Fetal Brain Hemorrhages

Posted on by Thor

COVID-19 infection may induce fetal brain hemorrhages, scientists from King’s College in London warn. There’s evidence of the virus in fetal brain tissue in instances of the pregnant mother passing the infection to their children.

The research team studied 661 human fetal tissue samples collected between July 2020 and April 2022, observing hemorrhages in 26 of them. COVID-19 was present in all of the tissue samples with evidence of hemorrhaging. All the samples were collected from electively terminated pregnancies.

Researchers highlighted signs of a reduction in blood vessel integrity and an increase in immune cells infiltrating the brain as being linked to tissue damage. This may be a direct result of the COVID-19 infection or an indirect result of the mother’s immune response.

The number of women who died in child birth surged 40% during childbirth. Those deaths were preventable. The study highlights the need for pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19, thus avoiding complications for both mother and baby.

Mon Petite Cheri in Winter Park

Posted on by Thor

I was asked by Querto Press in London to execute a series of sketches of cafe’s for a possible book about how to sketch cafes. Now Orlando isn’t Paris, but I started to search for the best cafes in the area. It is quite calming to slow down and sketch a cafe while sipping a coffee and chocolate croissant. Mon Petit Cheri (333 South Park Avenue Winter Park, FL 32789), seemed to feel like the most European cafe that I could find.

I stopped in several times doing thumbnails and final sketches for possible spreads in the book. Thumb nails are a really great way to organize your thoughts and create quick compositions without committing too much time on a finished sketch.

I also wrote copy to help in creating finalized layouts that showed ow the book might look. These spreads were shown at a London Book Fair to pitch the idea to prospective publishers. Unfortunately the book was not green lighted.

In this digital age it is nice too see that there are some places where people still sit an chat over a drink rater than hiding behind their phones to communicate with the hive. Perhaps my sketching is a similar anti social behavior that happens in slow motion, but for me sketching helps me truly feel a part of any new place I visit.

Banned in the USA at Fringe

Posted on by Thor

Gerard Harris from London grew up watching James Bond films rather than become a spy, he ended up becoming a comic. Being a comic does involve some international travel and his one man show is about how he has been treated like a spy or threat by the world’s super powers when he travels. His one man show was about trying to get through airport security. The posters he designed for his Fringe show at the time were not a help. One was designed like a Cuban Soviet poster. The title of the show, Banned in the USA also didn’t help as he tried to get to this year’s Fringe.

The set consisted of a  was a red couch and a folding chair to hold his laptop computer. He seemed to be making the show up on the fly with the laptop as a back up for details he might have forgotten. He is a manic storyteller. He crawled all over the couch at one time sitting on the back as he told his tale. He used to work at a tech company and his boss who usually went to conferences to talk about the companies goals and mission was not able to go so Gerard was asked to go.

The entire show was about being held up in the airport and the struggle to try and get to the conference on time. The petty nature of international borders was the ongoing theme. At one point the office that could resolve his issues was just a few yards away  but it was in another country so he couldn’t stroll over for the answers. Despite his rapid fire delivery he started to run long and so he had to wrap up his story quickly at the end. We seemed to be the guinea pigs for a dinner party story he had told many times before he decided to convert it into a Fringe show as we watched.

Oyster Boy Blamed for Problems in Bed

Posted on by Thor

Haste Theatre from London invited the Orlando Fringe audiences to their darkly comic world where everything may not be as sweet as it seems. The show, Oyster Boy, is based on a story idea from Tim Burton while taking liberties. It followed the tale of Jim and Alice as their lives are turned upside down by the arrival of their first son, born with an oyster for a head. The production mixed puppetry, clowning, and a very naughty barbershop quartet.

Jim was Italian and Alice was an American Tourist.  They fell in love at first sight and Jim’s Italian and broken English instants wins Alice’s heart. The seaside romance was accompanied by the romance of breaking waves recreated simply with a blue sheet. Their son’s huge oyster shell head offended everyone but the adoring parents. The one thing oyster boy was good at was swimming. Two little girls befriended him and went for a swim, but when the girl’s parents found out, they were forbidden to ever see the boy again.

 This was a light hearted production that harkened back to silent film acting. It used a very simple puppet to bring oyster boy to life. The entire cast were women, even the pot bellied Italian husband. This was used to comic effect as they played male characters using pasted on handlebar mustaches that often fell off. The tale doesn’t end happily for Oyster Boy, but love prevails.

The Happy Hookers

Posted on by Thor

Moira Clinch an art director from London told me about the Happy Hookers here in Orlando. These Hookers aren’t turning tricks on OBT. They are busy creating crochet wonders with their nimble fingers. Moira wanted me to get a sketch of the crochet group to help promote a book on crochet at a book fair. I researched online and found the Happy Hookers Meet-up page and joined. This meeting was at Panera’s on Colonial Drive. I went there right after work. The Hookers meet from 6pm until the place closes down around 9pm.

I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a Mountain Dew and I sat at a table next to where the hookers had started to gather. There was a box full of supplies that had been donated to the group and as people arrived they were encouraged to rifle through it. Some hookers were working hard when I arrived while others chatted to catch up. Tablets and iPhones were used to share photos of recent crochet creations.

They had been alerted that I would be sketching, and when I heard them talking about me, I introduced myself. I was promoted to “Honorary Pimp” for the night. There was one other man, Steve Hoel, who enjoyed crochet and he was hard at work. Catherine Nicklow-McGrath of Orlando, started the group in 2006. While sketching, I realized that everyone held the crochet hook differently. Some members worked with slow deliberation while others fingers moved so quickly that their hands were a blur. There was plenty of conversation and the laughter was infectious.

At the end of the evening, I was given a quick five minute lesson on how to use the crochet hook.  It looks like a relaxing process very much like sketching. There are 318 Happy Hookers members in Orlando, but ten to fifteen might show up on any given Thursday night. So, if you have dexterous fingers and you like to kibitz, Mark Your Calendar, the Happy Hookers meet every Thursday evening at Panera’s in the Fashion Square Mall (3463 East Colonial Drive, Orlando FL) from 6pm to 9pm.