Holy Mother Of God. As if 2020 is a year that anyone really wants to memorialize for eternity, a company calling itself Dot Com Product has created a Covid-19 themed ornament with that you can personalize and add to your Holiday Tree. Unreal. According to the description (unedited by me): “Each ornament is complemented with 2020 memorabilia including adorable Santa Hat Persons Wearing Masks, Hand Sanitizer, Toilet Paper, and the Year 2020” (with a Covid Germ representing the First Zero). Kill me.
You can order these crazy things with up to seven individual masked-heads (depending on how many people in your family survived the year, I suppose), and you can also add a pet. You have to personalize the ornaments yourself though (a black sharpie is recommended). If this looks like the bad taste / white elephant gift you need to own, you can read more about them, and place an order, at This Link.
In the early days of the Covid 19 lockdown, most of us — not just here in Manhattan but around the globe — were spending close to 24 hours a day in our homes. It was during this time that photos began appearing on the Internet and Instagram depicting places like Times Square and other generally heavily-populated ‘tourist destinations’ in states of complete abandonment. It was as if civilization as we know it had ceased to exist, and our cities been left to the elements. The world was looking more apocalyptic by the day. The only thing missing were the zombies.
I thought of these images immediately when I got an email from Hashimoto Contemporary Gallery about their latest exhibition, Quarantine by artist Scott Listfield — who is known for his paintings featuring a lone exploratory astronaut lost in a landscape cluttered with pop culture icons, corporate logos and tongue-in-cheek science fiction references.
The gallery is walking distance from my home, so I made an appointment to see these enigmatic and compelling paintings in person. I was the only person in the gallery at the time of my visit, which made the experience even more powerful. To say that Scott Listfield’s work encourages imaginative extrapolation is an understatement.
Outdoor dining during the Covid 19 pandemic has really saved New York City, not only economically but morale-wise. I love how the little temporary dining areas that restaurants have built curbside make it seem like there’s street fair going on all the time! This Pink Tent and Picket Fence was spotted on Bleecker Street in the West Village.
October is here already — wow! — and this pandemic is still a thing that we have to make allowances for in our daily lives. The safety of ourselves and our families is a consideration for any type of activity planning, and Halloween is fast approaching. We need to keep kids safe, but their social and emotional wellness can also be affected by being unable able to participate in festivities that create so much happiness and sense of connection. How can we celebrate Halloween in the Covid life, you may ask? While door-to-do trick or treating may be off the table, we have a few suggestions for keeping the Halloween spirit alive. Parenting expert, guidance counselor, licensed educational psychologist, and board-certified behavior analyst, Reena B. Patel (LEP, BCBA) has compiled a list of practical tips addressing fun and creative ways to accommodate a traditional Halloween during this pandemic. Let’s get to it!
Does Your Neighborhood Look Like This? If Not, Make It So!
Decorate the inside and outside of your house. If you haven’t done this before, this is the year to start. Head to your local TJ Jaxx where they always have an amazing and super affordable selection of Halloween items to decorate your home — some that you will want to leave out year-round!
Create a Month of Halloween countdown. I know that October has already started, but it’s not too late to make a countdown calendar (even if you just do it for the ten days or a week heading up to Halloween) and for each day have a Halloween surprise ready to share with your child. These can include things like a Halloween coloring sheet, candy, puzzles, pencils, stickers, and small toys that you can find at your local Dollar Store. You’d be surprised how far little things like this will go toward raising a child’s spirits especially now.
There are some companies that participate in Themed Activity Boxes. While some require a subscription plan, but you can get one box just for the month of October. It can be fun to open the box and be surprised by what arrives at your door!
Connect with your child’s school and see what the teachers have planned. Volunteer to help your school create some fun Zoom halloween activities. A week of halloween Zoom costume dress up is a great example.
Get Baking! Baking is such a fun, creative way to interact with your child. Get easy recipes Here.
Have a Halloween-themed Movie Night. For kid-friendly Halloween movie suggestions, check out this article.
Freddie Kruger Jack ‘O Lantern, Very Scary!
Host a virtual Pumpkin Carving party via Zoom. The creative possibilities are endless!
Social Distancing is Important
Throw a small Social Distance-Observing House Party. Plan to get together with a small group of family and close friends who are in your ‘pod.’ You could even include a fun Halloween piñata!
NYC’s Covid numbers have been way down for over a month now (#nystrong), which means that the city’s cultural institutions are reopening — and no one is happier about that than me! We recently celebrated the 40th Birthday of a close friend by visiting the American Museum of Natural History on its reopening day, and we had all kinds of crazy, socially-distanced-and-masked-up fun. It was in the gift shop near the Dinosaur exhibits that we spotted this fun Shark Attack magnet. Be careful not to get your hands near his mouth, because he is HANGRY!
NYC-based Street Artist Denis Ouch has been busy lately painting images of Superheros in Face Masks all over the city. His most ambitious contribution to the series so far seems to be this monumental mural depicting masked-up versions of Superman, Batman, Thor (who technically is a God, not a Superhero), and Wonder Woman, accompanied by the urgent plea “Save Us Justice League” in white (and Ouch’s tag in pink).
The mural expands across two facades of the building at the corner of 8th Avenue and Greenwich Avenue (by the Mobil Station), in Chelsea.
NYC could use some saving, now more than ever I suspect.
She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through.
Then passed right by –
And never knew.
ShelSilverstein (September 25, 1932 – May 10, 1999)
Spotted On a Utility Pole Near Stuyvesant Cove, NYC. Street Artist Unknown.
While I haven’t yet been lucky enough to experience his current rendering of Governor Mario Cuomo as Superman (which, appropriate), I did get a bit giddy when I strolled past this rather large and impressive SacSix mural of Dr. Anthony Fauci re-imagined as Star Trek’s Mr. Spock. Perfectly logical.
The pop-culture infused likeness of Fauci includes fun Spock-ian embellishments such as the hand sign made famous by the Enterprise’s only Vulcan crew member (with a reminder to stay vigilant with personal hygiene), as well as the signature pointed ears.
Fauci Spock Mural was Photographed on St. Marks Place in NYC’s East Village.
I would never wish for anyone to become ill with the Covid, but if you’re outside your home and you’re not wearing a mask over your nose and mouth, then you are asking for it. No mask, no empathy. Wear one of these awesome shirts, designed by Austen Marie, and piss off the Karens and Chads who refuse to mask up because they are ignorant idiots They’ll be dead soon, so I hope it was worth it. This slogan is available to rock on a variety of T-Shirts, Hoodies and even Masks, and there are many other colors besides pink to choose from, but this is the Pink Thing of The Day, Bitches! Adult T-Shirt prices start at just $19.95, so get some quarantine shopping done now at This Link!
All US states are suffering from the effects of Covid-19 to varying degrees, and the American nursing force is playing a huge role in curbing the situation as best as possible. As is to be expected from the biggest epidemic in a century, there are multiple problems popping up every now and then, making the job of medical professionals even more difficult than it already is. If you are currently working in the medical segment as a nurse, a doctor, or in any other active care role, you should be able to better relate with the two primary issues we are going to highlight today.
Shortage of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
It’s true that the PPE shortage is not as bad right now as it was a few months ago, but it’s not something that has completely gone away either. This is particularly true in:
• Rural hospitals and healthcare centers
• Overburdened hospitals in major US cities
The real issue here is not only supply but also the available resources to avail those supplies. For example, consider the fact that an N95 respirator is capable of filtering out the coronavirus, but most of the FFRs are for one use only, especially in a medical care setting where the virus is known to be present. What that means is, in order to keep their staff safe, the hospital has to supply every direct care workers with at least one mask, every single day.
