This morning, like most mornings, I made the mistake of reading the paper and now, like most mornings, following the lead of actor David Carradine, fashion designer Alexander McQueen, Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz, Mick Jagger's fashion designer girlfriend L'Wren Scott, comic Robin Williams, handbag maven Kate Spade and TV personality Anthony Bourdain, I want to hang myself from the nearest doorknob. I won't do it, of course, since hurting myself in any way is completely out of the question, something I learned when I fainted having my ears pierced at age 17. But still it's a recurring thought when the news is this bad.
First off there's the Chinese coronavirus which is spreading like wildfire. And speaking of wildfire, the ones in Australia have spread like coronavirus. Both situations spell death and destruction for thousands of people, not to mention koala bears, while experts in the field seem unable to stop either outbreak. Making matters worse, 14 cruise ship passengers who tested positive for the virus have just returned from China after their two-week quarantine accomplished nothing, and now they are free to spread their germs here at home. As for Australia, tens of millions of acres of its formerly dreamlike landscape have been incinerated over the last several months, no doubt dousing vacation plans for many National Geographic readers.
Another depressing story concerns a subset of exercise fanatics who are apparently brain dead despite having great bodies. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, "Devotees of luxury performance wear include men and women willing to sweat, spend and endure what it takes to look good while working out." For example, one fashion designer in California created a jockstrap embroidered with pearls, crystals and seashells that sells for $35,000. For women, the fancy gear includes faux velvet, leather and crystal and chain-embellished leggings, tie-front sports bras, Rolex watches and Cartier bracelets specifically made to stay on during exercise. As one trainer says, "You work out to look good, and you should look good while you're doing it." (Who knew? I thought I was working out to be healthy and avoid another heart attack.)
Of course there's more than just hard news in the paper. A movie review (Ordinary Love) details how a woman's breast cancer diagnosis, complete with a double mastectomy and hair loss from chemotherapy, impacts her marriage. I was bummed out just reading the review, I certainly won't see the film. On another page I learned how dementia can be staved off by playing games, doing puzzles and coloring with the afflicted, and is also helpful to the 40% of family caregivers who suffer from severe depression as a result of their loved one's illness.
On other fronts, flooding in Mississippi damaged hundreds of homes and businesses, three people died in severe storms in Britain, ex-national security advisor John Bolton trashed Trump in a speech at Duke University, tech giant Apple, Inc. fears the coronavirus will hurt iPhone sales, gunmen killed 24 people in Burkina Faso and a Virginia Senate committee voted to delay a bill banning the sale of assault-style weapons.
So I did the crossword puzzle. And after my workout at the gym later, with a personal trainer who wears plain black tights and an ordinary t-shirt, I may even color. As my father would say, "It couldn't hurt."
First off there's the Chinese coronavirus which is spreading like wildfire. And speaking of wildfire, the ones in Australia have spread like coronavirus. Both situations spell death and destruction for thousands of people, not to mention koala bears, while experts in the field seem unable to stop either outbreak. Making matters worse, 14 cruise ship passengers who tested positive for the virus have just returned from China after their two-week quarantine accomplished nothing, and now they are free to spread their germs here at home. As for Australia, tens of millions of acres of its formerly dreamlike landscape have been incinerated over the last several months, no doubt dousing vacation plans for many National Geographic readers.Another depressing story concerns a subset of exercise fanatics who are apparently brain dead despite having great bodies. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, "Devotees of luxury performance wear include men and women willing to sweat, spend and endure what it takes to look good while working out." For example, one fashion designer in California created a jockstrap embroidered with pearls, crystals and seashells that sells for $35,000. For women, the fancy gear includes faux velvet, leather and crystal and chain-embellished leggings, tie-front sports bras, Rolex watches and Cartier bracelets specifically made to stay on during exercise. As one trainer says, "You work out to look good, and you should look good while you're doing it." (Who knew? I thought I was working out to be healthy and avoid another heart attack.)
Of course there's more than just hard news in the paper. A movie review (Ordinary Love) details how a woman's breast cancer diagnosis, complete with a double mastectomy and hair loss from chemotherapy, impacts her marriage. I was bummed out just reading the review, I certainly won't see the film. On another page I learned how dementia can be staved off by playing games, doing puzzles and coloring with the afflicted, and is also helpful to the 40% of family caregivers who suffer from severe depression as a result of their loved one's illness.
On other fronts, flooding in Mississippi damaged hundreds of homes and businesses, three people died in severe storms in Britain, ex-national security advisor John Bolton trashed Trump in a speech at Duke University, tech giant Apple, Inc. fears the coronavirus will hurt iPhone sales, gunmen killed 24 people in Burkina Faso and a Virginia Senate committee voted to delay a bill banning the sale of assault-style weapons.
So I did the crossword puzzle. And after my workout at the gym later, with a personal trainer who wears plain black tights and an ordinary t-shirt, I may even color. As my father would say, "It couldn't hurt."
You forgot the apocalyptic locust invasion that has destroyed crops in Africa and now heading towards china so this is a problem. I read about the fires in Australia, land owners in the past would light controlled fires on their land to prevent this, but apparently either the state had taken over their land or other people that don't understand that this is something that needs to be done. Everyone that are supposed to be stewards of these properties, including in California are completely mentally deficient and instead play the climate blame game.
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