This week the Orange Menace insisted that he knew all along that COVID-19 would become a dangerous pandemic. If you choose to take him at his word then you must also believe that he spent the last few weeks/months lying to you. If you believe that he is a stable genius who knew the seriousness of the situation all along then you must also believe that he is being criminally irresponsible by passing along confusing and often incorrect information and by publicly behave in ways which are in direct conflict with the recommendations of his and global health experts. So...which is it? Do you buy what he's selling this week, or are you holding onto what he sold in previous months? They cannot both be true.
For those of you who were not out having dinner at a crowded restaurant with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (who still hasn't issued directives for businesses to close or people to stay home) and posting about it on social media, or partying on a beach in Miami as if doing so wasn't incredibly selfish and myopic, but instead were being responsible humans and stayed home...know that sheltering in place is tough for many. You may feel isolated and alone, you may feel helpless and anxious, you may feel are angry (either at our federal government's criminally inept response, or at China or Iran over some baseless conspiracy theories designed to distract from the failures of our federal government)...it's OK. You're allowed. This situation is bonkers bordering on incomprehensible for all of us who are paying attention.
Shockingly even Fox News has come around to reporting reality after for weeks and months telling their viewers that the threat posed by COVID-19 was being exaggerated by the liberal media and the opposition party for the sole purpose of hurting their guy. Side note: have you ever heard a "leader" of any kind utter the words, "I don't take responsibility at all?" Ever? Can such a person be considered a leader?
Even if we had a functioning, responsible executive branch which stepped out of the way to allow experts to speak clearly and firmly about what we are up against, about what they are doing about it, and about what we all need to do, this would still be terrifying. With the confusing shit show of misinformation, alternative facts, designed distracting overt racism, and attempts at re-writing history in real time, it's almost unbearable. I have fallen prey to it all week long -- waking up throughout the night with my mind racing leaving me anxious, angry, in a terrible funk, and sleep-deprived.
I am fortunate to have pleasant distractions including video chats with 20+ dear old friends simultaneously, newer friends requesting and appreciating my techxspertise, people smarter than me I can discuss my concerns with, monster movies, pinball simulators on my phone, and two furry old beasts who love to play and purr sweetly while sitting on my lap until my legs fall asleep and are absolutely thrilled to have all this extra time with their human.
This is obviously somewhat hypocritical advice: dive into fun and productive pursuits, don't let yourself get lost in 24-hour cable news and the ignorant, misinformed miasma that is much of social media, and do as I say, not as I do -- as I sit here at 4:40 a.m. ET still preparing the radio show that I will live-host beginning at 9 a.m. ET.
Besides your mental health take care of your physical health -- please wash your hands frequently, maintain as much physical isolation from others besides your immediate household as possible, when you have to venture out keep your distance from people (even people without symptoms can infect you), try not to touch things others may have touched, sanitize when you return home, get good sleep (hypocrite alert!), and have patience with people who are probably as freaked out as you are even if they don't show it, and compassion for those who can't hide it.
The worst is yet to come for much of the world, but we will get through it, and it will be fun to watch the GOP run it's already-in-motion presidential campaign against socialism while it's avatar promises government money for citizens, small businesses, and large industries.
And now, on with the show...
Today's show will be live-hosted from 9am-5pm Eastern U.S. Time and feature new music by Built To Spill (Boise, ID, @built_2_spill), Porridge Radio (Brighton, England, @porridgeradio), and The Snuts (Whitburn, West Lothian, Scotland, @thesnuts).
The marathon 8-hour show is followed by 2 hours of uninterrupted music and is then rebroadcast in its entirety beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, and one final time at 1 a.m. on Sunday. That is followed by a rebroadcast of a Fuzzy Road radio show at 11 a.m. and then a couple of old 480 Minutes episodes from this week in past years, making for hosted shows all weekend long.
Tune in and connect with listeners in the Slack chat room.
For help with remembering when the live-hosted shows and re-runs air, check out the program schedule (which you can import into your favorite calendar program!) embedded here:
Contact the DJ during the live-hosted show hours (9am-5pm ET):
e-mail: ted(at)somafm.com
Twitter: @bagelradio
facebook.com/bagelradio/ (comments only, no FB messenger, sorry)
chat with fellow listeners: https://internet-radio-slack.herokuapp.com
480 Minutes / Year 16 - Episode 11/686
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