Lockdown – Mike's Place

Picture Of The Day #59

Italian: Evolution of the Left.

‘Anni’: Year.

‘Oggi’: Today.

The Rise Of The Anti-Socrates

An old Soviet saying: “Don’t think. If you do think, don’t speak.”

I’d like to reference two of my favourite pop culture icons in a discussion of the rise of what I like to call the ‘anti-Socrates.’

First, The Simpsons episode Little Girl in the Big Ten…

“Laziness is counter-revolutionary. Questions are decadent. Fast hands mean less whipping.” See here.

Thoughts From The Lockdown Update #3

Fear and anxiety are not the basis for a healthy society

Fortunately, the town where I live in Central Queensland is not subject to any special Covid19 measures. As I type these words, the county of my birth and the city where I spent more than a decade of my teaching career are both subject to so-called ‘Tier 2’ restrictions.

In the 1977 Dr Who story The Sunmakers…

…the population of Earth has been moved to Pluto after the collapse of the planet’s ecosystem. To keep the people docile and easy to dominate, the alien race that controls Pluto pumps the atmosphere full of a chemical that induces anxiety. Even Leela, the Doctor’s minimally-clothed assistant, is affected.

Have we reached a stage where the fear of Covid19 is not worse than the illness itself?

Thoughts From The Lockdown Update #2

My 400th post

Original post: Thoughts From The Lockdown

First update: Thoughts From The Lockdown Update

The lockdown is just about over in Queensland. We are allowed to travel all over the state (interstate travel is banned until at least the end of June) and most businesses are open. Cinemas open on Friday 5th and pubs and restaurants will be opening on 12th June.

As the world returns to normal – whatever that is – I’d like to ask, was the lockdown actually worth it?

Thoughts From The Lockdown Update

Some interesting statistics

The original of this post – Thoughts From The Lockdown – was shared on 2nd May 2020. In that post I expressed my contempt for the catastrophising of the media and the desperate neediness and narcissism of so many ‘celebrities.’ I also made the less-than-breathtaking observation that the super-rich have done very nicely out of the current crisis.

At the time of writing, there have been 7,060 cases of Covid19 in Australia and 99 deaths; in the UK, the figures are 246,406 and 34,796. Worldwide there have been 320,180 deaths linked to the virus.

Worrying, yes. But do they justify the current response(s) from various world governments?

Picture Of The Day #45

In my 1970s childhood I was told, “If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out!”

I wrote a post called Don’t Go On Twitter in February and I stand by that advice. The current lockdown has confirmed my opinion that this platform consists entirely of time-rich pseudo-leftists desperate for approval and insane alt-rightists trolling them.

Here is well-known philosopher ‘Dirty’ Harry Callaghan on opinions…

I Don’t Want To Live In Airstrip One

And yes, I am well aware that this is a cliché

I haven’t written much recently as everything on the news is about Coronavirus. I used to watch the 10 ‘o’ clock news on Sky UK (starts at 7am in Queensland during the northern Summer) before I went to work but have stopped doing so as they only cover one story.

Here in Queensland we have been in this limbo state of semi-lockdown for six weeks. Fortunately there are encouraging signs that the lockdown is ending. Businesses are reopening and some children are returning to school on Monday (11/05/20) and hopefully the rest will be back on 25/05/20.

I’ve taken the title for this piece from George Orwell’s brilliant dystopian novel 1984 but I’d like to draw your attention to another of my favourite writers, Isaac Asimov.

Thoughts From The Lockdown

Stay at home, Protect the NHS, Bankrupt the country

Here in Queensland (my place of exile since 2005) we are in Week 5 of the so-called lockdown. The last week of the previous school term involved working at home, then there was a two week school ‘break’ – not ‘holiday’ as we were informed. We have just completed the second week of the second term, so the third week of home schooling. Fortunately, the premier of Queensland has said that because we have all been good and listened to nanny, there are going to be some relaxations of the rules today. As I type these words, there have been 1,033 confirmed cases in Queensland and six (yes, six!) deaths. For Australia as a whole, those figures are 6,767 and 93 respectively.

In no particular order, I’d like to share some thoughts about what the past month or so has revealed about the state of our society.