Coronavirus (Covid-19)

[ShyViolet]

Thanks Ben!

[EricJ]

Though -- the same thing happened to Taro Maki's previous DTV anime, Tenchi Muyo: after a brilliant first six episodes .. it quickly became a parody of itself, and never again reached the heights that first series promised.

Sigh...
The never-ending culture war between fans who started with the Tenchi Universe series first and said "It's a comfort-food sitcom!", and those who started with the six-episode OVA series first, and said "It's an EPIC sci-fi battle!...Wiiiiith some sitcom in it."

And then they inevitably come to blows over the Tenchi in Tokyo series, but have a heated but manageable debate over why the Galaxy Police series was an unholy unrelated mess with the wrong name-director, and agree and shake hands that the more recent post-Maki "revival" series without the original creator are pretty much crap.

[GeffreyDrogon]

Why does it feel like everything in the world is getting worse, especially since COVID-19 started? I wonder if the past was better to live in.

[EricJ]

And for those still not vaccinated, a timely reminder to see ourselves as others see us:


(As Trump says, "Look, just get the vaccine, and if it doesn't work, you'll be the first to know.")

[Ben]

I wonder if the past was better to live in.

Apart from some modern technology, indubitably.

[Ben]

As Trump says, "Look, just get the vaccine"…

Finally, big orange baby man say something that will help others than just himself. Which scarily makes it two things I have agreed with this week.

But…some people are still unvaxed…why?

[GeffreyDrogon]

I only said that because I think that the past was a better time to live in in terms of peace and lifestyle.

[Randall]

Depends on which past. 1943 was pretty rough. The Dark Ages were not the best times. September 2001 was awful. The Spanish Flu of 1918 was a WAY worse pandemic than now. It's easy to find lots of other bad times. You lack perspective. Things wil get better again.

[Ben]

"When?"






* This is a quote, hence the marks. Prizes for those that get it.

[droosan]

With age, one comes to realize that every generation generally thinks the 'then-current' time represents the worst things have ever been, in history. It's only in hindsight -- through the blinders of nostalgia (recalling mostly the pleasant things, and minimizing the bad) -- that some will later look back upon those same years as "the good times".

When I was born, the Vietnam War was in full swing. My father had already been on two tours over there, and would later go for a third. Domestically, civil rights battles were also raging, resulting in several high-profile assassinations. I'm sure my parents wondered at the time what sort of world they'd brought me into.

Yet -- both of them were born during the Second World War. My grandparents -- on both sides -- didn't have the benefit of foresight, to know how the world would turn out after that conflict .. and indeed, couldn't have known even for how long that war would last. Coupled with the preceding decade-long Great Depression, most folks at the time likely thought their own future was as bleak as some today think it looks now.

[Ben]

There has literally never been a fantastic time to live in. Any "great" period in any one country also had many other things going on in other communities, class structures and, as always, levels of affluence. For any good, nostalgic times that are looked on as golden, various people will be able to describe a situation counter to that viewpoint, and validly so too.

In recent times, how about the 1950s? Well, as prosperous as they may have been for some, there was still rationing in places and the aftermath of a world war. The 60s, with its music, fashion and wild abandon? The threat of nuclear annihilation wasn't too far behind those either. However, I do think that in terms of pace and the bombardment of "life" we get now, the unspecified past was "better", or at least perhaps a little "nicer".

One friend we have in his 90s told us, when comparing Covid to WWII, that the pandemic was worse: in the first lockdown, he said, "yes, there was danger, but at least then you could go out with your mates and the fight was one of togetherness, unlike now when we are all stuck indoors and can’t see anyone". Obviously, he was a kid then, but it just shows how it is all a matter of perspective, and perception, and perception of those perspectives…

[GeffreyDrogon]

Right now, I've been reading the book Autism, by Karyn Seroussi. Have any of you been reading anything lately?

[droosan]

My 'casual' read of the past couple weeks has been No Applause - Just Throw Money, by Trav S.D. .. which offers a thorough history of the American institution of vaudeville from its origins in the late-1800s, then examines how it influenced the entertainment industry across the 'new' venues of cinema, radio and television (all of which quickly put vaudeville itself out of business, in the span of a few decades). It's an interesting and fun book.

[Randall]

That sounds pretty neat, Droo.

The past couple of years, I have been trying to get through some of the very many classic comic book collections that were enthusiastically purchased, but then languished on dusty shelves. I am slowly making headway, while also cutting back on my purchases. Right now, I am reading All Star Archives Volume 6.

[ShyViolet]

Just wondering how everyone here is doing lately. I realize the summer has been mostly a disappointment since many of us assumed Covid would soon blow over. The new variants like Delta have me kind of scared. But I know it’s important to be strong.