Search Results for: Beauty

COVID Film: PPE Waste

Posted on by Thor

I felt I needed to replace a shot titled Beauty, in which a beautiful Victorian woman is trying on masks while a horrifically ugly doctor and nurse scoff at her. The animation consisted of her arm relaxing with a mask. It was a direct homage to a Twilight Zone episode called Eye of the Beholder. I was thinking of animating the pig faced medical staff, but then decided this mask shot was more mysterious and graceful.

In this shot the turtle is fully animated as he swims towards a mask. All the masks move slowly in the water. The turtle opens it’s mouth at the last moment implying that it plans to eat the PPE. I didn’t animate the people since I wanted the focus on the masks and turtle. I might eventually animate the people but they would need to walk very slowly.

With the Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Festival coming up at the end of November, I am turning some of my attention to marketing. Yesterday I designed 1.5 inch COVID pins which I think filmmakers might like to wear. I ordered 50 pins since there are 50 films being shown at the festival. I don’t think

COVID Film: Animating Santas 1

Posted on by Thor

I am planning to replace the beauty shot which is the third from the last shot in the film. My concern is that it features the pig faced doctors from a Twilight Zone episode. Although the reference was done on purpose, it is probably not a great idea to include in the film.

The Santas scene also offers much more opportunity to add motion at the end of the film. The beauty shot only had a beautiful woman move her arm while holding a mask. This will be the only shot I have removed that has also been animated.

The film was rejected by the New York No Limits Film Series yesterday. That is the third New York Film Festival to reject the film. Either New Yorker’s do not want to be reminded of the pandemic, or the film needs some improvements.

I am considering applying to some horror film festivals in the hope that I might find an audience there. I can not release the film on youTube since some of the big festivals want a premiere status to the films they show. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place unable to share the film at a time when it really needs to be shown as a reminder and a warning.

COVID can be viewed on filmFreeway.

Lake Lorna Doone and nature

Posted on by Thor

It is human nature to mow down beauty and replace it with grass. Close cut grass lawns first emerged in 17th century England at the homes of large, wealthy landowners. English landowners depended on human labor to tend the grass. Before lawnmowers, only the rich could afford to hire the many hands needed to scythe and weed the grass, so a lawn was a mark of wealth and status.

Now the walkway around Lake Lorna Doone only has close cut grass which is buzzed down by gas lawn mowers. The loud lawn mowers scare away the natural diversity of life. The grass also offers a barren landscape as it dies down near the waterline. The hope is that someday the grass can be replaced with natural florida plants and natural meadows. The hard part will be to keep indifferent city employees from mowing it all down.

The wildlife already exists, it just needs to be encouraged to stay. Another unique thing about this lake is that it is being stocked with fish. People are encouraged to bring a fishing pole or binoculars for bird watching.

All Quiet on the Vaccine Front

Posted on by Thor

With vaccines slowly rolling out there is light at the end of the tunnel. My great great grandfather Augustus Arthur Thorspecken served in WWI and his army camp in Kansas was where Spanish flu broke out in America. I started to wonder what it must have been like for him at the end of the war as he hoped to avoid the flu and the final days of battle. Knowing the war was ending some soldiers let their guard down and that resulted in death.

All Quiet on the Western Front featured a soldier who was an artist and on the final day of battle he saw a butterfly. As he was distracted by the butterfly’s beauty he stood and was shot dead by a sniper from the enemy trenches.

As vaccines become available some state mayors have lost patience with mask mandates and trying to keep constituents safe. With only about 6% of people vaccinated there is no herd immunity. Only after about 70 to 95% or more of the population is vaccinated will it become safer to reopen state economies fully. Texas and Mississippi have decided to fully open which is a death sentence for people who will be subjected to new strains of the virus which will go unchecked. I had hoped that stupidity would end when the ex-president left office but there is plenty of stupid to go around.

We are all experiencing some form of pandemic fatigue but the solution is not to run into a machine gun firing line. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ignored the advice of health experts as he lifted his state’s mask mandates. Texas has had COVID deaths so far. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced March 22, 2021 that he’s lifting all state-imposed mask mandates and removing COVID-19 related restrictions on business operations. Mississippi has had COVID deaths so far. Of course I live in Florida and it is up to individuals to try and protect themselves from ignorant state leadership. Florida has had COVID deaths so far. Wear a mask, social distance and wash your hand often. State governors are trying to kill you.

Kraft Azalea Garden in a Pandemic

Posted on by Thor

For my Urban Sketching class at Crealde on Sunday, I had one student show up of the four who usually attended. We stayed outside and my first exercise was to have him sketch postage sized detail while studying a Rembrandt etching of a landscape. The goal was to fill in one postage stamp sized area and then move on to another adjacent area again focusing only on the detail in a small area.

This exercise stresses the importance of focusing on minute detail after the big shapes have been blocked into a sketch. When this exercise was complete, we decided to go to Kraft Azalea Garden which was about a mile away. I figured it would be a quiet bucolic scene for my student to capture.

I was wrong. When I got there I found literally no parking available. The park was packed to the gills. My student had already set up and begun to sketch, so I kept driving by and about a half hour later a spot opened up.

The Garden designed by Bertram A. Weber is located on Lake Maitland. There are some waling paths and this semi circular series of columns. Inscribed on the back of the structure is the saying, “Pause friend let beauty refresh the spirit.”

It turns out these columns are a very popular photo shoot site. As I walked into the gardens a husband was kissing his wife’s pregnant belly as she stood is a flowing white dress. As I started my sketch, a large mask less family gathered for their phot0 shoot. The grandfather or uncle showed the young daughters a series of fist bumps, hand slaps and hand shakes. He apologized to me for the scene but I shouted back that I likes the chaos. He laughed.Since I was the only person in the park wearing a mask, people thankfully did not approach to look over my shoulder. I also though ahead and leaned back against a large tree, so people could only approach from in front of me.

After their family photos were taken a wedding party moved in. The mask less photographer apologized for leaving her mask in her car and claimed she had been tested 3 days before. If that was the case, she would not know the results. Of course the wedding party were mask less as well and the photographer moved in close to adjust the brides veil. After this chaos another photographer moved in and shot a mask less husband wife and child. The child cried the whole time.

It occurred to me that a photographer would be the perfect super spreader. a 60 year old photographer in India caught COVID-119 at one of his wedding shoots. He went on to infect 30 of his primary contacts. The photographer did not voluntarily report for testing, but instead went to photograph a wedding. Because of this, three villages with a population of nearly 39,000, are now red zones. The photographer died from the virus. Contact tracers tested 500 people, all primary and secondary contacts of the deceased, and 213 were put in quarantine.

My student finished his sketch a half hour early and he had to pee, so he left. We joked about the possible fallout from this park outing two weeks from now. I stayed until the end of class and wanted to add more detail to this sketch, but I decided to get the hell out of Dodge as well. This quiet sketch outing had turned into a scene of absolute public indifference to the health crisis. At least each family has beautiful photos to remember the dead.

Disney to Re-Open as COVID-19 Cases Spike

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Disney is known for it’s magical thinking. The company plans to re-open Walt Disney World and Animal Kingdom on Saturday July 11, 2020 as new cases of COVID-19 surge in Florida. Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are set to reopen July 15. As the theme parks prepare to open their gates, Florida has recorded the largest weekly increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. Orlando, on the doorstep of Disney, has the fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases in Florida. Florida has over 10,000 new cases of the virus every day. 266 hospitals in Florida are reporting less than 10 hospital beds available. As of Wednesday July 8, 2020, the Florida Department of Health reported a total of 223,783 cases. It reported 10,140 new cases in the last 24-hours.

More than 10,000 Disney Cast members signed a petition urging Disney and government officials, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, to reconsider opening Disney World. “This virus is not gone, unfortunately it’s only become worse in this state,” the petition posted on MoveOn.org reads. “While theme parks are a great way to relax and enjoy free time, it is a non-essential business; it is not fair to the people who work there to risk their lives, especially if they are at risk or have family members who are at risk. People are more important than making a profit. As individuals who work in the bustling tourism industry in central Florida, we are responsible for ensuring the safety of our guests and our fellow magic makers. Keeping ourselves and our visitors safe is our No. 1 priority, in every theme park. This includes our health and well being. We are encouraged to say something when we see something that we deem is unsafe so we’re speaking up.”

When Disney CEO Bob Capek was asked about how many guests would be allowed into the park each day and he did not respond with a number of guests or a percentage of maximum park capacity. Instead he said they will try and maintain 6 feet of distance between guests. As he said, “Unlike Shanghai, where there were strict government mandates in terms of what capacity could be when we reopened, we don’t have that here at Walt Disney World.”  As he explained, “Well, we won’t open up a park unless we can cover our variable costs — essentially our cost to operate the park. So then beyond that it becomes a question of trying to cover your overhead and your capital expenses that you have.” Expecting a business to self regulate for public safety doesn’t work if profits are at stake. Disney will not loose money. What are you prepared to loose?

While some safety concerns have been addressed around areas like temperature checking for employees, the park was slower to offer responses on whether they will offer the COVID-19 testing that the labor union requested. Actors Equity said that Walt Disney World is retaliating over their demand for COVID-19 testing for actors, who have been “locked out” because of their desire for safe working conditions. The union represents about 750 park employees. Employees dressed as characters are represented by the teamsters. Equity actors appear in staged productions such as Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

The reopening plan was approved unanimously last month by the county’s economic recovery task force, prior to the huge surge in COVID-19 cases in Central Florida. Disney World is reopening with only limited park reservations available for people with annual passes or tickets that were purchased before the pandemic. No new tickets are being sold for 2020. Other theme parks have already reopened their gates to the public in Central Florida, including Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and Gatorland, that reopened back in May.

Mayor Jerry Demings said, “At this point, I’m fairly comfortable with the decision that Disney has made to reopen because of the extent that they have gone through to ensure it’s a safe environment. Again, we saw something positive today in terms of the lowering of the positivity rate within the last week and some of the other things. So we have to take the good news where there’s bad news, as well, and we have to try to get our economy stimulated. But we don’t want to do that at the expense of risking people’s safety.”

Florida State Governor Ron DeSantis remains solidly behind the re-opening. He believes attending a Florida theme park would be safer than going to a large private gathering. It is also safer than jumping off a ledge at the Grand Canyon.

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. According to the CDC, senior citizens and Guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable. By visiting Walt Disney World Resort guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.

Stay Home. Stop the spread. Save lives.

Hart Island Mass Grave

Posted on by Thor

New York City announced that Hart Island would be used as a mass burial site for unclaimed victims during the Covid-19 pandemic. A drone launched by the Hart Island Project took video footage of the football field long trench where the dead are buried in simple pine boxes, three deep. A fork lift is used to bring the boxes into the trench and then workers stack the boxes three deep and re-enforce them with plywood before covering them with a layer of dirt.

The island has a long history of being the final resting place for the homeless and indigent. An estimated twenty-five people used to be buried each month, but now over 25 people are buried each day. The bodies arrive by ferry from City Island in the Bronx.

Melinda Hunt of the Hart Island Project said on Twitter, “Hart Island burials are not disrespectful. There is not enough testing to know how many people buried died
of complications from COVID-19. Many families have no choice.” She said, “Hart Island is the most democratic place. Everybody is
handled the same. There is a beauty to that.”

The city purchased Hart Island in 1868 and turned it into a public cemetery. Over 150 years, the island has served as burial ground to victims of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and the AIDS crisis in the 1980. It is the largest national cemetery in the United States, but has been largely inaccessible to the public. The island also was a prison workhouse, a Civil war Union solider training site,
and prisoner of war camp for Confederate fighters. It once harbored
yellow fever and tuberculosis victims. More than a million New Yorkers have been laid to rest on the small
strip of land off the coast of the Bronx, soldiers, the poor and the
unclaimed, the homeless and stillborn babies.

The city is transferring unclaimed bodies to the 101-acre island to make
way for Covid-19 victims whose bodies are claimed. New rules will require remains to be taken to the island if
they go unclaimed for two weeks. The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner will hold an individual for 14 days during the pandemic, after that, they are taken to the island. Burials are done with ledgers and a grid system so that the bodies can be located and disinterred should a family come forward to claim them and wish to rebury them. Families would have to hire a funeral home to pick up the remains. There is no charge for disinterment.

Hunt said. “This is where the majority of Covid-19 victims are going to
be buried. It disproportionately affects the low income community who
can’t really isolate and avoid using the subways. By the same token
those same people can’t afford a funeral.”

Cherry Blossoms

Posted on by Thor

The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C., is one of the world’s great celebrations of spring. The 2020 Festival, March 20, 2020 – April 12, 2020 was to include four weeks of events featuring diverse and creative programming promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty, and community spirit. After the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, festival organizers announced that based on an abundance of caution they will cancel the 2020 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. In addition the following events were postponed: The Japan America Society’s Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival, and the Anacostia River Festival, produced by the 11th Street Bridge Park and National Park Service. In the past, the event drew more than 1.5 million visitors to D.C. each year.

To help maintain social distancing the organizers encouraged people not to go in public to walk under the gorgeous blooms. Authorities strongly discouraged people from visiting the Tidal Basin. Instead they set up rooftop bloom web cams so that people could see the blooms from home. 

Despite
this virtual solution people showed up in large crowds to see the
blooms and many were not in any way practicing social distancing. The weather was unseasonably warm, with temperatures reaching into the 80s, which could’ve been a factor in drawing people outdoors.

The iconic cherry blossoms reached peak
bloom on Friday, March 20, 2020, and should stay that way for about 10 days. Saturday, March 22, 2020, brought a surge in visitors that convinced authorities to take extraordinary steps. Washington’s Metro system closed down a pair of stations nearest to the Tidal Basin in the hopes of lessening crowds. D.C.-based celebrity chef and philanthropist Jose Andres took to Twitter
Sunday morning to plead for community compliance in avoiding the Tidal
Basin. Under the hashtag #StayHomeCherryBlossomsChallenge, Andres pledged to “cook a huge Paella for thousands of Washingtonians” next year if they kept the number down. 

Ultimately, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, called in the National Guard to help restrict access to DC cherry blossoms. One of her team members who worked in the office of legal counsel, has died from the virus. She set up new restrictions included prohibiting pedestrian and bicycle traffic around the National Mall. Additionally, road traffic remains closed around the Tidal Basin which
includes the Jefferson Memorial until further notice after the local
government requested the National Park Service to close the area. The very idea that the National Guard is needed to curb peoples callous indifference and stupidity is evidence that there are rough times ahead.

This points out the difficulty of enforcing social distancing in this public health emergency. People are going stir crazy and don’t see the threat of the virus to themselves or their friends and relatives until it is too late. People are quick to carve out exceptions for their own behavior. Some, encouraged by the lies of the POTUS still think the whole pandemic is a hoax.  

Stay home, stay safe. Consider your own health and the health of those you love through these crazy times.

Violet

Posted on by Thor

Violet with music by Jeanine Tesori and Lyrics and book by Brian Crawley is being performed at the Garden Theater (160 Plant Street Winter Garden FL) through February 9, 2020. The show is based on The Ugliest Pilgrim by Doris Betts. Violet (Holli Trisler) is plagued by the question, “What do you see when you look at me?” At 13 years of age she was struck inn the face by her father’s axe blade that came unhinged from it’s blade. The play opened with Violet getting on a bus from her hometown in the mountains of North Carolina heading to Tulsa Oklahoma where she hoped a televangelist might heal her scar to make her beautiful.

The primary theme of the play is that beauty is not skin deep. At a rest stop on the trip She played poker with a paratrooper, Monty (Brian Zealand) and black sergeant, Flick (Raleigh Mosley II) who are stunned by her talent playing poker. The three become quick friends. A server at a restaurant offered a racial slur when dealing with Flick and Violet stood up for him based on his character rather than the color of his skin. A deep friendship developed between them since they both saw each other for who they were. Monty on the other hand was looking for a possible one night stand.

When Violet finds the televangelist he turns out to be a jerk much like Oz, in the Wizard of Oz. Despite him Violets faith and beauty shine. The idea of commercialized beauty idealized by Hollywood female stars should not the the ideal any young woman should have to aspire to. From my seat in the audience I never could see Violets scar. She tended to try and hide it behind her long hair. The face is we all carry scars and they add character and beauty to each of us.

This show was an unexpected treat. The music was uplifting and downright inspired in the case of the televangelists chorus. The glorious “Bring Me to Light” sung at the end affirmed that Violet would no longer hide her beauty or talents because of a single scar.

Tickets are $25 to $37.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Thursday, February 6, 2020 – 2:00 PM

Thursday, February 6, 2020 – 7:30 PM – ASL Performance

Friday, February 7, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, February 8, 2020 – 2:00 PM

Saturday, February 8, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Sunday, February 9, 2020 – 2:00 PM

Central Florida Camellia Society 72nd Annual Show and Festival

Posted on by Thor

Pam Schwartz and I went to Mead Gardens (1300 S. Denning Drive Winter Park, Fl) for the The Camellia Society of Central Florida’s annual flower show featuring award-winning blooms from Central Florida and the southeastern United States. Of course all the beauty was to be found in the microscopic details in each individual bloom on display. Each vibrant bloom was in a tiny glass vase with a label to note what type of bloom it was. Larger place cards with capital A, B, and C grouped the blooms together.

I was more interested in capturing peoples’ gestures as they admired and photographed the blooms. Some men were stoic with crossed arms, while women might lean forward to get as close as possible. More flowers and plants could be found outside on this gorgeous day.

74th Annual Camellia Show and Plant Sale is coming up on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the Orlando Garden Club Clubhouse at Loch Haven Park (710 E. Rollins St., Orlando, FL (between Advent Health and US 17). The event is free and Open to the public.

Camellia Show from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Plant Sale  from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

2020 Camellia Show Activity Schedule

7am – 10 a.m. Enter camellia blooms (ANYONE)!  Volunteers available to assist with registration. (Location: Orlando Garden Club)

10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Camellias plants for sale.  (Location: Clubhouse Area)

10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Camellia 101 Class – Robert Bowden, director of the City of Orlando’s Harry P. Leu Gardens (Locations: in Clubhouse Library)

1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Camellia Show is officially OPEN to the public.  See thousands of competition blooms up close! (Location: Orlando Garden Club

4 p.m. Camellia Show closes