"I feel alien from myself. It’s also kind of a loneliness in the world. Like a part of me is missing, as I can no longer smell and experience the emotions of everyday basic living."

Said one person quoted in "Some Covid Survivors Haunted by Loss of Smell and Taste/As the coronavirus claims more victims, a once-rare diagnosis is receiving new attention from scientists, who fear it may affect nutrition and mental health" (NYT).

"His motive remains unclear. Police said that detectives believe he knew the spoiled doses would be useless..."

"... and people who received them would mistakenly think they’d been vaccinated when they hadn’t. Advocate Aurora Health Care Chief Medical Group Officer Jeff Bahr told reporters during a teleconference Thursday afternoon that the pharmacist deliberately removed 57 vials that held hundreds of doses of the Moderna vaccine from refrigeration at a Grafton medical center overnight on Dec. 24 into Dec

"Russian riot police stormed into a monastery Tuesday to detain a rebel monk who has castigated the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church leadership and denied the existence of the coronavirus...."

"Authorities charged [Father Sergiy] with inciting suicidal actions through sermons in which he urged believers to 'die for Russia.'...  When the virus arrived in Russia early this year, the 65-year-old monk denied its existence and denounced government efforts to stem the pandemic as 'Satan’s electronic camp.' He has described the vaccines being developed against COVID-19 as part of a global

"One of the more unexpected character arcs of the Trump era is the emergence of 'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams as a pro-Trump political commentator."

"Adams, a 'trained hypnotist' with a self-proclaimed expertise in the rhetorical dark arts, has made any number of dazzlingly confident predictions over the last four years. But few are quite as grim as his March 12 tweet predicting that before November 3, Sanders, Biden and Trump would all contract Covid-19 — and one of them would die from it. It’s December, the election is over, and all three

"Trump reverses on coronavirus stimulus deal, signs package he called a 'disgrace.'"

 USA Today headline.Is that a "reversal"? After weeks of negotiation and bipartisan votes of approval in the House and Senate, Trump on Tuesday unexpectedly slammed the COVID stimulus legislation but stopped short of saying he would veto it. The message upended Washington, drew bipartisan condemnation and threatened to end a chaotic year with a government shutdown. Unexpectedly? But after a

"All of a sudden, Ms. Duke, a vocal critic of 'mommy wine culture' and a member of the Sober Mom Squad, a virtual community created during the pandemic, was fielding questions..."

"... about alcohol from friends and acquaintances. Was two bottles of wine a night a bit over the top? How much was too much?... 'No one is talking about glasses of wine anymore,' said Ms. Duke, who works for a dog grooming app and lives in Manhattan with her two teenage sons. 'People are measuring by the bottle,' she continued. 'That scares me. I know too many women who went from one or two

"At French Resorts, Skiing Has Become an Uphill Sport/The government closed ski lifts, fearing they might spread the coronavirus. The skiers came anyway."

The NYT reports. “When you go out skiing in the cold, the first thing that happens is your nose starts to run,” said Miles Bright, an English mountain guide based in Chamonix. “And what do you do? You wipe your nose. So your gloves are covered in snot, you join in the lift queue, you touch things.” “I just can’t see how it can be hygienic, getting in and out of the ski lifts,” he added. “But for

Credit/blame for saying the right/wrong number.

Why should it have mattered what the president said he wanted? What should have mattered is what the Democrats demanded.— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) December 23, 2020

"Once You Get The COVID-19 Vaccine, Can You Still Infect Others?"

From FiveThirtyEight: There’s a hypothetical mechanism that could allow this to happen biologically, said Deepta Bhattacharya, a professor of immunobiology at the University of Arizona. And that mechanism is … well … it’s boogers and phlegm.  “So, the virus enters in through the upper respiratory tracts, either through your nose or your throat. And those are protected by a mucous layer. And so

"Even if you are strongly supportive of vaccines, and we are, even if you recognize how many millions of lives have been saved over the past 50 years by vaccines, and we do, it all seems a bit much."

"It feels false, because it is, it’s too slick. The Gandalf guy was euphoric because he got a shot? It wasn’t heroin, it was the corona vaccine. The lady who couldn’t breathe is enthusiastic as she was rushed to the emergency room? Come on. This is patronizing. Stop with the slogans." Crabbed Tucker Carlson, quoted in a Mediaite article with the scary headline "Tucker Carlson’s Ominous Monologue

"At the start of this pandemic, I recall feeling both horror at the unfolding calamity, and also a small sense of hope..."

"... that as in other times of hardship, people would find ways to change the world for the better. There was talk of community support, mutual aid and the rediscovery of the positive powers of the state to protect its citizens. Much of that has dimmed now, and it often seems that we simply want relief — to go back to the way the world was before, and as soon as possible. We have to get back to

Government gives the go-ahead for a super-spreader Christmas.

Here in Madison, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State Journal reports: Less than two weeks before Christmas and with the number of new daily COVID-19 cases declining and local health providers getting the first shots of vaccine, the Madison and Dane County public health department issued a new order on Tuesday allowing indoor gatherings of up to 10 people.... Outdoor gatherings, previously limited to

"His job, like everyone on MSNBC, was so to spread disinformation to help Dems & keep the MSNBC audience addicted to endorphins & fear."

In a separate tweet, Dr. Redlener claims he was "wrong" about this. He wasn't "wrong." That implies a good faith effort to get it right. His job, like everyone on MSNBC, was so to spread disinformation to help Dems & keep the MSNBC audience addicted to endorphins & fear. 👇 pic.twitter.com/cZ4MrXI0ZE— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 15, 2020 That screenshot of the NYT is from this article,

Remember when the village people — the Village People?! — drank vegetable soup from your cupped hands?

Tala Schlossberg remembers. Schlossberg is the daughter of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and yet I am not making fun of her. This video is actually really good! The story and the animation are credited to Scholossberg, and it's a funny journey into nostalgia and what we're really missing from pre-COVID times: