May Day! Mayday!

Perennial Justin Timberlake memes typically flood social media in late April though I waited until May 1 to share this one. Yet another example of data lag. 🤣

“It’s Gonna Be May” meme

May 1 is known as May Day in Europe, traditionally celebrated with dances around a maypole.

Also, mayday is an international distress call. Frederick Mockford, a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London, came up with the idea for mayday because it sounded like the French word m'aider, which means “help me.” 

For many in the northern hemisphere, May marks the beginning of summer season. The 2020 summer solstice, also known as midsummer, will be Saturday, June 20. 

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

• Cool video splices photos of famous people with their younger selves.
• Couchella 2020: virtual concerts you can enjoy from home.
• Justin Timberlake It’s Gonna Be May meme explained.
• Prince Harry introduced Thomas the train and friends for anniversary special.
• PBS shared Ze Frank Earth Day awards video.

  

Daily pandemic update:  

Eurozone economy shrank 3.8 percent in the first quarter, the biggest hit since records began in 1995. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said he tested positive for coronavirus and would self-isolate to protect other cabinet members, promising to be in constant contact "on all the main issues."  Aljazeera.com timeline

1 May 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
11:35 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	3,234,915	3,325,633	228,598	234,497	1,009,288	1,052,024
US	1,064,572	1,095,304	61,669	63,871	147,411	155,737
NY	306,158	310,839	23,474	23,780	48,173	49,405
CT	26,767	27,700	2,168	2,257	65	65
NC	10,181	10,755	381	406	1,472	1,808

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter, son Reid lives in CT, and I live in NC. 
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/     https://www.coronainusa.com/  

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

CNN update of US data:

8 weeks ago              227 cases              12 deaths

7 weeks ago           1,645 cases              41 deaths

6 weeks ago         13,229 cases            195 deaths

5 weeks ago         82,100 cases         1,195 deaths

4 weeks ago       245,213 cases         5,983 deaths

3 weeks ago       465,750 cases       16,684 deaths

2 weeks ago       671,151 cases       33,268 deaths

1 week ago         868,945 cases       49,887 deaths

Right now       1,095,304 cases       63,871 deaths

In the news:  

• AstraZeneca and Oxford partnering to develop vaccine; human trials began last week. Fauci said it is possible to have millions of doses ready by January.
• CA Gov Newsom closed Orange County beaches to prevent more crowds.
• Drive-thru testing at Mountaire Farms in Siler City resulted in 74 positive cases – 21% of 356 people tested; largest mass testing at a food processing facility in NC.
• Germany declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization, raided some mosques.
• Hilton CEO fact checked controversial testing theory while sitting next to Trump.
• Karen Pence told Fox & Friends that VP Mike Pence was not aware of Mayo Clinic mask policy. Mayo Clinic confirmed Pence’s staff had been advised.  
• MI court found no infringement in Gov Whitmer stay at home order. Meanwhile protesters, some armed, gathered inside MI Capitol to demand end to emergency measures.
• Some health officials advocate $50 per day payments to encourage continued self isolation.
• US weekly jobless claims filed by 3.84 million, topping 30 million over the last 6 weeks. Consumer spending fell 7.5% in March; steepest decline in records back to 1959. Household incomes fell 2%.
• Winston Salem Workplace Restart initiative will complement Mask the City program.

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

• 94 year old Holocaust survivor greeted with red carpet cheers after beating coronavirus.
• Woman utilized cherry picker to say hello to mother in nursing home.
• WWII veteran received more than 125,000 birthday cards after raising $ for health care workers.

  

In my personal life…

Thursday night Greg and I re-watched Point Break together; the 1991 film starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. One of Greg’s favorite parts is when Keanu’s Johnny Utah talks about Swayze’s Bohdi eating lunch at Patrick’s Roadhouse. Many consider this a nod to Swayze’s 1989 film Road House which is one of Greg’s favorites. Fun fact: there is a real life restaurant by that name along the Pacific Coast Hwy. #TheMoreYouKnow #TriviaForGreg