Reflections on films, politics, and everything else.

Two months ago, when the seriousness of the pandemic finally hit Ohio, I didn’t know how I’d fill my days with so much closed. There were fitness and leisure companies offering their website’s paid content for free, but I couldn’t seem to be bothered. With the weather turning warmer, I went out on long walks. I tried buying a few crafting kits at JoAnn Fabrics online, but they sold out before I could go pick them up. Maybe embroidery and latch hook just weren’t meant for me. The one thing I did connect with was Creative Mornings virtual FieldTrips . I had never used Zoom before, but now two months later I’ve been on probably a hundred of these sessions. I did follow-up with what seems like a more knowledgeable dermatologist, who prescribed a face cream that is helping my skin condition slowly, and hasn’t sent me to urgent care. Still, I’m a bit sensitive about how I look, so have alternated between the standard black screen on Zoom with my name, sometimes the full name, other times...

So much of what I used to do still isn’t available. That’s not a complaint. I don’t plan on protesting, as I feel Ohio, while making restrictions, has been pretty generous (maybe too generous) as far as being able to get out and about. Most of us wouldn’t have survived China, Italy, or the UK’s real lock-downs. I have found other ways to fill up my days, but not necessarily all that productively. There have been some virtual film festivals that I might not have been able to attend that I was still able to either see the films or watch interviews with the filmmakers, which has been a nice upside to this insanity. Mostly, though, I just feel stuck. That’s not anything new for me. I tend to stay stuck (in the past it was in toxic workplaces) until I just can’t stand it anymore and have to do something. I’m trying to find that something . There are two experimental sketches this time. The first illustrates my stuckness , or the pauses so many of us are enduring. The s...

Our state’s stay-at-home order, that was put in place back in mid-March, will expire on Friday. In essence, the governor has extended it, with some staggered loosening to begin. I both understand why, but also feel some tugs of frustration, wanting this to all be over. I’m certainly thankful our Republican governor doesn’t subscribe to the “Party of Stupid” mentality so many others, especially in the south, proclaim as the American way. I think it’s the loss of control over what we’re able to do that hit so many people so hard. There have been articles in The New Yorker and podcasts that have talked about how China was able to so quickly, after initial denials, get the virus under control (even if their published numbers may never be accurate). I can’t imagine Americans willingly doing what their citizens did to stop the spread; we are clearly not sacrificers. Here in Ohio, Governor DeWine first announced this past Monday that when retail operations opened back up in a few...

Normally I don’t think of myself as a panicky person, but I do have the ability to pick up on what’s in the air, which causes me to behave in ways I might not otherwise. Generally it’s only a problem around the holidays, but things are very different now for all of us. While I’d read about COVID-19 and heard stories on podcasts earlier in the year, it didn’t dawn on me that it was coming to my area until mid-March. I’d been having some health issues, which there seem to be no answers for anytime soon, and was distracted during late February and early March. I went to my gym on Thursday, March 12. By then most colleges and universities in the area were closed, along with a few major retailers like Apple. I thanked the woman at the desk for being open, which caused her to immediately panic, asking if I’d heard anything. I assured her I hadn’t, and we briefly chatted wondering if her play and my classical concert would occur that weekend. When I went back to the gym on Friday, M...