The Big Chill

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, March 27th, 2020 - 56 comments
Categories: covid-19, uncategorized - Tags: , , , ,

A post for the duration: what’s inspiring us or helping us get through? Music, film, books, games, or just sharing what’s keeping us occupied as we hunker down.

No politics, no aggro, no drama.

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Starting us off with this lovely short (7 min) interview on NPR, originally played last year and broadcast again this week. American poet Ross Gay spent a year writing daily essays about things that delight him. In the interview they discuss what that was about and he reads from The Book of Delights.

Excerpt,

I suppose I could spend time theorizing how it is that people are not bad to each other, but that’s really not the point. The point is that in almost every instance of our lives – our social lives – we are, if we pay attention, in the midst of an almost constant, if subtle, caretaking. Holding doors open, offering elbows at crosswalks, letting someone else go first, helping with the heavy bags, reaching what’s too high or what’s been dropped, pulling someone back to their feet, stopping at the car wreck, at the struck dog, the alternating merge, also known as the zipper – this caretaking is our default mode, and it’s always a lie that convinces us to act or believe otherwise – always.

Interview transcript in link.

56 comments on “The Big Chill ”

  • Comments are now closed

  2. Janet 2
    27 March 2020 at 9:37 am

    The tranquility and the smiles of "Lockdown " reminds me of the peaceful weekends we could look forward to when shops shut at 9.00pm on a Friday night.

    • mac1 2.1
      27 March 2020 at 11:39 am

      Yes, Janet, I remember; and like today people still did not organise themselves. My father was a corner grocer and we lived behind the shop. We closed on Friday night at 9 pm but there was always someone on a Saturday morning knocking on the back door for a pound of butter……

  3. Robert Guyton 3
    27 March 2020 at 9:42 am

    I'm making elderberry syrup. From elderberries. Picked from an elder. I added "bruised ginger" to the recipe and when I prepare a cup before bed, I add a slice of lemon peel and a little grated nutmeg. Elderberry syrup is regarded as an excellent anti-viral. By me. And others.

  5. mickysavage 5
    27 March 2020 at 10:06 am

    Good idea. Tonight I am going to watch one of the funniest movies ever, Guiardians of the Galaxy …



  6. Descendant Of Smith 6
    27 March 2020 at 10:12 am

    Good chance to work and listen to various vinyl albums from start to finish at the same time.

    Janis Ian – My Favourites
    Gerry Rafferty – City to City

    to start off with.

  7. Wayne 7
    27 March 2020 at 10:14 am

    I am already seeing too much NetFlix. I need to read more books, and be a bit more creative with my time. Our house is going to be extraordinarily spick and span.

    • Anne 7.1
      27 March 2020 at 12:07 pm

      Council did the dirty on us though. Planned to go to the library Mon. this week to pick up a couple of John Le Carre's and the like but they closed them down without prior notice.

      • JanM 7.1.1
        27 March 2020 at 12:10 pm

        Maybe a neighbourhood swap session? With distancjng observed of course

        • weka 7.1.1.1
          27 March 2020 at 12:40 pm

          I think we are not meant to be swapping unless urgent or essential. The virus will survive on a book or other hard surface for a while.

          • Carolyn_Nth 7.1.1.1.1
            27 March 2020 at 12:48 pm

            Yes. I wiped the outside of books I got a few weeks ago, and left them sitting for several days before reading the. Actually leaving surfaces for a few days might be safer than wiping with disinfectant.

            The books I got a week ago from the library, have been in the bag I carried them in since I collected them a week ago.

      • Carolyn_Nth 7.1.2
        27 March 2020 at 12:25 pm

        They did give a few hours notice. I requested a load of books in case of a lock down.

        About 4 had arrived and were on the hold shelf. Goff announced the libraries were closing at the end of the day, so I drove to the library immediately and collected the books waiting for me on the hold shelf.

      • weka 7.1.3
        27 March 2020 at 2:48 pm

        Not everyone wants more screen time, but there's the digital library collections in NZ too.

  8. mikesh 8
    27 March 2020 at 10:35 am

    I guess the golf clubs are closed, but is there anything to stop us entering a city council golf course and playing a few holes, free of course fees. We would not be close to anyone in doing so.

    • aj 8.1
      27 March 2020 at 3:44 pm

      From NZ Golf.

      General Guidance
      New Zealand is now at COVID-19 Alert Level 4.

      This means New Zealanders not working in essential services must stay at home and stop all interactions with others outside of your household. This is a major step for the country however eradicating this disease is vital to protect people’s health and ensure our health system can cope and look after New Zealanders who become sick.

      The move to Alert Level 4 has major consequences for the golf sector. From Wednesday 25 March at 11.59pm, all operations at golf clubs must cease for at least four weeks.

      This means all golf courses, practice facilities, clubhouses, pro shops, bar, function and catering facilities must now be closed. While this a major move for the country, the government is trying to save lives and we urge the golf sector to do all we can to play our part.

  9. Carolyn_Nth 9
    27 March 2020 at 10:44 am

    My favourite survival movie, which I have saved on My Freeview, and watch from time to time: The Martian (2015).

    A guy (Matt Damon) left alone on Mars and surviving by "sciencing the shit out of this". ie using the available technologies and equipment, current knowledge and older equipment, to survive, regain contact with earth, and work to get back home.

    The sparse visual environment is given a retro, cheesy, but uplifting feel by intermittent disco music – that one of the team had left with her stuff on Mars.

    Also, of about the same vintage, I like Gravity (2013), which showed recently on Freeview, and I now have saved. This is more of an allegory than in any way realistic. It's again a survival movie, but (Sandra Bullock) has chosen to isolate herself from others in the silence and weightlessness of space, following the death of her daughter – ie grief and disconnection from other humans.

    Supported by space pilot, (George Clooney) she chooses life, and re-purposes available equipment to get back to earth, gravity, and all the noise and communications of human society.

    Watched Gravity again a couple of days ago.

    The other movie I'd put in the same survival genre, but one surviving on earth, alone in the countryside, is Rees Witherspoon's (Wild, 2014). Only seen it once a while back.

    Interesting that they are all about the same vintage.

    • bill 9.1
      27 March 2020 at 11:28 am

      lol – never could figure out how those potatoes grew without having to push against the resistance of any ("earth weight") surrounding soil…figured "potato noodles" – bags and bags of them 🙂

      • Carolyn_Nth 9.1.1
        27 March 2020 at 11:39 am

        😊

        I didn't realise that earth weight was necessary. Also, now they known there is potentially water on Mars, in ice form.

        OTOH, I have felt like the Martian this week, spinning out my fresh veg and fruit til the next grocery delivery. eg veggies tonight, 2 brussels sprouts, a couple of slices of carrots, some celery, …..and lots of lentils.

        • bill 9.1.1.1
          27 March 2020 at 1:05 pm

          Lentils rock! 🙂

          And for quick, easy and tasty….

          Slice an onion Slice three (or more) garlic. Dice some pumpkin (or potatoes or whatever). One cup of red lentils. Tin of tomatoes (or chop a few fresh). a couple of green chillies

          tsp of red chilli (not the v.hot stuff)

          tsp of coriander powder

          1/2 tsp of cumin powder.

          some ginger (fresh or powder)

          No frying. No nothing. Throw the whole lot into a pot (with enough water for those lentils) and walk away. (salt when lentils have softened)

          Fry some garlic in decadent slap of butter towards the end and stir that in with some lemon/lime juice.

          Serve with a healthy dollop of yoghurt 🙂

          • Carolyn_Nth 9.1.1.1.1
            27 March 2020 at 1:42 pm

            Yes. I love lentils. Healthy, long shelf life. When others were panic buying loo rolls, I was gradually building up my store of lentils. I prefer brown or green when I get them, but I think they are now being rationed. So a few others are now clued into their benefits.

            I usually add some seasoning/herbs, like coriander & cumin. But I'm not using them while I have a sore throat – and certainly chilli will be off my menu for a wee while.

            Yoghurt is not good for my digestion – I've ordered some sauerkraut to counteract the antibiotics. I see there's a theory that low Covid-19 infections in places like Germany may be because of the widespread consumption of sauerkraut.

            Will keep a record of this recipe though. Thanks.

          • joe90 9.1.1.1.2
            27 March 2020 at 1:43 pm

            Ate this with some Berber folk. Simple, easy, tasty, filling, and been eating it ever since.

            Couple of cups of lentils, washed well.

            4/6 largish 8/10 smallish silverbeet stalks, sliced 5/10mm.

            Couple of large onions.

            Lotsa garlic

            Dried (not fresh) mint.

            Lemon juice.

            Generous slosh of olive oil/butter.

            Cover lentils and s/b stalks well with >2Lwater/stock< and boil till cooked.

            Fry onions/garlic in oil/butter until well browned, (ffs don't burn)

            Add well browned onion/garlic to lentils/stalks, season to taste with dried mint/s/p and cook for a few more minutes.

            Lemon juice to taste and enjoy.

  11. mac1 11
    27 March 2020 at 11:43 am

    I've got a 100 poems to edit, once I've cleared the office space………

    The latest is "Fractured Femur", a sonnet prompted by an article on the thinking of anthropologist, Margaret Mead. She instanced a 15000 year old bone aa a proof of civilisation and its importance to human mortality as opposed to that of the animals.

  12. Carolyn_Nth 12
    27 March 2020 at 12:04 pm

    For those with children – tweet from TVNZ Press Team

    TVNZ 2 is carrying extended kids content hours from Monday – 6.30am to 10.30am and 3pm to 4.30pm. We’re also launching DUKE Jr. between 10.30am -3pm weekdays (Freeview 13, Sky 23) to cover the gap. Families can enjoy local + international kid-friendly shows for a range of ages

  13. joe90 13
    27 March 2020 at 12:11 pm

    Relive the glorious 90s with this youtube playlist.

    http://www.the90sbutton.com/

  14. roblogic 14
    27 March 2020 at 12:32 pm

    I’m playing “Forza Horizon 4” on Xbox. Playground Games have rendered some of the prettiest spots in England and Scotland in their game (Including a lifelike recreation of Edinburgh) and turned it into an open world boy racer’s paradise. 10/10 if you like cars and driving around. (some of my races) also talking crap with other people online

    Also playing Roblox online with my nephew.

    My other plans include

    online booze-up with my sisters and brother this evening 🙂
    converting my old cassette tapes to FLAC
    fixing up (or getting rid of) my old RC cars and copters
    following up on some ideas for a personal website & CV
    solving puzzles from the Herald, Listener, and codegolf.stackexchange.com
    eating healthier and getting more exercise
    doing a huge clean-out

  15. AB 15
    27 March 2020 at 12:37 pm

    "caretaking is our default mode, and it’s always a lie that convinces us to act or believe otherwise "

    Had a few clients say they can't pay my invoice right now. I say "that's OK". Are some of them bullshitting me? Maybe – who knows. Not sure I care any more.

  16. satty 16
    27 March 2020 at 1:44 pm

    Just made some Sauerkraut… ready for consumption in 3 weeks.

  17. Robert Guyton 17
    27 March 2020 at 1:59 pm

    Refurbishing my wood-saws; Distons, mainly. All in need of steel-woolling and oiling. Fun!

  18. McFlock 18
    27 March 2020 at 2:04 pm

    One thing I've taken to doing whenever I cook rice is adding in a small proportion of barley in memory of "The Barley Baron".

    When I was learning basic epidemiology, the main historical forebears were Snow , Nightingale, and Semmelweis. But by statistical observation and a simple population-based intervention, Takaki saved tens of thousands of lives by almost completely eliminating beri beri from ships' crews (when previously a third of a crew might have been suffering from it).

    Beri beri is a vitamin deficiency that was inadvertantly caused by how the Japanese military structured their food rations. A balanced diet was on offer at cost, but white rice was provided for free: anyone sending their pay packet home to support their families had their fill on white rice rather than the more expensive brown rice. Vitamin B1 is in the husks of brown rice and barley, not in white rice.

    Purely by observing dietary differences between "cases" and "controls", Takaki added more diverse foods to the free menu and then duplicated a disastrous (45% incidence, 25 deaths) voyage around the Pacific from the previous year with the new diet. No deaths, 4% incidence, and those 4% had avoided the new diet.

    One of the more dramatic instances where a health intervention knocks it for six. Oh, and before the actual cause of the disease was identified.

  19. Treetop 19
    27 March 2020 at 4:33 pm

    I came up with a game for children ages 3+ which adults can even play with them.

    Gatergories

    Someone picks a title e.g objects with wheels, objects that fly, what can you find in a kitchen, names of fruit, animals, etc

    Each person takes a turn in naming something in the chosen category.

    If you do not have an answer you can skip your turn in that round.

    I have played this for about a decade and some of the answers from the youngest players have been a surprise.

    No equipment required other than 2 people. I usually do not take a score, this is an option.

    • mpledger 19.1
      28 March 2020 at 10:26 am

      I haven't looked at the videos but the Taskmaster crew are setting up home challanges as part of "hometasker".

      • Treetop 19.1.1
        28 March 2020 at 1:38 pm

        Thanks for that. I had not heard of taskmaster. I will not submit my idea.

        Some of the categories can become rather complex depending on the age group. E.g. brands of cars, health conditions with each letter of the alphabet, names of plants.

        For younger children colours, baking ingredients, noises.

  20. Treetop 20
    27 March 2020 at 4:44 pm

    I love being outside and I am a walker as well. I plan to do an hour a day cutting grass on the empty section with grass clippers and my arthritic hands. If I pull out smaller hunks when I weed I manage. I also do not let pain stop me from doing stuff, even though I have had to slow down.

    Gardening is good for my mental health and my figure.

  21. Fireblade 21
    27 March 2020 at 6:56 pm

    Lots of housework to do, but I'm lying on the couch watching TV.

  22. KJT 22
    27 March 2020 at 9:13 pm

    Cleaned out the shed today..

    My wife is giving pointed glances, at the rimu china cabinet, I started years ago and never finished.

    All the adult kids at home, driving each other nuts, already!

    It's going to be a long four weeks. Brings back memories of paper ships, in the 70's, to Fremantle into a SW, crossing Bass Strait at 7 knots.
    I think being allowed to drink, back then, saved a few crew members from killing each other.
    The log ship crews stuck off China, have my sympathy.

    May have to write some articles?

  23. Grafton Gully 23
    27 March 2020 at 9:27 pm

    Rosalia meets Beethoven.



  24. Anne 24
    27 March 2020 at 11:31 pm

    Superb. Thank-you GG.

    • weka 24.1
      28 March 2020 at 10:31 am

      I enjoyed that too, hardly ever listen to classical music.

      • Anne 24.1.1
        28 March 2020 at 10:51 am

        May I introduce you to a 10 minute excerpt from Beethoven's 6th symphony:

        It is the most beautiful symphony of all time imo.

  25. Kevin 25
    28 March 2020 at 9:50 am

    Building a website.

  26. FAB mouse 26
    28 March 2020 at 11:26 am

    Making resources for remote learning and developing programming skills.

    https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/379017157

    https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/379017157/embed

  27. joe90 27
    28 March 2020 at 2:01 pm

    From Rolling Stone’s In My Room series.

  28. The Al1en 28
    28 March 2020 at 2:13 pm

    Jacinda – She sells sanctuary. heart

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCOSPtyZAPA

    And when they all grew old and still rocked it.

  29. Macro 29
    29 March 2020 at 9:46 am

    Playing Solitaire till dawn with a pack of 51

    Now don't tell me – I've nothing to do.

  30. Gabby 30
    31 March 2020 at 4:01 pm

    Link probably won't work, but google Danny Carey drum cam Pneuma. I suspect he is a product of alien technology.



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