Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt
What an exciting 24 hours.President Trump made a statement from the Oval Office last night about the COVID-19 pandemic that completely failed to reassure anyone, in part because it contained numerous...
View ArticleThe hits keep coming
Last night I had the wonderful experience of performing Bach's Johannes-Passion with the Apollo Chorus of Chicago and the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. I say "performing" because, recognizing that we...
View ArticleBe first. Be right. Be credible.
Those words appear on the cover of a 450-page CDC-written manual called "Crisis Risk Emergency Communications." Apparently, if anyone in the Trump Administration has read the book, they have chosen to...
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How not to engage in crisis profiteering
Some dingleberry from Tennessee thought he'd make easy money by stocking up on hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. Now he's got a garage full of things Amazon won't let him sell. And he's whining...
View ArticleScreeching to a halt
Illinois governor JB Pritzker has closed all bars and restaurants (except for carry-out and delivery) from the close of business tonight until March 30th:“There are no easy decisions left to make as we...
View ArticleIt's worse...
The Dow Industrial Average index of 30 blue-chip stocks dropped almost 3,000 points today, erasing almost all the gains the index made since President Trump's inauguration. This comes on the first...
View ArticleWe now return to your pandemic, already in progress
Today's news:President Trump claims he knew COVID-19 was a pandemic all along, even though he had a strangely ineffective way of showing it.COVID-19 has caused a food security crisis as entire...
View ArticleLes Champs-Élysées
Apollo Chorus assistant director Cody Michael Bradley has put out a series of "Quarantunes" to keep us musical through the social distancing phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's installment was the...
View ArticleShaka, when the walls fell
I have tons of experience working from home, but historically I've balanced that by going out in the evenings. The pandemic has obviously cut that practice down to zero. Moreover, the village of Oak...
View ArticleExtraordinary measures in the UK
I'm trying to get my mind around a Conservative government announcing this a few minutes ago:The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced the government will pay the wages of British workers to keep them...
View ArticleGovernor announces stay-at-home order
Starting tomorrow at 5pm, through April 7th, Illinois will be on a "stay-at-home" order:Residents can still go to the grocery stores, put gas in their cars, take walks outside and make pharmacy runs,...
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Another historic loss
No, I don't mean Kenny Rogers, who died last night at age 83. I mean that Royal Dutch Airlines KLM has decided to remove all their 747s from service nine months early because of the pandemic:The...
View ArticleYes, it's the Trump Pandemic
The President's disdain for expertise and his malignant, narcissistic character cost us weeks—or months—when we could have prepared for the pandemic we now face. Michelle Goldberg summarizes the case...
View ArticleThe Times Schütz—and scores!
The New York Times' chief classical music critic, Anthony Tomassini, gives credit to the person who was Germany's greatest composer, until Bach:[B]orn in 1585, exactly 100 years before Bach, he is...
View ArticleThe UK locks down
Just a few minutes ago, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced sweeping restrictions on assembly and movement similar to those currently in effect in Illinois and some other parts of the US:To put...
View ArticleLet's take a second
There's enough going on in COVID-19 news today that I will have a regular post on the subject later on. But why don't we start the day with yesterday's National Puppy Day photos in The Atlantic? Would...
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Stay-at-home, day 3
The governor ordered everyone to stay at home only a few days ago, and yet it seems like much longer. I started working from home three weeks ago, initially because my entire team were traveling, and...
View ArticleAdvice from a former prisoner
Jason Rezaian spent 544 days in solitary confinement inside an Iranian prison. He has some advice on how to survive social isolation:1. Don’t spend all your time online.You thought you spent a lot of...
View ArticleAnother one rides the bus
Today is the 103rd birthday of Chicago's bus system:The City of Chicago had granted a transit franchise to the Chicago Surface Lines company. But the boulevards and parks were controlled by another...
View ArticleThe Republican Party doesn't care if you die
That seems like a reasonable conclusion based on recent statements from conservative broadcasters:At the heart of their campaign is a skepticism over the advice offered by experts and a willingness to...
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