Endemic (The Coronavirus Diaries, Part XXVIII)
A few vignettes as we slide over the line from coronavirus pandemic to coronavirus endemic.
[1] M & I went to an indoor concert at the end of March, so it was only a matter of time until I saw a movie in the theater. I actually considered going to a film at the Cinematheque back in November (a Kurosawa film I hadn't seen yet), but a conflict came up. From there, I seriously considered going to both Black Panther 2 or John Wick 4, but lost interest in both for various reasons. Instead, I opted to make my first movie in a theater since March 8, 2020 another Cinematheque film. They did a screening of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on Friday, April 14, which I had wanted to see when it was new back in 2007 but missed. I was inclined to skip it after getting laid off, but M told me to go anyway, and I'm glad I did.
For those who haven't seen it, Assassination is a long revisionist western with an all-star cast (Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, a pre-fame Jeremy Renner, Mary-Louise Parker and many others) that takes the last year of the life of the outlaw Jesse James and makes it into a parable about fame and the risk of getting what you want. it. Brad Pitt is as good as he's ever been, and Casey Affleck might have been better. The cinematography is by Roger Deakins and he claims that the opening train robbery scene is his best shot ever, which is saying something considering the man has 16 Oscar nominations. Many shots seem like old photographs that have come to life. The music is by Nick Cave (who has a brief cameo) and Warren Ellis.
I thought the film was fantastic (critics agreed, the studio did not and it was not widely released). I'm glad I saw it in the theater. Would I have thought it was as fantastic if it wasn't my first movie in 3 years? That's a good question, and one I'm not going to try hard to answer.
On a fun note - despite my long absence from the Cinematheque, both the director and assistant director recognized me and asked where I'd been for so long.
[2] It took my five months longer than M, but also on Friday the 14th I got my first professional haircut since before the start of the pandemic. It was getting a bit shaggy, and while I would have been happy to do it myself again, M suggested that for interview purposes I get one done by someone who really knew what they were doing.
[3] As previously noted, I'm not personally big on standup but my wife is. When I noticed that one of her favorite comics, Melissa Villaseñor, was coming to town on 4/12 I encouraged M to go with a friend. Unfortunately, the show was canceled at the last minute so M had to settle for going to out to dinner on a patio instead.
[4] As I write this, only two counties in Ohio have not at the "lowest concern" level of transmission rates. Not coincidentally, in general, we've been relaxing our concern levels about the pandemic. I ate out inside a restaurant in February. M has been taking Birdie to story time at various libraries, which she really loves. We're still masking in close quarters (I masked at the movie and at the concert), but we've stopped asking people to test before they come over for dinner/brunch unless they specifically were ill in the immediate run up or otherwise have concerns of their own.
All of this can of course change in an instant if something goes haywire, and I'm hyperaware that I have multiple friends with fragile immune systems who can't afford this level of comfort, even after multiple vaccinations. However, right now it feels pretty good for us. I assume we'll be getting covid vaccinations at least yearly for the rest of our life, just like flu shots, but that's a small concern in the big scheme of things.
[1] M & I went to an indoor concert at the end of March, so it was only a matter of time until I saw a movie in the theater. I actually considered going to a film at the Cinematheque back in November (a Kurosawa film I hadn't seen yet), but a conflict came up. From there, I seriously considered going to both Black Panther 2 or John Wick 4, but lost interest in both for various reasons. Instead, I opted to make my first movie in a theater since March 8, 2020 another Cinematheque film. They did a screening of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on Friday, April 14, which I had wanted to see when it was new back in 2007 but missed. I was inclined to skip it after getting laid off, but M told me to go anyway, and I'm glad I did.
For those who haven't seen it, Assassination is a long revisionist western with an all-star cast (Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, a pre-fame Jeremy Renner, Mary-Louise Parker and many others) that takes the last year of the life of the outlaw Jesse James and makes it into a parable about fame and the risk of getting what you want. it. Brad Pitt is as good as he's ever been, and Casey Affleck might have been better. The cinematography is by Roger Deakins and he claims that the opening train robbery scene is his best shot ever, which is saying something considering the man has 16 Oscar nominations. Many shots seem like old photographs that have come to life. The music is by Nick Cave (who has a brief cameo) and Warren Ellis.
I thought the film was fantastic (critics agreed, the studio did not and it was not widely released). I'm glad I saw it in the theater. Would I have thought it was as fantastic if it wasn't my first movie in 3 years? That's a good question, and one I'm not going to try hard to answer.
On a fun note - despite my long absence from the Cinematheque, both the director and assistant director recognized me and asked where I'd been for so long.
[2] It took my five months longer than M, but also on Friday the 14th I got my first professional haircut since before the start of the pandemic. It was getting a bit shaggy, and while I would have been happy to do it myself again, M suggested that for interview purposes I get one done by someone who really knew what they were doing.
[3] As previously noted, I'm not personally big on standup but my wife is. When I noticed that one of her favorite comics, Melissa Villaseñor, was coming to town on 4/12 I encouraged M to go with a friend. Unfortunately, the show was canceled at the last minute so M had to settle for going to out to dinner on a patio instead.
[4] As I write this, only two counties in Ohio have not at the "lowest concern" level of transmission rates. Not coincidentally, in general, we've been relaxing our concern levels about the pandemic. I ate out inside a restaurant in February. M has been taking Birdie to story time at various libraries, which she really loves. We're still masking in close quarters (I masked at the movie and at the concert), but we've stopped asking people to test before they come over for dinner/brunch unless they specifically were ill in the immediate run up or otherwise have concerns of their own.
All of this can of course change in an instant if something goes haywire, and I'm hyperaware that I have multiple friends with fragile immune systems who can't afford this level of comfort, even after multiple vaccinations. However, right now it feels pretty good for us. I assume we'll be getting covid vaccinations at least yearly for the rest of our life, just like flu shots, but that's a small concern in the big scheme of things.