or not. Here’s a lone voice of reason from the Republican side: Washington Post: As Congress investigates the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) believes two things: The attack was domestic terrorism, and it showed law enforcement needs broader powers to fight back, like those granted after 9/11. “In today’s world, the FBI tells me they’re having more domestic terrorism cases than international terrorism,” McCaul, a former Homeland Security Committee �chairman, said in an interview. “During my career at Homeland, it was the threat from al-Qaeda, now we’re looking at what happened January 6th.” In other news, at least two states, Texas and Mississippi have declared mask wearing is over. This directly contradicts President Biden’s 100 days of mask wearing mandate. Let us just return for a moment to Texas’s belief that to join a national utility grid in the 1930s would allow unnecessary federal interference in Texas autonomy. Fast forward to today: how reasonable does that stand alone decision seem today? Here’s part of an opinion piece by Paul Begala: CNN: Texas politicians' right-wing ideology caused them to opt out of the national power grid in 1935, making it essentially impossible to bring in electricity from out of state when most in-state power plants froze up. Millions shivered without heat; pipes burst, water was cut off, roads were impassable. People died: an 11year-old boy's family says he froze to death in his bed in Conroe, Texas. In Sugar Land, where I grew up, a house fire -- possibly caused by an attempt to heat the home after the power went out -- wiped out almost an entire family -- a grandmother and three young children: ages 11, 8 and 5, perished. Only the children's mom survived. Former Texas governor and US energy secretary Rick Perry seemed to think it was all worth it for the larger cause of right-wing political correctness. "Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business," said Perry. Right, Rick. Tell that to my family and friends in Texas who shivered in the dark for days”. And from CNN: Some state leaders are facing tough criticism for easing coronavirus restrictions despite myriad expert warnings that the worst isn’t quite over. Dr. Anthony Fauci called decisions like those of the Texas and Mississippi governors to lift precautions “inexplicable,” and President Biden called it “Neanderthal thinking.” At the same time, some Catholic bishops are discouraging people from getting the latest singleshot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson when alternatives are available because it contains lab-grown cells that descend from cells taken in the 1980s from the tissue of aborted fetuses. When Dr Fauci was asked what vaccine he would tell us to choose, he answered: any one you’re offered. But I know you’re wondering when will it end, when will life go back to normal? We have discussed this before but here’s the latest thinking: Reuters: A new consensus is emerging among scientists, according to Reuters interviews with 18 specialists who closely track the pandemic or are working to curb its impact. Many described how the breakthrough late last year of two vaccines with around 95% efficacy against COVID-19 had initially sparked hope that the virus could be largely contained, similar to the way measles has been. �But, they say, data in recent weeks on new variants from South Africa and Brazil has undercut that optimism. They now believe that SARS-CoV-2 will not only remain with us as an endemic virus, continuing to circulate in communities, but will likely cause a significant burden of illness and death for years to come. As a result, the scientists said, people could expect to continue to take measures such as routine maskwearing and avoiding crowded places during COVID-19 surges, especially for people at high risk. Even after vaccination, “I still would want to wear a mask if there was a variant out there,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden, said in an interview. “All you need is one little flick of a variant (sparking) another surge, and there goes your prediction” about when life gets back to normal. The shift in thinking among scientists has influenced more cautious government statements about when the pandemic will end. Britain last week said it expects a slow emergence from one of the world’s strictest lockdowns, despite having one of the fastest vaccination drives. U.S. government predictions of a return to a more normal lifestyle have been repeatedly pushed back, most recently from late summer to Christmas, and then to March 2022. Israel issues “Green Pass” immunity documents to people who have recovered from COVID-19 or been vaccinated, allowing them back into hotels or theaters. The documents are only valid for six months because it’s not clear how long immunity will last. For Craig and I, we are expecting to have to quarantine in a Sydney facility for 2 weeks while we undergo 3 or 4 more Covid tests, even though we will have a document showing that we are fully vaccinated for 3 months prior to arrival. Is it worth getting upset about this? No, these are the iron clad regulations in Australia and New Zealand, two Democratic countries that have taken these strict precautions to protect all their citizens - no matter how they voted in elections. Both countries borders are closed. We will only be allowed back in because we are both dual citizens - Australians and Americans - and we will have to use our Australian passports to enter the country. Yes, you could say these restrictions are draconian but they allow both countries to immediately swing into action and overcome any sudden community spread of the virus or variants. In Auckland there is currently a Level 3 lockdown (the strictest is Level 4) and most Aucklanders have taken this in their stride knowing it won’t last that long. In Britain, PM Johnson said yesterday he had no real idea of when their lockdown will begin to ease. (I can hear Elle groaning). Tomorrow Michigan will allow 50% customer attendance in restaurants. I think a lot of people still won’t frequent them. Take out is always a good option. Flashback: after Akureyri we sailed on to: Ísafjörður is a town in the Westfjords region of northwest Iceland. It's known for its dramatic landscapes. The old town has wooden houses with corrugated tin roofs built by fishing merchants in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Westfjords Heritage Museum has exhibits �on the town’s maritime history, including a collection of old fishing boats. The old hospital, now a cultural center, contains archives and photography. ― Google �On my excursion we stopped first at a site where an avalanche during winter buried an �entire village. The houses were rebuilt but the villagers are only allowed to live in them in summer. The whole village was relocated down the road. �The �memorial �We went inside this little church for a demonstration of Icelandic ballads �This woman sang 2 Icelandic lullabies - awful words about dead babies and �trolls. �I forget exactly, but I think this is somewhere giants or trolls live. Icelanders believe in such things. Our last stop was for coffee and a snack and a lecture on Arctic Foxes. Their coats turn brown in summer but revert to white in the winter. Craig’s Isafjordur adventure tomorrow. Oliver: �Building stuff for the farm animals. See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-04_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-358 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-04 Title A name given to the resource Day 358 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b056d26f703f8addfb25c2cc6e399a89.pdf e75dd79facb5361c0c67d8dd84b6aaa8 PDF Text Text Day 357 by windoworks Some mornings (and this is one of them), I feel as though a lot of people have learned absolutely nothing from the pandemic experience. There seem to be some irrefutable facts that people just can’t get their heads around. One is that there are a number of far more contagious variants out there. Another is that assuming that you’re not sick if you don’t have symptoms can be wrong. Not wearing a mask in crowded situations is also dangerous. But the very worst erroneous idea is that this pandemic will magically end and there’ll never be another one. That’s like the end of all those fairy tales: and they all lived happily ever after. I think our lives have changed and going forward it will be a different normal. Our book club has chosen a book, The New Wilderness by Diane Cook. I am two thirds of the way through it. I was trying to explain to my daughter yesterday why it made me uncomfortable, although it is very easy to read. I think its because it shows a very negative vision of the future. A future in which children in cities die because the smog shreds their lungs. Cities become overcrowded and dangerous. I could go on, but it is like our worst imaginings and in this moment, it seems so much more possible. In Australia, where they are dealing with the pandemic so much better than us, their problems are to do with the morals and ethics of the lawmakers. Their Attorney-General, a very prominent and powerful politician, has admitted to raping a girl when he was a young man and before he got into politics. With that admission, he feels that he has done enough. How could that be enough? Where are the consequences? That poor raped girl killed herself after years of distress. In any group of women friends, you would be amazed how many of each group have been molested at some point in their younger years. I once sat drinking coffee with a group of 5 women friends and during a casual discussion, 4 of them admitted to having been molested in some way as a young girl. But the deeper problem seems to be this enforcement of stereotyped roles for men and women. It seems that women (even successful women) can be cast as somehow suspect as to how she became successful. Rape continues to be the woman’s fault. Her clothes were provocative, she was drunk, she was asking for it (really?), when she said no, she really meant yes. So - we ask our daughters to wear non-provocative clothes, to not walk alone on dark streets at night, to never drink too much in public, to not wear too much make up.... in my mind’s eye I see every woman reading this, nodding their heads. I have seen posts that call VP Kamala Harris a whore and say she only reached her status by lying on her back with her legs open. That is disgusting, degrading, demeaning and dismissive of her talents, abilities, strong character and hard work ethic. But what I really want to say is that although Kamala Harris got to her position by sheer determination and hard work, the only way some people can come to terms with her rise is to assume she must have risen through sexual favors - and that assumption brings her down to some lower point that threatened males in particular can cope with. And that makes me so sad: a man can reach the top of his �profession no matter what the circumstances but a woman, what did she have to do to get there? Not use her brains and capabilities, obviously. Washington Post: By now, many of the basic facts about how Covid-19 spreads are clear. People tend to become infected by inhaling droplets that come from the mouths and noses of others. Crowded indoor spaces — where infected droplets can linger in the air — are the most dangerous places. They are particularly dangerous when people are not wearing masks. Yet consider some of the new policies that state governments have put in place this week: Texas and Mississippi both announced they would lift their mask mandates (following Iowa and Montana, which did so last month) and allow businesses to operate at full capacity. Massachusetts removed capacity limits on restaurants. South Carolina will allow gatherings of more than 250 people. In announcing the changes, Tate Reeves, the governor of Mississippi, wrote: “It is time!” Greg Abbott, Texas’ governor, said, “State mandates are no longer needed,” while adding that he hoped Texans would practice “personal vigilance.” Perhaps the better yardstick would have been the number of people vaccinated in their states, rather than just the arrogant assumption that their opinion was the right one. �Well, I could tell you all about the ridiculous things the Republican lawmakers, state and federal, are doing. Mean, petty, self-serving actions that benefit only them and their white supremacist friends and backers, but that would take up this entire day’s blog and it wouldn’t make me or you feel better. Flashback: the next day Craig and I went on a whale watching expedition from Akureyri. �I can’t tell you how cold it was out on the Iceland �Sea Another whale watching boat �You’ve got to be quick to catch them with your camera ��Waiting, waiting, waiting. �Ah Iceland! So wet, so misty. Oliver. ���On that note, I’ll leave you today. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-03_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-357 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-03 Title A name given to the resource Day 357 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b74a0e4b8621878bce22b249f6a9a0c7.pdf 9566d1577ce3ba00ac4b32c24ac47d42 PDF Text Text Day 356 by windoworks Where to start? First up, a little excerpt from Heather Cox Richardson’s daily post: On Monday morning, conservative pundit William Kristol wrote in The Bulwark what a number of us have been saying for a while now, and it dovetails cleanly with the current Republican attempt to suppress voting. Kristol warns that our democracy is in crisis. For the first time in our history, we have failed to have a peaceful transfer of power. The Republican Party launched a coup—which fortunately failed—and “now claims that the current administration is illegitimately elected, the result of massive, coordinated fraud. The logical extension of this position would seem to be that the American constitutional order deserving of our allegiance no longer exists.” “So,” he notes, “we are at the edge of crisis, having repulsed one attempted authoritarian power grab and bracing for another.” Claims that American democracy is on the ropes in the face of an authoritarian power grab raise accusations of partisanship… but in this case, the person making the claim is a conservative, who goes on to urge conservatives to join behind President Joe Biden to try to save democracy. Kristol warns that “a dangerous, anti-democratic faction” of the Republican Party “is not committed in any serious way to the truth, the rule of law, or the basic foundations of our liberal democracy.” At the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference this weekend in Orlando, Florida, Trump supporters doubled down on the lie that Biden stole the 2020 election. From a stage shaped like a piece of Nazi insignia, speakers raged that they were victims of “cancel culture” on the part of Big Tech and the left, which are allegedly trying to silence them. To restore fairness, they want to stop “voter fraud” and restore “election integrity,” and they want to force social media giants to let them say whatever they want on social media. In the Washington Post, commentator Jennifer Rubin said the modern conservatives at CPAC had no policy but revenge, “resentment, cult worship and racism,” and no political goal but voter suppression. It is “the only means by which they seek to capture power in an increasingly diverse America,” she notes. A poll showed that “election integrity” was the issue most important to CPAC attendees, with 62% of them choosing it over “constitutional rights” (which got only 48%). This just makes me so tired. And the lies are just ridiculous. The other day when we drove out to Grand Haven, there was a sign in front of a house shrieking a warning about liberals=socialism. But here’s the thing - when that non-taxable stimulus money pops into that person’s account and they gleefully accept it - wouldn’t that be a form of socialism? Along with Medicare and (gasp!) Social Security? The phrase ‘having your cake and eating it too’ springs to mind. I know, I know, you’re asking what does that mean? Here’s what Wikipedia says: You can't have your cake and eat it (too) is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech. The proverb literally means "you cannot simultaneously retain your cake and �eat it". … The proverb's meaning is similar to the phrases "you can't have it both ways" and "you can't have the best of both worlds." Crooked Media has renamed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine the ‘j&j one jab wonder’. Seems appropriate. But here’s some worrying news: Crooked Media- The U.S. isn’t out of the woods yet—it’s still March, after all. New coronavirus cases have begun ticking upwards again after steadily declining for weeks, and on Monday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky warned states not to ease up on public-health mandates: “At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained.” And from CNN: The threat of coronavirus variants is growing, and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warns that, if we’re not careful, their spread could reverse falling case numbers and delay the recovery that’s just now coming over the horizon. In the UK, officials are racing to track down a single person infected with a variant first identified in Brazil to prevent further spread. The key to getting over this hurdle? Vaccinations, experts say, and a few more excruciating months of safety precautions. And there you have it: a few more excruciating months of safety precautions. And in 4 months time, Craig and I are pretty sure we’ll have to mask up for the two 12 hour flights to Sydney via Narita. Remember I asked you if you had a piece you’d like to share about the moment you realized the pandemic would change life as we knew it? First up, here’s Craig’s piece: Two Moments when it All Changed Two moments stand out for me. The first was the morning of March 1st, the day our Holland America ship docked in San Diego after a New York Times Central America cruise. By then cruise ships around the world were being quarantined, with passengers stuck on board for weeks. As we waited for our disembarkation color tickets to be called over the ship’s intercom, I kept thinking ‘any moment now they will discover a case of Covid on board and we will be quarantined’. I walked round and round the promenade deck with a sinking feeling, but then our number was called so we quickly grabbed our bags and headed for the gangway. I still can’t believe they let us get off (there were a lot of ill people on board with Covid-like symptoms) but I have never been so glad to walk off a ship and onto a dock in my life! The second moment occurred in the classroom with my GVSU big history honors students during the afternoon of March 10th. The 25 students and I had been together inside and outside the classroom for 6 hours a week since August. The previous week had been spring break, so everyone was really happy to be back together again. I began the class by raising the possibility that this might be the last time we would ever meet in person as a class. The students were incredulous. They said, ‘But Professor B there are only two cases in Michigan’ (which was true that day), yet universities around the country were already starting to close. As we tried to focus on class content students were also watching their phones. During the course of the afternoon another dozen universities closed and started sending students home. My �students would gasp and say ‘Professor B, Ohio State has just closed’; or ‘Professor B, all the universities in the Cal State system just announced they are closing’, and so on. As we ended class around 5.00 pm, we all knew that this was probably the last time we would ever meet together as a community. I told them all I loved them, some were in tears, and we all headed out of our classroom for the last time. Authors note: GVSU closed at the end of class the following day. Craig taught his other class, face to face on March 11 and they were all aware that this would be the last face to face day for the semester. There were tears that day too. And is this a taste of what I really hope will happen to Trump? CNN Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in prison for corruption and influence peddling. A French court found him guilty of trying to illegally obtain information from a senior magistrate in 2014 about an ongoing investigation into his campaign finances. Sarkozy was President from 2007 to 2012 and is the first president to be sentenced to jail in France’s modern history. Yesterday we drove to South Haven and the further south we drove, the harder it snowed. �Ice on the Black River at South Haven �Looking south from South Haven �The South Haven lighthouse. Those bits in the sky are hard snow pebbles stuck on the lens �Heading home along Lakeshore Drive. Look at the change in the weather! Oliver �Sticker fun �While I was eating and shopping at Seydisfjordur, Craig went on a hike. �Iceland has lots of rivers, streams waterfalls �etc Wild country ����Our ship. See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-02_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-356 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-02 Title A name given to the resource Day 356 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f1e89ca28b8969acd03081bf453930ce.pdf 671318e72ade2a3c1c2df091b7bf0a2a PDF Text Text Day 355 by windoworks Its the first day of March and there is now just over 4 months until we leave the US. There are 10 more days until Michigan went into lockdown a year ago and I began writing this blog. This morning NPR published an article which asked the question: #TheMoment They Realized The Pandemic Was Changing Life As They Knew It. I had to think what was my clearest memory. Here goes: I remember attending a meeting of the Finance Committee followed by a Board meeting of a club I belonged to, in the board dining room of a local retirement village. We met once a month and ate a delicious lunch between meetings. I don’t remember why I was so alarmed and so sure it would change our lives possibly forever, butI remember taking hand sanitizer, a box of tissues and disposable gloves with me, and placing them all on the table in front of me. The rest of the women looked at me as if I had gone temporarily insane. We talked about the virus reaching the US and that perhaps we would have to suspend our normal Thursday luncheon and program meetings for the foreseeable future. I remember the shocked faces around the table and the almost instant refusal to accept what they were hearing. One absolute stand out moment in the 4 hours of meetings, was a woman leading the meeting handing out reports - and she licked her finger to separate the pages that were stuck together. My mind boggled. When lunch was brought in, one server wore disposable gloves. The club did close to all face to face meetings and that day was the last day I saw most of those women in person. When Craig came home from GVSU that night, he received notification that all campuses were closed. What was your moment? I felt like the canary in the coal mine. My friends thought I was overreacting, but I knew life as we knew it would never be the same. This morning the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been approved and will soon be available. CNN: The J&J vaccine is different than the other two because it only requires one dose. Which should you get? Dr. Anthony Fauci says, “I would take whatever vaccine would be available to me as quickly as possible.” Today, Mexico's President is expected to ask President Biden about the US possibly sharing its vaccine supply. Mexico has several purchase agreements with drug makers, but many have gone unfulfilled. Meanwhile, more than 2,400 cases of the UK, Brazil and South Africa coronavirus variants have been detected in the US, and the CDC warns the actual number could be much higher. Vaccinations are well underway in Britain, the US, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and other places I don’t know about . A word of caution: it is really exciting when each of us fortunate people receive our first dose and then our second dose - but there are many, many people out there desperate to get on a list (and many more on a number of lists) all trying to wait patiently for their first dose. It is very hard for these �people when we publicly celebrate our successful vaccination. Plus, real safety will only occur when most people have been vaccinated. Lets not crow. What else is happening? Most importantly, its Women’s History Month. CNN: Women's History Month, which is observed in the US, UK and Australia in March, and in October in Canada, began with a single day. International Women's Day is March 8, and it has been observed in some shape or form since 1911. It was officially commemorated by the United Nations in 1975 and was officially recognized by the UN two years later. Besides International Women's Day, March holds a few more important milestones for women's history: Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in all federally funded education programs, was passed by the Senate on March 1, 1972. It became law later that year. In fact, the educators who formed the first Women's History Week a few years later did so to help schools comply with Title IX regulations. The Equal Rights Amendment, a constitutional amendment which guarantees rights regardless of sex past those assured by the 19th Amendment, passed the Senate on March 22, 1972. (P.S. -- it's still not fully ratified.) Earlier in the 20th century, two significant women's suffrage events took place in March. The first major suffragist parade took over Washington, DC, on March 3, 1913, and the National Woman's Party, a political group dedicated to women's suffrage, was officially formed in March 1917. Also, it might be a coincidence, but seeing as how demonstrations and public displays were an integral part of the women's suffrage movement, the month of "March" certainly seems to fit. Also from CNN: Online chatter suggests QAnon supporters believe former President Trump could still be inaugurated Thursday. National Guard troops will remain in Washington through mid-March over concerns about potential violence. "Some of these people figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the President used to be inaugurated on March 4. Okay, now why that's relevant, God knows," said Rep. Adam Smith, chair of the House Armed Services Committee. And then there’s this coming up: CNN: The National Day of Unplugging starts Friday. After the year we've had so far, this would be a good time to step away from electronics and go for a walk, hike, do arts and crafts, play board games -- anything to take a break from the doomscrolling. This morning we are planning to pack chicken salad, cookies and coffee and drive down to South Haven for a day’s outing, so my post is shorter today. However, I do have time for the flashback. After 2 days at sea filled with lectures from Craig and the others we reached Seydisfjordur on the coast of East Iceland. �Iceland always looked like this: forbidding cliffs and mist. �The sweaters made from Icelandic sheep’s wool are scratchy - apparently Icelanders like it that way �Walking to morning �tea �Through the trees Tea shop and museum �Beautiful stove for warming the �room �A waterfall stop Wild country. This was my day out. Craig’s excursion tomorrow. Oliver: �Contemplating the lake with Great Uncle Drew. �If you have a moment you realized the pandemic was changing your life and would like to share it on my blog - please send it to me via Messenger. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-03-01_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-355 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-03-01 Title A name given to the resource Day 355 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d2e958fed6094ae5f15595c945f158c3.pdf a3d96615f47c402021bd10281bc6d8e0 PDF Text Text Day 354. by windoworks Here’s an interesting piece: Gold has long been associated with a divine sphere, both in pre-Christian and in Christian religion. The shine of gold, its indestructible nature, its malleability and its relative scarcity made it an ideal material to embody divine qualities, but also expressions of human veneration of the divine. In case you didn’t recognize him: its Trump in gold. He is scheduled to speak at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) today. �This is the stage at CPAC, Orlando, Florida. This image shows (or resembles) a symbol that was used by the National Socialist (NSDAP/Nazi) government of Germany or an organization closely associated to it, or another party which has been banned by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. Washington Post: Investigators have uncovered video appearing to show someone spraying a chemical irritant at Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick and other law enforcement personnel fending off rioters in last month’s attack, though they have yet to identify the person or tie the activity directly to Sicknick’s death, according to people familiar with the matter. Sicknick’s death has vexed investigators exploring the Jan. 6 riot, as they have struggled to figure out how precisely he died and whether someone could be held criminally accountable in connection with the death. Investigators determined Sicknick did not die of blunt force trauma, people familiar with the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. U.S. Capitol Police in a statement Jan. 8 said that Sicknick died “due to injuries sustained while on duty.” No autopsy or toxicology report has been made public, unusual seven weeks after a death. Acting deputy attorney general John Carlin said Friday that prosecutors have now charged more than 300 people in connection with the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol, when a mob supportive of President Donald Trump stormed past barricades and sparred with police inside and outside the building. They have arrested more than 280, Carlin said. Why am I posting this? Yesterday I was talking to Craig on our way home from Grand Haven. Some of our best philosophical discussions have taken place on car journeys. Anyway, we were talking about how despairing we both felt about the political situation here in the US. For example, as soon as the Biden/Harris Administration was safely established and many good things began to happen, the Republicans across the country immediately started to put in place laws that severely restricted liberal voters. In Georgia, they have introduced laws which make mail in voting almost impossible and in person voting restricted to white people. In other words, they have disenfranchised everyone who isn’t white. �These actions in Georgia are a direct result of the two Democratic senators being elected after a stunning campaign success mostly orchestrated by Stacey Abrams, a black politician from Georgia. It seems to me (and bear in mind that although I am an American citizen, I still feel as though I am looking at this from the outside), that this fragile nation is crumbling. I don’t think the South ever got over losing the Civil War, and I also think that President Obama brought all that distrust, resentment and white superiority to the fore. I watched all of Bridgerton, that English period piece based loosely on the traditions of the day. The cast was an amazing mix of black and white people - even the Queen was black. Then I saw a post questioning the inaccuracy of casting half the show in either black or brown actors, saying it was historically incorrect. I’m sorry, but didn’t the person posting notice the name of the company at the beginning? Shondaland? The company owned by Shonda Rhimes, a black television producer, screenwriter, and author. That should have been your first clue. But I make this point to show that although the US is changing, the old guard are hanging on for dear life. I think this country is tearing slowly apart. Texas has talked on and off about seceding for years. The question is not will they secede but can they afford to secede? They decided in the 1930s to keep their power utilities completely separate to any federal scheme, and recently, that didn’t work so well for them. In Canada, Quebec has muttered about seceding for many years also, and the western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta have said ‘go ahead’ but the Quebecois might struggle to be financially viable. And in Australia, there have been rumblings from Queensland about becoming an independent nation - but somehow, the idea always dies on the table. I have seen discussions recently of what the reformed US would look like: the Red States of America and the Blue States of America. and before you scoff and dismiss this out of hand - look carefully at what is happening right now. If the Republicans can’t force all the US to be red, they’ll take what they can get. Yesterday we had our far flung family book club. We were just finishing saying our hellos when someone asked Zar, my oldest, if he and Alva were locked down again. He answered yes, the lockdown had begun two hours before. Later he sent me this: Stuff.co.nz ANALYSIS: One new case was enough to force Auckland back into lockdown less than a week after it returned to Level 1. New Zealand has dealt with nearly a dozen border failures and minor community outbreaks of Covid-19. Only a couple have resulted in an alert level escalation, including the discovery of three new cases in the community on Valentine's Day. That latest outbreak was seen as a "false alarm" by some and Auckland left �Level 3 just days after the lockdown began. Why, then, did the identification of a single new community case, likely linked to the Valentine's Day cluster, necessitate a return to Level 3? Not having identified the source leaves us with: Are there undetected chains [of transmission]. Another concerning aspect of the new case is the possibility that they have been spreading the virus in the community for the better part of a week. While, as a household contact of a Papatoetoe High School student, Case M was required to be isolating at home for this period, contact tracing has revealed that they in fact visited a number of high-risk venues. These include a gym, a supermarket and the Manukau Institute of Technology, where the case takes classes. This may mean that there are downstream cases currently in the community that are also infectious. Given the combination of factors - a more transmissible variant spread by a person who visited numerous high-risk locations over the past week while the source of their own infection remains unclear - the Government made the prudent choice to return to lockdown. We can only hope we haven't acted too late. The family asked if we were really locked down here is the US. Well, probably not officially locked down, but Craig and I lead a reasonably isolated life and in 11 days we will have been living this way for an entire year. Earlier in the day yesterday we drove out to Grand Haven to sit in the car, drink coffee and look at the lake. There was a thick lake mist. Craig took these photos: ��These were two young women who got out of their car next to us and began walking out across the ice. The beach ends in the foreground where that black line on the right is. They are now far out on the lake itself. You can’t see it in the photos, but there is another ice line on the horizon. Some years the ice has extended out for as far as the eye can see. �Me walking in Fairplains Cemetary Oliver. �Thats all for today. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-28_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-354 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-28 Title A name given to the resource Day 354 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1831f866b52f5fc120163b3453f780f9.pdf 9a649522d33974ae6eea4a76a7408b40 PDF Text Text Day 353. Saturday February 27. 127 sleeps to go. by windoworks I’m tired this morning. It’s exhausting selling your house (who knew?). There seems to be just one more form to sign or one more hurdle to jump over. Now the city has to come and approve of our new furnace, which seems very correctly installed to me. In the meantime, arrant nonsense is being spouted by the Republican lawmakers. And if we thought they were reprehensible during Obama’s presidency - you should look closely at how they are behaving now. My guess is it comes down to each voters decision: do you want real politicians with empathy, understanding and a real desire to work hard to help achieve a better life for all Americans, regardless of gender, race or personal beliefs? Or do you want someone (or many someones) just like Ted Cruz, who always puts himself and his needs first? As there is a possible plot to blow up the Capitol during the State of the Union speech, the date for this has not been set. And of course, next Thursday is March 4 the date when Trump will ride in and be crowned as k......, no, sorry, be installed as President again. But, here is hope on the horizon. All of Trump’s tax records and financial records that he has fought for years to keep out of prosecutors hands, are now finally in their possession. I assume they have a large team working their way through this ton of paperwork and are planning the order in which they will prosecute him. Flashback: months before the cruise, we had been informed that the ship would alter it course so those of us who wanted to, could buy tickets to attend the Edinburgh Tattoo.The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of Scotland. The event is held each August as one of the Edinburgh Festivals. The term "tattoo" derives from a 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe ("turn off the tap") a signal to tavern owners each night, played by a regiment's Corps of Drums, to turn off the taps of their ale kegs so that the soldiers would retire to their billeted lodgings at a reasonable hour.With the establishment of modern barracks and full military bands later in the 18th century, the term "tattoo" was used to describe the last duty call of the day, as well as a ceremonial form of evening entertainment performed by military musicians. Since the 1970s on average, just over 217,000 people see the Tattoo live on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle each year, and it has sold out in advance for the last decade. 30% of the audience are from Scotland and 35% from the rest of the United Kingdom. The remaining 35% of the audience consists of 70,000 visitors from overseas. Wikipedia I was born in Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. Two of the main cities in that part of New Zealand are Dunedin and Invercargill, which speak to the history of Scottish settlers in the South Island. �In fact, there are many Scottish words still peppering the everyday language in the South Island. My father would roll his rs so that for example, ironing became irrroning. One of my first memories was of the Annual Southland Highland Games, held (I think) in January. There was Scottish dancing, caber tossing, wood chopping and pipe bands. There was also a Parade and all locals were invited to attend. Somewhere, I have a photo of my brother, my sister and I all dressed up (I’m sure my brother was dressed as a pirate). For some reason I had my doll’s pram which had been decorated with red, white and blue paper chains. What I remember most was the marching pipe bands. You either love bagpipes or hate them. I have always loved them. It is such a strong link to my early childhood. So, of course, we bought the really expensive tickets to the Edinburgh Tattoo. After an early dinner onboard the ship, we assembled at the dock to board one of the many busses to take us into Edinburgh. They dropped us off some distance from the castle and we walked the rest of the way. Our tickets were for two seats on the bleachers - hard seats at that. Craig rented us a cushion each to sit on and as we waited for the Tattoo to begin, we lamented the fact that we had not thought to bring the balcony blankets from our cabin. But once the evening began (after an exciting episode of someone being carried off, presumably ill, which delayed the start somewhat) I forgot about the cold altogether. �Edinburgh is a city of different street �levels You can see the next level up from where we were walking �Waiting for the Tattoo to begin �Getting the sick person out safely �The cauldrons burned, the castle gate lit up and the massed pipe band came out playing �Scotland the Brave. I cried. �The band Marshall’s at the front with their bearskins and batons. The pipers and the �drummers behind. �After an evening of song and dance from around the world, there were the obligatory �fireworks and laser show. �The big �finish The massed pipe band marched out the gate below us - and just like that, it was over. Later that night we set sail for 2 days across the North Atlantic to Iceland. Oliver ���See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-27_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-353 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-27 Title A name given to the resource Day 353 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/be423e0eafe3ed0831b0d1cb8722f8d7.pdf 15425da835a7eafd222b91ebe31b0a13 PDF Text Text Day 352. by windoworks CNN: Cars line up at NRG Park in Houston as people wait to get Covid-19 vaccines. The Trump administration did a very good job getting the vaccines manufactured, but then they stopped there. After 38 days in office, among the myriad of national and international actions, the Biden Administration unwrapped this: New York Times: What wartime mobilization really means. President Biden has compared the fight against Covid-19 to wartime mobilization. And successful wartime mobilization in the United States has always involved much more than the government. The best example is World War II, when private companies like Ford and General Motors quickly overhauled their operations to contribute to the war effort. In the fight against Covid, however, the private sector — with the big exception of pharmaceutical companies — has done relatively little so far. It has not made a major push to persuade Americans to remain socially distant, wear masks or get vaccinated as soon as possible. Later this morning, Biden administration officials and business leaders will announce a plan to change that, White House officials told me. The plan includes some of the country’s largest corporate lobbying groups — like the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers and groups representing Asian, Black and Latino executives — as well as some big-name companies. Ford and The Gap will donate more than 100 million masks for free distribution. Pro sports leagues will help set aside more than 100 stadiums and arenas to become mass vaccination sites. Uber, PayPal and �Walgreens will provide free rides for people to get to vaccination sites. Best Buy, Dollar General and Target will give their workers paid time off to get a shot. And the White House will urge many more companies to do likewise. Many of the steps are fairly straightforward, even obvious. That they have not happened already is a reflection of the Trump administration’s disorganized Covid response. Trump officials oversaw a highly successful program to develop vaccines, but otherwise often failed to take basic measures that other countries did take. “We’ve been overwhelmed with outreach from companies saying, ‘We want to help, we want to help, we want to help,’” Andy Slavitt, a White House pandemic adviser, told me yesterday. “What a missed opportunity the first year of this virus was.” I remember a meme which said that if you gave the vaccine shots to Amazon delivery drivers, everyone would be vaccinated by Sunday - or Wednesday if you were a Prime member. So what happens once I’m fully vaccinated? For myself, I have made an appointment with my hairdresser at the end of March. There will be no photos of me until after that appointment. I seem to have aged 5 years in a single year. Here’s a piece that addresses that question: The Atlantic Here are a few things to remember in these next, awkward steps toward normal. • One principle can help you—whether you are vaccinated or not—navigate this new phase. “When deciding what you can and can’t do, you should think less about your own vaccination status, and more about whether your neighbors, family, grocery clerks, delivery drivers, and friends are still vulnerable to the virus,” Rachel Gutman writes. • Vaccine makers don’t need a perfect dosing regimen. They need an effective one. Vaccination is about data, but also trust, Katherine J. Wu explains: “In the absence of public trust, even an immunologically ideal vaccine-dosing regimen won’t be the one that protects the most people.” • Vaccines might never bring us to herd immunity, but they can still help end the pandemic. “The role of COVID-19 vaccines may ultimately be more akin to that of the flu shot: reducing hospitalizations and deaths by mitigating the disease’s severity,” Sarah Zhang wrote earlier this month. • Don’t forget about the global picture. As one expert told James Hamblin, many low-income countries may end up far behind in vaccine distribution. That’s dangerous for the world: “Providing the virus with new places to spread will allow it to linger with us indefinitely. The longer it sticks around, the more time it has to mutate—which is bad news for the entire world, Americans included,” James notes. Yesterday two major things happened. The first one was that the appraiser came and spent a looong time inside our house with us there. After we walked him around, he went back around, photographed inside and outside the house, measured things and opened every single door, closet and cupboard. It felt �incredibly intrusive - and dangerous. He didn’t say whether he was vaccinated or not, but he stood closer than 6 feet to me on occasion, but at least he had a mask on. The second thing was: two nights ago, my neighbor posted in our FB block group that she had made corned beef, potatoes, carrots and cabbage for diner that night and it was far too much for the two of them - and would someone like it? I quickly responded yes please! So last night, with the addition of a white sauce, Craig and I ate a delicious meal that neither of us had cooked. And during the meal, I remembered all the delicious meals we have eaten at our neighbor’s house over the last 18 years. I was both happy and sad. Now here’s two things from the Capitol. The first is exciting: Washington Post House votes to pass Equality Act, sweeping legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The legislation would amend federal civil rights laws to ensure protections for LGBTQ Americans in employment, education, housing, credit, jury service and other areas. It is a top legislative priority of President Biden but faces an uphill fight in the Senate. And the second is scary (and will it never end?): Crooked Media: Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman testified in a House hearing that some of the January 6 insurrectionists have discussed wanting to blow up the Capitol during the State of the Union address, which is why Capitol Police haven’t eased up on security. Do you need a laugh? I need a laugh. ��Flashback: during the night, the ship sailed back down the coast of Scotland and we anchored at Queensferry. Our shore excursion during the day was to Falkirk and Stirling. �The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde �Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after Falkirk, the town in which it is located. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project. Wikipedia The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton Boat Lift. Wikipedia ��It really wasn’t my shining hour. But in compensation, the fudge I bought afterwards at the �visitors center was delicious. Stirling castle. Before the union with England, Stirling Castle was also one of the most used of the many Scottish royal residences, very much a palace as well as a fortress. Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542, and others were born or died there. Wikipedia Stirling Castle �View from the battlements �The Great �Hall Beautiful gardens inside the walls �Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce was King of Scots �from 1306 to his death in 1329. Robert was one of the most famous warriors of his generation and eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent country and is now revered in Scotland as a national hero. Wikipedia No, I didn’t go to the castle - I went shopping in Stirling instead. There’s still more of our day tomorrow. And no, I didn’t forget Oliver: ��See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-26_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-352 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-26 Title A name given to the resource Day 352 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bfce404d5757f8974f4b11199f229165.pdf e46cb5d24fbcac3e433485e70cf85485 PDF Text Text Day 351 by windoworks Yesterday I had to have the remainder of a basil cell carcinoma removed from my face just in front of my right ear. I have a big white bandage covering the seven tiny stitches and Craig says I remind him of Van Gogh (who cut off his ear). The stitches are taken out next Wednesday, and I hope that’s the end of it. The news is all very depressing. As soon as a new vaccine, Johnson & Johnson, was approved, two new contagious variants were found in New York City. The Republican lawmakers have solidified behind opposition to the desperately awaited stimulus bill that 65% of all Americans want. No I can’t comment on that because I can’t imagine why lawmakers wouldn’t want to help their constituents. In Texas, they say the underlying belief is that Texans would rather go 3 days without power than join any federal utility scheme. Hmm. Have they asked actual Texans? Also, their provisions for emergency power is based on a much lesser storm some years ago, because - how much worse could it be? Are we shortsighted? Travel. Now this is close to my heart. 5 experts collectively thought: soon, but not that soon; depends on vaccinations and virus levels and - maybe just wait until 2023. Craig and I are just following our plan and hoping that being fully vaccinated for at least 3 months will allow us to fly back into Sydney. Apparently the police then escort you from the plane to the quarantine hotel. We might have to quarantine for 14 days before being allowed out and reunited with family. We’ll see. Yesterday the person doing the radon mitigation came to inspect the basement. His team will return on March 12 and they will dig a pit under the basement, where the radon gas will collect and be driven upwards by a fan, through a pipe that goes through the basement wall, then up the side of our house and then along the gutter and finally up into the air above the roofline to vent harmlessly into the air above the house. Today (will this never end?) the appraiser is coming to look at our house. Well at least the sun is shining. There have been programs set up to help the families of QAnon cult believers. From Washington Post: Washington Post She bought ammunition, camping gear, a water purifier and boxes of canned food. Then, Tyler’s mother started wearing a holstered pistol around the house, convinced that 10 days of unrest and mass power outages were coming. The chaos would culminate, she assured her son, in former president Donald Trump’s triumphant return to power on March 4, the original Inauguration Day before the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1932. Tyler, 24, had been living with his mother an hour north of Minneapolis since he graduated from college in 2019. The paranoia and fear that had engulfed his home had become unbearable in the months since Trump began to falsely claim that the 2020 election had been stolen from him. “Any advice for dealing with a qanon parent who thinks ww3 will happen during the inauguration?” Tyler �asked last month on r/QAnonCasualties, a fast-growing Reddit group for those whose loved ones have been consumed by the bizarre and byzantine universe of baseless conspiracy theories known as QAnon. “Do they have weapons?” one of the site’s moderators asked. “Yep. A lot of them,” Tyler replied. “I would leave, but I don’t have anywhere to go.” He said he couldn’t imagine cutting ties to his mother. Far from Washington, the falsehoods that had whipped so many into a frenzy were wreaking a different sort of chaos; one that was tearing families apart. Family members spoke of their loved ones as if they were cult members or drug addicts, sucked in by social media companies and self-serving politicians who warped their views of reality. They begged and bargained with parents and partners to put down their phones for just a few days in the hope that the spell might be interrupted and they might return to their old selves.To some it seemed as if the United States was gripped by an epidemic of conspiracy theories. QAnonCasualties, the Reddit group where Tyler had turned for support, offered a rough barometer of the growing turmoil. Since last summer it had grown from about 10,000 members to more than 130,000 in the days after Joe Biden’s inauguration. Each day there was a flood of new posts: A woman in Chattanooga, Tenn., was just days away from moving out of the house she and her partner bought five years earlier. “I feel like I’m in a twisted black mirror episode that’s lasting WAY too long,” she wrote. “I feel hopeless that we will ever get back to the beautiful life we shared in our lovely home.” A woman in Palm Beach, Fla., had gone two weeks without speaking to her mother and was starting to wonder if the rift was irreparable. “I grieve for her every day as if she is dead,” she wrote. A teenager in Annapolis, Md., worried that she no longer “knew” her father. “I’ve come to the breaking point,” she confessed. “My heart goes out to everyone else in this situation. It really sucks.” Tyler, alone in his bedroom, read many of the new posts, hoping that they would help him make sense of his mother’s beliefs. Sometimes it felt as if every conversation with his mom and her new husband circled back to Trump-related conspiracies. Tyler said he and his mother discussed QAnon one time; a bizarre conversation in which his mother insisted that QAnon prophecies were the product of artificial intelligence. He described an atmosphere of growing conspiracy and fear that pervaded his home. At first she insisted that Trump, not Biden, would be inaugurated on Jan. 20, and for a while Tyler held out hope that Biden’s swearing-in would jolt his mother back into reality. She would put away her gun and life would return to normal. But, the ceremony in Washington seemed to make little difference at his house in Minnesota. “She’s waiting for March 4th now,” he wrote. “What’s March 4th?” asked one of the QAnonCasualties group members. “Trump’s inauguration as new world president,” Tyler replied, referring to a common belief among some QAnon followers that it represented the true Inauguration Day as set out in the Constitution. �Authors note: Tyler moved out to his father’s home where his stepmother welcomed him. All ties have been cut with his mother. This story illuminates such a growing tragedy. Its almost to bizarre to believe, unless you watched the January 6 attempted insurrection, as I did. And then, last week, I was reading a friends FB post and a mutual ‘friend’ wrote insulting and degrading things about Democrats, Biden and Harris in the comments section. My good friend didn’t look at his post for 2 days (because, busy) and then when he did, he was horrified and removed the so-called ‘friend’ from his page and apologized and apologized and apologized to us all, his real friends. I was amazed that a person I had known for years through ArtPrize and had always seemed so friendly and warm, would suddenly start spouting the QAnon vitriol and nonsense - and post it in the comments of my real friends page. I suddenly understand Tyler’s anguish. There is no reasoning with these people and that is a tragedy of enormous proportions. Here’s how to make it through this next stretch from the Atlantic writers and editors: 1. Take a neighborhood plant walk. I have taken up night walks, wandering the empty streets of Oakland and Berkeley after my kids go to bed. Every once in a while, I find a succulent from a neighbor and snip just a tiny piece. Then, I take it home, stick it in water, and wait for its roots to sprout and grow down. Eventually I plant it in the tiny garden that I've built. — Alexis C. Madrigal, staff writer 2. Then: Build on your indoor garden. Grow it; don’t throw it: Plant some kitchen scraps (lemon seeds, lentils, celery stalks, avocado pits) and watch new life happen in days, no extra soil or pots required. — Shan Wang, senior editor 3. Call someone. Pick up your phone and call—actually call; don’t text—a friend just to catch up. Any time I have talked to a friend during this pandemic, I have found the conversation restorative, grounding, and gratifying. Plus, you never know when the person on the other end of the line really needs a friend, too. — Rebecca J. Rosen, senior editor 4. Make pierogies. One weekend, perhaps seized by the spirit of some ancient Polish ancestor, I found myself irresistibly drawn to the idea of making pierogies. The little dumplings require an astonishing amount of time and patience, at least by my standards, but the process is meditative, and at the end, you have something delicious for the freezer. Any filling works. I’ve followed recipes from the Gefilteria and NYT Cooking. Emma Green, staff writer �5. Take a fake commute. I learned this trick from one of my favorite newsletters, Girls’ Night In: If you're working remotely, create a daily commute and take a walk around the block in the morning. Quarantine has blurred so many work-life boundaries that even a pretend journey can feel refreshing. — Marina Koren, staff writer 6. Learn about cicadas. Maybe you or your kids are fascinated by bugs. If so (and if an overabundance of insects isn’t too biblical-plague-esque for you), now’s a perfect time to study up on them before your spring hikes: The Brood X cicadas are emerging for the first time in 17 years. (Did you know that there are also 13-year broods?) — A.C. Valdez, senior podcast producer Two days ago, my sister-in-law cut Oliver’s hair while he was sitting on Zoe’s lap. He was suspicious - but every time he turned around, Bernie just hid the scissors. ��It’s a cute pageboy bob and doesn’t bother him as much. What a blondie! Inverness. Inverness, royal burgh (town), Highland council area, historic county of Inverness-shire, Scotland. It is the long-established centre of the Highlands and lies at the best crossing place of the River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness at the east end of Glen Mor. Situated astride the river and the Caledonian Canal, it commands the route system of northern Scotland. Encyclopedia Britannica �Flora Macdonald was the young woman who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from �Scotland after the Jacobites were routed at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Inverness Castle �The Old High �Church �Shopping while Craig climbed up to the �castle The view of Inverness from the top. �Pipers piping us out as we left the dock. �Edinburgh tomorrow. Be careful - it isn’t over yet. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-25_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-351 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-25 Title A name given to the resource Day 351 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1c7d1dec6c09366428ab91d9f36d598b.pdf f5338171a9bca41a03758d151e4e3455 PDF Text Text Day 350. by windoworks Someone asked me today why former president Trump seems still to get more news coverage than President Biden. My answer was that Trump is still a powerful force and explodes into the news because he is so unpredictable, while Biden is behaving like presidents always did before Trump, holding meetings and letting Congress get on with its own business, which is much less immediately newsworthy for all that it matters in the longer term. Heather Cox Richardson. And that’s the thing: every day President Biden works at light speed to help the American people. He continues to undo many of the actions Trump took, while mending relationships around the world, and taking steps to address heinous actions such as the Russian hack Solar Winds. And he and Vice President Harris still found time to hold a vigil for the 500,000 Americans who died from Covid. He has visited the Pfizer facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan and will visit Houston, Texas today to recognize the devastating problems Texas is having due to the massive winter storm and the resulting power outages. I could go on, but you see my point. But what I fail to understand is why someone like Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisc) would read a fallacious item into the record during the opening day of the investigation into the January 6 attempted coup. Everybody (all Republicans, Democrats, Independents) knows that the January attempt to overthrow the government and stop the voting on the electoral rolls, was carried out by white supremacists on the direction (instruction, order, command) of Donald Trump. We’ve all watched the video and heard the words. Ron tried to tell the investigating panel that those people wearing body armor, carrying Trump flags, wearing MAGA hats and shouting Kill Nancy (Pelosi) and Stop the Steal (among other words) were Democrats dressed up and fake MAGA fans. Okay, if they were Democrats dressed up as white supremacists - why would they want to kill Nancy Pelosi or stop the electoral vote acceptance? Why would they want to stop Joe Biden being formally recognized as the winner of the 2020 Presidential election? So here’s my problem: while a large portion of the US is trying its best (with a lot of help from President Biden and his appointees) to get back to some sort of normal life with ‘equality and justice for all’ - why would a portion of the population, aided an abetted by most Republican lawmakers, be trying to undermine all this progress and good cheer, in the middle of a global pandemic that just took 500K American lives? It must come down to ‘what’s in it for me’ and having found what’s in it for me, how do I hold on to that, come what may? Oh I remember. White Supremacy. �What else? Yes, the virus Washington Post When will daily life resume? When will it be safe to hug or party or sing karaoke or do X thing, like normal? No one knows. Uncertainty is perhaps the only thing U.S. public health experts will say that's certain about the future. Those experts include infectious-disease researcher Anthony Fauci, who has declined to offer a timetable for the return of life as we knew it. By summer? Halloween? Christmas, even? “God willing,” Fauci has said, the 2021 winter holiday will look different from 2020’s. The doctor did predict, though, that face masks may be necessary into 2022. Vaccines are beams on the bridge to back to normal. They work. The first real-world results from a nationwide vaccine program, analyzing the vaccinated vs. unvaccinated populations in Britain, show strong evidence of protection. And from The Atlantic: At long last, Americans are able to see the relief on the horizon, and the end of the outbreak that’s cost the country more than 500,000 lives. Here’s the most likely timeline for life to return to normal. The short version, from our staff writer Joe Pinsker: “Life this spring will not be substantially different from the past year; summer could, miraculously, be close to normal; and next fall and winter could bring either continued improvement or a moderate backslide, followed by a near-certain return to something like prepandemic life.” Experts propose a simple rule of thumb for knowing when the outbreak is over. Alexis C. Madrigal explains the “flu test”: When the virus is killing as many Americans as the annual flu, we can start to move away from our emergency posture. Prepare yourself emotionally for the end. Pandemic-spurred anxieties won’t go away overnight. Well I can get behind this as I suffer from pandemic-spurred anxieties. Actually it makes me feel better that it now has a name. 2 months ago, Craig and I went online to Spectrum Health, filled out the relevant form and waited to hear when we could schedule an appointment for our first vaccine shot. Since then, we have received at least 4 text updates saying: we don’t have a spot for you yet. In the meantime, we went to a different website and scheduled our first shot on February 8. At that appointment they scheduled our second shot for March 8. Then yesterday we both got a text from Spectrum saying: you can schedule your vaccination now. Wait, what? I think we’ll wait for our scheduled March 8 second shot. How disorganized is that? And then this: CNN Global virus cases have been declining for six straight weeks, according to the World Health Organization. �Still, the world last week saw 2.4 million new cases and 66,000 new deaths. In the US, a trio of major drug companies has promised a total of 240 million vaccine doses by the end of March, enough to fully vaccinate about a third of the US population. A fourth vaccine could also pass FDA scrutiny by April. Russia has opened seven vaccine production centers around the country, and China may be on the brink of approving another vaccine as well. This is all good news, but experts still worry about all those coronavirus variants and say such cases could lead to another surge in the US in coming weeks. But hopefully, any spike would subside by summer. And in a CYA (Covering Your Ass) moment and then obvious finger pointing to put the blame elsewhere. The FBI are pretty sure they warned the D.C. police and the Capitol police and others, but for stinky, smelling to high heaven reasons the bulletins weren’t read. Or maybe they were..... Washington Post: Around 7 p.m. on Jan. 5, less than 24 hours before an angry mob overran the U.S. Capitol, an FBI bulletin warning that extremists were calling for violent attacks on Congress landed in an email inbox used by the D.C. police. That same evening, a member of the Capitol Police received the same memo. But the alert was not flagged for top officials at either agency, according to congressional testimony Tuesday — deepening questions about the breakdowns that contributed to massive security failures on Jan. 6. Both acting D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III and former Capitol Police chief Steven Sund said the intelligence community at large failed to detect key information about the intentions of the attackers and adequately communicate what was known in the run-up to the Capitol riot. “I would certainly think that something as violent as an insurrection at the Capitol would warrant a phone call or something,” Contee told lawmakers. And as Crooked Media pointed out: Had security officials seen any of the numerous media reports that Trump supporters were flooding online forums with calls to attack the Capitol? Great question—still unclear! Sure seems relevant to their job descriptions, though. Does anyone else hear the subtext: Not My Fault? And here’s what President Biden is doing about Trump’s bestie (Handler? Manipulator? Sleeper activator?) Putin: Washington Post Biden administration prepares sanctions to punish Moscow for SolarWinds hack, Navalny poisoning. Part of the administration’s response will be an attribution statement stronger than the one that the intelligence community released in January saying that Moscow “likely” was behind the SolarWinds �operation. A White House official said last week that the Russian campaign hit nine U.S. government agencies and about 100 private companies. They include NASA and the FAA, officials told The Post. Well now, it must be Oliver time. �And singing: row, row, row your boat! �Flashback: So we sailed from Copenhagen to Scotland. Coming up the fiord to Invergordon. �North Sea oil rigs �Under construction or repair before being towed out to the North Sea. �The lone piper piping us in. We docked at Invergordon and then we bussed to Inverness for our excursion. More tomorrow. Its warmer and the snow is melting - puddles everywhere. Be carful out there. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-24_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-350 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-24 Title A name given to the resource Day 350 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/55d1bfe0c1eb37976f70cdd359137aab.pdf 462e56b64b7bc0312127af3b2705bcf8 PDF Text Text Day 349 by windoworks You may be wondering why this post is so late today. Its because this morning, just after breakfast I had an aura migraine and I took a medication which always makes me more foggier than usual. Its after lunch and I am just finishing the post now. Yesterday, after days of warning, the US surpassed 500,000 deaths from COVID-19. Here’s a chart of world wide deaths from other viruses to put that into perspective: And yesterday, the President, the First Lady, the Vice President and the Second Gentleman held an event to mark the 500,000 deaths in the US. �A moment of silence �President Biden spoke, and he talked almost exclusively to those who have lost a loved one or more to this virus. Half a million family members and friends that will never be seen again. It is both sad and shocking. A fifth of all virus related deaths across the world have happened here in the US. CNN: Flags around the US are flying at half-staff to mark the more than 500,000 people who have died on American soil as a result of Covid-19. Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed the travesty plainly, saying, “We’ve done worse than most any other country.” Meanwhile, as England prepares to reopen, its chief medical officer said Covid-19 will likely be a problem “for the next few winters.” It’s a reminder that, like the flu, Covid-19 will still threaten even with widespread vaccinations. There are other health risks to consider as well: Japan has appointed a minister for loneliness to combat a rising suicide rate amid the pandemic. And in the US, clinics are springing up to treat sufferers of “long Covid,” whose symptoms linger long after the infection has cleared. As this blog has evolved, I have written more and more about facts and figures - mostly because those are safe topics for me to discuss. What I have not written about is how I am truly feeling. Sometimes I think we don’t talk about our personal feelings for a number of reasons - too much information, I might sound as though I’m moaning etc. But I have to tell you that as we approach the one year mark (16 days until I have been posting this blog daily for 1 whole year), it has been a hard year. There have been times when I thought that it was too hard for me to keep going. Now that was always just an ‘it’s not fair, why me?’ type of moment. Some days when the sun is shining, as it is today, the isolation seems doable. On days that are grey, all day, unceasingly, it seems harder. Some days our usual routine seems warm and comforting and on other days, the routine seems almost prison like. At the beginning of this, Craig would say to me: think about the British during the Second World War and how they managed. Recently we watched an interesting series, the Wartime Farm, in which a female historian and two male archeologists lived on a farm for a year as if it was the 5 years of the war. I think what the British did under dreadful circumstances was, they made the best of the circumstances, every single day. They kept shining through. Finishing watching the Wartime Farm led to the discovery of The Tudor Farm, The Victorian Farm, The Edwardian Farm and the one we are currently watching - Secrets of the Castle. This is the same 3 people, but this time they are helping to rebuild Guedelon Castle, a medieval castle just outside Paris. With this series and the Tudor Farm, we have heard the origin of many common expressions used today. I can’t remember any Tudor Farm ones, but from the Castle series so far: when Peter took off the chain mail vest he said- well thats a weight off my shoulders. And Ruth ground barley between 2 stones (a quern) and said that medieval women had to do this every day to make bread and ale, in other words- the daily grind. We still have the Victorian Farm and the Edwardian Farm to watch. In the amazingly creative news, museums and art galleries around the world have set up online visits to their premises. You can also visit popular tourist sites and cities online. Our local sculpture garden, Meijer �Gardens, hosts a virtual gardening class and a children’s book reading every day. They are getting ready to host the Butterfly Collection in person, as they do each March/April, but as it involves time spent with numbers of people and children in a very warm and steamy venue, I think we’ll pass this year. Here’s a photo from the Gardens this year: Craig and I also enjoy watching police TV series from all around the world, and years and years of the Great British Menu. This is a show in which 3 chefs from each geographical area of the United Kingdom compete for one whole week to cook at a national celebratory banquet. Each week the 3 chefs cook a starter on Monday, a fish course on Tuesday, the meat course of Wednesday and dessert on Thursday. On Thursday their scores for each day are added up and the top two chefs cook all 4 courses for the 3 overall judges on Friday. The winner goes through to the finals with a chance to cook one of their courses at the annual banquet. It is a very calming show to watch as it is completely removed from the pandemic. We have watched 2 seasons so far. The first season celebrated local producers close to National Trust properties and the second season celebrated the Comedy Red Nose project which began in Africa. The current season we are watching is celebrating the 70th anniversary of D Day in Britain. I think its really addictive to watch because it takes you away from the familiar pandemic routine. Oliver ���Two weeks after our 3 week Mediterranean cruise, we flew to Copenhagen to begin a cruise to Iceland. When we landed in Copenhagen it was unbearably hot. Even our bus to take us from the airport to the hotel had a poor air conditioning system. We arrived in time to unpack and later we went to dinner at a wonderful gluten free restaurant - again with no air conditioning. In the morning we had enough time to sightsee a little before boarding the ship. Happy shoppers �Copenhagen old city is an ornate �area �The Royal Copenhagen china �store Tivoli, also known as Tivoli Gardens, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg, also in Denmark, and Wurstelprater in Vienna, Austria.With 4.6 million visitors in 2017, Tivoli is the second-most popular seasonal theme park in the world after Europa-Park. Tivoli is the fifthmost visited theme park in Europe, behind Disneyland Park, Europa-Park, Walt Disney Studios Park and Efteling. It is located directly in downtown Copenhagen, next to the Central rail station for the city. Wikipedia �Sadly, the Tivoli Gardens didn’t open until we had left for the ship. ��Arriving at the dock to board the ship. more Iceland adventures tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-23_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-349 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Day 349 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1e0b9fa502029f5ae7d1bab8c298a75d.pdf 0332c8bf137397335bbf0c6e79ff521c PDF Text Text Day 248. by windoworks Its Monday and by my count, it is exactly 19 weeks until we board the plane for Australia - hopefully. Yesterday, which was Monday in Australia, the vaccine roll out began. It is interesting to note that in spite of the difficulties faced by many Americans in getting that first vaccine shot, the US is one of the countries that has a good record of vaccinating its citizens. This might be because our record of containment, testing and contract tracing was so abysmal while the other guy was in charge - and he didn’t tell us the truth in case we all panicked. As astonishing as it seems, there are still a significant number of Americans who refuse to be vaccinated, refuse to wear a mask and refuse to believe that the election was fairly conducted and Joe Biden really did win the election without any fraud. Its hard to convince these people otherwise when the greater majority of Republican lawmakers so loudly profess disbelief. For the rest of my life, I will never understand this. People elected to govern are meant to have their constituents needs at heart. But this is a road I’ve already traveled down with you, so I’ll stop now. However, this just in and its deeelicious! Washington Post: Dominion files defamation lawsuit against MyPillow CEO for false claims that voting machines rigged election against Trump. Dominion Voting Systems is seeking $1.3 billion in damages from Mike Lindell and his company after he repeatedly echoed former president Donald Trump’s baseless accusations of widespread voter fraud involving Dominion. I just had to share this: FB post from a friend: who is wondering if you'd heard that they are going to open the Donald John Trump Presidential Library, even though only half the books have been colored so far? And in big news, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said all UK adults should be vaccinated with their first dose by July 31. As my niece said: we’ll see. �And this means you, too. Now from Washington Post: The state of Michigan and the city of Detroit have asked a federal judge to sanction attorneys who filed lawsuits that falsely alleged the November presidential vote was fraudulent, the first of several similar efforts expected around the country. An Atlanta-area prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation into whether pressure that President Donald Trump and his allies put on state officials amounted to an illegal scheme to overturn the results of the election. And defamation lawsuits have been filed against Trump’s allies — the start of what could be a flood of civil litigation related to false claims that the election was rigged and to the subsequent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. �The goal, according to lawyers and others supportive of such efforts, is to mete out some form of punishment for those who helped undermine confidence in the election results and fueled the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. But even more, they said, they hope to discourage other public officials from rerunning Trump’s strategy of attempting to overturn an election result by sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the vote. “There has to be some consequence for telling these lies — because when you lie to people, they take action based on what they think is true,” said Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, a Republican who received threats after false allegations of fraud in the counting of the city’s votes. “Because it’s such a dangerous new thing that occurred, there has to be some reconciliation. Moving on isn’t enough. One of the big sticking points with the stimulus bill is the $15 an hour minimum wage hike. I’m not certain if this is included in the stimulus package or a separate bill. In the US the minimum wage is $7.25, but the tipped wage is $2.13. A worker earning a tipped wage relies heavily on tips to pay their bills, rent, food supplies. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t even start my car to drive to work for $2.13 an hour. When we last ate out at a restaurant, the expected lowest tip was 20% of the bill. One fifth the cost of the meal - breakfast, lunch or dinner. What governments world wide are now starting to think about is a Living Wage. This differs from a minimum hourly wage as it addresses earning enough money per hour to pay for the necessities of life and participate as an active citizen in the community. In the US a Living Wage would be $16.54 per hour, more than double the national minimum wage. A side note here: in Michigan the minimum wage is set at $9.45 per hour. And here’s a nifty chart to get you thinking: �I just want to say, its very traumatic selling your house and your car in a pandemic. Our car is probably going to be bought by our neighbors (so we have to look after it in the meantime) and we are part way through selling our house. After the inspectors report, there was a little renegotiating on the final price. I’m sure this is all how it usually works, but to keep having to let other people into your house during a pandemic is extremely stressful. If the house sale goes through (well before it was going to be put on the market) we will be renting the house back from the new owners for our last 3 months - and having to be extra careful of what was our house. This morning the inspector is coming back to retrieve the radon monitor he put in our basement last week. On Thursday this week, the appraiser is coming to appraise our house and we have to be here. Will it never end? �In Texas, the growing concern is that the big freeze that just happened, will happen again. From the New York Times: The Texas economy revolves around oil and gas. And those fossil fuels have created two threats to the state’s economic future. The first is climate change, which is making Texas a less pleasant place to live. The number of 95-degree days has spiked, and severe hurricanes have become more common, including Harvey, which brutalized Houston and the Gulf Coast in 2017. Paradoxically, climate change may also be weakening the jet stream, making bouts of frigid weather more common. The second threat is related to climate change but different. It comes from the possibility that alternative energy sources like wind and solar power are becoming cheap enough to shrink Texas’ oil and gas industry. Instead of investing adequately in new energy forms, though, many Texas politicians have tried to protect fossil fuels. Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott went so far as to blame wind and solar energy — falsely — for causing the blackouts. The main culprit was the failure of natural gas powered plants. Years ago, (maybe early 1990s) we had new neighbors at our Sydney home. They had moved from England because the husband worked for British Petroleum (BP) who had sent him out to investigate solar and wind power possibilities, which showed that an international fossil fuel company was considering the future market even then. �Several days ago we drove down to view the Grand River, first at Riverside Park. ��And then coming into downtown along Monroe: ��Yes, that’s all the Grand River. Oliver. �Wearing his new sneakers because daycare lost one of his Nike sandals. No really. Well thats it for today. I’ll begin a new cruise adventure tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-22_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-348 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-22 Title A name given to the resource Day 348 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/409ca956a74c8b6b83130ad113567b80.pdf d32ee29cf8786c2d3e6482f57ed5e811 PDF Text Text Day 347 by windoworks Well, probably not, but there seems so much else to talk about. To begin with, many people are refusing to have the vaccine. When I was 4 years old, or thereabouts, the district nurse decided I wasn’t gaining enough weight and I was summarily sent off to Health Camp for 6 weeks, far from home. In those days, mothers were hounded by the district nurse. They laid down the law regarding children’s development and bullied the mothers into complying. Health Camp was probably a nice enough place but it turned my world upside down. I was terribly homesick and in truth, after the 6 weeks were up and at my final weekly weigh in, I had lost weight rather than gained it. But I digress. The event that stands out in my �memory, so many years later, was that the Matron’s daughter came down with chicken pox, and I was one of a small number of children included in the ‘chicken pox party’. Think about that for a minute. Several small children were deliberately exposed to a significant childhood disease. Of course, I came down with chicken pox. They isolated us in a newly constructed dormitory and bathed our poxes in red paint for very itchy spots and green paint for mildly itchy spots, but on the whole, the staff left us entirely unsupervised. I remember that taste of freedom was intoxicating. We felt too miserable to do anything too stupid, but I do remember dancing on my bed. Long after my chicken pox bout, a vaccine was introduced for children in the hopes of eradicating chicken pox. Imagine then, Covid parties. Events organized with the express purpose of spreading the virus and getting it over once and for all. But wait, don’t some people end up in hospital, struggling to breathe? And don’t some people get a mild dose but then become a long hauler - constantly tired and suffering heart problems and brain fog, and many other debilitating symptoms? What would be better than throwing caution to the wind and taking a chance that severe illness and death might be the consequence? Oh, I know - getting a vaccine to prevent severe illness, death and debilitating long term symptoms. But of course, there are still people who read non-scientific, erroneous opinions - so here are some answers: Washington Post: Everyone eligible should get the vaccine is to protect those who cannot get it. With studies on children and the virus just getting started, it’s likely that young kids and babies won’t be able to receive the vaccine until fall 2021. Immunosuppressed people may need to rely on the immunity of others to help them stay healthy. In this sense, not getting a vaccine is like not wearing a mask: Your decision affects not just you but everyone around you, too. There’s no point in getting the vaccine if we still have to wear masks. Vaccinated people should keep wearing masks and follow social distancing guidelines. In fact, we will all need to wear masks for some time. Although the vaccine is more than 94 percent effective at reducing symptomatic illness, it isn’t yet known whether it reduces the likelihood of contracting the coronavirus and being an asymptomatic carrier — a person who can unknowingly infect others. As vaccination brings us all closer to herd immunity, there will be a point when enough of the population is protected that we can do away with masks. That could happen by the end of 2021. In the meantime, vaccination is a crucial tool. It doesn’t replace other tools but is a powerful measure that can help save lives and help the economy recover. We don’t know how long the vaccine will protect us. Virus mutations could mean the vaccine won’t work. A study of the Moderna vaccine found a robust antibody response for at least 119 days. We don’t yet have data beyond this, though some experts believe immunity should last at least a year. As for mutations, all viruses mutate. Vaccines are designed to consider possible mutations, though it’s possible that enough mutations could eventually reduce the potency of the existing vaccines. �It may turn out that people have to receive regular booster shots, as we already do for tetanus or an annual shot that adjusts for variants, as we do for influenza. The theoretical necessity of future vaccinations doesn’t override the urgency of getting one now. Of course the other negative point of catching chicken pox is that it remains in your system forever (as far as I can tell) and in later life, it can come back as very painful shingles. A reactivation of the chickenpox virus in the body, causing a painful rash.Anyone who's had chickenpox may develop shingles. It isn't known what reactivates the virus. Shingles causes a painful rash that may appear as a stripe of blisters on the trunk of the body. Pain can persist even after the rash is gone (this is called postherpetic neuralgia). Both my children had chicken pox as small children. My youngest child scratched a couple of poxes on his face so badly, he has faint scars there even today. And years later, he developed shingles. I’m not certain that chicken pox and the subsequent bout of shingles didn’t lead to other health problems. I’m telling you this because I want everyone who can, to be vaccinated. If people refuse for erroneous reasons, the virus will keep mutating and spreading and we will never be able to take off our masks or hug our loved ones again. People continue to hold on to that tenuous idea of herd immunity. From John Hopkins: What is herd immunity? When most of a population is immune to an infectious disease, this provides indirect protection—or herd immunity (also called herd protection)—to those who are not immune to the disease. For example, if 80% of a population is immune to a virus, four out of every five people who encounter someone with the disease won’t get sick (and won’t spread the disease any further). In this way, the spread of infectious diseases is kept under control. Depending how contagious an infection is, usually 50% to 90% of a population needs immunity to achieve herd immunity. Remember: When the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 first started to spread, virtually nobody was immune. Measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox are examples of infectious diseases that were once very common but are now rare in the U.S. because vaccines helped to establish herd immunity. We sometimes see outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in communities with lower vaccine coverage because they don’t have herd protection. (The 2019 measles outbreak at Disneyland is an example.) Why is getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 to “get it over with” not a good idea? COVID-19 carries a much higher risk of severe disease and even death. The death rate for COVID-19 is unknown, but current data suggest it is 10 times higher than for the flu. It’s higher still among vulnerable groups like the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Quicker is not always better, as we have seen in previous epidemics with high mortality rates, such as the 1918 Flu pandemic. �My final point is: the vaccines will do the same job that the vaccines for polio, measles, chicken pox and mumps do - they will prevent widespread outbreaks with hospitals and morgues being overwhelmed. At this time, there are 5 vaccines: Pfizer and Moderna being used in the US, and AstraZeneca, Janssens and Novavax being used in other countries. New York Times: 500,000 deaths. Roughly one year since the first known coronavirus-related death was reported in the U.S., an unfathomable toll is nearing — the loss of half a million people. As of Sunday, the pandemic death toll was 497,403, higher than in any other country. More Americans have died from Covid-19 than on the battlefields of World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined. And just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water: (CNN)Russian authorities say they have detected what is believed to be "human infection with avian influenza H5N8," the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed to CNN. Russia notified WHO of the possible strain. "If confirmed, this would be the first time H5N8 has infected people," a WHO Europe spokesperson said in a statement Saturday. The reported cases were workers exposed to bird flocks, according to preliminary information, the statement added. The workers were "asymptomatic and no onward human to human transmission was reported," the spokesperson said. What? An avian flu? No human-to-human transmission - yet. I’m not ready. I’m not ready. I’m so not ready. �CNN: After an awe-inspiring landing, NASA's newest Mars rover is checking out its forever home and beaming back stunning photos from the red planet. Its sidekick helicopter also provided a good report that everything's operating as expected. On Monday NASA will provide additional details about the mission by the Perseverance rover and the helicopter attached to its belly. The other day (don’t ask me when, its a pandemic!) Craig walked to Reeds Lake early in the morning. Here are some photos: ���And if you’re wondering: yes that is Craig standing on the frozen lake and yes those are fishing shacks. Ice fishing is big in the MidWest. Two weeks ago (before the latest freeze) the ice on Reeds Lake was 5-6 inches thick. That’s fresh snow on the top of the ice. There is more snow forecast for tonight although the next few days will be a little warmer. Oliver �We watched a similar moment yesterday. He can get himself up there easily enough but he can’t get himself down. I think he’s screeching ‘get me off’. Stay safe, stay hydrated, stay warm or cool. See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-21_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-347 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-21 Title A name given to the resource Day 347 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/03eed80fd3b4b1e0c6fa4f8ca208cd9f.pdf 86a1eeec65b8ae033958e5c7b2c3c852 PDF Text Text Day 346. Saturday February 20. 134 sleeps to go. by windoworks Just to make you laugh. In a pandemic you never know what will happen next. Yesterday, after the inspector arrived, we began our drive out to Grand Haven. We had homemade soup, cheese rolls and cupcakes for lunch and we were set. Until the snow got so heavy that Craig decided to turn around and drive back to the Ravine near GVSU, to eat our lunch. ��The inspector said he’d be done by 1:00pm and we thought we’d sit in the car across the road until he left. As we drove up our street, we could see that he had gone already (good news!) and we parked the car in the garage and went inside. 10 minutes later I heard a chainsaw start up and Craig said: good thing we came home early because the tree guys are parked across our drive. To backtrack: 2 summers ago, both TJ next door and Craig called the city to say that trees in front of our houses were ailing and could someone come and take a look. Nothing, nada, zilch. I think the guys gave up. So, yesterday, in 45 action packed and militarily organized minutes, this is what happened: ����But the really astonishing thing was - nobody told TJ and Amy. They were both out on different errands while this happened and were gobsmacked when they both came home. The tree guys left the big logs behind for later collection and TJ, never one to to pass up free firewood, spent hours outside in the dark, sawing the logs up. There’s just really the stump left now. So, the virus. From Crooked Media: First, the good news: The pace of vaccinations has picked up substantially. More than 41 million Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than 16 million have received both doses. The U.S. is now administering an average of 1.7 million doses per day, almost double the average from the week before President Biden took office. This week, the White House announced that the total vaccine supply to states will increase from 11 million doses per week to 13.5 million doses, and that the supply going directly to pharmacies will double to two million doses. And about the second dose: Crooked Media: A new Israeli study published in the Lancet medical journal found the Pfizer vaccine to be 85 percent effective two to four weeks after a single dose. It’s not clear how long that protection would last, and the second dose is still necessary to get the vaccine’s full 95 percent protection, but that finding is �a solid bit of data to support the U.K.’s strategy of delaying a second dose by up to 12 weeks in order to free up supplies for more first doses. Separately, Pfizer has found that its vaccine can actually be stored in regular medical freezers, rather than ultra-cold storage, which would make it much easier to distribute across the U.S. So that means Craig and I are almost at the 2 week mark (this Monday) so we’ll be 85% covered. But just when you think its all good news, here’s this from Washington Post: In Japan, about 100 people have been confirmed to have a new variant that has caused infections in the Kanto region, in the eastern part of the country. It's too early to know whether that variant's mutations make the virus more contagious or harmful. It's also important to remember that the coronavirus is constantly mutating. Though tracking how the pathogen changes is critical, each emergent variant isn't necessarily a cause for alarm. And in line with this, is this disturbing piece from The Independent: The Chinese city of Wuhan had more than a dozen Covid variants by December 2019, new findings by a team of World Health Organisation (WHO) scientists probing the origins of the pandemic suggest. Peter Ben Embarek, who led a team of WHO investigators in Wuhan, said 13 different genetic sequences of the SARS-COV-2 virus were found in the Hubei province city, adding thousands more blood samples have been requested for analysis. It suggests that the infection had been circulating in China earlier than previously thought. Wuhan is widely considered to be "ground zero" of the outbreak, although its exact origins and timeframe continue to be debated, with some reports suggesting the disease was present in Europe as early as October. In an interview with CNN published on Monday, Mr Embarek told the network "the virus was circulating widely in Wuhan in December, which is a new finding”. Mr Embarek said Chinese officials had presented his team with 174 cases of coronavirus in and near the Wuhan area in December 2019, around 100 of which had been laboratory test-confirmed, with the remaining cases identified through the clinical diagnosis of the patients' symptoms. He said this suggested there could have been as many as 1,000 cases of the disease in Wuhan by December. Mr Embarek said that the 13 variants examined alongside other patient data across China in 2019 could provide vital clues to the origins of the outbreak. He added: "Some of [the variants] are from the markets… some of them are not linked to the markets. Professor John Watson, a former deputy chief medical officer, said while China remained a “very, very possible source”, reports that the virus was circulating in other parts of the world, notably northern Italy, as early as September and October, warranted further investigation. But China was “by no means necessarily the place where the leap from animals to humans took place and I think we need to ensure that we are looking beyond the borders of China, as well as within China,” he added. A study released by �the National Cancer Institute (INT) in Milan in November showed the new coronavirus was circulating in Italy in September 2019. And if you’re still wondering if you should be vaccinated, here’s this from the New York Times: . The evidence so far suggests that a full dose of the vaccine — with the appropriate waiting period after the second shot — effectively eliminates the risk of Covid-19 death, nearly eliminates the risk of hospitalization and drastically reduces a person’s ability to infect somebody else. All of that is also true about the virus’s new variants. And here’s a tiny snippet, tucked away on a many snippets page also from NYT: The number of confirmed Covid deaths in the U.S. is on pace to exceed 500,000 in the next few days. How can that be? Here’s the stats today: total US cases (remember this is the total number of cases tested): 28M. Worldwide case total: 111M. Total US deaths: 496K (yes we are about 2 days from 500K deaths). Worldwide deaths: 2.45M. Here in Kent County we have 51,098 confirmed cases and 699 deaths. Hmmm. Next, Teddy. Did you mean to make us laugh at you, while crying for your constituents? ��There is a movement afoot to have Ted removed from office. He deserves that. And just in case you thought the DOJ and the FBI had found all the insurrectionists who participated in the January 6 attempted coup: Capitol riot involved wider conspiracy with Oath Keepers, prosecutors say, as six more individuals face charges The addition of six people to the indictment means that nine defendants, led by three already charged U.S. military veterans, face allegations that they “planned with each other, and with others known and unknown” to obstruct the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election. Prosecutors say those newly charged are Oath Keepers members or associates. And the sentences for these people could be extremely long without parole. Before you freak out, this is a doctored photo of Mars. �Oliver: still life with glue. ��So, Venice: The last day of the Redentore �Our last White Night onboard �Venice, Italy - of course the entertainment was an opera singer �The fireworks to celebrate the end of of the Redentore began at midnight. ��The fireworks lasted for over 20 minutes. After 10 minutes we went to bed. �Flying out over the Venetian flatlands the next morning. Our 3 week cruise was over. Today I’ll leave you with this: ��See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-20_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-346 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-20 Title A name given to the resource Day 346 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1af61d84634b384214043c2e5e998b07.pdf f1832522a542e61b97bef9102fb5be7c PDF Text Text Day 345 by windoworks It usually takes me an hour or so to write the day’s post but today I will have to be quicker. At 10:30, a person will come to inspect the house and with them will be the buyers. I’m not sure how I feel about meeting the buyers and Craig and I will have to leave the house because the Covid rule is only 2 families in a house for sale. The inspector is one family and the buyers are the other. Now the inspection process can take up to 3 hours which is difficult to fill in the middle of a pandemic. So I have hot soup in a thermos and we will probably drive out to the big lake, to sit and look at the ice and waves while we eat our lunch. �Oh yes it does Now on the news front. First some photos from Texas: �Lining up for dwindling supplies in a grocery store. �Not a warming center but a furniture store that the owner threw open for Texans to shelter in Turtles rescued from the bitter cold and being warmed up indoors. �CNN: The lights are back on for most Texans, after a devastating week of freezing temperatures and winter storms. But now the state is facing a new crisis: nearly half of its residents are having to boil water due to a critically low water supply. Some are dealing with burst pipes and flooded homes, while others are struggling to find food. Carbon monoxide poisonings are spiking. To add to that, some Texans face yet another round of record lows tonight into tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz is under fire after flying to Cancun while his constituents were suffering. He has since called his decision a mistake. What amazes me, every time, is that some people in positions of responsibility imagine they can do whatever they like and no one will notice. Social media is full of photos (like this one below) of Ted Cruz at the airport with his passport. This reminds me of the Prime Minister of Australia, taking his whole family to Hawaii for a vacation, during the worst bushfires ever in Australia. Scott had to admit that was a mistake too. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. �The Atlantic When the snow came, the state of Texas failed. Its self-maintained power grid stopped working—and its politicians seemed to do the same: Senator Ted Cruz flew to Cancún, Mexico, with his family, only to take a return flight the next day amid outcry. In the absence of political leadership from Cruz and other state leaders, many Texans continue to face dangerous conditions, their access to power, drinking water, and food threatened. Cruz is no hypocrite. He’s worse. That he couldn’t think of any way to help Texans is “a failure of �imagination and of political ideology,” David A. Graham argues. (Cruz also appears on our list of the 147 members of Congress who chose despotism over democracy in the aftermath of the Capitol attack.) One of our Texas-based writers is freezing cold—and burning mad. Fixing the state’s power grid “will require actual governance, as opposed to performative governance,” Andrew Exum writes from Dallas. Perhaps the days of just doing whatever you liked because Trump was your example - perhaps those days are over. And suddenly, people are beginning to argue over President Biden’s actions. Oh, I remember this - this is how a real democracy works! Healthy discourse. Now I know its February and the cases are easing a little but sometimes we have to look back. January was the worst covid month of all: each day in January, covid-19 killed an average of 3,100 people in the United States — one every 28 seconds. �I’m cheered by this - aren’t you? In New Zealand vaccinations began yesterday and in Australia, vaccinations are scheduled to begin on Monday. Help is coming. My daughter’s test finally came back negative and she really does just have a rotten cold. In other news of the day: the Perseverance rover touched down in the Jezero Crater on Mars to begin its search for signs of past life. Next, from Crooked Media: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has warned that two emerging Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea require swift action to stop them from becoming large-scale epidemics. On February 7, the DRC confirmed four cases of Ebola in Butembo, a city that was the epicenter of the second-largest Ebola outbreak in the world, which was declared over in June. A week later, officials in �Guinea declared an Ebola epidemic, after at least three people died and four others were infected. The outbreaks aren’t linked, according to public health experts. The WHO has urged West and Central African countries to stay on high alert for potential infections, and national security advisor Jake Sullivan has spoken with ambassadors from Guinea, the DRC, Sierra Leone, and Liberia “to convey the United States’ willingness to work closely” with those countries. Then, from Washington Post: Biden authorizes FEMA to provide generators, supplies to hard-hit states such as Texas amid severe weather. In a tweet, President Biden said he has declared states of emergency, is ready to fulfill additional requests and added, “Please heed the instructions of local officials and stay safe.” In a White House briefing, homeland security adviser and deputy national security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall said that states of emergency have been declared for Texas and Oklahoma and that the administration is considering a request from Louisiana. And, from Workplace Safety: ��Rush Limbaugh died yesterday and Trump was devastated. Well, Rush was a faithful enabler and promoter of Trump’s worst excesses. What else is happening for ‘that other guy’? CNN: The fallout over Donald Trump's second impeachment trial continues. The former President on Tuesday went after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who offered a blistering criticism of Trump just after voting to acquit him. The insults leveled by Trump against McConnell come as the Republican Party at large is grappling over whether to continue in Trump's likeness or forge a path veering from the former President's legacy. In other news, Trump's longtime personal attorney Rudy Giuliani is not currently representing the former President in any legal matters, an adviser said. Trump is facing multiple criminal investigations, civil state inquiries and defamation lawsuits by two women accusing him of sexual assault. Randy Rainbow’s offering: Rudolph the Leaky Lawyer says it all. Oliver: �And I’m also �teething again. Well, that’s it for today. I promise, I promise I’ll post more of Venice tomorrow but I have to get ready to leave the house now. I’ll leave you with this gem from Crooked Media: • Earth had its quietest period in decades during 2020 while humans were all under lockdown—urban ambient noise fell by up to 50% at some measuring stations. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-19_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-345 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-19 Title A name given to the resource Day 345 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e9229c422b258f4b249ff063571a845f.pdf d4ace09ace1af24c99ebfb68d240156a PDF Text Text Day 344 by windoworks The big news of the day: remember we had to leave the house last Saturday so some prespective buyers could look at the house? They sent us an offer on Sunday afternoon which we declined. And that, I thought, was the end of it. However, on Tuesday they made a second offer which was much more attractive, so we accepted it. Now all the folderol begins. Tomorrow we have to leave the house at 10:30am and stay away for approximately 3 hours while the house is formally inspected. Where to go and what to do for 3 hours in a pandemic? Plus, I think we’ve looked after our house really well, but then I love it. And in another side note - this morning the toaster died, because pandemic and we’re leaving the country in just under 4 months and none of our electrical goods will work in Australia. There is lots to talk about this morning but first, here’s a piece from my daughter Zoe. As an addendum to her piece, yesterday she had a cold that she had caught from Oliver who caught it from daycare - you get the picture. She found out that if she wanted to go to the office yesterday instead of working from home, she had to get tested for Covid, it was the new rule. I haven’t heard her results yet. Our team was probably the first in our district office to try working from home, in mid-March of 2020. I remember coming in on a Tuesday and some of my team members were quite stressed about the growing numbers of COVID-19, asking if it was possible to work from home. I went to my Director, who thought it might be a good “test case” for our office, so from the next day, we were all at home. For the most part, we have worked at home since then. I started coming in to our office once a week from about August, and have increased that to twice a week occasionally as well. As of the last few weeks, our messaging is beginning to change. Australia’s numbers of COVID have on the whole, been kept relatively low (thanks to vigorous lockdowns and quick reactions from our state governments), and in New South Wales where I live, following a minor outbreak over Christmas, we have sat on no new community transmission cases for 30 days now. This means our state government (who I work for) is interested in promoting the idea of returning to the office, in a COVID-safe way, primarily I think because of the economic concern that the city has become so unpopulated, which won’t be great in a post-pandemic tourist sense. I am now working with my team members (I manage 5 people) about them returning to the office for at least a few days a week, and making sure they don’t feel anxious about this, as many of them have to take public transport to get here (where we still wear masks). I like being in the office, it’s something I missed a lot last year – especially as COVID hit only about 5 weeks after I had returned from maternity leave, and I was craving the company of adults (and coffees!) But I also recognise we are trying to balance being safe in the office, with appreciating the need for flexibility in people’s lives, and the reality that COVID showed us we can work from home just fine with, if anything, more productivity. �Zoë Benjamin | Manager Communications Office of the Executive District Director Department of Communities and Justice. I respect and acknowledge Aboriginal people as the traditional owners of the land on which I live and work and pay my respects to Elders both Past and Present. It is interesting to me that the acknowledgement of the Aboriginal people is included in every state and federal communication. Recently I have watched the Covid updates from British Columbia, Canada, and each time, the speaker acknowledges and thanks the Native Canadians for allowing them to be on their lands. Here’s something about the future of jobs from Washington Post: Millions of jobs that have been shortchanged or wiped out entirely by the coronavirus pandemic are unlikely to come back, economists warn, setting up a massive need for career changes and retraining in the United States. The coronavirus pandemic has triggered permanent shifts in how and where people work. Businesses are planning for a future where more people are working from home, traveling less for business, or replacing workers with robots. All of these modifications mean many workers will not be able to do the same job they did before the pandemic, even after much of the U.S. population gets vaccinated against the deadly virus. Microsoft founder-turned-philanthropist Bill Gates raised eyebrows in November when he predicted that half of business travel and 30 percent of “days in the office” would go away forever. That forecast no longer seems far-fetched. In a report coming out later this week that was previewed to The Washington Post, the McKinsey Global Institute says that 20 percent of business travel won’t come back and about 20 percent of workers could end up working from home indefinitely. These shifts mean fewer jobs at hotels, restaurants and downtown shops, in addition to ongoing automation of office support roles and some factory jobs. So there you have it. It will never be the same old normal again from the Before Times. It will be a New Normal. Are we ready? �Texas is in a catastrophic state. In one story that Craig heard, a family huddled together in front of their open fireplace. During the night when the fire began to die down, the parents used furniture and picture frames to keep themselves and their small children warm. There seems to be a lot of finger pointing going on. President Biden immediately sent everything that Texas asked for (generators, bottled water etc), even though the Governor and his minions continue to badmouth Democrats and Liberals. Tim Boyd, the mayor of Colorado City, Texas, when asked for help by his constituents, said on FB ‘get off your lazy asses and fix it for yourselves’. There was more but you don’t need to read it. He must have forgotten that ‘that other guy’ was no longer President. He resigned after a FB uproar. I see major changes looming to Texas’ power grid. �How did this freak winter storm happen in the south? Here’s a piece from the New York Times: Much of the Pacific Northwest is blanketed in snow. Texas continues to endure frigid weather and electricity outages. Another winter storm is spreading across much of the country. Today, snow or freezing rain may fall on Washington, New York and Boston. To make sense of this week’s cold spell and storms, I spoke with John Schwartz, a Times reporter who focuses on the climate. Question: Let’s start with a simple question on some people’s minds — How do you think about recordlow temperatures hammering parts of the U.S. at the same time that we’re experiencing global warming? John Schwartz: It does sound counterintuitive! Those who deny climate science love to declare that there’s no such thing as climate change whenever the weather turns cold. But weather remains variable, and cold weather in winter still happens, even if the overall warming trend means that winters are getting milder. �Q: And is there any relationship between this week’s storms and climate change? I noticed that the climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe uses the phrase “global weirding.” John: There’s interesting science that suggests the effects of a warming world have something to do with these sudden bursts of Arctic cold, as well. The cold air at the top of the world, the polar vortex, is usually held in place by the circulating jet stream. The Northern Hemisphere’s warming appears to be weakening the jet stream, and when sudden blasts of heat in the stratosphere punch into the vortex, that Arctic air can spill down into the middle latitudes. Q: Are there any other changing patterns of winter weather that may be connected to climate change? John: A warming atmosphere can hold more moisture, so when you do get storms you can expect to see heavier rain and snow. There’s also fascinating research that links a warming Arctic to increased frequency of the broad range of extreme winter weather in parts of the United States. It’s known as “warm-Arctic/cold-continents pattern,” a phenomenon that’s still being studied. Q: What are the recent weather trends — during winter or not — where the evidence most strongly suggests climate change is playing a role?John: In the United States, we’re seeing longer wildfire seasons because of hotter, drier conditions, and our hurricanes are becoming more destructive in several ways, including flooding and storm surge. It’s even worsening the misery of pollen season. We’ve always had floods, fires and storms, but climate change adds oomph to many weather events. I realize I’m repeating myself here, but scientists are still hashing out all of this. While the science underlying the links between human emissions and climate change is rock solid, some of the particulars, such as whether climate change will cause us to see more frequent blasts from the polar vortex, are still being debated. And that’s as it should be. So as well as everything else, 7M people in Texas are under a boil all drinking water advisory - although how people are doing that during a severe power outage - oh wait, can we use the grill? I am being flippant but people have died trying to keep warm. Starting the car and pumping up the heater is only a good idea if you back the car out of the garage first. And here’s a nifty little tip, although, you should check the tea lights first for harmful chemicals �What is happening with the virus? Well, from CNN: Covid-19 variants are threatening to cause another surge of infections in the US, making it more important than ever to continue practicing tried-and-true safety measures. The good news is that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appear to protect against some of the more concerning variants. The bad news is despite President Joe Biden recently saying that the US would have enough vaccines for every American by the end of July, actually vaccinating all those people will likely take longer. In another sobering development, the CDC reports US life expectancy dropped a full year in the first half of 2020 — and even more for Black and Hispanic Americans. Perhaps unsurprisingly, experts say that Covid-19 was a significant factor contributing to the decline. And here’s this from Washington Post: Academic and industry researchers the world over have shifted their focus to the coronavirus. But plenty of information remains unknown. The first-ever human challenge trial for the coronavirus will try to fill in some blanks. In it, healthy volunteers will be exposed �to the pathogen — an ethically tricky proposition, weighing the benefits of new knowledge against the dangers participants face. On Wednesday, a British ethics body gave the green light for the trial to begin. As many as 90 adults in the U.K. will be exposed in the first experiment. Boy those 90 people are braver than me! Oliver: Great Uncle Mal is the best story reader - and he’ll read me as many stories as I want. �We’ll have the last of Venice tomorrow. This post is long enough already. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-18_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-344 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-18 Title A name given to the resource Day 344 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8f9fa1b4a3b77ec32ea6db7086bad28a.pdf a60fcaf36f70d66f54c64296a4864c81 PDF Text Text Day 343 by windoworks Craig is about to head out on his normal early morning walk and the current temperature outside is -4F. That is -20C. That is cold enough for him to wear a ski mask to protect his face. The roads are glazed with ice. The top temperature here to day will be 22F (-5.5C). Ahhh Michigan! Meanwhile in Texas, there is the possibility of another storm on Thursday/Friday. It was so cold that the wind turbines froze. Here’s an interesting snippet from Heather Cox Richardson: Most of Texas is on its own power grid, a decision made in the 1930s to keep it clear of federal regulation. This means both that it avoids federal regulation and that it cannot import more electricity during periods of high demand. Apparently, as temperatures began to drop, people turned up electric heaters and needed more power than engineers had been told to design for, just as the ice shut down gas-fired plants and wind turbines froze. Demand for natural gas spiked and created a shortage. With climate change expected to intensify extremes of weather, the crisis in Texas indicates that our infrastructure will need to be reinforced to meet conditions it was not designed for. Wait? Is this help on the horizon? From a FB post: The President approved federal help for Texas, LA, AL, KS and Ok as soon as their Governors requested it. He did it without the need of him being praised! He sees no blue or red states. He sees and represents the United States whether or not they voted for him!! This is what a real President does!! Bill Gates (who predicted the global pandemic in a TED talk about 7 years ago) has a new book coming out: “How To Avoid A Climate Disaster - the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need”. I’m pretty sure we should listen to him. And in line with that here’s this from Science Alert: It's been nearly two decades since a coronavirus capable of wreaking havoc on our bodies threatened global pandemic. Last year, that threat was made good with the emergence of a deadly new version, dubbed SARS-CoV-2. With the world still reeling from the devastation of COVID-19, the question of if – and when – we'll see yet another member of this family pop up in the near future has the attention of researchers. Their findings should have us on high alert. A recent investigation has employed machine learning to predict which mammals could host multiple strains of coronavirus, allowing the pathogens to mix and piece together the makings of a next-gen COVID. The numbers hint at close to a dozen times more coronavirus-host associations than estimates based on observations alone. �Alarmingly, they also found more than 30 times the potential hosts that could harbour SARS-CoV-2 and allow it to recombine into something uglier; and over 40 times the number of species previously suspected to host a handful of coronavirus subgenera. Viruses regularly shuffle genes and recode their genome as they infect hosts, chancing on clever new methods for unlocking cells, evading eviction from the immune system, or even jumping to new animals, giving rise to what we call new species and strains. Thanks in part to the amazingly robust immune systems, many bat species can harbour a number of viruses comfortably for long periods, giving them all a chance to mix-and-match their genes. From there, a leap into a human host simply requires a chance encounter, either directly or through an intermediate host, such as a pangolin brought into civilisation for its meat. So here we are. As awful and life changing as this pandemic continues to be - its not the worst scenario. And all of us, mostly those of us living in wealthy countries, we have done this to ourselves. So many of us have refused to accept the term ‘climate change’, never mind the current term ‘climate crisis’. A tweet from Greta Thunberg: A small piece of advice for humanity: when you're in a hole - stop digging. A crisis created by lack of respect for nature will most likely not be solved by taking that lack of respect to the next level… Greta Thunberg is an 18 year old Swedish climate activist. In September 2019, Greta spoke to the General Assembly of the United Nations. She said: My message is that we'll be watching you. This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet, you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words and yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight. You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency, but no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act then you would be evil and that I refuse to believe. The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50 percent chance of staying below 1.5 degrees and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control. Fifty percent may be acceptable to you, but those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with �technologies that barely exist. So a 50 percent risk is simply not acceptable to us, we who have to live with the consequences. How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just business as usual and some technical solutions? With today's emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than eight and a half years. There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable and you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is. You are failing us, but the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you and if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up and change is coming, whether you like it or not. Thank you. I think that is a clear message and here we are in the first pandemic (there will probably be others) and if we are honest - we did this to ourselves. Not only ourselves, but our children and our grandchildren and on and on. How many science fiction films or TV series have you watched with the central premise that the Earth has become unlivable. All those movies and series tell us that it’s all right - we’ll just find another planet to live on. That’s irresponsible. Thats like saying if you trash the house you are currently living in - that’s all right. You’ll just find another house to live in. We have to wake up right now. Some of our worst fears are being realized. If you have steadfastly refused to believe in climate crisis (we passed climate change some years ago) perhaps it is time to look at this with the long view. Years ago a family member told me with great cheer - oh I don’t believe in climate change. My response was: if you do something to help even if you don’t believe in it - what will you lose if it turns out not to be true? If you do nothing and it turns to be true - what will you lose? Perhaps you are saying: well Pamela, what can I do? I’m just one person. You can adjust the way you live and consume, because remember the tiny snow trickle at the top of the mountain that gradually becomes an avalanche? You can be part of that tiny trickle and then you can say to yourself: it might not be much, but I’m doing what I can. This past year has taught us all so much about making do, growing food, establishing rain gardens, eating in a more healthy and sustainable way, and much more. My neighbor, who has always been a great cook, has begun to try lots more new recipes. Craig and I have begun taking turns cooking dinner and sometimes cooking a meal together. Sometimes adversity draws us all closer together and we begin to appreciate our family and friends so much more. Now this is interesting. From News & Guts: The N.A.A.C.P. has filed a lawsuit in federal court against former president Donald Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. The suit, brought on behalf of Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) claims the two violated a 19th century statute when they tried to prevent certification of the election on January 6th, according to the New York Times. �The lawsuit contends that Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, an 1871 statute that includes protections against violent conspiracies that interfered with Congress’s constitutional duties; the suit also names the Proud Boys, the far-right nationalist group, and the Oath Keepers militia group. The legal action accuses Mr. Trump, Mr. Giuliani and the two groups of conspiring to incite a violent riot at the Capitol, with the goal of preventing Congress from certifying the election. The suit contends that Mr. Thompson was forced to hide on the floor of the house gallery for three hours and wear a gas mask on January 6 while hearing “threats of physical violence against any member who attempted to proceed to approve the Electoral College ballot count.” The suit also alleges Giuliani and Trump worked in collaboration with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers far-right extremist groups. Mr. Thompson told the Times that he would have not brought the suit if the Senate had convicted Mr. Trump. Politico spoke with the president of the N.A.A.C.P.: “If we don’t put a check on the spread of domestic terrorism, it will consume this nation and transform it to something that none of us recognize,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in an interview. “We must, as a nation, prevent the spread of this type of boldness where [insurrectionists] will go to our U.S. Capitol and seek an act of treason.” ��Oliver �Next (in our long day in Venice) we took a ferry ride along the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal. �Grand Canal �A villa on the Grand �Canal Ferry stop on the Giudecca Canal �The completed Redentore footbridge �People walking across �To the Giudecca church �To celebrate mass (no I didn’t walk across the bridge and go inside the church - Craig did, of course �The 3rd canal regatta of the day: gondolas with two oars. It looked like very hard work for the gondoliers Yes there is still more to see on our last day in Venice. Stay warm, stay safe - and you know the rest. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-17_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-343 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-17 Title A name given to the resource Day 343 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/aa00e3877dc7596243d739e4d4da0d68.pdf 552101179007ec23337ab2b29fdaf51d PDF Text Text New post on Stuff Day 342 by windoworks Good morning. If you are not familiar with this sign it says ‘Black Lives Matter’. I show you this as an indication of how much snow we have had over the past few days. The above photo was taken yesterday morning and we have had a couple of inches of more snow since then. From Washington Post: A severe cold snap has turned the central and southern parts of the country into an extension of the Arctic, with dangerously low temperatures not seen in decades and a blast of snow and ice which has shut down population centers in multiple states. The excessive cold has sent energy demand skyrocketing. In Texas, 2.8 million customers were without electricity as of 1:30 p.m. Eastern amid the punishing cold, according to poweroutage.us. �The mercury plummeted in the Lone Star State on Sunday night while it was blitzed by snow and ice, causing nearly impossible driving conditions and hundreds of vehicle accidents. Officials have urged residents not to travel, as social media videos proliferated of cars and trucks sliding down roads out of control. Houston’s Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports were closed, while all flights out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport were also canceled Monday morning. For the first time, the entire state of Texas was placed under a winter storm warning Sunday. These warnings for hazardous amounts of ice and snow expanded Monday to cover all of Arkansas and most of Louisiana, Mississippi, and western and northern Alabama, while extending northeast through much of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, and interior Northeast. Now the amount of snow and the plunging cold temperatures are commonplace to Michiganders and most of the Great Lakes states. We hunker down inside, those with snow plows clear our sidewalks and at some point each day, everyone shovels their driveways and walks to the their front door. Our houses have central heating of some sort and if you can afford it, people put all weather tires on their cars. In states such as Texas, they have few grit trucks or snow plows and the ice has overpowered their electrical utilities. The temperature inside the houses is 50F (10C) or below. Now perhaps that doesn’t sound too cold, but we have discovered that since we had a new hot water tank installed last year and a new furnace installed a week ago, our basement is 50F at best - and in midwinter, that’s really cold. It also tells me that the old furnace used to bleed heat into the basement as the temperature down there was usually in the low 60s. Its freezing doing the washing now. So far this winter Grand Rapids has had a total of 35.5 inches of snow. Our winter average was 75 inches I’m not sure that is still the average. Today is Fat Tuesday. Traditionally this is the last day before Lent, a period of 40 days of abstinence. This is a Catholic tradition, and parishioners are expected to give up primarily a loved food item for Lent, such as chocolate. I have a friend who, every year, gives up guilt. Fat Tuesday is the day you eat all the cream and eggs and meat you are supposed to give up for Lent. In New Orleans, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday in French) is the event of the year and floats are feverishly decorated for the big parade, complete with love beads thrown out to the crowd. Where did Mardi Gras begin? History Channel: A popular theory holds that Mardi Gras’ origins lie in ancient pagan celebrations of spring and fertility, such as Saturnalia and Lupercalia. Some experts contend, however, that Mardi Grastype festivities popped up solely as a result of the Catholic Church’s discouragement of sex and meat �during Lent. Church reformers may have helped to propagate the pagan rumors, these experts say, in the hope of dissuading pre-Lenten hedonism. Louisiana has been hit hard by the pandemic and the parades and the street parties have been canceled. So the residents of New Orleans celebrated by making their houses a stationary float. ��And baking the customary and popular King Cakes. Each King Cake contains a tiny, plastic baby in it. From Better Homes and Gardens: When a king cake is served at a Mardi Gras celebration, everyone wants to know who was served the slice with the baby—but what does it mean if you find one? Tradition dictates that finding the baby in your cake symbolizes luck and prosperity, and the finder becomes the 'king' or 'queen' of the evening. �And in line with change in the pandemic forced upon us. Here is a piece from Craig Benjamin (my husband), a professor at Grand Valley State University; Transitioning from Face-to-Face (F2F) Teaching to ‘Zoom School’. For most of the summer I had planned to teach my fall 2020 GVSU classes in hybrid format, and had structured all my syllabi based on the assumption that half the students would attend class in person one day, and the other half another day. Each of my three classes had approximately 20 students enrolled, so reducing the number of students in class to only 10 meant we would be well spaced out. Of course we would all be masked, and I had also planned to teach as many classes as possible outside, to further reduce the risk of infection. This new format meant drastically cutting the content for each class, because I would have to repeat the same material to both groups of 10 students, but this was relatively easy to do. This was the plan right up to the last week of August. During that week a number of extraordinary Zoom meetings of the University Academic Senate were held, and it was clear that everyone was very concerned about resuming in person teaching. In the end, on literally the weekend before classes were due to commence, the university administration agreed that anyone who wanted to switch their classes from F2F to fully online could do so. Reluctantly I decided to do just that, and had to inform my students that instead of meeting in person as we had been planning, we were going fully online. I say reluctantly �because I was fairly certain this would result in a much less rewarding educational experience for both students and myself, but I was to be proven wrong. I quickly loaded all my PowerPoint lectures and readings into the course Blackboard sites, and informed the students they would need to look at the lectures and do the readings before class. This meant we could devote every 75-minute class period to group discussion. To make these discussions more meaningful I retained the split class format, so would meet 10 students on Tuesday, and the other 10 on Thursday, and each group would discuss the same content. The brilliant technology of Zoom made all this possible. I would start class a few minutes early, and welcome the students as they joined the meeting one by one. With only 11 faces on the screen we could all see each other well, and we all kept our cameras and mikes on so that spontaneous and vigorous discussions could occur, almost as they would have done if we were in class together. All my students are in the Honors College - intelligent, deep critical thinkers, and articulate – and because we were all determined to make these Zoom discussions work, they did. We quickly came to realize that we could have almost as rewarding an educational experience, including establishing meaningful interpersonal relationships, online as we would have had in the classroom. So here we are deep into the second semester of the school year, and Zoom classes continue using the same format. At the start of the fall semester I was skeptical about the ability of professors and students to create online classes that could work almost as well as F2F classes, but I have been proven wrong. Indeed, I have become a strong advocate for Zoom school and the online educational experience which, like so many other changes brought about by the pandemic, is certain to expand enormously in the years ahead. In a quick round up of other news: a wealthy conservative donor Fred Eshelman donated $2M to an election fraud investigation fund. (Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party collected $255 million in two months, saying the money would support legal challenges to an election marred by fraud). Now, Eshelman wants his money back. And, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday that the US Congress will establish an outside, independent commission to review the “facts and causes” related to the deadly 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump in the waning days of his presidency. Lastly, investigators from the World Health Organization (WHO) looking into the origins of coronavirus in China have discovered signs the outbreak was much wider in Wuhan in December 2019 than previously thought. �Oliver has a little cold and is probably getting another molar breaking through. He always enjoys daycare though. Chalk adventures After lunch we visited: The Art Acamdemy of Venice (Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia) was founded in 1750 at the request of the Venetian Senate, who wanted the ‘City of Doges’ to have its own school of painting, sculpture and architecture. Shortly, the Academy became a reference in the study of the visual arts and brought together a team of brilliant teachers, including famous Italian painter Giambattista Tiepolo. The avant-garde Art Academy of Venice was the first ever to start restoring ancient paintings at the end of the 18th century. In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte, who had conquered the city ten years earlier, created the galleries of the Art Acamemy to open the collections to the general public. On Napoleon’s orders, the Art Academy of Venice together with the museum collections also moved to their current location. �In 2004, the Art Academy was separated from the Gallerie dell’Accademia and transferred to another building to make room for the expansion of the museum’s galleries. Over the years, the museum’s collections have been enriched, thanks in part to donations and patronage from wealthy collectors. Today, the Gallerie dell’Accademia is home to over 800 paintings and frescoes dating from the 14th to the 18th centuries, including an invaluable collection of paintings by Italian masters. �������More Venice adventures tomorrow. Now you know. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2021-02-16_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-342 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-02-16 Title A name given to the resource Day 342 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng