Month: March 2020

We’ve known for a long while that a great unraveling is necessary. We’ve known that something world-changing, something perhaps mythic in size, was breathing at the edges of planetary civilization. We have not been blind to the many unstable systems, clattering into one another, destabilizing each other even further.
We’ve been readying ourselves for this long moment — gathering our tools, tuning our psycho-spiritual compasses, maturing our communities and our willingness to be with unknowing. We don’t know the schedule of the great unraveling; we don’t know if the current intertwined crises of global plague and the imploding economy hint at further uncertainties just ahead, including the tempestuous inclinations of climate. We don’t know if two systems or more might come apart at the same time. We didn’t foresee how clearly this moment of unraveling would reveal immense faults in the systems that some semblance of social order has depended upon.  

Excerpted from a Friday, March 27, 2020, multi part MUSING with grateful acknowledgement to Chaos and a Collective Initiatory Journey Part 1 by Geneen Marie Haugen

 

Original post , March 03,2020

UPDATE: MARCH 17,2021

Racism-fueled violence against Asian Americans continues to spike, with women more than twice as likely to be targeted than men, according to a report from the reporting center Stop AAPI Hate published February 2021. 

Why it matters: Anti-Asian racism escalated after the pandemic began, with people blaming Asian Americans for COVID-19, which was first detected in China. 

• It follows a long history of anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S., made worse and fuelled last year by former President Trump’s “Chinese virus” rhetoric.

Jeff Wall Mimic 1982

Most of artist Jeff Wall’s street pictures are based on everyday situations that he has witnessed at first hand. He is particularly interested in what he calls ‘micro-gestures’: gestures that seem automatic or compulsive, and which are at the same time emblematic of tensions within society. 

In the work Mimic (1982), the man walking with the woman makes an ambiguous but apparently obscene and racist gesture, holding his upraised middle finger close to the corner of his eye, “slanting” his eye in mockery of the Asian man’s eyes.

In 2020 President Donald Trump was photographed reading from notes at a daily coronavirus task force press conference where the word “corona” was crossed out and replaced in his handwriting with “Chinese” to describe COVID-19.

The image appeared as Trump ramped up his description of the coronavirus as a “Chinese virus” as he was questioned about whether he considers the label to be racist.

Donald Trump has referred to the coronavirus as “the Chinese virus”, escalating racially motivated harassment of Asian Americans and deepening the US-China diplomatic spat over the outbreak.

The World Health Organization has advised against terms that link the virus to China or the city of Wuhan, where it was first detected, in order to avoid discrimination or stigmatisation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he would call on prominent Canadians to spread the word about the importance of solo social distance dancing during the novel coronavirus pandemic, and it looks like the Great Dominion’s beloved Court Painter is at the top of that list.

At a press conference Monday, Trudeau teased a multi-million dollar ad campaign involving this prominent yet obscure Canadian figure we “kinda know and kinda trust” in messaging around flattening the COVID-19 curve.

Court Painter got the ball rolling Monday night from his studio pulling moves on those ole dance favourites like the Mashed Potato (started long time ago),the Twist,(Come on, baby) the Light Fandango and the Plague Pirouette Two Step while calling on Canadians to take solo social distance dancing seriously and stay home to prevent the spread of the unique if not novel coronavirus.

With thanks to Simone!

Trump says coronavirus restrictions will be lifted “soon,” dismissing health experts

dire/ˈdī(ə)r/adjective(of a situation or event) extremely serious or urgent.

terribledreadfulappallingfrightfulawfulhorribleatrociousgrimunspeakabledistressingharrowingalarmingshockingoutrageousgraveseriousgrievousdisastrousruinouscalamitouscatastrophiccataclysmicdevastatingcripplingmiserablewretchedwoefulhopelessirretrievablelousychronicdirefulparlous

in·con·ceiv·a·ble/ˌinkənˈsēvəb(ə)l/ adjective

Not capable of being imagined or grasped mentally; unbelievable, impossible to comprehend

Afternoon Tea at the Court Painter studio will be discontinued until further notice.

I think we all know why!

This wonderful drop in social event for visiting politicians, celebrities and local wannabes has been a feature of Court Painter’s community outreach for years.

As a public service, Court Painter has put together a visual review of highlights from memorable afternoon tea events for your viewing pleasure.

You’re Welcome!