Disinfecting the White House

Posted on by Thor

CNN reported that On January 20, 2021 president elect Joe Biden plans to give the White House a deep cleaning before he and his family move in. Throughout the campaign Joe has consistently worn masks and practiced social distancing in stark contrast to Trump’s super spreader rallies.

The General Services Administration (GSA), is handling what will be a “thorough disinfecting and cleansing” of every surface in the 55,000 square foot mansion. Rugs and window treatments, if kept, will also be deep-cleaned.

In November 2020 there were multiple outbreaks of COVID-19 in the White House even infecting the first family. GSA began using a mist disinfectant throughout the building at that time. Staff in full hazmat-looking suits misting widely used areas such as the briefing room.
According to federal financial docs, obtained by TMZ, the Public Building Service agency’s dropping nearly $29,000 on the cleaning service in the East and West Wing “due to COVID-19 at the White House.” The White House has been a hot spot for the spread of the virus and continues to be as 20 Christmas parties are held this month inside it’s walls.
NBC News reported that back in April, 2020 the White House invested up to $600 million dollars on 60 washing machines that could disinfect N95 face masks for up to 20 times.  The machines use vapor phase hydrogen peroxide which as it turns out degrades the masks after two or three washes. There was no open bidding process for the contract and of course Trump doesn’t like wearing masks, he feels they make him look less masculine.

Pre-Pandemic: Fridge Repair

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This is the first sketch I did in a sketchbook that was returned to me after if fell off my bike on a cross country bicycle trip 35 years ago. Someone found the sketchbook packed away in a box and realized I had signed the first page.

The pages are rather thin and don’t hold watercolor very well, but I am attempting to full the remaining pages. This is a sketch of Jimmy John’s sandwich Shop in Downtown Orlando. The fridge was on the fritz and a repairman was trying too get it back up and running. I sketched as I enjoyed my sandwich.

The sketchbook ha once again been put on hold since I am no longer going on location to sketch each day. Now Most of my sketches are illustration having to do with the COVID-19 virus and America’s mishandling of this health crisis. Those illustrations are being done digitally. That work could also be lost to time if I don’t keep on top of backing up files or making prints of all the work I am doing. I remember a film historian mentioning that the early silent films of Thomas Edison are the only samples of very early film because film degrades and burns up in time. Thomas Edison thought ahead and made paper prints of every frame of film and those paper prints make it possible to recreate the films of the time, remaining the only samples of early film.

I am thinking that making prints of digital files may be the only way to have digital art stand the test of time.

Daily COVID-19 Deaths Surpass 9/11 Attack

Posted on by Thor

The New York Times reported that at least 3,011 Americans died Wednesday, December 9, 2020, the most deaths in any single day of the pandemic. Over the past seven days, an average of 2,249 Americans have died from COVID-19 each day, the Times reported.

On September 11, 2001, 2,977 people died when terrorists crashed two commercial airliners into the Twin Towers. It is very possible that we will keep experiencing the carnage of a 9/11 every day as the numbers keep rising exponentially.

The U.S. also reached a record high Wednesday with more than 106,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

For 30 years, the World Trade Center Plaza showcased a 25-foot, bronze sculpture known as The Sphere sculpted by German artist Fritz Koening. The bronze sculpture took four years to create.

In the aftermath of the collapse of the towers, the sculpture was damaged but largely intact. It was carted away and stored at a JFK storage facility for a year. It was then moved to Battery Park along with an eternal flame. AS the memorial was built people kept petitioning to move the sculpture back to the World Trade Center site. in 2017 it was finally returned to a site outside the 9/11 memorial. Unfortunately the artist Fritz Koening had died earlier that year so he never got to see the sculpture’s return. The sculpture was not rebuilt or refurbished. It remains as a symbol of hope despite the scars of a horrific event. Hopefully we can also recover from the horror that COVID-19 continues to ravage on the county.

Blue Sky

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Ron DeathSantis was one of the last governors to shut down the state of Florida at the beginning of the pandemic and he was one of the first to open up to full capacity much to the pleasure of his mentor POTUS Trump. At press conferences The Governor always puts a favorable spin on his handling of the pandemic by picking out obscure facts from the data and ignoring the growing danger as the state is being hit by a wave much bigger that the summer surge. This is known as the blue sky policy. If people are ignorant of the facts they can go about their merry way until they are also infected.

Like the POTUS, his denial of science puts every Floridian in danger since many are encouraged to not wear masks and gather in large groups. He is literally killing his constituents. Though the hope of vaccines are on the horizon, his backwards policies may result in many denying their efficacy. To him politics are more important than human lives.

The Sun Sentinel reported that, the Florida Department of Health’s (DOH) county-level spokespeople were ordered in September to stop issuing public statements about COVID-19 until after the Nov. 3 election. Rebekah Jones a former DOH worker had her computer and phone seized by police because she was reporting the daily hard facts about the spread of COVID-19 that don’t mirror the Blue Sky policy. He withheld data about the spread of the virus in schools, prisons, hospitals and only after prolonged legal battles could reporters gain access to those facts. The sunshine law requires certain proceedings of government agencies to be open or available to the public. When it comes to COVID-19 there has been a black out. Any messaging has to go through the Governor and he insists on Blue Sky messaging rather than stating facts. He seems to think he can pack everyone into bars and restaurants at full capacity despite the rising tide, and he can still keep the at risk population safe. The fact is he can’t. Rather than make adjustments to slow down the spread, he seems to want everyone infected. He seems to have embraced the disgraced former POTUS advisor, Scott Atlas’ herd immunity theory which will result in a huge spike in needless deaths. With community spread as wide spread as it is becoming, this will be a very dark winter with very dark sky’s.

Joe Biden state, “Out of our collective pain, we will find our collective purpose: to control the pandemic, to save lives, and to heal as a nation.” Lets hope DeSantis eventually decides to help rather than hinder as COVID sweeps through Florida a second time. Information is power. Stay informed. Stay safe.

Data Raid

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Storm troopers entered the home of Rebekah Jones to seize her computers and tech. They didn’t take the router or other tech in the home,  just the computer she uses to keep Floridians informed about the daily death toll of COVID-19. They also took her cell phone which has all the contacts who have helped her in the quest to keep Floridains informed.

On Twitter she posted home surveillance video of the raid as officers entered her home with guns drawn. She answered the door and was pushed outside. She was asked who was inside and she told them her husband and two children were upstairs. An unmasked officer stepped around a child’s ball in the hallway and shouted up the steps for the husband to come down. As guns were pointed up the steps Rebekah shouted for them to stop pointing their guns at her children.

Quoting Jones from her tweet, “There will be no update today. At 8:30 am this morning, state police came into my house and took all my hardware and tech. They were serving a warrant on my computer after DOH filed a complaint. They pointed a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids.” She went on to say, “This is what happens to scientists who do their job honestly. This is what happens to people who speak truth to power.”

A search warrant had been issued based on a complaint from DeSantis’s Florida Department of Health (DOH) regarding an investigation claiming Jones sent an alert to the DOH emergency alert system. She denied the claims in that charge. In a December 9, 2020 tweet Rebekah reported, “The judge who signed the search order of my house was appointed by Governor Desantis and sworn in less than a month before he signed that warrant. In civil court. He’s not even a criminal court judge. It was one of his first actions as judge.” Rebekah could face 5 years in prison if convicted of cyber crime.

Rebekah Jones worked for DOH and she designed and built their COVID-19 data dashboard which was praised by members of the White House corona virus task force at the time. Six months ago she was fired when she refused to alter data to downplay the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic as Florida Ron DeathSantis wanted to fully re-open up the state. Jones created her own version of the dashboard with more accurate data. It is the source of information I turn to when seeking honest numbers about the outbreak in Florida.

In an interview on CNN with Chris Cuomo, Rebekah stated, “I have not had access to any systems at DOH for over 6 months. I am not a hacker. This is just a very thinly veiled attempt of the governor to intimidate scientists, and get back at me while trying to get to my sources. DeSantis needs to worry less about what I am writing about, and worry more about the people who are sick and dying in his state. And doing this to me will not stop me from reporting the data, ever. She started a Go Fund Me and plans to get a new computer so she can get immediately back to work. Data on Rebekah’s Florida Community Dashboard is now being updated.

DeSantis has been strong arming a Blue Sky campaign that ignores the pandemic and paints a rosy picture of his handling of all the death and agony.  The Sun Sentinel reported that Governor DeSantis in the weeks leading up to the November election ordered health officials to not talk about COVID-19 with the public.

Ron Filipkowski, the commissioner and vice-chair for the 12th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission tendered his letter of resignation in response to the treatment of Rebekah Jones. Lets hope more politicians, lawmakers and civil servants stand up to this abuse of power by the Florida Governor. In response, Rebekah tweeted, “I continue to be amazed not by the depravity of our leaders, but by the strength of our community.“

Infamy

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“December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” said President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to an emergency session of Congress. On that day More than 2,400 people, including 68 civilians , died and almost 1,200 more were injured. Americans were shocked by this surprise attack.

On average more than 2400 people have died each day in December, 2020. The surge of deaths following Thanksgiving travel are not yet a part of this surge. This is like experiencing the horror of Pearl Harbor every day of the week with no signs of the pandemic slowing.

Government and health officials have warned that cases and deaths will rise further in the coming weeks and months due to people traveling and gathering with family, against the advice of health experts. This is the new norm, with death on an epic scale and half the country trying to convince themselves that it isn’t happening. People cling to strange conspiracy theories.

The attack on Pearl Harbor woke a sleeping giant and united Americans against a common enemy. Today Americans are divided and confused preferring to hate each others political stances as opposed to the common enemy. America was betrayed by its government as the president lied to Americans about the virus. So many believed and continue to believe his lies. He didn’t want Americans to panic. But given the facts and some leadership Americans are able to fight and win any war. Trumps efforts to overturn the election are also infamous, yet so many stand behind him while ignoring the the danger to democracy and the pandemic.

Joe Biden is for the first time trying to unify the country around a common goal of wearing masks when out in public for 100 days to fight the spread of COVID-19. Back in 1941 people would have understood that as a patriotic duty. Today more than half the country will consider that an invasion of their rights. Americans are killing themselves by ignoring science and standing behind Trumps rhetoric of victim hood and hate.

iPad Robo Docs

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Boston Dynamics’ Spot the robot dog a contact free way for doctors to measure. patient vitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. It kind of reminds me of that hybrid dog in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers that had a human head.

Using four cameras mounted on the dog-like robot, the researchers have shown that they can measure skin temperature, breathing rate, pulse rate and blood oxygen saturation in healthy patients. Plans are in  place to test the Robo Docs to approach people who are showing symptoms of COVID-19 in a hospital emergency department.

The robots, controlled by a handheld device, can also carry a tablet that allows doctors to ask patients about their symptoms without being in the same room. A Robo Doc would cost about $75,000.

One of the horrible aspect of dying from COVID-19 is that you must die alone since visitors are not allowed. Hospitals are purchasing iPads essentially on music stands that can be st up so that a patient who is dying can say good bye to family face to face. The iPad stations allow patients to communicate with their friends and family, often for the last time. A photo posted Thursday of iPad stations being prepared for patients in the ICU has gone viral on Twitter, amassing more than 115,000 likes and 27,000 retweets in just days. iPads are often used right before patients are intubated. At this point, there’s no guarantee that the patient will have an opportunity to speak to their loved ones again.

 

 

 

Pre-Pandemic: Elite Animation Academy

Posted on by Thor

This sketch is a flash back to teaching Urban Sketching in the classroom at Elite Animation Academy (8933 Conroy Windermere Rd, Orlando, FL 32835). In the background you can see the students behind the computers learning the digital software.

My students are in the foreground sketching the classroom setting. This was sketched during the summer camps in 2019. Back then we could sit shoulder to shoulder sketching away.

Since the pandemic began, classes have been virtual and I actually love teaching online. I am able to share my drawing program on Zoom and then the students can follow along. I just finished teaching Foundation Drawing, Character Design, Animation, Drawing People Places and Things and a Portfolio Review class.  I have been getting some amazingly talented students online and they get some very specific one on one instruction thanks to this new means of sharing ideas and information.  The virtual Winter Courses are beginning January 16, 2021 through March 27, 2021.

100 Day Patriots

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President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday December 3, 2020 said he plans to ask the nation to wear masks for his first 100 days in office. He also said he’ll issue a standing order mandating masks in certain places. “Just 100 days to mask. Not forever — 100 days,” Mr. Biden said. “I think we’ll see a significant reduction if that occurs with vaccinations and masking, to drive down the numbers considerably.”

In researching my great grandfather Augustus Arthur Thorspecken, I found that he registered for the WWI draft  in June of 1917. I then found a newspaper clipping that showed that he was on leave from Camp Funston in January of 1918. Camp Funston in Kansas was the place where the first cases of Spanish flu first appeared and within a few weeks 1100 were sick. Since army training was 6 weeks in length, Augustus was likely at ground zero for the start of the Spanish Flu before he was shipped over to France. Because of the war, the flu spread to 24 of 36 U.S. army bases and then to Europe. The tight quarters of the camps were a perfect incubator to ignite the spread of the disease that resulted in an estimated  50 million deaths worldwide with about 675,000 deaths in the United States. My grandfather survived the pandemic and the war only to die of pneumonia 25 years later at the start of WWII.

Because there was a war going on, politicians on both sides of the Atlantic downplayed the spread of the virus. They did not want to appear weak. The first wave of the virus was like a tsunami that initially pulls water away from the shore, only to return in a towering, second wave. As the influenza spread across America, public health officials, determined to keep morale up, began to lie. U.S. Surgeon General Rupert Blue said, “There is no cause for alarm if precautions are observed.” As the disease accelerated newspapers assured readers that influenza posed no danger.

People knew that this was no common flu. The numbers were too staggering. There were not enough coffins for the dead. Mass graves had to be dug. They could not trust what politicians said. Society began to disintegrate. In 1918, without leadership, without the truth, trust evaporated. And people could only look after themselves. The most important lesson from 1918 is that politicians need to to tell the truth. This is a lesson that was not learned by the 2020 POTUS who lost. Joe Biden wants to start working to mitigate the damage already done with the simple request to wear a mask. Patriots who care about fellow Americans will pitch in.

F#ck Christmas Stuff

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In July of 2018, former top aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff secretly taped a conversation with first lady, Melania Trump that included several profanity-laced comments including: “”I’m working … my ass off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a fuck about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?””

Every Christmas Melania offers her apocalyptic vision of the holidays. In 2017 she chose to line the halls with F#cking dead white branches. In 2018 she decorated Christmas trees soaked in bright red cows blood. In 2019 she sucked any color out of the decorations and limited herself to pure white supremacy. The 2020 decorations come as her husband stamps his tiny feet and yells fraud. Golden tones permeate the halls as several thousand Americans die every day.

The White House is hosting 20 mask less Christmas parties in 2020 despite warnings from Top health officials. A White House official said they’re “providing the safest environment possible” but many attendees at a holiday party on Tuesday November 2, 2020 did not wear masks. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany shrugged off the concerns, saying “If you can loot businesses, burn down buildings, engage in protests, you can also go to a Christmas party.” This is very strange reasoning for putting guests lives at stake. Never take responsibility and deflect. The White House remains one of Americas top super spreader hot spots. It is the American way for 49 more days until Joe Biden in inaugurated.

A White House coronavirus task force report distributed to states earlier this week  warned “the COVID risk to all Americans is at a historic high.