Friggatriskaidekaphobia

Friggatriskaidekaphobia: A morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. 

Frigga - the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named and triskaidekaphobia, meaning fear of the number thirteen.
Among South Africa’s progressive community, Donald Trump is known as the Sentient Naartjie – a naartjie (“nar-chi”) being a bright orange colored tangerine-like citrus. These days I suffer Trumpthenaartjiephobia – the fear of how far Republicans will go to permit the orange-haired madman to exact revenge on We the People of the United States.
It’s way past time for the white straight jacket and the escort under guard from the White House.

News blues…

As the “adrenaline-infused mallard”  in the White House continues to ignore it, the United State's surging coronavirus outbreak is on pace to hit nearly 1 million new cases a week by the end of the year — a scenario that could overwhelm health systems across much of the country…
Governed by Greg Abbott, a Republican mask-denier, Texas this week became the first state to surpass 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. 
Mississippi’s Governor Tate Reeves (Republican) said that under his leadership, his state will not cooperate with a national lockdown order, should President-elect Joe Biden implement one next year.  This, in response to one of Biden’s newly appointed COVID-19 task force members floating the idea of a four-to-six-week lockdown to attempt to get the coronavirus under control.

You know, kinda, sorta like We the People of South Africa have been doing for the last 232 days. (Lockdown helps … although South Africa’s overnight tally of confirmed new cases was more than 2,000.)

What the word for Republican fear of lockdown? 

***

Meanwhile, a further explosion of Covid cases. 

***

Healthy futures, anyone?

From the author of “Annihilation,” Jeff VanderMeer, “the truth is some version of the apocalypse is inevitable" …

The question is whether we can mitigate it to the point where it’s livable.
… the coronavirus in the sense is part and parcel of the climate crisis. It is not divorced from it. It is linked to things like habitat loss and habitat degradation and the fact that we have to not just have green tech. We have to have biodiversity on our planet in order to survive. And so it’s almost weirdly this invisible thing has made visible the cracks in our systems and the faults in our systems that we need to desperately fix in order to deal with the next thing and to deal with the climate crisis in general.

Listen to a conversation with Jeff VanderMeer and Kara Swisher 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Our gardener has two young children, a ten-year-old girl, and a seven-year-old boy. I’ve never met these children, but I regularly enquire about them. The pandemic prevented childrens' full weeks of schooling and, currently, each of the gardener's children attend school two days per week; one on Monday and Tuesday, the other on Wedneday and Thursday; neither attends on Fridays. 

During the early days of lockdown, the children stayed home for several weeks straight. I purchased assorted books, crayons, pens, coloring books to assist their parents with keeping the kids busy. (Imagine being confined to a small house with two lively children and a pandemic raging outside!) Today, keeping in mind that the children are now seven months older, I replenished the assortment, adding a set of glitter glue pens for the upcoming holiday season. 

Intriguingly, in this village in Midlands, KwaZulu Natal, the only coloring books I could find were Euro-centric. At least 97 percent of the books' illustrations depict Euro-centric characters – white pirates, Snow White, Nordic princesses, etc. - rather than Afro-centric. I scooped up the only coloring book that depicted a young African girl in tribal costume carrying a pot on her head, and a giraffe. (I look forward to finding a wider, Afro-centric selection in the local city. Much of what is sold in South Africa these days, however, comes from China.)

***

The garden pond is alive with little critters. I wasn’t wearing my glasses when I spotted the latest batch of critters hatched in the pond. They looked like a species of tadpole (“polliwog”), but smaller. Intrigued, I peered closely. Surprise! The critters are mosquitos! The large pond, epicenter of my gardening joy, is a hot bed for my insect nemesis.
Since adult mosquitos love snacking on my blood, I may be the only person in South Africa who owns – and uses – a functional mosquito net (opposed to the “out of Africa” prop used for interior design). My net is voluminous and black – the only color available at Cost Plus in Oakland California when I purchased it more than a decade ago. I set it up during last week's very hot spell, and have slept well under it.
“Anopheliphobia,” a branch of entomophobia, fear of insects, is fear of mosquitos - derived from Greek “anopheli,” mosquito. This phobia is linked with pruritophobia, fear of itches, since mosquito bites are itchy.
Combine anopheliphobia and pruritophobia with Trumpthenaartjiephobia and I may be ready for a white straight jacket.

Veterans Day

Numbers for end of Lockdown Week 33

Worldwide (Map)  
November 12 – 52,070,000 confirmed infections; 1,274,000 deaths
October 15 – 38,426,375 confirmed infections; 1,091,250 deaths

US (Map)
November 12 – 10,258,100 confirmed infections; 239,700 deaths
October 15 – 7,911,500 confirmed infections; 216,860 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
November 12 – 740,255 confirmed infections; 19,951 deaths
October 15 – 696,420 confirmed infections; 18,155 deaths

A somber Veterans Day in the United States yesterday. With 136,000 newly confirmed cases across the country in one day, we learn that,

More than 4,200 veterans have died from Covid-19 at hospitals and homes run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and nearly 85,000 have been infected, according to the department. 
That death toll does not include an untold number who have died in private or state-run veterans facilities, including the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in Massachusetts, which had nearly 80 deaths earlier this year. Two former administrators were charged with criminal offenses after an investigation found that “utterly baffling” decisions caused the disease to run rampant there.
American veterans are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because of their age and underlying health conditions, some of which can be traced to exposure to the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange and smoke from burning oilfields in the Persian Gulf.

News blues…

President Ramaphosa addressed the nation last night.  (36:11 mins) 

Key takeaways:
Virus still present across the land yet South Africans are forgetting this
Highest number of weekly new cases and deaths (more than 2,000 new cases today)
Covid far from over – and will remain “for some time to come”
Kudos to front line workers…
SA’s response widely recognized and commended around the world
Toll on health and wellbeing of SA
92 percent recovery rate
Pay attention to Eastern Cape with a resurgence: 50 percent higher number of cases now
Too many large gatherings, not enough mask wearing
Government response:
Implement resurgence plan: intervention include primary health care outreach, contact tracing, readiness
Wake up call: cannot relax or be complacent
Extending national state of disaster to Dec 15
Second area of concern:
Festive season – people want to travel, relax, gather and this poses a great threat to managing the pandemic
What we know and what we need to do:
Wear masks
Avoid poorly ventilated buildings
Don’t let your guard down
Download free Covid alert app
Public intervention:

Testing:
Vaccine coming… need about 750 million doses thru Africa
Manufactured in SA, too, to ensure sufficient supply to SA and continent
Social benefit intervention:
Economic reconstruction – from relief to recovery
Covid 19 grant extended to Jan 2021
UIF extended for another month
Alcohol sales back to regular hours
Travel returning to normal 

From Wed Nov 25 to Sun 29 – 5 days of mourning of Covid 19 and Gender-based Violence (GBV): 6 am to 6pm - wear black arm bands.

***

Healthy futures, anyone?

Disinformation and misinformation is the name of the game these days. Confusion reigns. For example, Tuesday’s post  presented information that Covid recovery plans threaten global climate hopes. Today, news reports, “Renewable energy defies Covid-19 to hit record growth in 2020: International Energy Agency expects green electricity to end coal’s 50-year reign by 2025" 
At the same time, “Rolls-Royce vows to create 6,000 UK jobs with nuclear power station plans: Engineering firm is part of consortium pushing for government backing."

There is no agreed upon way forward for healthy futures - at least not by public figures. 

Seeing is not believing....
Meanwhile, "fears for a million livelihoods in Kenya and Tanzania as Mara River fish die out: water biodiversity is on the brink, with dire consequences for the region known for the zebra and wildebeest migration":

Fish are being driven to extinction in the Mara River basin, putting the livelihoods of more than a million people in Kenya and Tanzania in jeopardy, according to WWF.
A report  by the wildlife NGO details how farming, deforestation, mining, illegal fishing and invasive species could sound a death knell for the transboundary river. 

The first stocktake of biodiversity in the river basin identified 473 native freshwater species including four mammals, 88 waterbirds, 126 freshwater associated birds, four reptiles, 20 amphibians, 40 fishes, 50 invertebrate species and 141 vascular plants. 

We, the people (who pay attention) know the Covid-19 pandemic is an outcome of humans’ dysfunctional relationship with nature.  Yet, as in so many other areas of public life, we continue to push against this inconvenient truth, pretending “technology”, “science”, “know-how” will overcome.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The weather in this part of KZN – the Midlands – reflects my mood: damp, somber.
The birds continue cheerfully to twitter and build nests. Time for me to take a lesson from these extraordinary creatures and cheer up!

Vaccine on the horizon

(c) Rico

I was tempted to title today’s post, “Is he gone yet?”… and focus – again – on the Trumpster and his ongoing temper tantrums about the Losers who made him a Loser by losing an election.
In the US, this period is called “lame duck,” but as Naysan Rafati, of International Crisis Group, puts it, “This is less a lame-duck period and more of an adrenaline-infused mallard.” 
Indeed, Trump will do a lot of damage to the American cultural psyche and, likely, to domestic and international relations on his way out, but he IS on his way out. 

It's time for him to move on - and for me to change the subject, too. Goodbye, already! 

News blues…

Dr Fauci on Pfizer’s 90 percent effective Covid-19 vaccine: Yes, there are challenges ahead, including convincing the public to continue (start?) to implement ongoing public health aspects to protect oneself (wear masks, socially distance, sanitize) but the vaccine looks very promising….  (3:53 mins) 

***

At the same time, “Don’t Get Too Excited About the Coronavirus Vaccine. It’s unmitigated good news. But it would be a tragic mistake to relax our vigilance right away.”  

***

State hospitals in South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Bay ran out of intensive care beds on Monday 9 November as coronavirus infections in the Eastern Cape’s biggest metro edged closer to 5,000. The district manager for the Department of Health in the metro, Dalene de Vos, said there were 4,546 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections in the metro — an increase of 692 over the weekend. 

On the other hand, the U.S. has surpassed 1 million new confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of November - 100,000-plus cases a day for 10 days!

Healthy futures, anyone?

Could listening to the deep sea help save it? 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m suffering pandemic fatigue. Yesterday was as bad as its been for me over these 230 days. I hit a wall. Constant rainfall – same today – added to my morose state. On such days, it is particularly important that I “change the channel” – focus on something nourishing. Instead of staring at my belly button and feeling hard-done-by, I edited my blog that shares my ceramic sculptures. Take a look…  And, yes, thank you, I do feel better. It’s still raining, but I’m more motivated and more centered. I guess it doesn't take much to get me going...

Stay or go?

Trump’s dilemma: should I stay or should I go? The Clash put it to music…  (3:00 mins)

News blues…

We, the People are exposed to mountains of media each day and, as the Trump election fiasco continues, it becomes increasingly difficult to discern what is based in fact or fantasy, in truth or lies, and satirical or serious news. For example, choose from the following headlines (answers below):

1. Trump Claims Over 70 Million Biden Votes Came From People Who Should Be Dead
2. Trump is devouring fast food — and aides are ‘lighting scented candles’ to cover up the stench
3. Donald Trump Jr. Refuses To Step Down From Post Of President’s Oldest Son
4. After Baseless Trump Claims, Barr Says DOJ Can Investigate Voter Fraud Allegations

Answers:

1. Satire, from The Onion 
2. Truth, from Rawstory 
3. Satire, from The Onion  
4. Truth, from Huffpost 

***

Currently popular, the term “inflection point” refers to selecting one possible direction over another possible direction - and that both directions are inherently equally valid.
In fact, we face a choice between a culture based on “traditional” values – integrity, honor, respect for other people and points-of-view, respect for justice and the law, and a shared moral code – and a culture based on an any-deceit-that-works-at-the-moment, authoritarian-whim-based, emotion-driven culture.
The United States – and, therefore, the world – are at an inflection point, the consequences of which are grave.
It’s frighteningly unclear which direction we’ll choose.
Warning: unless Trump and Trump-supported cabinet members are charged with their crimes against the US Constitution and US law, the second choice will triumph, whether expressly chosen or not.
Sobering, no?

***

The Lincoln Project looks on the bright side:

It took all of us.
Just 72 days remain in Donald Trump’s first, and only, term as president.
While Trump Republicans continue to kick, scream, and cry fraud without evidence, the real world is moving on and looking forward to the next administration, and the next chapter in America’s story.
World leaders were quick to congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, as were the likes of President George W. Bush, Senator Mitt Romney, and a handful of other Republicans who aren’t willing to deface our free and fair elections for political points.
We, the People, have spoken.
A truly American coalition of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans delivered Joe Biden the largest victory in American history, with 75 million votes for the Biden-Harris ticket—and counting.
However, as we saw play out last week, the margins in several key states were narrow—meaning it took every single voter within this coalition to deliver this result.
This win belongs to all of us, including you.
Donald Trump is the first-ever president to be impeached, lose the popular vote twice, and lose re-election. A trifecta of failure fit for the most un-American president in our history.
Looking ahead, our work is far from over.
Over 71 million Americans voted to keep Trump in power, to continue on our path of destruction and chaos, and ultimately, for an illiberal takeover of our democracy.
Luckily, there are more of us than there are of them.
With several Trump enablers remaining in office, control of the Senate could be in the hands of Georgia. Senators Perdue and Loeffler must once again face voters for a runoff on January 5 in the ultimate test of their loyalty: America, or Trump?

Healthy futures, anyone?

Covid recovery plans threaten global climate hopes as countries pour money into fossil fuels to fight recession 

In at least 18 of the world’s biggest economies, more than six months on from the first wave of lockdowns in the early spring, pandemic rescue packages are dominated by spending that has a harmful environmental impact, such as bailouts for oil or new high-carbon infrastructure, outweighing the positive climate benefits of any green spending, according to the analysis. Only four countries – France, Spain, the UK and Germany – and the EU have packages that will produce a net environmental benefit.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Pandemic fatigue, coupled with California homesickness, has kicked in BIG TIME for me.
South Africa has a term for how I address these feelings: vasbyt
Vasbyt is advice from then-conscripted SADF recruits who served compulsory military service, from 9 months to 2 years.
The Afrikaans term means, literally, bite down; figuratively it means “keep a stiff upper lip,” or “grin and bear it.”
I’ll try….

“You’re Fired!"

© Illustration: Chris Riddell 

Photo essay: Americans celebrate the incoming 46th president  

News blues…

Brace yourself! Trump “is not going to accept defeat — he is psychologically incapable of that….” 

***

While the current US president nurses his ego, Covid-19 blossoms.  
The current tally for confirmed infections around the world? Fifty million! And more than one and a quarter million dead. The United States still leads in numbers: 10 million confirmed infections and close to quarter million dead.
South Africa’s infections are resurging too.  
Isn’t it beyond time for a real, functional, implementable plan?
That plan must address “virus/ pandemic/ lockdown fatigue” – a term so amorphous that it’s difficult to address - other than, “suck it up - or run the real risk of dying a miserable death!”

***

The Lincoln Project: Dawn  (0:55 mins)
Meidas Touch: Bye Don: Joe Biden Elected President of the United States (1:44 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Talking about lockdown fatigue… I, too, suffer this malady. Seldom at a loss for things to do, these pandemic-driven days, I – like many others - have more time than usual on my hands. The things I’d like to do – find and settle into a ceramic studio, join outdoor hiking and bird watching groups – all include other people. And other people include the potential of contracting Covid-19. With my mother living amid other elderly at-risk people, going on outings feel like an unaffordable luxury during a surging pandemic.
I, like the rest of the humans around the world, need a viable strategy to stimulate both mind and body and stay safe. Pandemic life is complicated.

(No)Conceding Sunday

While the world waits
and watches, Trump walls off himself
(and his ego) from reality.

News blues…

For this round, at least, the excruciating counting of ballots is over. Oh, there will be a recount, and lawsuits, and Trump trashing, but the election has been decided. Biden and Harris have been declared the winners. The United State has 74 more days before the Biden/Harris team begin its four years in the office of president.
Alas, Donald Trump has 74 more days to wreak havoc on the nation that doesn’t want him around anymore. Here’s a possible breakdown of phases:
Phase 1: Donald Trump lost the election.
Phase II: Donald Trump refuses to concede.
Phase III: Donald Trump behaves as usual: plays golf  while promising litigation, and sets “his” justice department to do his bidding and his lawyers to go to court
Phase IV:

As intemperate, foolhardy and reckless as many of Trump’s actions have been to date, critics warn that they all took place as Trump faced a referendum from voters. Now, that pending job review has passed… “ He will create as much chaos as humanly possible,” said Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer who was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for, in part, arranging illegal hush money payments to keep women from revealing affairs they had had with Trump just prior to the 2016 election.
“Donald Trump will take to the airwaves, to radio and print media whining about how the election was stolen from him due to fraud and foreign interference,” Cohen said. “He could never accept the fact that he lost because he is incompetent and arrogant.” 

Never a dull moment with the Trumpster….
Big question: “Can Trump be Indicted by SDNY Prosecutors During Lame Duck Period to Test OLC Memo?”  (13:00 mins)
My answer? Yes! Please!

***

“It’s a good day for a whole lot of people” – Van Jones (2:08 mins)

***

New York, New York…  (song parody - 1:30 mins) 

***

The Lincoln Project declares its next steps:

Trump is no more. America can start anew.
Thank you!
This is your victory.
This is your moment.
History will remember every patriot who stood up, put country first, and defeated the most urgent threat to the security and stability of our Republic since the Civil War.
…Joe Biden … will become the 46th President of the United States.
Our work is not over though. Far from it. Until Trump concedes, the Electoral College votes, and Joe Biden is sworn in, we will not rest.
And as you know, this movement is not just about one man.
Until every Trump enabler is out of office and has paid a price for bringing our country to the precipice of catastrophe, we will not relent.
We are not done. But we’re sure glad to have you with us….
Our Republic, and democracy at large, were tested to the breaking point. Democracy prevailed.
Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we continue the fight for our Republic.

Healthy futures, anyone?

Healthy coral.
© Q.U.I 

Rocky road for coral… 

Half of the corals on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef have died since the 1990s, according to a troubling new study that analyzed just how devastating years of catastrophic mass bleaching have been for one of the most biodiverse structures on Earth. 

A Noah’s ark-like plan to house hundreds of the world’s most at-risk coral species at a publicly accessible bank next to the Great Barrier Reef could prove an important part of long-term coral conservation, marine biologists say. 

***

Green groups denounce Brazil's 'sham' Amazon tour for foreign diplomats.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Temperatures back into the lower and mid-30s (C)
I’m making more compost while I still have a concrete mixer to do the heavy work.

***

We’ll host an open house for interested potential buyers this coming weekend. Got to prep for that. It’s been almost a month and NO nibbles at all. That must change.

Super-slog Saturday

© Meidas Touch

Another day of watching election results... with not-so-bated-breath. At least We the People (with discernment) appear on a trajectory for No More Trump….

News blues…

The US presidential election is taking up so much mental, emotional, and political space that coronavirus has faded into the background for the moment. Let’s review climbing infection rates:

• United States: breaking records day-by-day - 100,000 and more cases of new, confirmed infections - per day! 
• Italy: Much of Italy is now under lockdown, after the Covid-19 death toll for 24 hours hit 445 - a six-month record.
• Spain: The total number of COVID-19 fatalities in Spain shot up on Wednesday by 1,623, according to the Health Ministry, bringing the country’s official death toll to 38,118… and 297 deaths confirmed since Tuesday, which is Spain's highest daily jump in deaths since April.  
• Canada: battling its second wave of coronavirus infections; public health officials in the country’s western region are growing concerned as cases surge to new daily records. Active coronavirus cases in Alberta have quadrupled in the last five weeks. British Columbia, with 5 million residents, notched up more than 400 new cases.
• France: registered a record 60,486 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, following the previous high of 58,046 on Thursday…
• Brazil: reports 18,862 additional confirmed cases of the virus in the past 24 hours, and 279 deaths from Covid-19. The country has now registered 5,631,181 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 162,015,in the world’s most fatal outbreak outside the United States.

***

A coronavirus-centric joke to alleviate anxiety after the dispiriting stats shared above. 

Healthy futures, anyone?

How does fracking work? 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

After spotting an unusual accumulation of vegetative debris on my doorstep – I took a closer look: it had a caterpillar-like head that retracted as I watched. I waited for the head to reappear and, when it did not, I photographed the critter.

The photo shows the critter’s rear end at the upper portion; Are those two shiny dots on the lower portion of the photo its caterpillar-like eyes?
Internet research suggests this unique creature is a bagworm, in the caterpillar stage.  Gatherings of bagworms, alas, can wreak havoc on trees. 

***

Mulberry season! 

Mulberries – elongated blackberries or raspberries that grown on trees rather than bushes - seem to have gone out of culinary fashion. Mulberry trees are classified invasive in the United States, but mulberry trees are alive and well in this neighborhood, and in this garden.
Monkeys are in mulberry heaven.
Monkeys are in apricot-and-plum heaven, too, as apricot and plum trees producing new fruit. But the fruit is still hard, green, and only marginally larger than marbles. Monkeys don’t care: they’re plucking the premature fruit and, usual for monkeys, taking one bite then tossing away the rest of the fruit.
This bite-and-toss behavior upends my general acceptance of evolution: how come, given many generations of monkeydom, monkeys have never figured out that leaving fruit (and vegetables) to mature is a better nutritional bet than destroying them in infancy?
Oh, wait! I forgot. Humans descended from monkeys/apes… and we’re an impatient lot, too. Humans, like monkeys, are unsuccessful at anticipating how our current (stupid) behavior affects our future (healthy) future. (Think climate change denial….)