Hi all,
Wave Watching
Little strange being in the 4th most COVID19-y health authority in England. I'm at the total opposite end, fortunately, but in the affected demographic (white twentysomethings). Wonder if they'll shut us down?
(This is cumulative cases, so don't worry that they're all going up.)
Perhaps this is just what the second wave is going to be like. Local outbreaks that get locally suppressed after a bit, manageable because the general population is much less 'infectable' than before due to social distancing, wfh, etc.
To my mind, the real disaster is still yet to hit. Some problems can be solved by staying home, but others can't. Not having any money because you've lost your job is one of the latter.
This is a graph of all the hours worked in the UK. [source]
Approx a quarter of the UK working population is currently on furlough. Not good. One troubling aspect is how those with money seem to be saving rather than spending. There's suddenly going to be a huge labour surplus as people simply do and buy less. What's going to happen to those people?
The optimistic version is that people work out whatever the remaining employed people want and start giving them that in exchange for money (say, ice-cream van style coffee vendors roaming around your neighbourhoods), executing perhaps the biggest rebalancing of the economy since... well, the internet I suppose. Even in this scenario, there will be significant deprivation in the mean time. The pessimistic version is that this still happens, but in ways that don't require so many people to do the work (say, coffee kits? or some other post-internet hell product).
The crux might be how much people with money like to buy things from people rather than machines. Troubling, given how objectionable a lot of people seem to find this at present.
Stuff I didn't see when it came out but then I saw it and here it is
I can't believe I never saw this utterly horrifying video. I absolutely hate fairground rides. So much so I've never been on one, except once, which I did last year for an experiment and because a girl I liked talked me into it. To no one's surprise — I absolutely hated it. This gives me the fear.
It this good? I can't tell. There are some good moments towards the end. It reinforces an idea I've been working on for a while now that there is some wider system for defusing all struggles and preserving the order of things in the Anglosphere (and perhaps beyond) — and far from the left being against this, they are actually a key part of it.
No... wait... that's just the plot of The Matrix isn't it? Well it could still be true!!
Despite being in looooove with this song when it came out I've never seen the video! Or known the backstory. I guess in my head I was just like "she probably just likes maps a lot". Turns out it's about... a breakup, obviously. The story goes the singer's ex bf was going to show up to the filming of this video, because he was leaving town and this was the last time they'd see each other. He actually strolls in half way through the recording, and you can see her crying in the video because he's just showed up.
Probably FAKE (like... she wrote the song when they were breaking up but then they recorded the video in the right timeframe for him to still be in the picture??) but the worst part is that apparently maps is an acronym for My Angus Please Stay. So embarrassing. Why can't she just like maps!! Why does she move the microphone around like that!! Possibly a cartographic reference?? Maybe she does just like maps so much and all this Angus stuff is a cover.
The milk is sad but it does get happy at the end. Apparently this song is about some member of Blur who had trouble with alcoholism and to manage this he would stay home, drink coffee and watch TV. Possibly the same member of Blur who is wearing a really short hoodie in the video? Why didn't that ever catch on I wonder, it is kind of hot.
BONUS: a video I haven't seen in ages with Intense Vibes:
K.log & I are on holiday next week! You can imagine me having a nice time in some hills. Perhaps I’ll send you a postcard.
K