Covid 19 - Updates from your zones

[Mirasol]

Oh no! May the fires be soon under control!
And may you at least sort-of normally be able to start your last year of school, KeepLooking! Mine is now halfway over, and the only reason I saw any of my classmates in person in about a month is because we had to pick up our report and graded exams at school the other day. I hope yours ends up a bit more normal...

Yeah, my family switched to hand-made masks as soon as the pandemic started. In the beginning there were actually no disposable masks in the stores, so we made them ourselves.

We had the same situation. Now we have a box full of self-made and bought reusable masks, but sadly they don´t meet the safety-standarts anymore. Well, at least for 2020 I could walk around with a colorful mask with flowers and birds on it. It was nice while it lasted. Not like I ever get to leave the house right now anyways...

But good to hear that the outbreak in your church passed, Annuil!

[Yastreb]

With new cases of COVID-19 found in Victoria, some restrictions have been put in place, but not severe ones.

Updated summer restrictions
As of 11:59pm on 3 February 2021 new state-wide restrictions are in effect:
The limit on the number of people gathering in a household is reduced from 30 to 15, meaning the household members plus 15 visitors (excluding children under 12 months of age).
Face masks are mandatory in indoor spaces, including workplaces. If you have visitors in your home, it is strongly recommended that face masks are worn during the visit. Face masks must be worn in indoor spaces apart from when eating or drinking.  If you are planning to leave your home – take a face mask.
In addition to indoor public spaces, face masks continue to be mandatory in the following locations:
- On public transport
- When riding in a ride share or taxi
- On domestic flights to and from Victoria
- At airports
The 75 per cent ‘return to work’ cap for the private sector scheduled for Monday 8 February is paused and the current cap of 50 per cent will remain in place.

(https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/how-we-live)

(https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/worker-in-victoria-s-hotel-quarantine-program-tests-positive-for-covid-19-20210203-p56zca.html)

[JoB]

(I'm saying, Minna should start selling the masks designed like the ones in her comic, I would have bought one!)

With the fully automated transparency and hammerspace features? Heck yeah take my money!  Can we have a little Mikkelaundromate add-on as well, pretty please?

Now we have a box full of self-made and bought reusable masks, but sadly they don´t meet the safety-standarts anymore. Well, at least for 2020 I could walk around with a colorful mask with flowers and birds on it. It was nice while it lasted.

Haven't tried that myself yet, but untrained users supposedly have more of a problem avoiding leaks at the edges of FFP2 and similar masks (which prevents them from having the full effect they're certified for) and can improve the situation by wearing a second, simple mask over that, to better press the FFP2 against the face. Certainly, that will make it yet another bit harder to breathe ...

(I was late to the fancy mask fashion, the ones I finally found nice enough to order now sit here unused, as they arrived after the requirements had been upped. )

[JoB]

Well, ladies and gentlemen, color me impressed by the locals' creativity and stubbornness, as much as I thought I'd know them.

As you may know, there are several regions in Germany and neighboring countries having a strong carnival tradition. For the Rhineland in the West of Germany, the climax is on Rose Monday, in particular the parades in the streets on that day. The largest parades (in the cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Mainz) are major tourism magnets, and there's live(-ish) coverage of them by regional TV chain WDR.

Except that there's that thing interfering with public congregations right now. The 2020 carnival was essentially cancelled entirely. So, nothing but another rain check for 2021?

Not in Cologne. The organizers teamed up with another currently-impeded pinnacle of local culture, the "Hänneschen-Theater", the folks building the parade floats(*) did so in 1:3 scale, and the parade will now get played out and broadcast on WDR as a stick puppet show!

It's being marketed as "der ausgefallenste Zoch" - a double entendre calling this year's parade the "most unusual" as well as the "most cancelled". (It's downright Sigrunesque, isn't it?)

(*) BTW, for all the language nerds out there, the German terms for "hoarding" and "panic buying" are "to hamster(kaufe)n".

[Vulpes]

JoB, thanks for that - nice to see people taking a creative approach to keeping traditions without spreading covid! Those stick puppets look very cool.

[Mirasol]

Not in Cologne. The organizers teamed up with another currently-impeded pinnacle of local culture, the "Hänneschen-Theater", the folks building the parade floats(*) did so in 1:3 scale, and the parade will now get played out and broadcast on WDR as a stick puppet show!

It's being marketed as "der ausgefallenste Zoch" - a double entendre calling this year's parade the "most unusual" as well as the "most cancelled". (It's downright Sigrunesque, isn't it?)

Oh, that reminds me of the video that went through the news the other day! It was from a family of carnival-fans who, to make up for the not-happening of parades this year, proceeded to build small parade-wagons from lego-bricks and filmed their own parade. I can´t find it right now, but apparently many people followed the example and made their own.
I´m almost tempted to make one too...

[JoB]

Oh, that reminds me of the video that went through the news the other day! It was from a family of carnival-fans who, to make up for the not-happening of parades this year, proceeded to build small parade-wagons from lego-bricks and filmed their own parade. I can´t find it right now, but apparently many people followed the example and made their own.

Rondorf? Niederzier/Düren? By now, organizers in Goch and Rietberg have called for competitions for the best Lego etc. built parade video ...

[Mirasol]

I think it was the one from the first link you sent, but there aren´t any pictures, so I´m not sure.

[Jitter]

We had something a bit like that too in December. The Independence Day Reception held by the President is basically the only formal event in Finland that gets televised, and it’s a tradition in many families to watch it (there’s handshakes, as you may recall from my Flag Day story). It’s an extremely important event for fashion designers and gown makers, as you might imagine. 2020 it was canceled. So some young  dressmakers made the best of the time in their hands and built the event for dolls (Barbie dolls and others of similar size). It’s collaborative art, as the dresses on the dolls are individually designed and sewn from formal dress materials.

https://www.vau.fi/ajankohtaista/linnan-juhlat-2020-nukkeversio-tuo-tunnelman-joka-kotiin-aanesta-oma-suosikkipukusi/

[JoB]

I think it was the one from the first link you sent, but there aren´t any pictures, so I´m not sure.

... there's an entire video on top of the page for me, but it does take a moment to load ...

(there’s handshakes)

Yeah, I can see how that would be worth a televised documentary in Finland ...

the dresses on the dolls are individually designed and sewn from formal dress materials.

I can believe that when I look at the men's suits, the fabric has a structure that looks very coarse in those small suits, but if those pearls and paillettes really are the same size they would use for actual dresses, It'd take a lot of mystery out of the price tags ...

[Mirasol]

... there's an entire video on top of the page for me, but it does take a moment to load ...

Oh, my bad, my internet had a bit of a hiccup yesterday so it never loaded... ^^" But I checked it out again, yes, it is the one they showed on the news.

Oh Jitter, that is such a cool idea too! And the clothes look amazing! (note to self: try sewing a ballgown for one of your barbies...)

[Jitter]

Haha JoB, the point is that the handshakes take a very long time. The poor president and their spouse need to shake hands with about 1800 people. The greeting line is also the best opportunity to appreciate the dresses, so for the viewers it’s often the main evenr.

Mirasol, in case your gown doesn’t come as lovely as these, keep in mind that these were made by professional dressmakers. Although they are mostly professionals of bigger clothes They do have great eye for detail, to be able to use materials meant for full size dresses to such great effect in tiny gowns as well!

[JoB]

Haha JoB, the point is that the handshakes take a very long time. The poor president and their spouse need to shake hands with about 1800 people.

... new headcanon: This tradition came to be when the back-then president had to quick-fix the problem that his dining hall would seat only one third of the people that had been invited ...

Seriously, with the guests standing as far apart in line as the Barbie Queue version suggests - which is perfectly believable, considering that everyone wants the camera to have an unobscured view of their dress -, and assuming that it's a faux pas to use both hands to shake with POTUS and FLOTUS(*) at once, I'd guess that the throughput is limited to six seconds for a single guest, and eight for a couple. Times 1800 guests, and assuming that they're mostly coming in Shivanesque Siamese Shapes pairs, gives a minimum of four hours of defilée ...

Spoiler: (*) • show

Pres / 1st Lady Of The Uncontrollable Shake

[Annuil]

Oh, wow, Jitter, those are sooo cool! And so tiny! The smallest clothing I have ever done was for a 12-centimeter doll of one of my characters, that I made as a Christmas present for my sister (she is my biggest fan).

It took me a month to make (not without several moments of despair when I wanted to throw everything into the trash and cry a river of tears) and it’s actually a jointed doll made from scratch out of polymer clay.
So he can pose. Not super well, because I am bad at forming good joints. After making hands making clothing is the hardest things, because they usually don’t fit from the first time and have to be redone. But shoes are the worst. Usually I don’t feel the tips of my fingers after I make shoes for a doll, because they are covered with super-glue :'D
Here are a few more pics, closeups on the clothing and the joints:
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AsSnHPIBASO_wC5aR-gNhY1hDd4d
(Easier to share with a Dropbox link)

Seriously, with the guests standing as far apart in line as the Barbie Queue version suggests - which is perfectly believable, considering that everyone wants the camera to have an unobscured view of their dress -, and assuming that it's a faux pas to use both hands to shake with POTUS and FLOTUS(*) at once, I'd guess that the throughput is limited to six seconds for a single guest, and eight for a couple. Times 1800 guests, and assuming that they're mostly coming in Shivanesque Siamese Shapes pairs, gives a minimum of four hours of defilée ...

Spoiler: (*) • show

Pres / 1st Lady Of The Uncontrollable Shake

Also, everyone can wear gloves! I mean, even regular leather gloves could work, if people didn’t sneeze into them :'D

[Jitter]

Oh no Annuil, he’s sooooo adorable! 😍😍😍

JoB, usually the guests stand close to each other except at the actual handshake, which takes place in a room with a balcony, so the TV cameras get good view The greeting takes about two hours, the guests are encouraged to say just their name and nothing else. The presidential couple take one break during it.