Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

We have finished watching Revenge of the Sith.  Which is an interesting take on democracy and what happens when it is bent to deal with a crisis.

Before I get onto that, the kids are well.  My amazing son has started back at school.  His work ethic at home has been lacking and he has been keen to return to school.  Since testing for COVID19 has been available I have been keen for his return as well as if he catches something, it may not mean 14 days in isolation.  But such a decision is a risky one as COVID numbers are going to rise again.

Lock-down is being eased because there is capacity in ITU, not because it is safe.

My daughter has had exam week and has been doing this while at home.  Her iPhone is still AWOL and because of this, she has not been out for the walks she normally goes on.  And she now may not be the tallest child.  It is hard to tell because she will not compare height any more.  But it is close.

Anyway, people across the world are shocked at the actions of a minority of the police in the USA.  Like in all nations, racism exists in the USA.  And this probably was a contributing factor in the death of George Floyd.  People can argue either way if it was or not, but the actions of the police in suffocating him are inexcusable.  Just like the death of Ahmaud Arbery is inexcusable, as was the refusal of the authorities to take action over the way an unarmed jogger was killed until a video of this death was shared on the internet.  Amber Ruffin is one of many black people who have talked about how they have been treated.  But what is surprising is how a minority of the police have been acting towards peaceful protesters.  It is almost like they are obeying instructions to dominate the streets.  Trump has stated that he thinks that armed forces should be involved, something that those forces may disagree on.

Today's speech from President Palpatine.

(Attn: @pattonoswalt ) pic.twitter.com/HWpDFnqgaZ

— Andy Harris (@THEAndyHarris) June 2, 2020

The question is if Trump will respect democracy or decide that it must respect him.

Cycling Sunday with my son

I got my son out on his bike!

Went for a three mile walk in the morning, did some housework (not enough though) and took my son out on his bike.  Just to his school and back, but that is better than doing nothing.

Love, Simon

Today, our family film was Love, Simon.

Before I get onto that, a quick summary of our day.  May daughter has lost her phone.  Out of charge, we think it is somewhere in the house,  searching her room (without her permission when she was in the shower) was an interesting experience and one which had to be witnessed with our own eyes.  And while this would mean grounding her normally, thanks to the new normal, that is not possible.  And with her phone missing, is a phone ban going to work?

My wife and I did go for a drive for food.  A trip to the butchers was curtailed when spew saw the queue and instead, we had our hot date at the bakers.  Social distancing in queues now is the accepted norm, though we have not been to places where it is not able to be put in place as easily.

Our lawn was mowed today, and I tried to get the kids to help,  my son did not want to as ‘it is the half term holiday’ which was an excuse I could not comprehend.  As discussed earlier this month, him and exercise are terms that rarely meet.  He did come out in the end, but was not able to lift his end while his sister could.  And later in the day I went for a long walk with her.

Love, Simon is a good film.  I imagine that in times to come, this may have the importance to this generation as films like The Breakfast Club have to mine.  Out simply, it is about Simon, who is gay and his experiences in an American High School.

Needless to say, this film will not appeal to all, but it touched our hearts and taught me things which I did not know before.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

We watched the beginning of this film last night, but has to stop once the kids started to bicker.  But after we all had been working today, we watched the rest of the film.

The day started with a courier run to my work.  My wife had wanted to know how to use a blood glucose machine so I brought one home from work last night and she saw how to use it.  This morning I returned it to work, taking the bike which was quite tiring.  After that it, it was work which was quite busy. After that, I went for a walk with my daughter and after dinner, we sat down to watch the rest of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

All I remember of the original is one of the leads, so I cannot compare this to the original series.  But it was an enjoyable film.  While predictable in places, it had memorable characters though the down side is that the villains were two dimensional and the film reverted to type on occasions.  It was good enough that I look forwards to any sequel that is made.

Ready Player One

I liked it.  Predictable and with a few errors. (People using VR headsets in public will get injured and if everyone on the planet takes part in a game, why are all the best players in the same city that the baddies are located?) But the film flowed well and the story was well told.  I do like the settings where the story too place. Though I would like to know how high rise trailers are maintained.  I love the reference to games of my past, though I never got to play them, and I love the films of old.  (I may watch The Shining again and get round to watching the Chucky films.)  I had heard about it, and had no interest to watch it before.  My daughter however recommended it on Sunday which is why we watched it.  My son had half watched it then but took more of an interest when we watched the second half last night.  Neither my daughter or I could be bothered to fill him in on the bits he decided to miss though!

And I am still knackered today.  I walked to work and back yesterday and my wife had a genius idea to get my son out.  He had been quite laid back, still wearing his pyjamas when I got back.  I did offer to walk with the kids, and while my son said no at first, the inspired idea of my wife came into play, which was to order some dessert which we collected.  While both the kids came with me, my daughter went home after the two started to bicker.  Walking with one child was fine, though two would be better...

Sloth

I am frustrated.  I went for a walk yesterday as well as on Saturday.  But yesterday, my walk was not as long as before and my aim was to go for a walk later with one of the children.  My daughter has been out for a walk on most days during lock-down, but has not been for one recently.  My son on the other hand has rarely left the house.  My daughter prefers not to walk with me, and is fond of going for walks by herself.  I am okay with that, so long as she stays to areas where other people are.  But my son got my hopes up.  I had discussed this issue with my wife and she gave me some advice.  So I asked me son if he would like to cycle to his school.  He said yes, but he wanted to cycle more.  But when the time came, he backed out.  I am seriously concerned that this will be an issue when he returns to school as I am not sure that he will have the stamina to make it. And while at times he will say he wants to exercise, there is an excuse why he cannot do so on the days that he initially agrees to do so.

Anyway, yesterday we watched the first part of Ready Player One.  We started as a family, but my wife decided it was not for her.  And then my son decided to play on the Switch instead.  So my daughter and I continued to watch it until we both got tired and had to go to bed.

And on that note, have a quarantined good night.

Are we really in this together?

The theme of this blog entry is if laws and rules should be optional for those in power.

Conservatives seem to have issues obeying rules and understanding COVID.  To be fair, it is not just those on the right.  As seen in the UK, Piers Corbyn, the brother of Jeremy Corbyn, has been spreading the lie/delusion that COVID is a lie as well as organising protests against lockdown so that people can get COVID-19 just like Audrey Whitlock did in the USA.  But there has been a huge example of this in the USA, as well as one in the UK.

From what I understand, before deciding to play golf in a pandemic, Trump decided to ignore the requests of factory bosses as well as the law in Michigan about wearing a face-mask, a law which is in place to reduce the risk of a person spreading this terrible disease.  The governor of that state has more important things to deal with rather than prosecuting him for this breach of the law, but his actions are in my view inexcusable.  Either the law is to be obeyed, or it is not.  In addition to this, ignoring it will encourage others to do the same, which means that more will catch this.

In the UK, the most important political strategist has decided to flout the advice on lockdown, most importantly, when he was meant to be isolating.  Lockdown came into effect on the 23rd of March.  Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson tested positive for COVID on the 27th of March and the government confirmed that Dominic Cummings was staying at home with COVID symptoms.  

The allegations are as follows.  On the 31st of March, The Durham Constabulary become aware that Dominic Cummings drove his wife and son to Durham to take his son to his parents (though other relatives lived closer). His wife was unwell, and the guidance is not to leave the house when unwell with symptoms of COVID-19.  He was seen outside his parents property on the 5th of April.  On the 12th and 19th of April, he was seen, according to one allegation being 30 miles away from his home before his return to work on the 14th of April.  And his wife had an article published an article on self isolation on the 25th of April (23rd on the website) which apparently omitted the experience of doing so in Durham.     


Working in healthcare seeing those who may or may not have COVID is something I have to do.  I despair when I see people flout the guidelines on social distancing, but if those in power do not do so, how can we expect everyone else?