Groovy Tuesday

 Groovy Tuesday by The Smithereenes

I had the pleasure of seeing The Smithereenes perform live at Elon College in late 1989 or early 1990. It was a fun show; happy memory.

In the spirit of sharing softer news and/or silly vibes:

• Artist MagnifyTheSun creates solar engraved art.
• Dog enjoys playing and splashing in a puddle.
• Restaurant mannequins, facebook ant colony, and coronavirus piñatas were featured on the Daily Show. 

Daily pandemic update:  

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus  promised an independent review of the global pandemic response after countries at a virtual meeting of the World Health Assembly called for a probe. In the United Kingdom, unemployment claims jumped by 69 percent last month from 856,000 people to 2.1 million as the pandemic took hold and hit the labour market.  Aljazeera.com timeline

19 May 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
11:55 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	4,833,022	4,915,587	317,215	320,520	1,871,778	1,921,984
US	1,528,931	1,550,539	90,993	91,993	346,389	356,383
NY	359,847	361,266	28,325	28,480	61,423	62,191
CT	37,419	38,116	3,408	3,449	6,264	6,264
NC	18,673	19,208	686	693	9,115	9,115

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter. Son Reid lives in CT. I live in NC. 
Worldometers     Coronainusa     Starsexpress2020     https://ncov2019.live/

21% of closed cases in the US resulted in death; 79% recovered.

A moment of silence for those we’ve lost to coronavirus, including the first 100 in the US.

In the news: 

• 180 people were exposed to coronavirus after attending CA church service.
• 100,000 crew members are still stranded on cruise ships, unable to go home.
• CA almost ready to reopen restaurants; gatherings and haircuts still off limits.
• CBS 60 Minutes coverage of the pandemic continues to upset Trump, specifically Nora O’Donnell’s interview with HHS whistleblower Rick Bright. During Scott Pelley interview with Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell said medical metrics are the most important data. He cautioned that the US economy is expected to shrink further though a long term depression is not likely. 
• Convicted Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli was denied early prison release to research coronavirus cure. 
• Chuck E. Cheese trended for trying to sell Pasqually’s Pizza via food apps, and for a tragic back story.
• Criminal investigation launched into Los Angeles warehouse explosion; 11 firefighters were injured.  
• Cyclone Amphan, strongest storm ever in Bay of Bengal, is headed toward India and Bangladesh.
• During virtual World Health Assembly, China pledged $2 billion to the World Health Organization and agreed to support international calls for a comprehensive review of the pandemic despite controversy surrounding WHO’s refusal to include Taiwan as well as tensions between the US and China.
• Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump angered Matrix co-creator with MRA red pill meme.
• FL deputies attacked while breaking up party involving three thousand people.
• Hospitals in Brazil are on the brink of collapse as Bolsonaro continues to spar with health advisors.
• Inspector General Linick, the fifth IG to be fired or replaced by Trump, was allegedly investigating arms sales to Saudi Arabia as well as Pompeo staff errands. Trump defended Pompeo and justified firing despite concerns from senate republicans.
• Japan economy fell into recession, marked by 2 consecutive quarters of decline.
• Karl Rove called Obama’s HBCU speech a political drive by shooting. #RoveIsRacist. 
• Law enforcement anticipates increased arson and violence linked to debunked 5G conspiracy theories.
• Mark Cuban urged US government to give households $1,000 stimulus check every two weeks which must be spent within 10 days; use it or lose it.
• Moderna announced hopeful early trial results of potential coronavirus vaccine in the US. Trump appointee and pharma exec Moncef Slaoui holds $10 million in Moderna stock options. Meanwhile Oxford University has partnered with AstraZeneca to develop a vaccine in the UK.
• Mount Saint Helens erupted 40 years ago.
• NC Gov Cooper called COVID-19 parties irresponsible and unacceptable.
• OR supreme court overruled judge to keep physical distancing restrictions in place.
• Phlow Corp startup was awarded $354 million contract for medical stockpile.
• Retailers are now selling face masks.
• Russia is now in second place behind the US with 299,941 cases while Spain, Brazil and the UK round out the top 5 countries battling the worst coronavirus outbreaks. Putin approval ratings continue to slip. 
• Treasury providing debit cards instead of stimulus checks to 4 million Americans.
• Trump called Obama incompetent after Obama criticized Trump’s pandemic response. Meanwhile son Eric Trump said coronavirus would disappear after election day in November. 
• Trump campaign launched Truth Over Facts videos and website attacking Biden.
• Trump claimed to take malaria drug and zinc to protect from coronavirus. Pelosi,  health advisors, and Neil Cavuto on Fox News expressed concerns.
• Trump threatened to permanently end funding and remove US from WHO.  

Following Kenny Beck’s lead to share a few signs of hope:

• Woman donated plasma after recovering from COVID-19.
• WWII veteran Sam Gahr received surprise procession for his 102nd birthday. 
• Young sisters donated thousands of masks to hospitals in need.

In my personal life…

After discussing options with friends, Greg decided against pursuing a potential shop space in King. However, he purchased a used vehicle lift to be installed in a garage bay shared with his friend Ken. They use the space for storage and to facilitate small maintenance and repair projects on their personal vehicles.

Yesterday Greg learned that his friend Bob Spriegel passed away in April. Bob is the second person I've known personally who died of COVID-19. Cindy Peck was the first. 

After finding out about Bob, Greg called a few buddies to check in including John in Alabama and Dwayne in Arizona.

Jones Strawberry Farm was crowded over the weekend (see photo below) so we waited to visit. 

Yesterday there were only a few people, most wearing masks, so I felt safe enough to stop by and purchase more berries. 

In our own garden I picked enough lettuce and spinach to make salads the rest of the week. Blackberries and blueberries will likely ripen next month, followed by raspberries a little later. Noticed a few blossoms on our tomato and squash plants. Everything else is lagging behind compared to last year. Hopefully the rain and relatively mild temperatures this week will be good for the plants. 

Ate a Scotch egg for breakfast yesterday, cheese sticks for lunch, and tacos for dinner followed by strawberries and Nutella for dessert. Greg ate his strawberries sprinkled with sugar.