Russian Spike

Posted on by Thor

In Russia the COVID-19 spike in cases shows no sign of letting up. The daily COVID-19 cases and deaths in Russia remain at their highest numbers of the pandemic as of November 3, 2021 as more regions announced they were extending existing restrictions in an effort to tame the country’s  surge of infections.

Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 40,443 new confirmed cases from a day earlier. It was the fifth time in seven days that the country reported more than 40,000 infections. The task force also reported a daily record of 1,189 COVID-19 deaths. Some experts believe that those numbers a far under reported.

The United States is reporting over 76,000 daily cases with the downward trend now leveling off and going up again. On November 2, 2021 there were just over 1500 deaths in America. So if this were an arms race of COVID-19 cases and deaths, America is still winning.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered many Russians to stay off work between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7 2021. He authorized regional governments to extend the number of non-working days, if necessary. “One non-working week is not enough to break the chain of infection,” Tomsk governor Sergei Zhvachkin said. Many other regions are planning to extend the lockdown.

Russia has low vaccination rates, although the Sputnik V vaccine was the first in the world to be distributed. Put simply, Russian citizens do not trust the government since the vaccine did not undergo rigorous testing before it was offered to everyone. Russians also have lax public attitudes toward taking precautions. Less than 35% of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged Americans to avoid traveling to a new batch of countries, including Russia and Belgium, because of high levels of COVID-19. Russia had the third-highest number of coronaviruses cases in the world over the past 28 days – more than 917,300 cases, according to John Hopkins data.

 

Mu Detected in Local Sewage

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The Mu COVID-19 variant (B.1.621) has been detected in Altamonte Springs, Florida sewage. The virus is shed it in stool or urine. Tests are done on the waste water as a predictor for possible transmissions in a community.

The variant has also been found in 49 other states. As of Oct. 29, 2021 the Mu variant accounts for less than 1 percent of all COVID-19 infections in the U.S., according to the GISAID Initiative, which is an organization that promotes the rapid sharing of data from all influenza viruses and COVID-19. It is still the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Colombia, where it was originally found.

People did not consider Delta to be much of a concern when it came to the United States from India back in June. When a virus takes a foothold it grows at an exponential rate. By the time everyone realized it is a problem it is already too late.

Mu has mutations already in Delta ( B. 1.617. 2) but it also has mutations from Alpha (B.1.1.7), which was also known to be highly transmissible. A lab study pre-print suggests, that Mu is the most immune evasive virus we’ve seen in the pandemic. It could be able to evade the immunity provided by vaccines and prior infections. It has been listed as a a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization since August 30, 2021.

“Mu looks potentially good at immune evasion,” Danny Altmann, PhD, an immunologist at Imperial College London, told The Telegraph. “For my taste, it’s a stark reminder that this isn’t by any means over. On a planet of 4.4 million-plus new infections per week, there are new variants popping up all the time, and little reason to feel complacent.”

 

COVIDiots

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The Macmillian Dictionary defines “COVIDiot” as “an insulting term for someone who ignores health advice about COVID-19.” Urban Dictionary takes a pretty similar approach, defining “COVIDiot” as “someone who ignores the warnings regarding public health or safety. A person who hoards goods, denying them from their neighbors.”

Basically, a COVIDiot doesn’t take COVID-19 and the risks of the virus seriously, despite what government officials and the global health community say. At the same time, they may also engage in selfish behavior that doesn’t look out for the greater good when it comes to slowing down and stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

A COVIDiot is likely to say COVID-19 is a hoax or overblown, get pissed off when they’re asked to wear a mask, or refer to COVID-19 as “just a flu.”

They are confused and delusional also believing conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are often used within a time of heightened anxiety to explain events beyond our control, Geoffrey Dancy, an expert in conspiracy theories, told Insider in March.

Insider reported that a new study has shown that those who believe in COVID-19 conspiracies are more likely to catch the virus, lose their jobs, and face social isolation. The Dutch study, published by Cambridge University Press, found that those who believe in COVID-19 conspiracies are less likely to be tested for COVID-19, but when tested, are more likely to be infected.  They also noted that there is a higher probability of this group violating coronavirus regulations and experiencing social rejection, reduced income, and decreased overall well-being.

Led by first author and social psychologist Jan-Willem van Prooijen, the study’s researchers surveyed 5,745 people to provide a large sample from a cross-section of Netherlands’ society, first in April 2020 and then again in December 2020.

Highwaymen

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This was another demo for an Elite Animation student. I was teaching them digital painting and used a highwaymen painting to demonstrate how to use a variety of brushes for various effects.

The Florida Highwaymen, are a group of 26 African American landscape artists in Florida. Two of the original artists, Harold Newton, and Alfred Hair, received training from Alfred “Beanie” Backus. It is believed they may have created a body of work of over 200,000 paintings. Lore is that these painting were sold on the sides of the highway for pennies on the dollar and they are worth a fortune today.

When I do these demos I sometimes start using brushes I haven’t used before. I used this hemp brush that gives nice thick line work. I used if for the palm fronds and various foliage and now I use the brush often.

This was part of the lesson, to encourage students to simply experiment with the brushes while doing a quick landscape. Too often what stops a students progress is the threat of WHAT to paint. So I give them clear and vibrant painting examples to choose from.

By pushing my students to experiment I often push myself in new directions as well. Since the painted ketch isn’t intended for publication, it can be as rough as I like.

Umm… Lets Change the Name

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Facebook struggles from halting and inconsistent response to rising extremism in the U.S. It a used by the Stop the Steal movement to organize a violent insurrection against the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. The platform is overrun by conspiracy theories.

When the Stop the Steal group was taken down by Facebook on November 5, 2020 there were already 360,000 members with tens of thousands joining every day. The group simply scattered to the plethora of other hate filled misinformation groups Facebook had nurtured.

Frances Haugen a a product manager in Facebook’s civic integrity team supplied Congress with thousands of internal Facebook documents that showed that the company knew that rubes would best engage with the platform if they were angered by the content. A peaceful exchange of ideas does not garner enough clicks. Facebook is an addiction engine.

Inside Facebook employees were warning that the platform encouraged groups to grow quickly and those groups were getting louder. In its internal report, Facebook acknowledged something striking: It “helped incite the Capitol Insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021. Haugen noted that the company knows about the problems endemic to its platform, and how resistant it is to make changes that affect the growth it prizes above all else. “The thing I think we should be discussing is, what choices did Facebook make to expose the public to greater risk than was necessary?” Haugen says. “We should ask who gets to resolve these tradeoffs between safety and Facebook’s profits.” Se has claimed that Facebook misled investors and the public about its role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Oh, and Facebook is changing its name to Meta, or Maga, something like that. That should make this all better in Zuckerburg’s warped mind.

 

Lake Baldwin Dog Park

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Sketching class at Crealde School of Art branched off to sketch at Lake Baldwin Dog Park. It is only about a mile drive from the campus.

At Crealde I went over dog anatomy and showed them how to quickly sketch dogs from any animal from memory. The hope was that they could use what was learned to get dogs and their owners into a single sketch at the dog park.

After the dogs wrestle in the mud and splash in Lake Baldwin they often get a bath at this grooming station. Hoses are set up to spray the dogs down and owners often bring their own shampoos and lotions. On this day 50% of the owners were masked. Just keeping the dog on the platform is half of the battle.

Pam and I used to take Sprout and Donkey to this park rather often but we haven’t gone since the pandemic set in. On top of being around a bunch of mask less owners we realized that Sprout can not be run over by some larger dog while his leg heals from a knee surgery. He has been in isolation for several legs and he wears an inflatable Victorian collar that keeps him from licking his knee stitches.

This sketch demonstrated the basic principle I try and teach the students. I draw the stage and then add the actors. The setting is more important than the people who come and go while the sketch is in progress.

Elite Rob Ross Digital Demo

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For my Elite Animation Academy online students I sometimes use the painting of Rob Ross to get the students to play with brushes and use quick and loose brushwork to block in a painting. Rob Ross is infamous for doing his half hour paintings live on TV and this low resolution painting was done in a similar time frame.

What is different from a traditional oil painting is that I incorporate layers for each element of the painting. For instance the main mountain is separate from the smaller mountain ranges in front of it  and the foreground happy tree is separated from those as well.

One simple trick I show the students is to copy the mountain and flip it upside down wile making it a bit transparent and blurring it. I also used a smudge tool to hind at ripples in the water.

I don’t have the same soothing voice but my students are able to paint their own happy trees by the end of class.

After Pulse: Catholic Charities

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Gary Testor executive director of the Catholic Chrities of Central Florida, went to mass the morning after the Pulse Nightclub shooting. He head that there had been a shooting but the information was sketchy at the time. At about 10:15AM he got a text message from the chancellor of the dioceses, Carol Brinati, that Deacon David Grey was going to call. The call came at about 11am. David was at the Hampton Inn with other clergy. He needed counselors. Ten minutes later he called back and had realized that there was a need for Spanish speaking professionals.

It was chaotic at the Hampton inn and translators were needed. Gary called Debbie Cruz to arrange to get translators on site by 1pm.

Joel Stinera,was called by Debbie and then Rosa. He drove down to the Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) and arrived about 2 or 3pm. Family were waiting for news about their loved ones who may have been shot. It was crowded and disorganized. The experience was overwhelming and sad. He tried to comfort the family’s and friends of the victims.  Someone stood at a podium and started reading the names of the people at the hospital. After the list was read they said, “Well, if your family member wasn’t mentioned, they didn’t make it.” This was all in English. Many did not understand. Family cried. When family actually got news the chaos got worse. That experience marked him for life.

Julio Rivera saw the news on Facebook. His family began to call checking to see if he was OK. He flipped on the TV and couldn’t believe what he saw. Debbie Cruz contacted him and asked him to get downtown as well. People met at the Catholic Charities office and they went together to the Hampton Inn Hotel. They entered through the back door of the hotel. There was no security. They walked a long hallway with people crying, yelling and laying on the floor. He recognized some people, including former clients and talked to them. A doctor of director from hospital announced the names. The victims were in two different hospitals. The first names were people who were in stable but critical condition. Every announcement was in English. No one was translating. Julio tried to shout his translations over the chaos.

The second round was names of people at ORMC, in critical condition. People were advised to talk to a representative, but again this as all in English. People shouted, “Shut up we can not hear!” If a name was not announced then they did not have information about that person or they are deceased. When the translator announced that true chaos broke out. There was screaming crying and people hitting the walls. There was a lady on the floor and he gave her a bottle of water and tried to comfort her. The chief or police got u to the podium and said he understood the situation. He asked for time because they were still investigating. By that time no one was listening. It isn’t what you say, but how you say it and there was no compassion in the announcements. People who heard their loved ones names left for the hospitals. Everyone else stayed and waited. There was some media inside taking pictures. Julio stayed until about 7:30pm.

Intimate Apparel

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The Orlando Shakes will present Intimate Apparel by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage from October 27 to November 20, 2021.

Set during the turn of the twentieth century, the drama, deftly weaves together a story that explores the complexities of identity, vulnerability, and human resilience. Sewing exquisite lingerie gives Esther, an African American seamstress, an intimate look at the love lives of her diverse clientele, but leaves her yearning for a romance of her own. When a letter arrives from a stranger, she embarks on a journey to build the life she’s longed for.

In my first sketch for the show poster, I identified with the seamstress as a creator. She had a family heirloom which was an intricate quilt. In the Disney animated short John Henry a quilt was used to introduce the characters and begin to tell the story so my thoughts wandered in that direction. I fell in love with painting her at her turn of the century sewing machine.

The cursive type I chose was a bit hard to read from a distance and though the seamstress was intimately involved in her craft the image was somber.

My second sketch was more on the mark being an intimate portrait of the creator fitting her clientele. This image had the added benefit of having some sex appeal. These two woman would talk during the fittings and the friendship became one they both relied on.

The cursive type remained the same so I turned my attention to refining that on the next pass. I tried variations with a needle and bobbin. The type became more delicate and also more bold so it could be read from a distance. I also needed to make the author’s name bigger which would require a few adjustments. I was getting close. Though everyone seemed happy with the staging of the scene, I felt the need to tinker. There had to be a way of posing the tow characters to expose the fact that they were close but also a bit separate. They could be friends, but not close friends. The client could not invite her seamstress out to the theater for instance.

I decided to turn the client from the audience a bit to show the laces on the back of the corset. This made more sense with the position of the character to the mirror but it detracted from an intimacy with the viewer. I went back to the frontal view for the final image and worked on reposing the seamstress’s reflection in the mirror. Pam and her niece posed to help me figure out what the  pose would look like reversed in a mirror.

Jean-Édouard Vuillard is a french artist that I love. He lived from 1868 to 1940. His painting inspired what I tried to do in painting the parlor interior. He used subtle greyed colors with bright notes of color in the lights.

Anyway, I identified with the creative journey of this seamstress as she embraced hopes of a future only to find those hopes were hung on an illusion.   Despite this she could return to her creative endeavors which offered meaning when love was elusive.

Director: Shonn McCloud
Scenic and Lighting Designer: Stephen Jones
Costume Designer: Dana Rebecca Woods
Sound Designer: Britt Sandusky
Intimacy Coordinator: KJ Gilmer
Dialect Coach: Vivian Majkowski
AEA Stage Manager: George Hamrah
Production Assistant: Nahaira Morales

The cast includes, Lilian Oben as Esther, Trenell Mooring as Mrs. Dickson, Laurel Hatfield as Mrs. Van Buren, Adam T. Biner as Mr. Marks, Martine Fleurisma as Mayme, and Chris Lindsay as George.

The Shakes requires all patrons to bring a vaccination card or proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test for admission. Masks are required for all audience members. All Shakes actors and staff are fully vaccinated. The theater provides a special section in the upper mezzanine for patrons who wish to be distanced from other parties due to COVID-19. When purchasing, seats for this section is indicated in bright red. I vastly appreciate their consideration, and it is there in the Phantom’s upper section that I sit to sketch.

Beach Day

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20 years ago, On September 11, 2001, I was off on  painting vacation in Colorado. In the morning I finished a plein air painting of a mountain range and I went to a fish camp to use the men’s room. A man outside the men’s room said the twin towers had been hit by planes as well as the Pentagon. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Instead of doing another painting, I returned to the hotel and turned on the news. I let the gravity of hat as happening wash over me for the rest of the day.

It was impossible to fly back home to Orlando Florida, so I ended up driving back across the country. Several times I was rattled seeing crop duster planes spraying fields in the mid west. All air traffic had been grounded because of the terrorist attack.

On this 20th memorial, Pam and I drove to the beach for some peace of mind. NPR news on the radio was playing audio for September 11, 2001 but we couldn’t listen. 2,977 people died that day and it was a day of infamy much like the attack on Pearl Harbor for my parents generation. So far, between 2020 and 2021 659,558 Americans have died from COVID-19. Will their memories ever be honored in the same way? Or will Americans deny, deflect and immediately ignore the toll from a tragedy that could have been mitigated with strong leadership and citizens who worked together to keep each other safe.