Debating about COVID on Twitter

I have been blocked again on Twitter.  I engaged with someone who I felt was spreading lies about COVID and they did respond, but resorted to insults and a conflicting argument.

In the argument that they used, they claimed that Kary Mullis said that the PCR test was not designed to detect infectious diseases.  When I pointed out that they were wrong, they offered to show me a video of him saying this, but blocked me so that they were not able to do so.  

They made many other claims, but as they have blocked me (they were abusive to me), I cannot counter them.  So much for being willing to debate a topic...

And before I go, just a reminder about a few issues.

1 - COVID kills.  I have treated people who survived as well as too many who died.  A nursing home I am involved in looking after has yet to become full again after COVID killed many of the residents there last year.

2 Face masks save lives.  Not just by reducing the risk of spreading it if you have no symptoms, but as seen by those working in healthcare, face masks prevented many from catching this.

3 - Funeral homes were overwhelmed over the wave of infections seen in the last surge of infections.  I know as I had to visit a few.  One had issues coping despite the increased capacity that they had built.

4 - People with no symptoms can spread COVID.  We saw that with the super spreader event held by President Trump last year.

5 - Just because Boris is to drop restrictions, this does not mean that we can act like we did in 2019. The Indian Variant may cause havoc here and unless we act to flatten the curve, our hospitals may be under pressure again like they were this winter when our local hospital were limited to life and death operations only.  Another surge like that will kill many and lengthen waiting lists again.

Redtails

In summary, a good and bad film.  

I have wanted to watch this for ages and as a film I thought that it dealt with the issues of racism very well, as well as acceptance of how people are people, no matter what skin colour they are.  

I got the feeling that the film tried to put too much into it as it appeared to only offer a superficial look at many things, an example being the acceptance of the Ray Gun in the POW camp.  Saying that, character development is not the main forte of many war films.

This is a story that needs to be told.  When I grew up, I can never recall seeing someone non-white in an American war film (I do remember one in 633 Squadron but that character was played by a white actor anyway).

Our past is something that we need to learn from, both the good and the bad.  This film, does not explore the characters that much and if not for how it dealt with the subject matter as well as the subject itself, I would not recommend this.  But this film in some aspects is more important than other war films.  Like most war films it deals with courage, sacrifice and heroism, but unlike others, this also deals with how too many of those whom the Redtails served with had the same views on racial superiority as those they were fighting.

13 Reasons Why; The First Polaroid

I watched this with my son last night.  The focus on the episode has moved from that of suicide, though mental health and self harm are still topics, to that of sexual assault and how toxic masculinity is wrong.  My son already has his views on toxic masculinity.  An interesting theme brought up was consent.  This time, over an issue with a photograph being taken once and if this meant consent was given in the future.  (See just past two minutes into the video.)  Our chat afterwards as another opportunity for us to bond.  I am hoping that we get to do that more often.

(500) Days of Summer

This is a film that I had intended to mention to my daughter to watch as I thought that she would like it.  It slipped my mind but she mentioned it instead.  

My wife and I had watched it in the distant past.  Considering it came out in 2009, it must have been after we had children.  Back then, the humour was more acceptable, as was the choice of music.  

It had been the turn of my daughter to go out with friends, and she appeared to enjoy the time with them.  Unlike with my son, there was no discussion about how much she was to spend, though I do not think that this was based on gender, but a knowledge that she would not return on some sugar high.  

500 Days of Summer was an awesome film back then, and it was great to watch it again.  Though watching it about a decade after my wife and I watched it again was nostalgic as we have not been to an IKEA in ages now (and yes, we do consider it a rite of passage for couples).  We had intended to watch it as a family film, but in the end the only ones watching it was Leia, my daughter and me.  The different take on a love story is one that is enchanting, and the way it begins at the end of the relationship draws you in, as well as the non-linear way of looking at how the relationship developed.  This is without doubt, one of my favourite love stories.  

When it comes to that test of films, yes, I would have no issues in paying to watch this in the cinema.  

13 Reasons Why; Tape 7, Side A

What an end to the series.

Working in healthcare, this episode cuts more than most.  I sit in the role of Mr Porter. I know why he acted the way he acted.

And that is not counting being a parent.  I have watched this and the other series’s from the perspective of a parent.  I never want to experience what the parents of Hannah Baker did.  My son understood why I had to hug him for several minutes.

Afterwards we discussed Tony.  He had a lot to take on and I wanted to get across that Tony did not need to keep all the secrets without talking to someone.  He did not need to share the secrets themselves, but he could have talked to someone about aspects of them, and what it was like to keep them.  For the secrets he kept, were in my view, secrets that someone his age should not have had to keep.

On a different topic, while I had a meeting at work, my son went out to meet friends in town earlier today.  Sadly for him, not all were able to make it, but he will see them again on Monday, assuming that he or them are not ill (he was at home for two days last week).  My wife and I had a discussion about how much money would be acceptable for him to spend.  My wife and I disagreed, but he ended up spending the higher amount that had been discussed.  One of is I guess did not consider inflation in what children would want to spend.  Saying that, a lot of the money was on food and drink.

13 Reasons Why; Tape 6, Side B

I woke up and was quickly depressed when I listened to the news about Hartlepool.  Fortunately Labour won in our Colchester Council election, but I have damaged a friendship over my choice of who I voted for yesterday.  I am hoping that the schism is one that can be repaired for it is a  valuable and cherished friendship.

So to top the day, my son wanted to watch 13 Reasons Why.  While this is a depressing end to the day, it is one of the few things that he will do with me.  And the topic of this is rape.  An interesting topic considering the film I watched with my wife and daughter on Sunday.

My son was not aware of the appalling statistics when it comes to rape and convictions.  He is now.

Love and Monsters

I watched this film after a morning vaccinating.  It was a long morning and due to NHS England sending more vaccines than the area normally has staff for, it was a busy one.  Normally, I would be mixing, but the day started earlier and ended later.  So I asked if I could vaccinate instead which meant that I did not have to get in as early.  With more people vaccinating, the person mixing the vials has to work faster than normal.  When I did this in December, we were vaccinating the elderly and it was cold, which meant that people would come in wearing several layers of clothes and mobility issues were often present.  Now the patients are younger, and while the weather is still chilly, it is not as bad as before.  The patients move quicker and expose their arms faster than before.  It takes me about five minutes to prepare each vial and if I have the energy not to take a break, I can keep up with this, but I often work late on a Tuesday night.  And last night was no exception.  

Getting home, my son was at home has he had a stomach upset the day before and he spent time looking after Leia.  When my daughter got home, she went to revising for her exam on Friday.  When Leia did see her, after I had taken her out for an evening walk (I needed the exercise), she was overjoyed to see her.

As noted, I relaxed by watching Love and Monsters.  It was an enjoyable film.  When it comes to the test of price, I would not have been disappointed if I had paid to watch this at the cinema.  In fact, it would probably be best to watch this on the big screen, after all, as the title implies, there are monsters in it.  Watching an end-of-the-world film that has nothing to do with COVID was fun as well.  

Of course, Leia would be a better companion than Boy, but I will never get to know how she would fare in combat against a giant crab.