See also: March 1-16 2021 and April 1-15 , (View All)
Wow, that’s a first. I ended up moving a portion of this linkdump into a separate post. (See below). But what do I fill up the rest of my space with?
I’ll be getting my first COVID shot today. That’s worth a sentence (or two!).
US COVID DEATH RATE BY AGE: When compared to the risk of people 5-17 years of age, 18-29 years old are 15x more likely to die from COVID; 30-39 years old are 45x more likely to die; 40-49 years old are 130x more likely to die; people 50-64 years old are 400x more likely to die; people 65-74 years old are 1100 more likely to die; people 75-84 years old are 2800x more likely to die and people 85+ years old are 7900x more likely to die. What’s interesting is that the likelihood of getting COVID does not vary that much by age group; people 18-29 years old are 3x more LIKELY to get COVID than people 5-17 years of age; for all the other age groups, the risk of getting COVID is twice as high when compared to 5-17 year olds. (Data from Feb 2021)
I get my COVID shot Wednesday (first dose!) I’m excited. From NYT, here’s an interesting story about parosmia — losing one’s smell or experiencing phantom smells or awful smells while having COVID. Related but not the same: A long Brooke Jarvis piece about the Mysteries of Smell A long investigation and meditation about smell and what it means to us as humans. Jarvis is a science writer whose other pieces are here.
“KING OF THE HILL” RETURNS?!: BRENT FORRESTER, A TV writer & former producer for KING OF THE HILL tv show announced today (unofficially on a REDDIT AMA) that a sequel is in the works. QUOTE: “I am sure Greg Daniels and Mike Judge will murder me for sharing this but… HELL YES. They are in hot negotiations to bring back King of the Hill. The Trump administration made it suddenly very relevant again. The characters have all aged 15 years. The project is sooooo good. Okay I’ve said too much 
” My interpretation is that the project has not yet been greenlit but there is serious interest.
Speaking of which, I’ve heard rumors that Frasier might be coming back in some form. Also, I’m hoping — praying that they come up with that Community movie — or else I’ll be stuck watching reruns for the rest of my life.
This interesting analysis by anthropologist Jason Hickel suggests that using GDP to measure wealth and poverty in pre-20th century times is misleading. This leads to an excellent response to Stephen Pinker (who wrote the book, Better Angels which portrayed a generally optimistic vision of the current world in history).
My favorite quora topic: Why doesn’t Captain Janeway have to specify the temperature of her coffee, like Picard does with his tea?
I’m a little obsessed with the NBC Community show on Netflix. Here are some zany compilation clips on youtube: Annie’s gasping, Annie awwing and Community characters freaking out — here’s one of Annie freaking out. Here’s a compilation clip of “Anne Perkins” from Parks and Recreation.
Rothko Chapel documentary. It’s a little dull, but part of it is indeed the point (great external shots of Houston btw). For those who don’t know, Rothko Chapel is a great hidden secret in Houston; it’s next to Menil Museum and is a small meditation chapel which is nondenominational and based on Rothko’s dark solid color portraits. I’ve visited there several times; it’s a nice place to relax and be alone with your thoughts. I’ve also seen some small performances inside the building and some larger events outside — a Peace-oriented event with several Nobel Peace winners, Jimmy Carter and others…
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