Obsidian Wings

Don't call it going online, call it ERT

by liberal japonicus

Perhaps a bit of inside baseball, but here in Japan, things are very unsettled and everyone teaching is talking about going online. I'm the cranky uncle always yelling 'don't call it online, call it Emergency Remote Teaching'! And you kids get off my yard!!!'. I was calling it Crisis Teaching, but ERT works a lot better as an acronym.

My daughter is back from California, doing the last three months of her exchange in front of her computer in our living room. Ouch. And I'm trying to figure out what I will do when school starts, which has been pushed back to 20 April, but I honestly think the whole term is going to be ERT.

This is not to get all of you talking about ERT, unless you want to. This is more to point out that the whole situation makes me think of the Kirk Douglas movie "Lonely are the Brave" and even though I've often pushed for more online stuff at my workplace, I am feeling more than a little bit like Kirk Douglas' character, Jack Burns.

Anyway, discuss that, or ERT, or your favorite movies. And stay safe.

Makes the world go around

by liberal japonicus

I've heard it tell round these parts, a few are interested in this. NPR present their dissection.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/26/821457551/whats-inside-the-senate-s-2-trillion-coronavirus-aid-package

Of course, need to be careful, they are taking money from the public trough and some argue that if we had just spent the money on what was important, we wouldn't be in this situation. But for everyone else, discuss what looks good and what doesn't.

A poetry thread

by liberal japonicus

Time to dig out your faves. Been reading Adrianne Rich and share this one with you.

What Kind of Times Are These
by Adrienne Rich

There's a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill
and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows
near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted
who disappeared into those shadows.

I've walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don't be fooled
this isn't a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here,
our country moving closer to its own truth and dread,
its own ways of making people disappear.

I won't tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods
meeting the unmarked strip of light—
ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:
I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.

And I won't tell you where it is, so why do I tell you
anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these
to have you listen at all, it's necessary
to talk about trees.

Adrienne Rich, "What Kind of Times are These" from Collected Poems: 1950-2012.

Rumblings

by liberal japonicus

Well, rumor here in Japan is that Tokyo will go into strict lockdown relatively soon. One of the reasons Japan has taken a slowly slowly approach, according to this chatter, is that Abe doesn't want to crash the Nikkei and since March is the end of the fiscal year, April will see it sooner rather than later. While a number of bodies have recommended it, another push is because of the death of Shimura Ken, a very famous TV comedian due to the virus, which seems to have sharpened minds. Imagine if Johnny Carson had gotten it and died.

As to what everyone has to look forward to, a friend of mine in Korea as part of her job works with journalists. A journalist met her and later had a positive test for corona. She got tested and turned out negative, BUT she has to stay at home for 2 weeks. She gets a call twice a day to make sure she is home, she had to put an app on her phone to send information twice a day as well. Her "burough" in Seoul delivered masks, hand sanitizer, cleaner for the house, a trash pouch and a thermometer to her and she has strict instructions not to leave the house. (Fortunately, Korea has a lot of delivery food services, so that's not a problem) If she is caught going out, there is a 3 million won (about $2,400) fine. And they have flattened the curve...

Urbi et Orbi

by liberal japonicus

Thought I would open another thread, this time centered around Pope Francis' recent homily, in which he gave the blessing in the title, explained by this wikipedia page.

The Urbi et Orbi address and blessing is the most solemn form of blessing in the Catholic Church, and is reserved for the most solemn occasions. These occasions include Easter, Christmas, and the proclamation of a newly elected pope concluding a conclave.

And CoVID-19.

The text is here, an explanation is here.

Just to be clear, I'm not Catholic and when asked, I say I was raised Christian. I balk at the missionary impulse in the homily, but find some of the ideas and discussion worth considering. So, another thread that is for all intents and purposes open, but I would be very interested in what others think about what the Pope said.

Check please!

by liberal japonicus

Posted on a friend's facebook, who said he got it from Popbitch

A man in hospital is one of the first to use the new Dyson ventilator.

Doctors say he's picking up nicely.

So a thread for jokes. No politics..... unless it's funny.

What do you say to Covid if it were your barber?

by liberal japonicus

Thinking about this. Answer below the break.

The other other stuff (politics)

by JanieM

In response to Girl from the North Country's request.

I suppose it's futile, but I'm going to ask anyhow. Can we try to keep it to

-- reportage and not bloody-minded rants about the facts being reported, and

-- constructive ideas and links to useful info, actions, etc....

It's hard enough to fight off despair even when not being clobbered over the head with it all day long.

The Other Stuff

by JanieM

I wrote on the 1192 tsukuro! thread about my mom getting injured in a fall this morning, but I don't want to have dragged that thread off topic, so here's another.

Sort of an open thread, but no politics, please. If you have practical thoughts on taking action politically, go to the "Returning Fire" thread and share. We can use all the ideas we can get.

1192 tsukuro!

by liberal japonicus

This is prompted by my reply to Girl from the North Country concerning the fact that Korea basically has one big urban center and the problems it causes as well as me remember Russell's observation (I think) about how a particular size of village/town was self selected. I'm too lazy to look up anything, but I'm sure that there are papers about this, but I'm wondering, given what we know, what is the ideal size of a nation? What kind of mix of urban and rural areas should it have? Forgetting history for a moment, if you could 'make' a country, what would work best?

I'm thiking that it should be relatively compact, have at least two urban centers to counter balance each other. Not too far north, not too far south. What other things do you need? What features make things crappy in the countries we live in now? France is a little too big. Countries that are too big seem to, with the possible exception of Canada, always have issues. Island countries like Japan and England also have issues with foreigners it seems. Too small is just silly (San Marino? Really?)

I suppose there is also some cultural aspects to this. It always amazes me, my city, Kumamoto, which is often considered 'inaka' (Japanese for the Australian 'back of beyond) would be, if you could pick it up and drop it in the UK, be somewhere around the 3rd to 5th largest city.

The title comes from a mnemonic Japanese students use to remember the foundation of the Kamakura shogunate and it means 'Let's make a good country', Of course, some argue that 1185 is the foundation of the Kamakura shogunate, and 1192 is the year Minamoto no Yoritomo became the first shogun, (link), so the mnemonic is wrong. But anyway, a silly little thread to avoid talking about the crap that is going on.