QUARANTINE, ITALIAN STYLE: It’s kind of adorable.
Archive for 2020
March 14, 2020
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Trump Tests Negative For Coronavirus.
France to close all restaurants, cafes, cinemas and clubs due to coronavirus.
Italy’s Nightmare Offers Chilling Preview of Weeks to Come.
Spanish PM’s wife has tested positive for coronavirus.
GYMS WON’T CLOSE UP SHOP …
More Cleaning Than Usual.
What’s included in the coronavirus response bill passed by the House?
How to avoid going stir crazy at home during coronavirus.
Coronavirus: China’s first confirmed Covid-19 case traced back to November 17.
All North Carolina public schools to close for two weeks.
Georgia Postpones Presidential Primary Over Coronavirus Pandemic.
Italians defy coronavirus with mass singing, applause for doctors.
Queen quits Buckingham Palace over coronavirus fears after Cobra crisis talks.
YES, IT’S CALLED THE “KETO FLU,” AND IT’S BEEN WELL-KNOWN FOR YEARS: Switching to keto diet may cause flu-like symptoms.
AT AMAZON, save in Blu-Ray and DVD.
Plus, deals on bestselling Video Games.
VIA EMAIL FROM OPEN TABLE:
Looking at comprehensive data from restaurants on our platform — across online reservations, phone reservations, and walk-ins — we note sharp declines over the last week. In the United States and United Kingdom, we see a 20 percent reduction in total seated diners vs. last year. Mexico and Canada are down 15 to 17 percent. At the city level, diners are down approximately 45 percent in Seattle, 40 percent in San Francisco, 30 percent in New York, and 25 percent in London, Los Angeles, and Chicago. (All declines cited here are on a year-over-year basis.) . . .
To support the restaurants we all love, we’d like to share a few simple things you can do to help your favorite restaurants weather this storm:
If you have a change of plans, please let the restaurant know as soon as possible so they can plan accordingly. Even cancelling the same day is better than not showing up.
Order take-out or delivery. It gives the restaurant business and keeps you well fed. Many restaurants that don’t usually offer these options are making exceptions.
Re-book for a future date—it will give everyone something to look forward to.
Consider purchasing restaurant gift cards if they’re offered.
Tip generously if you can afford it. Tipped workers are some of the first to suffer in times of economic distress.
I’ve left several $20 tips this week, because I know the folks getting them will need it.
More on the state of the restaurant industry here.
HEATHER MAC DONALD: Compared To What?
I MISSED THIS YESTERDAY: Biden picks new campaign manager, the woman who ran Beto’s campaign. “Joe Biden’s campaign has just completed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in political history. So how has Biden responded? By reshuffling his campaign team and picking a new campaign manager.”
GOOD ADVICE: Wash Your Hands, but Also Take a Nap. Once you’ve done the things that have to be done, it’s all up to your immune system. Keep it fine-tuned by being good to yourself.
THE LYING DOG-FACED PONY SOLDIER STUMBLES: Plug pulled on Biden ‘virtual town hall’ after technical glitches, miscues.
IT’S 1776, NOT 1619: DON’T LET THE TIMES STEAL AMERICA’S BIRTHDAY. “1776 Unites” offers a pro-America response to the New York Times’ attempt to rewrite history.
IMPROVISATION: RVs and an Econolodge Become Makeshift Quarantine Zones.
PRESIDENT TRUMP REPORTS THAT he has been tested for coronavirus.
SOCIAL DISTANCING, THE CULINARY EDITION: So I met the Insta-Mom for lunch at Calhoun’s Barbecue, and they’ve enacted major sanitary changes. We were handed photocopies menus rather than reusable ones, and when we were done the waiter wadded them up to throw away right in front of us. The tables were wiped with sanitizing wipes (then the Insta-Mom pulled her own wipe out of her bag and wiped ours again). There were only one-time-use disposable packets for salt, pepper, ketchup, barbecue sauce, etc. I’ve never seen anything like it at a restaurant before. I asked the manager and he said they had consulted with the Knox County board of health on what changes to make. I expect you’ll see this sort of thing in a lot of places.
Also, it’s easy to forget that disposable, one-time-use items came into style because they were perceived as healthier. Then we quit fearing germs. Now . . . well, I think we’ll see a return.
IN 2020, ALL THE COMFORTABLE CERTAINTIES GO OUT THE WINDOW: Something Strange Is Going On With the North Star.
AS ALWAYS, LIFE IMITATES THE BABYLON BEE: De Blasio on Coronavirus: ‘This Is a Case for a Nationalization of Crucial Factories and Industries.’
Earlier: Bernie Sanders: ‘We Must Seize The Means Of Toilet Paper Production.’
(Found via Gay Patriot, who tweets, “Commies Gonna Commie.”)
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: California Is A Cruel, Medieval State. “The Golden State has become a cruel and unusual place because callousness and narcissism were redefined as caring and compassion.”
AT AMAZON, AA Batteries from Duracell. Also, Coppertop D Alkaline Batteries. Plus, Coppertop Alkaline 9V Batteries.
THINGS THAT ONLY A CERTAIN SOCIETAL NICHE WORRIES ABOUT: Is it Ethical to Order Delivery During a Pandemic?
#HERTOO? A Woman Who Accused Former Casino Mogul Steve Wynn Of Rape Was Found To Have Defamed Him. “As to why Kuta made the allegations, she acknowledged to Wynn’s attorney Tamara Peterson that she demanded $150 million from the casino mogul to drop her claims. Kuta was also able to jump on the #MeToo bandwagon in 2018, getting instant victim status simply because she made an allegation against a powerful man.”
