Zoom's Influence on Film Criticism

The kids are watching “Lord of the Rings” and in one scene the camera repeatedly cuts between close-up views of the characters’ faces as they conversed. Lucy said, “This is just like a Zoom where it goes from person to person!” I guess that's the kind of reaction you have when you are doing online school and use Zoom for a few hours a day!

Lucy's Tip Toe Breaks

One of the cutest things about Lucy's online school during this pandemic is that she comes down the stairs at 10:00 every day for her ten-minute break during Zoom. She's anxious to quickly get her snack and chat with her friends via Zoom before the break ends, so she quickly tip toes down the stairs and does this little tip-toe run to the pantry, gets her snack and whispers a decline to my suggestion for a drink of water ("No, I'm okay") and tip-toe runs back upstairs. I'm not sure why she tip toes, but I think it is supposed to encapsulate her urgency and maybe also her independence as she gets her snack?

J pointed out that she sometimes holds up her Z-Bar as she tip toes away, saying, "I'm gonna eat this..." So maybe she also tip toes so that she thinks she'll escape notice and get away with her sweet snack choice? I don't always let her have those chocolate and iced-oatmeal bars as a regular snack, but I have been pretty lax about it since school started. Nonetheless, she keeps tip toeing, and it is really charming.

Unplanned Blustery Day

Today didn't go as I thought it would, largely due to the strong winds that we experienced today. Not long after the kids started their Zoom sessions, the power went out. They had enough battery life on their devices to keep their computers on, but we had to turn my phone into a hot spot so that they could get back online. We set it up in the hall, so they could both get reception from their different bedrooms. I needed to work too, so I huddled on the floor in the hall to try and grade midterm exams. It was a silly and uncomfortable way to perform an already tedious task.

I didn't get too much work done in the early afternoon, either, since I was helping Lucy with her schoolwork. I planned to get more work done while Lucy was on her last Zoom call of the day (with the Hazelwood "specialists": the P.E instructors, music instructor, and librarian). But not long after her call started, Sam came running inside to tell me that a portion of our maple tree had blown down in the wind.

I've really loved this maple tree over the past few years; it grew really quickly in the years after we bought our house and has become a nice source of shade. It looks like part of the trunk has rotted, though, so I'm not sure if we will be able to keep it. We are lucky that the tree didn't fall down a few more inches to the south, or it would have hit our cars in the driveway.

I'm sad that we have a big gash in our trunk and a big hole in the body of the tree boughs

The kids were really excited about cleaning up this project - this fallen tree is one of the most exciting things to happen during a pandemic, when you're staying at home all the time and all the days seem the same! They both wanted to help so I had to teach them a few tips about tool safety.

As we cleaned up the branches, I gathered a few of the leaves from the branches that had started to change color. I'm sad that most of the fallen leaves didn't get a chance to brilliantly ignite with autumn color one last time. And I'm sad that that portion of the tree won't have as much color anymore. Hopefully we can keep the tree - I'm not sure since it looks like there is some rot. But if we do get to keep it, I hope the tree boughs will fill in again so we can enjoy a rich palette of color in the years to come.

And even though this day didn't go as planned, a lot of good things happened. I'm glad that it wasn't raining when the tree fell down, and I'm grateful that the cars weren't damaged. We also had a really fun end to the day, where the kids made up this contest to make the weirdest face and the weirdest dance. We all participated in the contest, including me and J. It was nice to send the kids to bed on such a high note, after we all had a few belly-laugh-until-you-cry episodes.

Pandemic Favorites

 Tonight at dinner we began to compile a list of all of our favorite things that have happened as a result of the pandemic. These are the things we said thus far, and I'll add more to this list as they arise. I hope they an help us to keep a positive outlook about this pandemic, even as it wears on and things also seem hard:

Me:

• Not having to commute; getting to spend more time in the morning sleeping and exercising
• Not having to make school lunches for kids
• Getting the kids to learn how to ride bikes and going on family bike rides
• Getting to go on daytime hikes during the summertime, since J was home with the kids and I could leave
• More time together as a family
• More time to work in the garden
• Dad is home right after work and can cook dinner instead of me

J:

• Getting to have more game time as a family
• Getting to take breaks in the work day and be with his family or play piano
• Not having to be stuck in traffic for his commute
• Likes getting to make dinners (so he doesn't have to eat mine - although he was too nice to say this part out loud)

S:

• Getting to stay home all the time and never leave (he said this a little sarcastically, but he also kind of means it)

L:

• Likes that we get to play games as a family

Austen and Journal Amusement

I've been listening to an audiobook of Northanger Abbey (read by Juliet Stevenson) lately. I haven't had much time to listen, apart from when I'm watering the flowers. But I hope that I'll get to listen more frequently, once I'm able to start running outside again. (There have been terrible wildfires in on the West Coast lately, and Seattle is covered in a thick blanket of smoke. The air quality fluctuates between the Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, and Hazardous levels. We haven't really gone outside for several days, except to water flowers or get groceries. And it looks like the smoke will last for at least four more days. It's just one more crazy thing to add to the stress and craziness of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year has been unbelievable in terms of hardships and natural disasters.)

Anyhow, the audiobook is quite fun. Stevenson reads the text a little bit faster than I would have liked, but her inflections and delivery capture the silliness of Mrs. Allen and the wittiness of Mr. Tilney. I was so amused by this passage, that I listened to it several times. Mr. Tilney has been dancing with Catherine Morland at a ball, and he had this teasing exchange with her:

“I see what you think of me,” said he gravely — “I shall make but a poor figure in your journal tomorrow.” 

 

“My journal!” 

 

“Yes, I know exactly what you will say: Friday, went to the Lower Rooms; wore my sprigged muslin robe with blue trimmings — plain black shoes — appeared to much advantage; but was strangely harassed by a queer, half–witted man, who would make me dance with him, and distressed me by his nonsense.” 

 

“Indeed I shall say no such thing.” 

 

“Shall I tell you what you ought to say?” 

 

“If you please.” 

 

“I danced with a very agreeable young man, introduced by Mr. King; had a great deal of conversation with him — seems a most extraordinary genius — hope I may know more of him. That, madam, is what I wish you to say.” 

 

“But, perhaps, I keep no journal.” 

 

“Perhaps you are not sitting in this room, and I am not sitting by you. These are points in which a doubt is equally possible. Not keep a journal! How are your absent cousins to understand the tenour of your life in Bath without one? How are the civilities and compliments of every day to be related as they ought to be, unless noted down every evening in a journal? How are your various dresses to be remembered, and the particular state of your complexion, and curl of your hair to be described in all their diversities, without having constant recourse to a journal? My dear madam, I am not so ignorant of young ladies’ ways as you wish to believe me; it is this delightful habit of journaling which largely contributes to form the easy style of writing for which ladies are so generally celebrated. Everybody allows that the talent of writing agreeable letters is peculiarly female. Nature may have done something, but I am sure it must be essentially assisted by the practice of keeping a journal" (Northanger Abbey, Chapter 3)

As someone who likes to write in a journal (and blog!), I was amused to think about trivialities of journal writing. I'm sure many of the things that I write down are trivial, and really only important to me. Sometimes I don't even know why I write things down, other than that I want to think about them further in that particular moment as I write. I don't anticipate "constant recourse to a journal" and re-reading my entries at some point, although I do go back to read previous entries occasionally. But I don't really think about chronicling things for personal future amusement and recollection. (At least not in my personal journal. I do put things in my art history blog to have as for future reference.) And I'm not sure if I want others to read my journal in the future. Maybe? Or maybe only some entries that my kids would find meaningful? I'm not sure how much to share or what is worth sharing.

The exchange in the book continues on to think about females and writing, with Mr. Tilney's observation that both men and women can excel in writing, singing, and drawing. He says, "In every power of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes." It seems clear to me that Jane Austen is expressing her own opinion here, and not just Mr. Tilney's!

Lewis P. Quotes

I was cleaning out some old folders in my email account today, and I came across this short note that I recorded from five years ago (2015), back when Sam and his best friend Lewis P. were only seven years old. I have a vague memory of typing these overheard bits really quickly, during some afternoon when Lewis was over at our house for a playdate.

Any adult who has interacted with Lewis knows that he's a rare gem. He likes to speak in a matter-of-fact way and likes to use vocabulary that is educated and precise. I want to make sure that these quotes are saved for us (and Sam) to remember. I like that he associates jedis with ragged clothes:

• Lewis [while pretending]: But I don't look like The Chosen One. How can this be, when I have raggy clothes?
• Lewis [pretending to be a second person who is responding]: Well, that's what jedis wear...sometimes.

• Lewis [while praying over a meal]: "We hope everyone lives a long life. And we hope that you, God and Jesus, live long lives too." 

Current Coronavirus Thoughts

 It has been about almost six months since we started to quarantine, in efforts to avoid the coronavirus and prevent its spread. It has been interesting to observe how my reaction to the virus is very different from many of the other people I know. I know I'm a fastidious person by nature, but I didn't realize how fastidious I would seem in relation to others. It's hard to feel so helpless in this pandemic when I see rising numbers, especially when I am trying my hardest at the same time to do as much as I can. 

I feel a keen sense of social responsibility in this pandemic. I also pride myself on being a consistent person, and sticking with something even when it is hard. I'm trying to just focus on this social responsibility and consistency from my individual perspective, and not feel disappointed or judgmental when I encounter others who do not act the same way that I do. But I have to admit that I do feel worn down and listless without the support of like-minded people. Today, when I made arrangements to drop something off at a person's house, they took the initiative to forewarn me that they would not be wearing a mask when they came to the door. That text message made me feel confused and deflated. Do they not believe in the virus? Maybe their personal comfort is more important to them than my health and well-being? It's hard to know how to interpret that warning, and I'm trying to just let it go and focus on what I can do.

While I am focusing on trying not to judge individual people, I do think that I can make an assessment on the American psyche from a historical standpoint. I agree with Martha L. Lincoln, a medical anthropologist and historian, who said that "national hubris and belief in American exceptionalism have served us badly" in this pandemic, and I agree. Ever since the colonial period, (white) American settlers promoted the ideology that America was different and special. And, assuredly, it was special to those who found refuge from persecution or a chance to start a new life. But, at the same time, it's important to recognize how this mindset led to a constructed ideology about America, which led to things like the Second Great Awakening and the belief in Manifest Destiny in the 19th century. As America grew in power and economic strength over the centuries, the hubris of our nation also rose too. And I think that has gotten us into trouble. Americans aren't known for their humility or malleability, which is a shame.

I would like a "quick fix" to the virus just as much as anyone else. Instant gratification is part of today's cultural expectation, and a vaccine for the virus would surely make things easy. But if I need to run a marathon, then I can and will. I can stay home and do my part. It makes me more uncomfortable to assume that I am an exception from other people.