Why Is This So Confusing?

 I can't imagine why understanding when to get a Covid-19 test and what kind of test to get should be so confusing, but to be quite honest, I am totally confused, and with the information and protocols changing almost daily, I feel I know less now than I did a year ago.  Am I the only one that feels this way?

First they said to isolate for 10 days if you had contact with someone who had Covid-19.  Now they say isolate for 5-7 days.  They make it sound like everyone should be testing all the time!  Take a test on consecutive days and get a negative result to make sure you are ok.

Viral test or PCR test?  A viral test will show current infection.  There are two types, the antigen test and the nucleic acid amplification tests.  (NAAT).  Use the rapid test (PCR) whether you have symptoms or not.  Take the test 5-7 days after exposure.  With all this information, who knows what to do?  Also, the rapid tests are not always accurate, so throw that problem into the equation.

My friend's granddaughters teacher came down with Covid.  My friend was with her granddaughter all day on Christmas day.  Her granddaughter has no symptoms.  Should my friend isolate or not?  I had lunch with a friend who tested positive about 5 days after I had lunch with her. (this was a while ago).  Was she contagious when I was with her?  She had mild symptoms and got tested.  Should I have isolated?  Tested?  I just don't know what's the right thing to do anymore.

My answer to all this is to lay low for the next month.  I will stay home as much as possible and always wear a mask in public.  I think January is going to be a bad month, so it's best just to stay away from people if you can.  I just ordered a box of N95 masks.  

A least people are being responsible.  I went to play pickleball with a group of 8 yesterday, and one woman who I did not know announced that she had been exposed to someone who had Covid, and she would leave if people felt uncomfortable.  You should have seen everyone take a big step away from her when she said that!  No one said anything, then I said that I felt uncomfortable, especially since I spend a lot of time with my 98 year old mother.  She understood and went home.  I think we all need to speak up more!  Ask if someone's vaccinated if you don't know them.  What's wrong with that?  It's your life, and let's protect ourselves and each other and get through this terrible mess.

The Barbizon Hotel for Women: What A List of Residents

I just finished reading about the history of Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York.  It was fascinating.  The hotel was opened in 1927, and was THE place for single women to stay while trying to get a career started in fashion, acting, publishing or anything else.  Strict rules had to be followed, including a dress code and specific hours women had to be home.  

The women's magazine Mademoiselle was founded in 1935.  Editor Betsy Talbot Blackwell had a junior editor program, very prestigious, where young women would come from all over the country as assistant editors.  They would stay at the Barbizon.  

Another group of young women who resided at the Barbizon were aspiring models.  Both the Powers Modeling Agency and the Ford Modeling Agency were started during this time, and young models all stayed at the Barbizon.

The Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School was very popular with young women, and those attending the school from out of New York, stayed at the Barbizon.

Then of course there were dozens and dozens of aspiring actors, writers and poets.  Any woman who came to New York to find fame and fortune, or a husband, stayed at the Barbizon.  It is no longer in operation.  Changing with the times, it finally started allowing men to stay, then ultimately it was bought by a developer and is now a pricy condo complex.  

Here is a list of some of the very famous women who resided at the Barbizon Hotel:  Joan Crawford, Cloris Leachman, Joan Didion, Ali MacGraw, Grace Kelly, Tippy Hedron, Lauren Bacall, Candice Bergen, Betty Buckley, Rita Hayworth, Cybill Shepherd, Jessica Savage, Sylvia Plath, Nancy Regan.

Now that's some list of influential women!!!

History of Women's Clothing Sizes

 We've all done it.  We've worn a size 12 forever, and now it doesn'tt fit.  What happened?  The answer is simple.  The growing obesity rate in the U.S. has made the size you used to wear, too tight.  So what do the manufacturers do?  In order to keep you happy in a size 12, they do what's called vanity sizing.  That's when manufacturers mark clothing with smaller sizes to appeal to customers.  

In the 1940's the government, in their infinite wisdom, funded a study attempting to define the average American woman, by measuring thousands of women.  The result?  Way too many measurements.

In the 1950's the government tried to classify the woman's body yet again.  Marilyn Monroe, with her 35 inch bust and 22 inch waist might have worn a size 12 at the time.  Today, those same measurements would put her in a size 6.

In the 1970's the government updated its standard again, this time including non-whites and non-military personnel.  The hour glass figure is what most women were going for.

But we're all so different.  Today, vanity sizing is still prevalent, while many brands (Chicos) use their own catalog sizes.  A size 12 dress can vary dramatically according to the manufacturer.  The goal is to keep customers happy, and that means to keep the sizes small.  We all know it's a game, but there's something about still wearing a size 12 that makes a woman happy.  Even though I know I'm fooling no one, it makes me happy!

Washington Post

What To Do About 3 Million Stray Dogs In Morocco

 There are millions of stray dogs in Morocco, running in packs, terrorizing school children, and often attacking people.  What is often done now will not reduce the dog population long term.  Poison, bullets and starvation are the methods mostly used today, but there are other ways to reduce the population of stray dogs that will actually reduce their numbers.  

Sterilization, vaccination and release is the best approach to reducing the number of unwanted dogs.  Dogs that are sterilized are not going to reproduce, and over time, the number of unwanted dogs will diminish.  This is the humane thing to do.

Ferrol cats are also a problem.  There is a program used in other parts of the world that could also be used in Morocco.  It is called TNR, trap, neuter, release.  This is similar to the program suggested for dogs, but because the cats are more difficult to catch, they must use humane traps to catch them.

Many humans are hurt by the packs of wild dogs that roam Morocco.  Sterilization and vaccination are the best way to reduce their numbers.

Shame On Kelloggs

 I love capitalism, but I hate corporate greed.  On October 5, 1,400 Kellogg's workers went on strike when their contract expired.  They wanted better health care benefits and higher pay, especially for the lower tier wage earners on their two-tier wage system.  Today is December 17, and the strike has not yet been settled.

Why do I talk about greed in this dispute?  Here are a few facts.  During the past two years, workers at Kellogg's, and millions of other essential workers, kept us fed.  They often worked 12-15 hour days, many workers worked 50-70 straight days without a break.  They worked incredibly hard to help keep America fed during the pandemic.  The CEO earned $12million last year (salary and compensation), other executives earned $300,000 or more.  Profits for Kellogg last year were $1.4billion, yet here we are, not giving the worker bees their fair share.

To top off this bit of corporate greed, Kellogg is planning to ship several hundred jobs to Mexico, where the average hourly wage for workers is 97 cents.  Additionally, Kellogg says it plans to replace striking workers with new hires, with many, including President Biden, saying it is an existential attack on unions and workers.

According to the news this morning, it appears a contract may be approved.  Membership is ready to vote, and if it passes, workers will return to work after Christmas.

Next time you reach for that box of Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran, or Rice Krispies, think again.  Do you want to support a corporation that earns $1.4 in a year and doesn't take care of its essential workers?  I don't.

Where is Peng Shuai?

 Peng Shuai is one of the most famous female tennis players in the world.  On November 2 she accused 75-year old Zhang, a former leader within the Chinese Communist party, of pressuring her into sex.  Peng claimed the assault occurred after Zhang invited her to play tennis with him and his wife.  She posted this on social media, and within hours, her post was taken down.  Days later, Peng Shuai disappeared.  She has not been seen in public since.

A post, presumably of Peng recanting the charges she originally made, was forthcoming, but most experts feel it is not Peng, or that she is being forced to make the statement.  The world tennis association is trying to figure out what to do.  On December 1 the WTA suspended all tournaments in China over the country's censorship and failure to investigate the allegations.  The WTA said they cannot in good conscience send more WTA players to a country capable of the censorship it's applying to Peng.

Is this a political issue or a sports issue?  Of course it is both.  Tennis is big business throughout the world, and China stands to lose millions, maybe billions of dollars over the incident.  However, control of content on social media is of utmost importance to the Chinese.  Everything is subject to censorship, and if you're famous, even more so.  

I worry about our censorship of social media.  There's a fine line between freedom of expression and speech, and censorship.  Blatant falsehoods should be removed and allegations should be investigated.  This is an ongoing problem for the free world, and it's getting harder everyday to control.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens to Peng Shuai next.  Hopefully world pressure will force the Chinese to release Peng.  I'm not hopeful that this will occur.

A Day in LA: Van Gogh and Pizza

Beyond Van Gogh will soon open in San Diego, but I was looking for a fun outing in the fall, so I got a few friends together and we bought tickets for the show in Los Angeles.  What a great day we had, although, as usual, things did not go according to plan.

We were planning to drive in two cars to comfortably accomodate six of us.  At 9am in the morning I got a call from Sharon.  Her dog was quite sick, and she need to take her to the vet right away, and would miss the trip.  We scrambled to find someone to take her place last minute, but had no luck.  Then, just a few minutes before our departure, we got a call that Sue had been in a minor car accident, and could not go.  So, although our group got smaller, we did not lack in enthusiasm for the day ahead.

Our first stop was lunch, just a few blocks from the Van Gogh venue in Hollywood.  We ate at L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele.  You would miss it if you didn't know it was there.  It's off Sunset one block from Las Palmas, on a shabby looking street with nothing much to see.  But once you enter the doors of the restaurant, you are transported to an Italian bistro.  It is light and airy, bustling, and very inviting.  The restaurant originated in Naples in 1870, and their tradition of authentic Neopolitan  pizza and pasta is still alive in Hollywood.  Pizzas are big (12 inches) and delicious.  Appetizers are wonderful too.  They include things like burrata and eggplant, gnocchi fritto, and zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta.  Great salads and pastas round out the menu.  We enjoyed a modestly priced Italian wine to accompany the meal.

Then it was off to Immersion Van Gogh.  The exhibit consists of a walk through empty rooms where paintings are projected all around.  The images move and swirl around the walls and floors and ceilings.  There are 300 Van Gogh works in all, and wonderful recorded symphonic score to accompany the visual images.  It is truly a beautiful sensory experience.

Although the gift shop (of course there's a gift shop) has some lovely items, we all thought the prices were, well, quite pricy.  No one bought anything.  We did stay to watch the program twice.  It was that good.  It's only about 30 minutes long, and you can't see everything the first time, so I recommend watching it twice.  You won't be bored.  I hope you have a chance to see it when it comes to San Diego in January.