Prime ministers do not aspire to infallibility or immortality, but a display of mental or physical frailty at a point of national crisis is something any Downing Street spin doctor would dearly wish to avoid, and if possible suppress.

The impression of the ship of state adrift, and the helmsman heading below deck, pleading illness, hardly inspires confidence, however much personal sympathy in this case is felt towards Boris Johnson. With questions being asked about the governments lockdown exit strategy and Labour revitalised by a new leader seeking to make a mark, No 10 needs to be at its most coherent and decisive.

It is also a concern if Johnson as adjudicator is absent just as Whitehall jostling starts between those putting either the interests of the nations health or its economy first.

But the infectiousness of this virus made it practically impossible for Johnson to hide from others in No 10, and the public, that he had contracted it. Once the decision was made for Johnson to go to hospital, No 10 went public within two hours. Little other option was available. Rumours had been circulating for days that his recovery was not under way, highlighted by the return of the health secretary, Matt Hancock.

What is Covid-19?

It is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a pandemic.

What are the symptoms this coronavirus causes?

According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. Some patients may also have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion and aches and pains or diarrhoea. Some people report losing their sense of taste and/or smell. About 80% of people who get Covid-19 experience a mild case about as serious as a regular cold and recover without needing any special treatment.

About one in six people, the WHO says, become seriously ill. The elderly and people with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, or chronic respiratory conditions, are at a greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19.

In the UK, the National health Service (NHS) has identified the specific symptoms to look for as experiencing either:

As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work, and there is currently no vaccine. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system.

Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough?

Medical advice varies around the world - with many countries imposing travel bans and lockdowns to try and prevent the spread of the virus. In many place people are being told to stay at home rather than visit a doctor of hospital in person. Check with your local authorities.

In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

How many people have been affected?

Chinas national health commission confirmed human-to-human transmission in January. As of 6 April, more than 1.25m people have been infected in more than 180 countries, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

There have been over 69,500 deaths globally. Just over 3,200 of those deaths have occurred in mainland China. Italy has been worst affected, with over 15,800 fatalities, and there have been over 12,600 deaths in Spain. The US now has more confirmed cases than any other country - more than 335,000. Many of those who have died had underlying health conditions, which the coronavirus complicated.

More than 264,000 people are recorded as having recovered from the coronavirus.

One person closely involved said: The difficulty is that the crisis is so all-enveloping, the PM could not stop working. No one likes to think they are dispensable. The first step was to get him to admit to himself how ill he was becoming. What was subsequently admitted to the nation was a second order issue.

Even now No 10 is reluctant to go into detail on the prime ministers health, stressing in its statement that the hospital admission was simply a precautionary step to undertake tests, rather than an acknowledgement that he had deteriorated. He would continue to be briefed at his hospital bed and was very much in charge.

By contrast, Donald Trump in opening his Sunday press conference provided a dramatic, possibly melodramatic, medical bulletin on Johnsons health, offering the USs prayers to help Johnson in his personal fight with the virus. Trump has a relationship with the truth that could be described as sometimes adjacent, but he did not give the impression that Johnson was going to hospital for routine tests.

If No 10 is being economical about a more serious illness, it would not be the first time the public has been misled by a serving prime minister about his health. The UK may be at war with an invisible virus, but British prime ministers at times of conflict have always been reluctant to admit they have been incapacitated. David Lloyd George in 1918 suffered a bout of influenza so severe his valet said it was touch and go whether he would survive. Medical bulletins at the time made no suggestion he was in any danger.

Andrew Bonar Law resigned in 1923 only on receiving a diagnosis of terminal throat cancer, and Henry Campbell-Bannerman, prime minister from 1905 to 1908, died days after his resignation in 10 Downing Street.

During Winston Churchills two wartime illnesses, the full extent of them was never revealed. In February 1943, after the then 69-year-old contracted pneumonia, his personal physician Charles Wilson drafted a bulletin, but Churchill immediately demanded to see it. He dismissed it as alarmist and liable to cause confusion and despondency and was, in any case, untrue.

Churchill, therefore, dictated his own bulletin, but Wilson said it was inaccurate and misleading and he could not possibly sign it. Elaborate textual negotiations led to a compromise, and subsequent bulletins always referred to his improving condition.

A further bout of pneumonia in August 1944 was not publicised at all, and according to his wife, Clementine, only the smallest circle was informed.

Similarly, the cocktail of drugs being taken by Anthony Eden during the Suez crisis was known only to a few, and even now the impact on his judgment is a matter of dispute.

But these were more discreet times, and the ruling class could form a small circle of trust. That in turn made it easier to put out bland medical bulletins that disguised more than they revealed.

The White House has been equally skilled at suppressing the truth about its presidents health. Franklin D Roosevelt famously had polio, Dwight D Eisenhower had both a heart attack and a stroke while in office. John F Kennedy suffered Addisons disease, hypothyroidism and severe back pain, none of which was publicly disclosed during his lifetime. Grover Cleveland in 1893 even had a secret operation to remove a cancerous growth that took place on a boat, dressed up as a fishing trip on a lake.

The fear that power, credibility and respect will seep away if ill health is revealed remains. Not just the electorate will lose faith, but your cabinet colleagues may sniff a succession. Tony Blair was reluctant to reveal his heart issues for fear allies of the the then chancellor, Gordon Brown, might take advantage.

Hillary Clinton was hammered when she contracted pneumonia, and wobbled in front of the TV cameras when walking to a car. In 2016 news of her illness received 13 times more coverage than revelations about fraud in Trumps charitable foundation. Bernie Sanders has frantically denied his heart attack makes him the weaker of the three septuagenarians seeking the presidency.

But outright suppression of the truth in modern politics has its downsides. Figures such as Peter Mandelson, Gordon Browns chief communicator after the financial crash, have warned the prerequisite for national unity at a time of genuine crisis is a government that levels with the British public about the difficulties the Whitehall machine is facing.

There will come a point when, if Johnsons condition is serious, the medical and spin doctors will have to tell the public as much.

Read the rest here:
Boris Johnson is latest PM to face ill health during a national crisis - The Guardian

Yet there are very few toy jellyfish, Peter Williams observes ruefully

Apr 2nd 2020

Jellyfish. By Peter Williams. Reaktion Books; 224 pages; $19.95 and 12.95.

LACKING BRAINS or much of a gut, jellyfish, which are 95% water, are deceptively simple in structure. Yet they are otherworldly in appearance, as their nameslions mane, flower hatimply. Neither fish nor jelly and rather more like slime, they puzzled Aristotle. Were they animals or plants? Even the father of taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, was stumped.

In fact, Peter Williams writes in his engaging and handsomely illustrated book, they are animals of surprising sophistication, with an ingenious portfolio of stratagems. Deepstaria enigmatica literally bags its meal by enfolding prey in its sheet-like body and tightening the edge like a drawstring. Erenna, a deepwater species, lures tiny crustaceans to their doom with luminescent tentacles. Turritopsis dohrnii, the immortal jellyfish, pulls off the most stunning ploy of all. When injured, it shifts into developmental reverse, devolving back into a polyp, its earliest stage of life. A Japanese researcher says unlocking the secret of this immortality is the most wonderful dream of mankind.

Until the advent of underwater cameras, their shape-shifting forms frustrated would-be illustrators and researchers. You might as well dissect a soap bubble. Unlike mammals, fish or insects, they could not be stuffed, mounted or pinned. Preservation was tricky; alcohol degraded their colour and translucency. Some of the best early depictions were exquisite 19th-century glass models, now in Harvards Museum of Comparative Zoology, made by father-and-son artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka.

Mr Williamss book is an ambivalent experience itself. The reader is by turns wary, repulsed and fascinated by these creatures. They figure in the grand scheme of nature, providing food for sea turtles, penguins, lobsters and (primarily in Asia) humans. They act as a sink for greenhouse gases; they have played a role in Nobel-prizewinning research in chemistry and medicine.

On the sinister side, jellyfish blooms have sometimes created havoc. Forty million Filipinos were left in the dark in 1999 after swarms were sucked into the cooling system of a power plant, sparking fears of a military coup. In 2009 a Japanese trawler traversed an efflorescence of giant jellyfish, some weighing over 200 kilos. When its nets were raised, the boat capsized. Species such as the Portuguese man-of-war and the box jellyfish have a deadly sting, and antidotes remain elusive.

It may be that the meek will not ultimately inherit the Earth: jellyfish will. Because they can tolerate warming seas, acidification and pollution, some scientists believe that they may be set to outlast less robust animals. Others reckon that recent blooms simply reflect natural fluctuations in numbers.

Enduring they may be; endearing they are not. Toy jellyfish, after all, are few and far between. Octopuses, yes, Mr Williams ruefully acknowledges, but very, very few jellyfish. They are too toxic and they look too weird. But, he argues persuasively, if they are ineligible for affection, they at least deserve humanitys respect.

This article appeared in the Books and arts section of the print edition under the headline "Rich and strange"

Here is the original post:
Jellyfish, not the meek, might inherit the Earth - The Economist

If this isnt your first time visiting this series, thank you for your returning custom. You may know that it starts with an introduction, which salvages every word from the catacombs of my daily confusion, which isnt becoming any easier. In order to dodge dishing out a lengthy sermon, Ive added an additional contestant from the usual four on this existentialist hamster wheel. The bus first stops at the loafers of Jonny & Joe, the two that make Unit, Londons Instagram fuelled juggernaut contemporary art gallery docked in the heart of Mayfair via more strategic pop-ups (galleries) than a zombie film. Stepping onto the inquisition bus next is Antonia Showering, a gestural figurative hazy painter who conjures up ethereal beauty via the prism of family life with a touch of Paulo Rego in the depths of the colour washes. Taking the baton from her is a Basque maestro & an investigator of human form via paint. This version of paint is thick. Its acrylic. Its big. Its bold. Its known its a painting and it might be Britney Spears with her iconic shaved head or another moment in our recent history immortalised via the volume of memes, in its honour. From Immortality, to enforced Iconography comes Philip Colbert next on the conga line. This Scottish Pop creative instigator guides us through the idiosyncrasies of our artistic culture, sometimes on a roller coast and other times on a pleasure boat slowly meandering around a loch, but often with a Lobster leading the way into the light. Last but by no means least is, Roisin Mcqueriens a fine art enabler, organiser & sweetheart, who has been helping to make projects fly for a decade across all corners of the LDN.

Joe Kennedy & Jonny Burt Co-Founders of Unit London

How have the unforeseen circumstances affected your practice & how have you chosen to respond creatively?

Significant challenges catalyse creative thinking you are forced to think outside the box to circumnavigate the issues at hand. We love a challenge. Were fortunate to have access to great technology that can keep us connected and keep communication constant despite us all being isolated. Our team we have been brilliant in brainstorming ways for the business to find new relevance in these strange times and we are going back to our roots in many ways focusing on the artistic community and arts power to bring people together and create common ground.

How is your mental health at the moment & what are you doing to stay positive?

We are great. This is a challenge and one which we are facing head-on with our tried and tested formula of hard work and creative thinking.

With all this potential free time, what are you going to do/ learn anything new?

We have Lots of ambitions to get back into painting or pick up French and new languages again, but somehow the days are flying by and there is so much to do across our group. Our focus is there. We have all learnt a lot of lessons already about what is really important for us as a society our relationships, the people close to us, the amazing public services we are so fortunate to have, the value of the things we all take for granted. For those who have the time, we would always recommend Masterclasses and Stack. Were addicted.

What advice would you give to your fellow creative practitioners?

Experiment! Now is the time.

What have you been listening to on Spotify since this Madness really kicked off?

All sorts right now listening to Madness which is pretty fitting. Someone sent me a song with 8D audio technology last week, which is fantastic.

Antonia Showering

How have the unforeseen circumstances affected your practice & how have you chosen to respond creatively?

For the past year, I have been painting in the New Contemporaries x SPACE award studio The award ran out today, but under these circumstances, I cant move, so my place of work is definitely trapped in limbo for the time being. Luckily when things started to escalate, I did my own bit of panic buying at GreatArt and stocked up on loads of Old Holland oils so I can see myself through the next few months at home. My solo show was meant to open a few days ago (I had been doing all-nighters preparing for it) so as a change I have recently been writing a bit more, trying to make sense of this mad, sad situation.

How is your mental health at the moment & what are you doing to stay positive?

The anxiety comes in waves, but as things unravel the more, I am coming to terms with this as our reality for now. Its definitely lonely. I thought living on my own and studio-ing on my own meant I was well prepared for a lockdown, but Im definitely missing the hustle and bustle. Day times seem to be better. A friend has been sending daily meditation audio recordings and it appears to be helping with keeping a positive mind.

With all this potential free time, what are you going to do/ learn anything new?

I am going to keep painting, so I dont have much more free time. But for occasional evening entertainment, I joined TikTock and am quite tempted to perfect a couple of dance routines! But dont hold your breath for any evidence of this.

What advice would you give to your fellow creative practitioners?

To try and see this hiatus from your normal routine as a moment to reflect on what really matters. Paint what means something to you. Ive spent recent years trying to depict different ways of expressing intimacy.

Im looking forward to what happens to my practice after being starved of it for a few months!

What have you been listening to on Spotify since this Madness really kicked off?

Ive been going on 3 metres apart walks with my Swiss grandmother. She loves reggae, so we have been listening to quite a bit of Bob Marley from my portable speaker. She usuallys very sociable and Im so impressed at how upbeat she is, making the most of a shit situation! Im trying to adopt this outlook.

Gala Knorr

How have the unforeseen circumstances affected your practice & how have you chosen to respond creatively

I had just finished a series of workshops in secondary schools in Basauri, a small town neighbouring the city of Bilbao. It was part of my commitment with the Juan y Pablo de Otaola Fellowship that took me to the Cit Internationale des Arts in Paris last year, and my exhibition of this project is supposed to be this May in the Basque Country. I flew down right after to my folks. The ambiance was very weird at the airport. I left my hometown Vitoria which at that point was the biggest focus of contagion up north. I had to pick up my things in Mlaga and pack for Lisbon. I was due to be on residency there for three months and have a group show in the summer. Now everything has been postponed with no definite date for the projects to go on. I guess myself and my work are currently on standby since I am quarantined in southern Spain with my family. Now we are all mostly relying on social media to keep up with the life we cant live socially IRL and I am not sure how easy it is to respond creatively to this situation right away. I am actually kind of shocked. I see artists posting online how much work they do during the quarantine. I find that notion of productivity under this situation quite revealing of the late-stage capitalist neoliberal system we all live under. As for myself, I decided to slow down, read, look through my things, things that inspire me and make me happy, process, write, give myself goals for a near-future after all this has passed.

How is your mental health at the moment & what are you doing to stay positive & with all this potential free time, what are you going to do/ learn anything new

It has been nine days since our president Pedro Sanchez announced the state of alarm, I am lucky to not be alone during this terrible time. I am fortunate to be surrounded by family, if this had caught me somewhere else I would have been pacing all day confined in whatever apartment, room, or wherever I would find myself in. I am always in touch with my friends who I already spoke to almost daily. Still, I have created the Cuarentena Breakfast Club which basically is having breakfast with my closest artist and gallery friends with our video chat game on. Chatting about our day while quarantined, keeping our morale up, talking about books we read, movies weve seen, and chat about the situation we are in. We also share a lot of the memes people have been making during quarantine, videos of how witty and funny people can be when things have turned so strange and frightening with the COVID 19 outbreak. Humour is a key element for me and my work already, and it has become a coping mechanism for everybody. I think this is a time of self-care as much as a time for caregiving, contributing to the wellness of our neighbours even if its just through humour brings us all together a lot more. I am taking this time to reflect, to think, to slow down and reassess what I want from my practice. It has also revealed how much I need to get my drivers license, I know it sounds unimportant, but with the state of alarm only one person can be inside a vehicle, and I cant drive to town and get groceries, my mother who is in her sixties has to do it I cant help her, and my dad is in the high-risk group so he cant leave the house at all. I can only go to pharmacies and bread runs by foot, we live quite far from the city centre in the country. This time I think is making everyone reassess how things work, how certain toxic attitudes have been, what things we need to ask our government to fix, it has been showing the beautiful solidarity of people, and how we need to put health and safety into account, stop cutting funds of our healthcare systems, and appreciate those who take care of us in hospitals and clinics during this crisis.

What advice would you give to your fellow creative practitioners?

My advice on the personal side would be to put yourself, your loved ones and your health before anything, take care of yourself, be conscious of those around you, this virus is very contagious and staying home you help those who are in hospitals already swamped. On the work side, I imagine there are many self-employed people such as me suffering cancellations and getting their shows, residencies or compromises postponed. Rely on others like us, ask around how people are coping with this situation, organise, find out what measures your government is implementing for the economic impact this will have on workers. All European countries are reacting differently and implementing different measures, stay up to date with what is happening where you are from. Do not feel obligated or stressed about making, this is not an easy time to be productive if you are quarantined home and cant access your studio like me try to think and reflect on how to resolve your work with what you have around you. Find things that inspire you and hold on to them.

What have you been listening to on Spotify since this Madness really kicked off

Actually, funnily enough, I have not been listening to Spotify that much, I have rediscovered the pleasure of actually listening, of sitting at home in Spain and going through all those records I have collected living the UK for nine years and in France for 5, putting records on and enjoying that moment. My dad lived in London and Cardiff for almost three years during Francos dictatorship and he managed to bring amazing 45s with him, hes been telling me about the first time he saw Tom Jones sing, and all the tricks and random jobs he had to support himself as a student. Going through all the records has brought memories of great times and travels has been quite fun.

How have the unforeseen circumstances affected your practice and how have you chosen to respond creatively?

This situation escalated very quickly for everyone. So Ive had to adapt rapidly & adapt my studio accordingly. I was actually working on a show in Scotland which was going to be launching today, in fact, or opening today, this evening. So I was like full steam working on that. I do actually have a quite significant team who work with me, which makes it more challenging to adapt, whereas, I could individually work anywhere. Still, when you have a team, its been a new dimension working across webcam from home has been a new dimension and challenge. But, amazingly, we are in our current era as so much technology around it, you know, like everyone being on the computer and also using these like sharing apps and stuff, which is quite impressive.

Conversely, Its felt like a new concept of an art studio, working remotely, digitally, effectively. Because I guess when youve built up a team and you sort of on you know, everyone has a set role and an established synergy and a team/ work attitude, which is really cool, in fact. And I think the fact that we were able to sort of in a way adapt to the situation and actually start working on a lot more digital stuff, which is an exciting arena.

To answer the question from another angle, there has been no doubt like for anyone. This is a crazy time to be living in terms of what we are witnessing in a complete global shutdown of our way of life in a way. Its a crazy phenomenon, which will define our time and calls everything into question. I think the general contemporary art world, the rug is slightly pulled from under the sea of people because obviously, you know, people that took art quite seriously suddenly are like; actually, its not that all the museum are closed, there are actually more important things like food, water and safety, stuff like that.

How is your mental health at the moment & what are you doing to stay positive

I have two kids, who are quite young. Two and four homeschooling and balancing my studio practice has been beneficial in not catastrophizing. Some positive projects have also helped such as creating an art against the virus program software and creating a range of merchandise like sculpture & toys with a company in Asia and a variety of like t-shirts, which can be sold with all the profits going to aid charities.

With all this potential free time, what are you going to do/ learn anything new

Ive started reading about artists from other generations & am particularly engrossed in a study of Graham Sutherland and his dialogue with Francis Bacon, both having parallels in a way but equally going on different journeys, Ive also been looking at the connections between art and philosophy.

What advice would you give your fellow creative practitioners?

From an Artists point of view, Its quite a luxury, this whole thing, because its time with the solitude that can really help your practice develop. Crazy restriction can be quite a good thing.

What do you listen to on Spotify since this Madness really kicked off?

I dont actually have a Spotify account, Apple music (I think). Yeah, I havent been listening to much music but did hear a great recording of Richard Burton reading of Dylan Thomas.

Philip Colbert

How have the unforeseen circumstances affected your practice & how have you chosen to respond creatively

I lost work, but I have gained new opportunities. I was working with an artist and planning international museum shows, commissions, collaborations all of which have been postponed. But Ive gone online, done an Instagram takeover for @feministartmuseum,and am planning new projects in London and overseas for when this all blows over. Which it will.

I curated an exhibition of work by the Glasgow based artist Adam Lewis Jacob, called Crud Love, at Peak in Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, which had to close early. We planned a talk which was cancelled so that we will do a podcast instead.Ive also taken up tie-dying.

How is your mental health at the moment & what are you doing to stay positive

Ive had a few out of body experiences where I think Im in a parallel universe. I miss my boyfriend and my family, but I have a dog, hilarious friends and peaceful home, and Im grateful for that. Routine, laughter, music is vital. And burning copious amounts of sage! Also, Capitalism is on pause and nature is allowed to breathe for a while, and we can all take something positive from that.

With all this potential free time, what are you going to do/ learn anything new

Im enjoying connecting with new people. Im working on offering some works by younger artists to try and support us all during this time, and researching all of the amazing artists I often never have time to, and do more tie-dying.

What advice would you give to your fellow creative practitioners?

Dont take any setbacks or job losses during this unique and bizarre time personally. Think ahead. Reach out to one another, start something that you would normally wouldnt do. I feel like social boundaries are being broken down, which is a really positive thing.

What have you been listening to on Spotify since this Madness really kicked off

The Durutti Column, and Snoh Aalegra.

Interviews Oliver Malin Artlyst 2020 Top Photo: Philip Colbert

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Art In Isolation More Industry Interviews - Oliver Malin - ArtLyst

We were speaking of near immortality, we were speaking of moving our memories from our brains to an external device. Or even the other way round of moving a human brain inside a computer.

Our life, our health, our rationailty, our future is so exciting because of this relentless march of technology. It truly is.

Yet this non-living protein ball called COVID 19 has given us the perspective that we are right now but just travelers in this lifes journey to nowhere.

Nature has hit the reboot button. Humans better too hit the reset button.Actually we will, and come out better in 19 ways.

1) Trees- Finally we realize. Whether to avert the looming water induced world war or to avert climate change or to keep the wild animals and virus away from human species. We now will know we need the trees.

2) Building hospital infrastructure rather than military infrastructure- We should never again struggle for want of medical facilities from now. Same with R&D spends, shouldnt be a case of thinking what happens to the unsold medicine stock if the virus just goes away one day.

3) Right medical behavior- Whether it will be through telemedicine or otherwise, the unnecessary exploitation of the patients for money to meet targets of business people running hospitals will reduce in large pockets.

4) Education revamp, finally- Enough case studies will by now be generated on digital education. Will truly enable for an inclusive quality education for all, the basic building block to provide every person on this planet a fair chance to succeed.

5) Knowing our inner self- The most difficult part is to do the journey inwards. We will not all come out attaining salvation but for sure many of us will have a lot more perspective and rationality.

6) Digitized payments- We will finally humanize the Information Technology. We will enable people with technology rather than obstructing people with technology. Digital payments will be an imminent example.

7) Formation of true capitalist structure- Its not the governments business to run business. Governments will focus a lot more on health and education. Running businesses will be left to professionals. Government can regulate for security and innovations. Meritocracy will count even more.

8) Universal Basic income- This loss of mass livelihood will fast forward for a basic fund transfer to every individual which will enable everyone a basic dignity always without losing on the desire to work. The daily wage workers will have benefited the most in these situations.

9) Nationalism- We now know that fates of countries are tightly connected with each other. More importantly that just one individual can put the entire human species under threat. We will come out much wiser now.

10) Religion. Much of the virus spread initially have been from mass prayers. The name of the religions and countries have been different, the results were the same. We will now realize that we were responsible for creating gods, we were responsible for creating this virus and we were responsible for spreading it. We will think much more scientifically from now on without blind faiths.

11) Appreciation of limited resources to live with- We got habituated with too much resources, we consumed too much, we wasted too much. We will now know we can live with far less.

12) New ways of working- Work from home and using personal devices to access high-security office networks. Enough use cases will have been developed to carry on with this model permanently at a small scale. The benefits to individuals, family and to the overburdened traffic in the cities will be many. 5G internet will be a reality sooner.

13) Global supply chain- Multiple business continuity plans will emerge across the globe to make sure of a much better disaster recovery in times like these than putting all eggs in one basket. It will lead to more localization in the near term but will propel the world to a more distributed globalized model in the medium term.

14) Humour- Somewhere many places lost out on the humour and ability to laugh at ourselves and to laugh together. We rediscovered them somewhat in these most trying times and we will continue.

15) Personal space- This is especially true for many populous countries and where culture wasnt to provide personal space to one another in public areas. We learnt the virtues and dignities of it through social distancing and we will continue with that habit to an extent.

16) A less chaotic world- Similarly in many congested cities and as a culture. Chaos, car horns, absence of queuing were the norms. We now know what we were missing out. There will be lesser horns, more queueing when people goes back in the roads.

17) Spitting- The spitting is just a habit. Not just a very uncivilized one, but now we know it kills. Surely many places will have a lot less of it.

18) Liberated personal lives- Staying locked up under one roof will force many people into deciding to live real and liberated personal lives. Many drifting couples will fall in love and yet many will separate. A new beginning for many nonetheless.

19) Nature- Dolphins on the shore, penguins in the street, a mountain view from a city two hundred kilometres away. We now know what we missed our entire life. Nature will again recede when we come out, but we will now know we need to rebalance and we will.

Many of these 19 will not be visible immediately, but make no mistakes, the wheels have been put in motion.

Till then we will just stay at home and just get over this COVID 19.

This too will pass and our best is coming.

Watch out!

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

Here is the original post:
Virus, 19 reasons why we will come out better - Economic Times

2009 Arnaldo-Caprai, Spinning Beauty Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG

It takes a significant amount of courage and passion to aim for a dream that goes beyond ones own parents realm of possibilities, especially when that parent is already a pioneer in his own right. Marco Caprai said that there was only one time in his life when he disagreed with his father Arnaldo Caprai, the man who brought attention to the quality potential of the Sagrantino red grape that is an indigenous variety of the town of Montefalco in Umbria, Italy; it was the drastic choice to change the trellising of the vines for the 1990 vintage at their Arnaldo-Caprai winery as Marco decided to have each plant grow a lot less grape bunches. Marco described his fathers reaction as disaster and remembered him yelling, Who are you to decide?! But it ended up being a fantastic vintage and it was the first step towards creating an iconic wine in the lesser known wine region of Umbria.

Arnaldo-Caprai

Marco Caprai

My father founded the Arnaldo-Caprai winery in 1971 but he was in the textile business and so when I was very young he left the responsibility of the winery to me, said Marco explaining how it came to pass that he took charge of the winery in 1989 at the tender age of 21. Arnaldo initially only started with 12 acres of vineyards and today the winery has 370 acres and is the beacon of light for serious Sagrantino red wines that other local producers in Montefalco have looked to for inspiration. But the influence of the Arnaldo-Caprai winery extends to other continents as Marco has met producers from Australia, South Africa and North and South America who are working with Sagrantino who also have been inspired by his wines.

Arnaldo-Caprai Wine Lunch at Ai Fiori in New York City

Marco remarked that his father was before his time when he tried to make quality Sagrantino in the 1970s as the focus was more on quantity and not quality because, generally, back then Italy was a poor country where many of the inhabitants drank wines as a food source for calories. But as the demand for higher quality Italian wines grew in the U.S. during the 80s, as well as in Italy, there was a shift in the 1990s to meet that demand according to Marco. This was most noted in export markets with the increased export of quality Sangiovese wines from such areas as Chianti in the region of Tuscany as Sangiovese had already become a staple in the U.S.. But what is interesting about Sagrantino is that it was bordering on extinction at one time as it is a variety that produces small grapes and small bunches and so the yields are low which makes the idea of Marco lowering the yields even more extraordinary. Another issue is that Sagrantino has one of the highest polyphenol contents in the world making the wine very tannic if not handled with great care in the vineyards and cellar.

Spinning Beauty Wines Paired Perfectly with Ai Fiori's Spaghetti with Blue Crab, Lemon, Bottarga and ... [+] Chilies Dish

It is said that Sagrantino was brought to Montefalco by the Franciscan monks during the Middle Ages and that traditionally it was made as a sweet passito (made by dried grapes) that was drunk during special occasions. The passito Sagrantino was a wine that Marco remembers his family drinking for Easter but it was a wine that was only made in minuscule quantities that was falling out of fashion. But Marco and his father looked at the Sagrantino variety as one that had all the key elements that the great dry red wines of the world shared, structure and body, good acidity and a very long capacity for aging.

Improvements Towards Iconic Wine Status

Arnaldo-Caprai Winery and Vineyards

Marco has implemented many changes to unlock the greatest of Montefalcos Sagrantino grape. As mentioned previously, it was vital to setup the vines to produce fewer grapes as there was always an issue with balance between the ripeness of the polyphenols (tannins) and the sugar ripeness. During the summer, the vines would shutdown and not restart until the first rain of autumn so full maturation of the polyphenols did not come about until the beginning of November causing too much sugar ripeness. Once the vines started producing fewer grapes the plants had more energy to continue maturing the grapes throughout the summer and so the polyphenols were ideally ripe in September which kept the sugars from getting too high. Then, starting in 1988, Marco participated in researching various clones of Sagrantino with the University of Milan. After 10 years of research, starting with over 150 clones, Marco chose three with one of them being named the Cobra Sagrantino clone that had become famous among Sagrantino wine lovers.

In the cellar, he works with integral fermentation for his iconic wine where the grapes are kept in barrels that are manually rotated while fermenting for ten days and they are kept in a temperature controlled room and continually rotated until the wine finishes post-fermentation maceration, around 30 to 40 days. The temperature is constantly adjusted depending on the stage of the wine and no pumping over of the juice over the skins takes place. Despite Sagrantino having lots of tannins, the quality of the tannins can be quite smooth when the right clones, growing methods and winemaking techniques are used and hence it can be macerated on the skins for a long time and not suffer from off-putting astringent qualities like other red grape varieties. And finally, his iconic wine ages for at least ten years before it is released onto the market.

Spinning Beauty

2010 Arnaldo-Caprai, Spinning Beauty Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG

Spinning Beauty is the iconic wine that Marco created to show the world that the Sagrantino of Montefalco deserves its spot among the finest international wines across the globe that have reached legendary status. The name is an homage to Marcos father, Arnaldo Caprai, who made his success in the textile business and that sentiment is even further noted on the label that shows a threaded needle. Marco noted that his father always focused on excellence when it came to textiles and that is why Spinning Beauty is the perfect way to honor his legacy; the spinning of cashmere (Umbria is considered the district of cashmere) seems fitting for a winery that was able to find the elegance of one of the most tannic wines of Italy. 2006 was the first vintage and it took the fine wine world by storm on its release, a decade after harvest, by illustrating that there was still another red grape not yet recognized that was ideal for aging.

The Dream of Immortality

Marcos father certainly carved an illustrious name for himself in the textile world yet it was Marco who was the one who needed to take the dream of his fathers small winery and turn it into a milestone for Sagrantino and for the town of Montefalco in Umbria. A lot of people have the passion for wine and to produce wine because they want to have immortality; it is a dream filled with passion, Marco confessed as he presented the 2010, 2009 and 2008 vintages of Spinning Beauty. A dream that was beyond the comprehension of his father as making fine cashmere in Umbria made sense but making a Sagrantino that could compete with other fine wines of the world was another story as other Italian wine regions had already eclipsed Umbria when it came to internationally known wines. But sometimes it takes the new generation to see the potential that is not even considered and hence pioneers new opportunities finding their own sense of immortality; immortality for a man and immortality for the Sagrantino grape.

2008, 2009 and 2010 Vintages of Spinning Beauty

2018 Arnaldo-Caprai, Cuve Secrte Umbria Bianco IGT

2018 Arnaldo-Caprai, Cuve Secrte Umbria Bianco IGT, Umbria: A blend of Grechetto,Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Fiano; every year the blend is different. This project started in 2012 to introduce a high quality white wine from Montefalco. Golden apples with hints of anise and wild flowers on the nose and a creamy body that had mineral laced honey notes on the finish.

2010 Arnaldo-Caprai, Spinning Beauty, Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, Umbria: 100% Sagrantino (Cobra clone) from Marcos oldest vines in his Monte della Torre vineyard. Marco said that 2010 was considered one of the great vintages in recent times for Montefalco Sagrantino. A big, brooding wine that was powerful yet incredibly elegant with complex notes of graphite, dark chocolate and toasted spices that had a rich mid-palate with brawny tannins that suggested this wine will age for decades. The 2010 has not been officially released onto the market and it is only be previewed by the press and wine buyers at this time.

2009 Arnaldo-Caprai, Spinning Beauty, Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, Umbria: 100% Sagrantino (Cobra clone) from Marcos oldest vines in his Monte della Torre vineyard. 2009 was a colder vintage according to Marco. This 2009 was much more open than the 2010 which is not a surprise considering the difference in the vintages. Pretty nose with notes of violets, bright red cherries and cinnamon that had finer tannins on the palate with still plenty of structure to age yet it had a more overall graceful quality at this stage of its life.

2008 Arnaldo-Caprai, Spinning Beauty, Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, Umbria: 100% Sagrantino (Cobra clone) from Marcos oldest vines in his Monte della Torre vineyard. Fresh leather and clove notes initially that evolved into multilayered fruit such as fresh blackberries and plum pie which made this an extremely multifaceted wine that just became more enticing on the finish with compelling notes of saffron and smoldering earth that had a slight grip that gave shape and precision to the finish.

2015 Arnaldo-Caprai, Belcompare Umbria Merlot IGT

2015 Arnaldo-Caprai, Belcompare, Umbria Merlot IGT, Umbria: 100% Merlot. Marco makes a Montefalco Rosso DOC wine that requires anywhere from 60% to 70% Sangiovese, 10% to 15% Sagrantino and then allows a winemakers choice of another red variety and in Marcos case he likes using Merlot to balance out the Sangiovese and Sagrantino. Marco started working with famed wine consultant from Bordeaux, Michele Rolland, and Michele was really impressed with a particular section of the Merlot vineyard and so Marco decided to bottle it separately in this Belcompare selection. This is the first vintage of this wine and it was absolutely a heavenly Merlot with an enchanting perfume with bright acidity that lifted the sweet fruit with delightful hints of blueberry scone and sea salt that had silky tannins and a richly, flavorful finish.

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The Creation Of An Iconic Wine From Umbria, Italy - Forbes

9:05 AM ET

Mark KriegelESPN

If boxing had been enjoying a renaissance, it was epitomized by the prospect of Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez Jr. fighting for a truly unified title -- all four lightweight belts, May 30 at Madison Square Garden.

No, it wasn't yet signed. Nor does Lomachenko's designation as the WBC's "franchise champion" (as opposed to its "champion in recess," whatever that means) merit any discussion here. It's enough to know that unlike the other prospective super fights -- Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua, Errol Spence-Terence Crawford or even a nascent provocation on social media like Ryan Garcia and Gervonta "Tank" Davis -- neither party has to cross promotional lines. This fight wasn't merely doable. It had the air of inevitability.

According to Lopez, Lomachenko wanted a 70-30 split of a pay-per-view. "He's trying to cash out in case he loses," he says. "Which he will."

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Lopez was looking for a 55-45 split on free TV. But he'd settle for 60-40. He knows Loma has three belts to his one. But those were just numbers. Whatever the split, the winner would make more than a score. It would confer a kind of immortality. No, really.

For Lopez, it would mean beating a legend.

For Lomachenko, it would mean defying perhaps the oldest script in the game: the young star dispatching with an older one. But Lopez, at 22, isn't merely a decade younger, he's a hell of a lot bigger than Loma, who isn't even a true lightweight.

This fight had everything; not just a stylist versus a slugger, but the two most diametrically opposite boxing dads in their sons' corners. Anatoly Lomachenko, who has won a slew of Trainer of the Year awards, says nothing, and Teofimo Sr. has proven himself unable to stop talking and refrain from antagonizing the Lomachenkos.

Then, of course, came the coronavirus pandemic.

On March 16, the young fighter made a decision that belied both his youth and his reputation for failing to proceed with caution. While Lopez has one-punch power, he also has asthma. "I can't get COVID-19," he says. "Even if I recover, it would scar my lungs permanently. That would affect my career."

Or conceivably -- and anything seems conceivable at this point -- end it.

So he rented a Chrysler minivan, filled it with his newlywed bride, Cynthia, her misgivings at leaving their Brooklyn apartment, their three dogs, and a haul of paper towels, bottled water, disinfectant wipes and frozen bread. In about 17 hours, they'd arrive in Jonesboro, Arkansas at the home of his in-laws. Teofimo was exhausted. He had a pinched nerve in his back, and hadn't been able to workout in a while. But in such less-densely populated surroundings, at least he felt safer.

Then came the tornado. Actually, from what he could see, there were two tornadoes that came together in the distance. It was a bizarre mating dance, as two pillars became a single gargantuan monstrosity, 600 yards wide, headed straight for them. Or so it seemed.

A tornado has a distinct color, that of dirt and dust. But as it approaches, you can also make out a texture defined by the detritus lifted into its swirl. Lopez could see planks of wood from someone's shed, uprooted billboard signs, twisted metal, tires and propellers from aircraft at the local air strip. And it was all coming fast - with winds up to 147 mph.

Everyone in the house -- Cynthia, Lopez's brother-in-law, his niece and nephew, ages 14 and 9, crammed into a coat closet. Lopez held a mattress above them, in case something should come crashing down. Cynthia held onto the kids. They waited, just a little. They prayed. Nothing complicated. Please, Lord protect us ...

He didn't think about dying. "There wasn't really time for that," Lopez says.

He just stood there, holding the mattress over everybody. The house began to vibrate. Then shake. Then the shaking became more violent. You could hear things crashing outside, items dropping off shelves.

0:54

IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez is okay after a tornado struck the town of Jonesboro, Arkansas.

It lasted 16 minutes. But they still didn't feel safe. "We thought we were in the eye of the storm, and it was coming back at any moment," Lopez says. "But we were only on the edge of it."

After a while, they cleaned up as best they could. Outside, a fence had been destroyed. A trampoline had landed upside down, having been tossed across the yard like a small toy.

Jonesboro would report 22 injuries, no fatalities. But the neighborhood was decimated.

Lopez hadn't been able to work out in weeks, thanks to the aforementioned pinched nerve. Social distancing didn't help much, either -- not if you're accustomed to working in a boxing gym. But now Lopez had to take some inventory -- of himself and his situation. His brother-in-law had a treadmill and a weight set. There was a heavy bag in the garage. Time to get back to work.

But he's 160 pounds, 25 pounds over the lightweight limit, and the most he has ever been.

Going back a year, Lopez has said that the only thing that could prevent a showdown with Lomachenko was weight. He was already bursting, ready to go to 140.

Of course. So this was how the great fight wouldn't happen. No one knows when boxing will return, but when it finally does, it was difficult to imagine Lopez still at 135.

"No, I'll make it," he says quietly. "This fight is going to happen."

"As long as we have adequate time to prepare, I don't foresee it being a problem," says his nutritionist, Paulina Indara of Perfecting Athletes. "Teofimo matured so much as a man and a fighter. He knows he's responsible for himself and his wife. He knows how to buckle down. He knows the script he has to follow. As a team, we can do it."

These aren't days that inspire much optimism, of course. But if you think about it, why not?

You stand over your family with a tornado tearing through the town.

You keep doing everything you can to survive a modern-day plague.

After all that, making 135 is nothing.

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After all he's dealt with, Teofimo won't have a problem making weight for Loma - ESPN

In order to defeatLord Voldemortonce and for all, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger embarked on a special mission to hunt down the Dark wizard's Horcruxes and destroy them. Horcruxes in the Harry Potter universe were objects in which a Dark wizard or witch would use to hide a piece of their soul, thus obtaining immortality. In total, Voldemort created seven Horcruxes and it later fell to Harry and his friends to seek and destroy the ones that remained.

The Horcrux hunt was first started by Albus Dumbledore in July 1996. By this point, the first Horcrux, Tom Riddle's diary, had already been destroyed by Harry when he stabbed it with one of the Basilisk's fangs. Voldemort used highly coveted artifacts as most of his Horcruxes, but he made so many so that if one was destroyed, it wouldn't be a detriment to his immortality. Dumbledore realized this, which was why he vowed to destroy them all. After researching them, the Hogwarts headmaster discovered that Marvolo Gaunt's ring was a Horcrux. He found it in the Gaunt Shack and later destroyed it with Godric Gryffindor's sword. Dumbledore shared his findings with Harry, and following the wizard's tragic death, the Boy Who Lived took over the key mission.

Related:Harry Potter: Everyone Voldemort Killed To Make Horcruxes (& Why)

Ron and Hermione decided to forgo their final year at Hogwarts to accompany Harry on the Horcrux hunt. The trio was forced to embark on the mission quicker than expected after the fall of the Ministry of Magic the night of Bill Weasley andFleur Delacour's wedding on August 1,1997. Hermione got the group to safety and far away from the Burrow, but Death Eaters weren't far behind. Hermione had a ton of survival supplies, but they needed to hide somewhere not known by the rest of the wizarding world, so they headed to 12 Grimmauld Place. Unfortunately, it would take nearly nine months to complete the mission.

The start of the Horcrux hunt began in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. While seeking refuge at 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry, Ron, and Hermione found out that Dolores Umbridge had Salazar Slytherin's locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. After infiltrating the Ministry of Magic and acquiring the locket, the trio failed in destroying it. The object had an ill effect on the group, causing Ron to abandon his friends. After that, Harry and Hermione traveled to Godric's Hollow in search of the Sword of Gryffindor to destroy the locket once and for all. After a series of dangerous encounters, Ron saved Harry and helped destroy the Horcrux.

Upon destroying the Horcrux, the three of them learned about the Deathly Hallows before getting taken to Malfoy Manor. They later escaped and their search took them to Gringotts, specifically the Lestrange family vault which launched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. They recovered Helga Hufflepuff's cup but had no way to destroy the Horcrux. The search then led them back to school mere hours before the Battle of Hogwarts started. During the climactic battle against Voldemort, the cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, and Nagini were obliterated. Harry also served as a Horcrux and was killed for a brief time. With no chance at immortality without Horcruxes, Harry managed to defeat Voldemort, ending the battle and the Second Wizarding War. With the date being May 2, 1998, the trio spent nine months and one day hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes. When taking into account Dumbledore's time on the hunt, the overall mission within the Harry Potter series lasted 22 total months.

Next:Harry Potter: Dumbledore's Horcrux Theory (& Why Rowling Hates It)

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Kara Hedash is a features writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world's most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara's not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty. Kara can be found on Twitter @thekaraverse.

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Harry Potter: How Long They Really Spent Hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes - Screen Rant

In 2020, we saw the return ofAltered Carbon,a sci-fi cyberpunk television series that follows Envoy-elite fighter, Takesie Kovacs, in his quest to find his love, the visionary Quellcrist Falconer. At the end of the first season, Kovacs learned that his sister, Rei, had been the mastermind behind many crimes committed in and prior to season one. She also was the reason that he had been brought back (his stack, conscious) and put into a new sleeve (body).

RELATED: Netflix's Altered Carbon Who Played Takeshi Kovacs Better

Rei loved her brother, but her love was dangerous. When she and Kovacs were Envoys, Rei was jealous of her brother's love with Quell, the leader/visionary of the Envoy. So, Rei betrayed the Envoys and killed Quellcrist. Fortunately, before Quell could die a real death, Rei had backed-up Quell's consciousness, meaning that Quell was alive. Kovacs decides to search for his love. We begin season two with many questions, and some have been answered. We leave season two with more questions fromboth of the first two seasons.

We know that Quell's consciousness was backed-up by Rei, but we don't know the details about what happened to Quell after that. In Season two, we learn how cruel Rei had really become. Quell was kept in a glass-like coffin, her sleeve made to cool-down and warm-up on repeat, her mind kept awake the whole time. This was for hundreds of years until Rei died, and Quell was freed by another extraordinary force.

All during that time, other than Rei's visits and the elder (the extraordinary force), Quell was kept in solitary. Rei's treatment of Quell further revealed how bad Rei had become, as Quell said, "whatever appetite Reileen harbored for cruelty, immortality made it worse."

Quell was made into a sort of a religious figure in both seasons, as people quote and idolize her. Originally, she had wanted to bring back the real death. While she had been the one who invented stacks (where consciousness can be stored), she discovered that it was being abused by the elite, intensifying class divide. She believed that immortality corrupts; it brings about the worst.

But she was re-sleeved and has now lived for hundreds of years. Her love has been re-sleeved a number of times and lived for hundreds of years. Does she still believe that all must die, including Kovacs and her?

Kovacs thinks of Rei often; it hurts that he was the one to kill his beloved sister. However, he sees it differently. In his memory, he feels like Rei was asking him to kill her. She could have stopped him, but Kovacs believed that she wanted to die. She would never stop what she was doing and the pain she was causing others.

Corrupted by immortality, Kovacs believed that Rei was calling out for help. This idea helps Kovacs deal with the fact that he killed her. Still, Rei's death weighs on him heavily.

Now that Quell is back and that she's revered, quoted, and worshipped, will she create a new Envoy group. While there was a pseudo-group led by a pseudo-leader, Quell could take over and make them a legitimate Envoy group.

RELATED: 10 Shows to Watch If You Like Altered Carbon

What will be her purpose now that she is back? Loving Kovacs is important to her, but it isn't the most important thing. Quell believes in a higher mission, and, while aspects of the world have changed since she was last an active part of it, certain aspects have either stayed the same or gotten worse. This could give Quell enough motivation to begin again.

Season one ended with Kovacs on a quest to find his long-lost love. This is quickly answered: yes, he finds her. While she is in an altered state when he finds her, his love for her gets through to her, awakening her. Later, he finds a way to help her recover her memories. So, not only does Kovacs find Quell, but he gets through to her, bringing all that is Quell, back. Also, their love is still there, strong.

At the end of season one, Ryker's stack is returned to his sleeve. Ryker's body had been the sleeve that Kovacs wore in season one. He also had been Ortega's love. Ryker, considered a corrupt cop, had been framed after his investigation came close to the truth. Ortega, Kovac's friend, tried to preserve Ryker's sleeve because she wanted Ryker back and back in it.

We end season one with that happening. Were Ortega and Ryker able to enjoy their romance? What happened to this couple?

Poe, our favorite AI, seemingly sacrificed himself to protect his friends. However, since he is an AI, we had high hopes that he would survive. Quickly, we found out that he did, and that Kovacs keeps him close. While he did survive, he wasn't in full recovery since he suffered a number of memory and technological glitches all throughout season two.

RELATED: Altered Carbon 10 Poe Facts the Show Left Out

In season two, he appears to help glue/connect the two seasons together.

Kovacs left season one after returning Ryker's sleeve. At first put in the sleeve of a singer as a diagnose, he is later put in the sleeve of an enhanced soldier. The soldier sleeve is strong, has a connection with weapons, and has wolf genes added to it. Most of this comes in handy in the second season except for the wolf gene. When Kovacs runs into the sleeve's former alpha and Kovac's former trainer/father-like figure, he can't fight against him. His sleeve won't let him.

While his sleeve doesn't have the intense back-story of Ryker, a point that seems to make season one just a little stronger, we do learn that Kovac's sleeve was a soldier and had known Quell. While we wish we knew more about this sleeve and the people who were important to the person's life, we weren't told many details. However, what important and interesting thing we learned was that sleeves can have memoriesbody-memories. This idea could be further developed in the third season.

Additionally, now that his season two sleeve died, and it seems like his consciousness was kept safe/backed-up in Poe, he will have another sleeve. So, this question is still pertinent to season three.

Kovacs had been double-sleeved, revealing a younger Kovacs, before Kovacs became part of the Envoy. At first, the younger Kovacs seems like a villain, killing innocent people. However, he changes after realizing that he had been tricked. While this younger Kovac is both the same and different from Kovacs, his storyline could be very different. What will happen to him in season three? Will we get to know more about him and how he also grapples with his sister's death?

NEXT: Altered Carbon Season 2 10 Things That Didn't Make Sense

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Heather Frankland is a writer, teacher, and public health advocate. She has had creative work published in literary journals and online websites. She enjoys analyzing her favorite shows and movies and is happy to exercise that talent at Screen Rant, previously exercised in long conversations over beer with friends.

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Altered Carbon Season 2: 5 Questions That Were Answered (& 5 Questions We Have For Season 3) - Screen Rant

In his last on-camera interview, NBA legend Kobe Bryant talks to USA TODAY's Mark Medina about life after basketball and his daughter Gigi's favorite NBA player. USA TODAY

The entire NBA family has had more than two months to grieve, console each other and share memories. That has not been enough time to fully process Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others dying in a helicopter crash.

So when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Bryant as a first ballot selection Saturday, this was not just a moment to celebrate how Bryant won five NBA championships, became the franchises all-time leading scorer and overcame too many injuries to count. This was also a moment that reopened a wound that may not ever fully heal.

"Obviously we wish he was here with us to celebrate, but its definitely the peak of his NBA career," Bryants wife, Vanessa, told ESPN shortly after the announcement. "Every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here. Were incredibly proud of him. Theres some solace in him knowing he would be a part of the 2020 Hall of Fame class."

But there is also an incredible amount of sorrow that Bryant wont be part of the 2020 class in person. We lived through these same emotions so many times. When the Lakers played their first game following Bryants passing and LeBron James delivered an inspiring speech beforehand. When the NBA honored Bryant at All-Star weekend in Chicago with various video tributes and performances. When the Kobe and Gianna Bryant memorial took place at Staples Center headlined by Vanessas moving speech. Just like those moments, this Hall of Fame ceremony will be cathartic and emotional.

It wasnt supposed to be this way. Bryant was supposed to deliver a speech that fully matched his complex personality. He would share tales on how he stubbornly overcame injuries. He would defend his demanding leadership style. He would express gratitude for the various mentors that shaped him. And after becoming passionate about storytelling following his NBA career, Bryant would deliver a speech that no scriptwriter could ever write.

IMMORTALITY: Kobe, Duncan, KG headline legendary class of 2020

VANESSA BRYANT: Discusses Kobe's induction in emotional interview

Bryant would offer precise details about how he fell in love with basketball as a young kid growing up in Italy and in Philadelphia. Bryant would express gratitude that former Lakers general manager Jerry West secured his draft rights in 1996 by trading fan favorite Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets. Bryant would shout out his other various muses, whether it entailed an NBA star he modeled his game after (Michael Jordan), a coachs wisdom he eventually appreciated (Phil Jackson) or an NBA luminary that played for the hated Boston Celtics (Bill Russell).

Bryant would spin epic tales on how he scored a career-high 81 points, how he overcame a left Achilles injury or how he dropped 60 points in his final game. Bryant would offer defiance, context and perhaps some revisionist history on his clashes with Shaquille ONeal, his trade demands in 2007 or his high-volume shooting. Bryant would surely bring up his battles with other new Hall of Famers in Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Bryant would gush about the womens game, including what he admired about inductee Tamika Catchings.

Nearly every NBA fan became familiar with all the intimate details about Bryants career. But the stories never got old. There were always new details to emerge atop the ones we already knew. There were always new anecdotes no one knew about until Bryant and those he impacted eventually shared them.

"Kobe was always one to downplay his professional accomplishments MVPs, NBA championships, gold medals, Oscars, and on and on and on," Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. "But all of us can trust that this Basketball Hall of Fame honor is one Kobe would, and will, deeply appreciate. The highest of congratulations to you, dear friend. This one is so well deserved for all the hard work, sweat and toil. Now, a part of you will live in the Hall with the rest of the all-time greats, where your legend and spirit will continue to grow forever."

Because of that spirit, Bryants Hall of Fame induction will still be memorable. But it would have been much better for him to be there, obviously.

SportsPulse: USA TODAY's Mark Medina interviewed Kobe Bryant just over a week ago to discuss his post career ambitions. On Sunday, he had to cover the tragic helicopter crash that took Bryant's life. Medina attempts to put the basketball icon's legacy into perspective. USA TODAY

There would have been intrigue about whom Bryant would choose as his presenters. Would one of them be Jordan, who delivered a memorable speech at Bryants memorial about how he became a "big brother" to him? Would one of them be Jackson, who eventually inspired Bryant to appreciate his triangle offense and meditation practices? Would one of them be Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer, whom Bryant credited for knowing how to motivate him? Would one of them be Lower Merion English teacher Jeanne Mastriano, whom Bryant said inspired his passion for storytelling? Would one of them have been WNBA star Diana Taurasi, Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma or Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu about how Bryant supported womens basketball?

"No amount of words can fully describe what Kobe Bryant meant to the Los Angeles Lakers," Lakers controlling governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. "Kobe was not only a proven winner and a champion, he gave everything he had to the game of basketball. His fierce competitiveness, work ethic and drive were unmatched. Those qualities helped Kobe lead us to five titles and have now brought him to the Hall of Fame, where he will be enshrined with the greatest to have ever played the game. No one deserves it more."

And yet Bryant also deserved something more and something so simple. He deserved to be able to stand on stage, accept his award and fully process the significant contributions he made to the game he loved.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Opinion: Kobe Bryant deserved to give what would have been a memorable Hall of Fame speech - USA TODAY

The Netflix special Altered Carbon challenged the way we think about our world. It showed a completely new world, where humans had outlived death. Because of immortality, humanity was able to reach new heights of success. However, it came at a massive cost. And its one thats present in our world too, and we call it Capitalism. So, lets take a look at what the show teaches us about Capitalism and how it would deal with immortality.

The first season of the show is very highly rated by Vox. But most importantly, it set up the universe really well for the viewers. Therefore, well be dealing mostly with it in this article.

In short, humans have found a way to transfer the complete human consciousness into an object called a Cortical stack. You can easily transfer that stack into any other human body. Thus, allowing you to live forever from one body to another.

But, it isnt as easy for everyone as nothing comes without a cost. This is because capitalism looms large in the Altered Carbon universe. Therefore, lets see how capitalism deals with immortality in such a future.

As we all saw in the show, the human body has become a product. In fact, its not even treated like a t-shirt instead and called a sleeve that can be changed anytime. Moreover, the rich have hundreds of them in chambers, like clothes in a closet.

And if that wasnt enough, there are modifications for these sleeves too, just like Takeshi Kovacs and Miriam Bancroft had in season 1 and 2. Its like playing Call of Duty with modifications, except its real-life instead of a game. Adding to that, young sleeves cost more as you can live longer in them. Leave it to capitalism to make a commodity out of something as essential as a human body and label it as a piece of cloth.

Just like the human body, the stacks arent free in Altered Carbon either. Every person has a stack, but only the rich can afford backing up their consciousness in a cloud. This allowed them to truly live forever, even if their stacks get destroyed.

Whereas, if the stack of an ordinary person dies who cannot afford backups, they die a Real Death. As you can see, capitalism has managed to give a different name for death to the poor and the rich in Altered Carbon.

With stacks being virtually backed up, and sleeves in their closets like clothes, the elites are insanely richer in Altered Carbon. That has created an even bigger divide between them and the middle and lower-income class. This is a lot like how capitalism fuels the divide between the two in the real world.

Theyve become so rich that they literally live in the clouds. That was evident when we saw the Aerium, which was the house of the Bancroft family. With capitalists living for centuries, theyre able to consolidate their wealth even more effectively, thanks to capitalism. Death has no meaning for them anymore.

Even though elite families are far richer, theyve stagnated over the years. And you can see that in the Bancroft family. This was obvious when you saw that Laurens son, Isaac, was still a boy even though he was more than 60 years old!

With his father continuously above him for centuries, he never got the chance to grow up into a mature adult, independently. Therefore, living forever does come at a cost for the rich. The greed for wealth, thanks to capitalism, has crippled their families at a steep cost.

We all know how capitalism puts a cost at pleasure in our real world. However, the meaning of pleasure has completely changed in Altered Carbon. Hedonism has made the rich capable of committing cruel acts, like rape, torture, and murder at their own leisure. This was evident in the Head in the Clouds, which was a sadistic sexual torture facility, made by Reileen (Dichen Lachman). Capitalism does give the elites a massive sense of entitlement, but this was just insane and horrifying.

This is our take on what Altered Carbon teaches us about how capitalism would deal with immortality. The performances given by Joel Kinnaman and Dichen Lachman were amazing. However, the show gives us the chance to think much more about our current lifestyle and human nature, without even mentioning the word capitalism. But, its worth thinking about how socialism would have shaped this universe.

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Altered Carbon Teaches Us This About Capitalism - Dankanator

Editors Note: Clergy Project members are very creatively applying their knowledge of religion to the COVID-19 pandemic. A couple of days ago, we heard from Andy, a working pastor, and now we have the musings, religious and otherwise, of a member who left religion decades ago. /Linda LaScola, Editor

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By Scott Stahlecker

Up, up, up! The numbers of people dying seem to double every week. Since America is now expected to suffer the most casualties from COVID-19, Id be lying if I said I wasnt a bit anxious. And the pace in which this virus is spreading is forcing me to think about an event Ive done a great job of avoiding all my life: death.

Im not afraid ofdeath; I just dont want to be there when it happens. Woody Allen once quipped.

As it so happens . . . I recently turned 59, my wife works as a nurse in the recovery room at the main hospital, I live in a multi-generational home with two grandkids who attend school and daycare, and to cap it off, I reside in Washington State where the first person in the US died from the coronavirus. So, Id say my chances of dying sooner than I anticipated are looking better than ever!

Hmm, what to do?

My focus these days centers on three priorities: pondering, planningand yespartying. Before I get to these incidentals, however, a bit of eschatology is in order. Most of us who frequent this blog are familiar with the Christian perspective what happens when a person dies, but Id like to dig into an atheists perspective on this grave matter.

Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15: 51-54.

These words undoubtedly offer a great sense of comfort for believers. With promises like this that infuse disciples with hope, its no wonder so few people are attracted to atheism. When it comes to death, Christianity seems to offer the whole benefits package? If one believes that the promises offered in 1 Corinthians are true, then I concede Christianity offers a version of hope which atheism cannot rival.

As an atheist, about the only thing I have to look forward to in death is that its a mystery. Of this Im certain: I wont be moving up in the neighborhood to live in a mansion God has prepared for me. I wont be walking on streets paved in gold. And I wont be earning a special position in Gods kingdom based on how well Ive followed the guidance offered from the pulpit. On the plus side, I dont believe Ill be punished for my misdeeds by being cast into hell.

What I suspect happens after I die is absolutely nothing, and the experience of having died will likely mirror my experiences before I was born. Since I lacked consciousness before being conceived, I dont recall experiencing anything. I think death is simply the opposite of life. I call it the un-life. And if theres nothing but un-life waiting for me after I die, then it seems truly unfortunate. To put this in modern lingo, the prospect of the un-life sucks, becauselife, is, everything. Yet, if nothing happens after I die, then henceforth, nothing will matter anyway.

So, while Id love to believe the biblical promises concerning an afterlife, Im essentially left with nothing to look forward to upon my death. Ill never see my wife or children again; never write another thought-provoking word; never play music, and never again laugh, cry, dream or share another glass of wine with a friend. This is hard to accept, but as an atheist I dont have a choice in the matter. Truth be told, theres only two ways to think about the prospect of dying:

We choose a scenario invented by a religion that gives us hope and makes us feel good.

We simply admit that we dont know what happens after we die.

Christianity works if you believe what it teaches. When you stop believing what it teaches, its beliefs ring more like platitudes, which no longer square with reality. In that case, reality itself becomes the best teacher. So, if you believe you can cheat death and achieve immortality, then you do indeed have a lot to look forward to. However, if you believe what Christianity teaches about death is true, then you must concede that all the promises other religions offer about life after death are equally valid.

The reason for this is that lots of religions and cults promise different endgame scenarios to their followers. In America, we value freedom of religion and peoples rights to believe what they choose even if we think those beliefs are false. But all beliefs that detail events in the afterlife are inherently false, because these beliefs are not based on facts. Since we value freedom of religion, we are more than happy to grant religious individuals the right to cling to whatever hope their beliefs may offer them. Yet, in doing so, we also abide by the unspoken agreement that what religion teaches about the afterlife is far less important than the hope those beliefs impart.

Yet, if we were to stretch this analogy wed find that even the dynamic of hope becomes irrelevant. A Buddhist, for example, believes hell be reincarnated into one of six realms of existence, but this means he also stands the chance of being reincarnated as a cow. Mormons have more to look forward to: they believe their disciples will become gods and goddesses. Catholics believe in Purgatory, a thoughtful consideration invented by the church hierarchy, grants sinners a place to suffer and purge themselves of evil in order to become qualified to enter heaven. For those who enjoy sci-fi, Scientology offers a spectacular Hollywood version of the afterlife. On a more ruthless and sexist note, Islamic martyrs who are male are rumored to receive 72 virgins.

My point is that every believer, from every religious persuasion, enjoys similar emotional highs regarding what theyhopeto experience in an afterlife. Believers experience these emotional highs to varying degrees regardless of how different, bizarre, or mind-boggling the beliefs are. To me, this says that the beliefs are irrelevant. Our brains are far less concerned about what we believe than about experiencing the emotional highs associated with the hope that these beliefs are real. And if the beliefs are not real, how real and justified are the feelings of hope?

Knowing the truth about the afterlife is not a matter of who is right, the atheist or the religious believer, based on who has the most optimistic scenario. The goal is to accept what is real and thus truthful, even if this shatters our expectations. The fact is we just dont know what happens to us after we die. We may not like this ambiguity, but its better than picking one religious version of an afterlife over another simply because it makes us feel better. When a person accepts this truth, it can completely realign their appreciation for life.

Pondering

Ive always thought that one of the best ways to die would be to know death when death is knocking on my door. Whether or not this pandemic will visit me in the coming months, I dont know.Meanwhile,Im enjoying this forced reprieve in which I have ample time to contemplate how wonderful it has been to experience life. One common clich Ive heard all my life is that there are no atheists in foxholes. The insinuation being, that when death appears to be near, those who dont believe in God will instantly convert because of an overwhelming sense of terror. As for myself, while I am feeling a bit anxious about the uncertainty of what I could and should be doing during these troubling times, Im experiencing no fear about what transpires the moment after I might lose consciousness.

Planning

Unfortunately, most of the plans Ive made for the summer are now shot to hell. Ive canceled the camping trips I planned on the Oregon coast, as well as an airplane trip to visit friends. The airline industry will still be in business when this all blows over, but for now Id prefer not to be sandwiched in the middle seat between two individuals who are coughing.Meanwhile,

Partying

A professor of mine once said that the world revolves around food. If you think about it, hes correct. Since Im fortunate to be living in a multi-generational home, dining with my entire family around the kitchen table is infusing me with a renewed sense of my familial connections. While just a few weeks ago, I was enjoying wining, dining, and playing music. While Im certain humanity will survive this latest, horrible, natural occurrence, I cant help but feel the humanist in me coming out. And this humanist, free from all the beliefs that a vengeful God orchestrates this pandemic, is enthralled by how well we are coming together in this moment of crisis.

**Editors Question: Whats your opinion of how humanity is handling this crisis?**

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Bio: Scott Stahlecker was raised a Lutheran but converted to Seventh-Day Adventism in 1980. After serving the church in both lay and professional capacities, he left the church in 1990. He identified as an agnostic until 2004 and has been an outspoken atheist ever since. Throughout his life he and his wife have owned many businesses to include hospice agencies in Texas and music stores in Alaska. He is the author of the novelBlind GuidesandPicking Wings Off Butterflies, a memoir about raising a child with a traumatic brain injury. He continues to write extensively about the benefits of living life as a freethinking individual. Learn more about him atwww.scottstahlecker.com

>>>>>>Photo Credits: By Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49011499; By Dimasamsusam Own work by me, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6910809

Link:
Pondering, Planning and Partying through the Pandemic - Patheos

Over the past week or so, Ive been using this space to suggest films to stream at home that I think might be of general, mainstream interest. But I tacked on the caveat that they must have appeared on one of my annual Top 10 lists and that I liked them so much that Ive seen each of them at least twice.

Now its time to get out of the mainstream, but still stay within the rules. These 10-Top 10, at least twice-seen films defy categorization. Maybe the right word is miscellaneous or offbeat. If you were playing Jeopardy, theyd likely be found under a column called Movie Potpourri. All are currently available on the usual streaming platforms.

Being John Malkovich - A brilliant but struggling puppeteer (John Cusack) takes a job as a filing clerk, damages his marriage to Lotte (Cameron Diaz) when he develops a crush on coworker Maxine (Catherine Keener), discovers a portal into the mind of John Malkovich (Malkovich), and learns about the pitfalls of immortality.

Inherent Vice - Joaquin Phoenix plays a stoned-out 70s private detective whose former girlfriend (Katherine Waterston) comes looking for help. Based on the Thomas Pynchon novel, this is a noir-comedy, populated by, among others, a nasty cop (Josh Brolin), a cocaine-fueled dentist (Martin Short), and a difficult current girlfriend (Reese Witherspoon). The favor asked of him puts him in touch with many unsavory types, but theres humor in the films darkness.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Petty thief Robert Downey Jr. finds himself accidentally auditioning for - and landing - a movie role, and getting involved with murder, and a private detective (Val Kilmer), and a long-forgotten girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan). Then the bodies start piling up. But the clever script has the movie constantly winking at itself, suggesting (rightly) that its a spoof of murder mysteries.

Pleasantville - Serious and funny, charming and deep, this superbly crafted, wholly original tale has contemporary high school siblings David (Tobey Maguire) and Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) inexplicably sucked into their TV set and deposited in the black and white world of a 1950s sitcom. One wants to get back home, the other wants to rescue the townsfolk from their square existences. Theres a great deal of light humor, all complemented by a subversive edge that touches on sex and racism and being something other than normal.

Requiem for a Dream - Adapted from the harsh Hubert Selby novel about different forms of addiction, Darren Aronofskys daring film makes for an even more unsettling experience than the book. Some characters are stuck on drugs, another on television (though she, too, moves on to drugs). This is a story of peoples impossible dreams being dashed, due to their own weaknesses. Its jittery and scary and erotic and unflinching in delivering an anti-drug message.

Sideways - A divorced and frustrated author and wine connoisseur (Paul Giamatti) goes on a wine-themed road trip with his washed-up-actor pal (Thomas Haden Church) just before the pals wedding day. But they each have different agendas, as one of them is thoughtful and the other is carefree. Besides revealing what makes these guys tick, the film also works as a primer on wine and how to drink it, has comments on bad behavior by men, and brings a rare dose of sophistication to the screen.

Stan & Ollie - This ode to comedy greats Laurel and Hardy features Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly in the title roles, not just playing them, but inhabiting them. It focuses on a little-known period of their lives when, late in their careers, they attempted a comeback while on a tour in England. Theres some warmth and whimsy and sadness - things dont go as planned - but also some hilarity when Coogan and Reilly recreate some wonderfully slapsticky old routines.

2 Days in the Valley - All sorts of unrelated stories with all kinds of unrelated characters are slowly drawn together via sex and violence, along with a quirky sense of humor. We get equal shares of nice people (Glenne Headly, Paul Mazursky) and nasty people (James Spader, Charlize Theron - in her debut), and as it moves along, the plot thickens like a tasty stew. Not everyone makes it to the end, but it can still be considered a happy one.

Velvet Goldmine - It starts out suggesting that the playwright Oscar Wilde was from another planet, then turns into a fictionalized study of 70s glam rock, with the dazzlingly costumed Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and the outrageous Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor) standing in for David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Something awful happens to one of them - onstage - and years later, a journalist (Christian Bale) tries to put pieces of the event together. Lots of music, bursts of energy, and a multi-layered story.

Whiplash - An impatient, antagonistic conservatory teacher (J.K. Simmons) and an ambitious, goal-oriented drumming prodigy (Miles Teller) clash, with all pistons firing. The scripts dialogue is as percussive as the drum fills, and because each of the lead characters is passionate about what they do, everything between them becomes a test of wills. There are a couple too many sideplots and coincidental twists, but this is a winner because of its belief in the power of music.

Ed Symkus writes about movies for More Content Now. He can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com.

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Symkus column: Some ideas for a night of offbeat movies in the living room - Wicked Local Plymouth

Two hundred and fifty years after his birth, he remains a poet of blessed consolations in distress

IN THIS SEASON of cancelled parties, the 250th anniversary of William Wordsworths birth will also go unmarked in public. Celebrations of the English poet, born on April 7th 1770, should have bloomed like his beloved daffodils all over the Lakeland region (pictured), and beyond. He taught not only his compatriots but devotees around the world to be, like him, a lover of the meadows and the woods, / And mountains; and of all that we behold / From this green earth. Now the British landscapes he trudged through are empty of the visitors that his verse attracted from overcrowded Victorian cities. (Indeed, in his later years Wordsworth fretted about the mass tourism that his Romantic worship of unspoilt nature had fostered. Is then no nook of English ground secure / From rash assault? he thundered when the Kendal and Windermere railway, designed to carry Wordsworthian excursionists, was proposed in 1844.)

Wordsworth has lately stridden back into fashion as a pioneer ecologist, a green visionary. For him, nature is a single, interconnected system. Every child joins it not as an alien manipulator but, as his autobiographical epic, The Prelude, puts it, an inmate of this active universe; even as an agent of the one great mind. The fledgling poet, his mature self recalled, grasped and gloried in the interdependence of nature, for in all things / I saw one life, and felt that it was joy. The so-called Gaia hypothesis of modern environmentalism starts here.

First-hand encounters with the healing benefits of fell and vale have now been put on hold. Still, the bard of the great outdoors has lessons for people trapped inside by natural forces greater than human will. In a period of enforced apartness, Wordsworths lifelong pursuit of joyous solitude seems timelier than ever. He contrasted calm, reflective isolation with the loneliness of compulsory sociability. As his poem Home at Grasmere warns, he truly is alone, / He of the multitude whose eyes are doomed / To hold vacant commerce day by day / With that which he can neither know nor love.

For Wordsworth, solitude brings joy above all because it carves out space for memory. Even his over-familiar daffodils (I wandered lonely as a cloud) matter most not at first sight but when, recollected, they flash upon the inward eye / Which is the bliss of solitude. More than the treks, tours and climbs around picturesque locations that filled his years and drew generations of disciples to ramble after him, what Wordsworth cherished was memory as solace and strength. The Prelude finds meaning not so much in the rapture of observation as the balm of reminiscence, since The earth / And common face of Nature spake to me / Rememberable things. Uncannily, his great poem of 1798, Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey, talks of finding relief through memory from the fever of the world. That relief comes in fond thoughts of the winding river Wye, Thou wanderer through the woods, / How often has my spirit turned to thee.

Generations of readers have noted that Wordsworths own memory-enriched solitude was companionably shared: his poetic jaunts around the Lakes depended on the decades-long support provided by his sister Dorothy, wife Mary, and sister-in-law Sara. This champion of rugged hermits, outcasts and nomads could always walk home to warm fires and friendly faces. He did, however, live with grief and lossof his parents, his brother, of two young children, and of the political hopes prompted by the French Revolution that later shattered into what he calls these times of fear / This melancholy waste of hopes oerthrown.

As a poet of comfort via simple, everyday experience, of blessed consolations in distress, he remains without equal. The philosopher John Stuart Mill paid the finest tribute to this gift. Stricken by a depressive breakdown after his hyper-intellectual youth, Millas his Autobiography of 1873 explainsfound in Wordsworth a supremely effective medicine for my mind. His poems fed Mill with a source of inward joy, of sympathetic and imaginative pleasure, which could be shared in by all human beings. As Mill put it: I felt myself at once better and happier as I came under their influence.

During this spell of collective standstill, that power need not dimand you do not need to contemplate some awesome summit, torrent or ravine to feel it. As the Ode: Intimations of Immortality confesses, To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears. Look closely when out on your next state-approved stroll.

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William Wordsworth was the supreme bard of nature and solitude - The Economist

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If we all flaunt our supposed immortality like some drunken yeehaw,there could be hundreds as opposed to a handful of dead in our community this year

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OPINION

Edwin O'Shea, Staunton Published 4:34 p.m. ET April 2, 2020

I knew of a man once who would drive over 60 on narrow country roads at night and instead of slowing at an intersection he would flash off his lights, see no evidence of a car coming orthogonal and would then blaze through.

Some of y'all will still venture out in these extraordinary times, relying on no one else to be about. I've seen you on the social media playing the Monday morning game of "live free or die" - you think it's Monday coffee break. Brother, the church service bells haven't even rung -and perhaps even months from now you'll be braying about how the virus was nothing but an exotically named flu.

If you're that person I'd like to tell you that if we all drive like a reckless yahoo or flaunt our supposed immortality like some drunken yeehaw,there could be hundreds as opposed to a handful of dead in our community this year. Your big talk about rights is only made possible by the rest of us being responsible. So, please, unless you have essential work to do that necessitates proximity to others, grow up and stay at home.

Read or Share this story: https://www.newsleader.com/story/opinion/readers/2020/04/02/recklessness-get-us-nowhere-we-want-coronavirus/5111969002/

April 2, 2020, 4:47 p.m.

April 2, 2020, 4:41 p.m.

April 2, 2020, 4:34 p.m.

April 2, 2020, 1:02 p.m.

April 2, 2020, 11:08 a.m.

April 2, 2020, 10:35 a.m.

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Unless that work is essential, grow up and stay home - The News Leader