The sports bar, the one part of probably the largest national chain, a week back — as the staff were down to waiting about on to go orders (whether or not they at doing brisk business is beside the point), had on all their tv screens, as they always do, to the various sports stations and whatever sport related item is on what now.  The point of thos, I do not know — yes, their regular mode of business has every seat in view with big game action every where you turn, but when the staff is the only audience–

Today I see the big projection screens are off, so it is a step in the seeming logical direction.  What is on ESPN and the like appears to be classic games, reruns.  I do think the games may as well be commiserate with our current time in the season, so for the past month the baseball games ought have been spring season classics — you know, like go ahead and rerun Randy Johnson blowing up an incoming bird with his fastball.

Look closely and you will see that there is a dude on the swing set … Swinging, which is prohibited.  Technically illegal.  An item found on a sign post declaring some things “temporarily closed”.  I’m this case, playgrounds.

The problem may lie in the imagery — generic infographics.  Some abstraction of a play set with a line crossed through it.  No.  What we need now is a throwback to world war propaganda posters.  What is needed is an image of someone swinging, next to a swing occupied by that spiky coronavirus figure, and the tagline “when you swing, you swing with coronavirus.”

Still probably too abstract, the coronavirus will have to be anthromophized, and more so anthromorphized to a personification of evil.  So, you know, the coronavirus with a Hitler mustache.. In keeping with the poster’s source material.

I want to walk over to people who are not six feet (or, hell, make it four) and shout out the edict, maybe “leave room for the holy ghost!”. And, in keeping that the stakes are higher than a Catholic school dance, ” and the holy Tyler’s cousin! “. The problem with this bit of vigilantism is then everyone would be on me for touching my face — and where will it all end?

I was looking for some goofy comments I remember from a vice president Biden at the time of … I guess it was H1N1.  …2009wise.  Because, not in keeping with more measured attempt from Obama, it was a casual suggestion of hyperventilating — don’t touch a thing, gloves, oh boy … Extrapolate it to now how you wish.

The clanking of the pots and pans happened at 7 pm.  Unruly 2 year old behavor.  Followed, or concurrent with, the unleashing of the car alarms– Triggered, if you will.  A flash mob in an environment where flash mobs have been outlawed.  It passes for social interaction.

Every year, beating July 4, the signs are put up warning of your use of fireworks showing a cowering dog.  I suppose such edict works then but not for this.

It is Howard Beale urging a shout of “I’m as mad as Hell, and” etc.  without a message.  A loud audible “uh”.

. In the early days of Corona 2020 — oh, last week, from my vantage point the Scientology building was open for business — the tour of their big L Ron Hubbard stations of the cross available.  And why not?  They won’t be taking in the unwashed masses — runs counter to their prosperity doctrine — and everyone can be kept at a good clip of bodily distance.  It now appears, a you can see here, that curtains have been dropped over the window — no longer is the Hubbard exhibit visible, as it has been for the past few years.

Not quite the same as a boarding up — something I see at a business elsewhere, suggest it the business owners will not stop in until it is over so plop up the potential hurricane or riot rock protectors.  We know the confab of Scientology elders are dropping in, just… Closed to any onlookers.

Out and about on some sign posts, some person or some collective wheat- pasted some paper declaring “Rent Strike April 1 (etc etc) “  ( wooo).  I see an old guy I have often seen doing what he always does, either by his own free agency or at the behest of a neighborhood associaion’s beautification splot, scrape peel the things off.  And so here we see the ongoing revolution clash against the counter-revolution, the actionaries and the reactionaries, no doubt generational fissures.

Wow to Joe Biden.  Apparently he has daily briefings.  Also, if I see on twitter, he says some things — perhaps defensible but goofy or perhaps not but at least feeding a narrative with some truth in it — something about blacks and pools on the View and something else there.  Trio’s approval rating appears to hold on partisan lines.  As a whole, if we simply extrapolate from his tenure’s ratings and the midterms, that would bode a loss in November, if but for one niggling detail:  he won in 2016 by exhausting all the media oxygen (As, frankly, can be said of Obama in 2008).  From whence does Biden get a word in edgewise?  Is it possible insulting Mitt Romney not interfering in the standard metrics of the “Rose Garden strategy”?

Evidently the over-under on when major league baseball will begin the season is July 3rd.  So place your bets accordingly.

Wow be whoever went to Vegas at the start of the NBA season and put in a bet for who’s won the total on… Nobody.  If their water comes to fruition, are they profiting on pandemic?

Is this… The end… Of xfl v 2?  And if so, will the Mcmahons think sooner or later … “Let’s try it again!”?

Pizza places and Chinese and restaurants dabbling in take out are likely in some decent shape, as the shutdown does its part to expand the nation’s obesity troubles.  Maybe some other restaurants made the switch — a study on what elements allow for a successful “no dining” model may be interesing.  But pity the common sight I see — a lone restauranteer and doors open, standing thete, gazing out the window, waiting… reminding me of that one Seinfeld episode.

I see Starbucks has chucked it and closed til mid april.  I imagine the corporate offices deciding … “Okay, just wait until every smaller coffeeplace throws in the towel… Then close.”  Lest a minute pass allowing them not their ( better capitalized ) competition.

I have to wonder on the hyper-local focus of the affirmative messaging  Not necessarily this here Mission Theater — serves portland exclusively afterall, but down to some canned sidewalk chalk.  It is your global contagion, after all.  Even the odd hearing of “God bless the usa” is off.

“Unreal times?”
“Yeah. Today quarantine, tomorrow comes the looting.”

Eh.  Currently the petty shoplifting at your supermarkets would have to be through the roof.

And to be fair, this signage here… Probably predates anything.

A couple weeks back, the know if all column answered the question of dog drinking up water in the Bunsen burner — ain’t it unhygenic?  The answer given — the constant water flow makes it fine — is given a challenge in the corona moment — note the Bunsen burners are shut down.  (In the early 50s movie about a smallpox pandemic — A Killer Stalks New York — a young girl helps spread the disease by slurping at a Bunsen burner.)

Well.  Almost all of them areoff.  I was oddly startled to see two — maybe they weren’t off in that micro-area.  It is notable that the flow reaches farther into the air — limiting the chances that you (Or your dog) has their mouth on metal — but that is maybe air pressure from every other thing ofv.

S Bottom line — city trusts dog massez more than human masses.