Science Fiction, Fantasy & Human (& other) Beings in Peril

[poem21045]

Reporting on a new study published in JAMA, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/c...tients-fare-much-worse-than-others-2020-02-26

Note this part: No deaths occurred in those aged 9 years and younger, but cases in those aged 70 to 79 years had an 8% fatality rate and those aged 80 years and older had a fatality rate of 14.8%.

OS, we both fall in that 8% bucket I'm definitely playing it safe and remaining constantly here on CF!

. . . just hope you don't get a computer virus!

 

[Gibbs505]

But it could also be that I like this movie because I am a bit prejudiced: I had two French and one Polish girlfriends during my life and they all made me sometimes look surprised like Jean Dujardin in this scene (yes, I had a really lucky life ;-) ):
View attachment 824771 and even the strip tease dancers in the bars are rather typical French dancers: View attachment 824772

But never make a tatoo like your lover did because you might regret it sooner than you think ...
View attachment 824774 View attachment 824775 View attachment 824776 View attachment 824777 View attachment 824781 View attachment 824782

... because life can be like a "Möbius ribbon": You can land up on the other side faster than you might believe.

View attachment 824780

A beautiful spy movie with beautiful actors and wonderful facial expressions I could always recommend.

I made a mobius strip, yes it really has just one side!

 

[old slave]

Given your avatar, it is urgent that you read this, Old Slave:

As coronavirus spreads, the CDC has a very thorough guide to optimizing your facial hair for a mask

Mutton chops, chin curtains and the ever-popular beard have to be shaved off the fighters against coronavirus in the United Kingdom, the Press Association reported. Leaders of the University Hospital […]

www.boston.com

View attachment 826810

Why spoil the beard? Alter the mask:

 

[Silent_Water]

Well, I see, this thread is now heavily in- and af-fected by (corona-)viruses, fatality rates and probably already out of control.
So, before it dies, it should die laughing. During the last 36 hours, I found many fantastic examples of black, sick and gallows humour (= "schwarzer Humor, kranker Humor und Galgenhumor" in German) which I want to share.

At first and for example, I was very disappointed by the disorganisation of our German health system in a possible case of a "Pandemie" because the advantage of Germany's federal states is also its disadvantage. If something happens which goes beyond the borders of a small federal state, no one wants to be responsible and so in Munich, the regional governmant there is ready to close Bavaria down and break all bridges between the cities whereas in Hamburg on Monday there were still airplanes from Iran landing and no one wanted to control the passengers because everyone thought someone else is responsible for that.
So it is very good and reassuring for me as a German to see how "perfect" other states, ministers and presidents are responding to this world wide health crisis:

 

[old slave]

Well, I see, this thread is ......................... probably already out of control.

Worry not, threads often get out of control, and the ability to discuss virtually anything is what makes us unique.

@Madiosi performs a fantastic job sifting the story-line into a pure form for the archives and e-books etc, if he has not found your story-line try a Conversation when you have finished it.

 

[Madiosi]

Worry not, threads often get out of control, and the ability to discuss virtually anything is what makes us unique.

@Madiosi performs a fantastic job sifting the story-line into a pure form for the archives and e-books etc, if he has not found your story-line try a Conversation when you have finished it.

Thank you, but I know, I'm a bit rare here last months. Not in moods for manips.

 

[Silent_Water]

Some hours ago, there was a new article published by the biggest German weekly newspaper "Der Spiegel" (English = "The Mirror") which shows a "mortality time table" depending on the age, concluded by the first ca. 40.000 infected patients in China. This article also had links to medical studies in English. In general, it is more "reassuring" than most statements of all our politicians but there is everywhere a residual risk except in the first "Altersgruppe". For example, one could have an illness which is similar dangerous but undetected as Covid-19 (e.g. first week of an influenza and additionally infected in the first week by Covid-19). Then the game is probably over, even if the patient might only be 35 years old.

I will insert first the time table ("Altersgruppe" = "Group of Age" / Confirmed cases of illness / Confirmed cases of death / "Sterblichkeitsrate" = "mortality ratio") of the article and then the links. The mortality rate is probably even lower because of cases which are not confirmed because the infected persons show almost no signs of any illness and were not registered at all. No one knows how many of these cases may exist.

Neues Coronavirus: Welche Menschen durch Covid-2019 besonders gefährdet sind

Chinesische Behörden haben eine Auswertung von mehr als tausend Covid-19-Toten veröffentlicht. Die Daten zeigen, wie stark Alter und Geschlecht das Risiko beeinflussen.

www.spiegel.de

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2001737?query=featured_home

South Korea Confirms a Jump in Coronavirus Infections (Published 2020)

The new figures give the country the second largest number of confirmed cases outside mainland China.

www.nytimes.com

 

[bellesouth]

It's worth remembering that deaths from the coronavirus are insignificant when compared to those from the common influenza virus. But nothing like the media and politicians to stir up a frenzy.

 

[Silent_Water]

Correct. On the other hand, a German virologue said in the most seen German TV News "Tagesschau" that the coronavirus is in principle more dangerous than most of the influenza viruses because if this Covid-19 causes its "full-scale-illness" in the lungs of a person, it will kill the person with a higher probability than influenza. Influenza viruses usually weaken younger persons in a short time and a younger person survives it easily after 2 weeks. Covid-19 can cause very high fever over 4 weeks in waves. In the morning, one can feel almost healthy and in the afternoon, the fever starts again and this over several weeks. After one month of this up and down, even 25 years old patients can be so weakened that they die and moreover, it is not really clear up to now if the coronavirus is not also - in its worst cases - a "biphase"-illness (like anthrax is said to be) because there is now a case confirmed in Japan, which was known up to now only from some few Chinese patients: A younger Japanese woman had the "full-scale-illness", survived it, tested negative, was released to home - and 4 days later the fever was back again and she was tested positive again although she had no contact with another infected person at home. No one can really explain up to now how these cases can be possible and what causes the "rebirth" of Covid-19.

 

[cynthia the inocent]

Correct. On the other hand, a German virologue said in the most seen German TV News "Tagesschau" that the coronavirus is in principle more dangerous than most of the influenza viruses because if this Covid-19 causes its "full-scale-illness" in the lungs of a person, it will kill the person with a higher probability than influenza. Influenza viruses usually weaken younger persons in a short time and a younger person survives it easily after 2 weeks. Covid-19 can cause very high fever over 4 weeks in waves. In the morning, one can feel almost healthy and in the afternoon, the fever starts again and this over several weeks. After one month of this up and down, even 25 years old patients can be so weakened that they die and moreover, it is not really clear up to now if the coronavirus is not also - in its worst cases - a "biphase"-illness (like anthrax is said to be) because there is now a case confirmed in Japan, which was known up to now only from some few Chinese patients: A younger Japanese woman had the "full-scale-illness", survived it, tested negative, was released to home - and 4 days later the fever was back again and she was tested positive again although she had no contact with another infected person at home. No one can really explain up to now how these cases can be possible and what causes the "rebirth" of Covid-19.

To be safe, I recommend going to bed and pulling the covers over your head until this blows over.

 

[Silent_Water]

Being a fan of ...

Monk (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

... I can assure you that you are nowhere really safe in our crazy world. Even your bed can be a dangerous place if the vibrations of your Karma are not in sychronicity with them of the universal strings - or more simple: if the devil is on your track!


You simply can not really imagine what can even happen to you in your bed!
This is the worst story I ever heard about "tragic bed events":
I remember a military case of the 80s in which a Polish (MiG-23 or so) fighter jet had a maneuveral problem and the anxious pilot started its ejector seat. After that, to everyone's surprise, the MiG-23's autopilot regained control over the jet and it flew alone across the border of the GDR, crossed the whole Eastern Germany, entered the West-German airspace, was escorted by West-German Phantoms and US-F-15s who did not dare to shoot it down because it flew over densely populated German cities until it entered the airspace of the Netherlands where the military had the same problem. Then, the Polish jet turned to the south-west, entered the airspace of Belgium and shortly behind the frontier, the fuel-tanks were finally empty and the Polish jet crashed into a farming-student's house of a man who was there sleeping alone in his bed - killing him. Maybe, you still find this story somewhere in an English almanach of the 80s. It is really true!

Here it is in German:

Vor 30 Jahren: Sowjetische MiG stürzte auf Haus in Belgien

Nachrichten, Fotos und Videos aus (Ost)Belgien und der Welt von der einzigen deutschsprachigen Tageszeitung in Belgien.

www.grenzecho.net

I bet, this Belgian 19 year old student of farming would never have believed any prophecy if he was told that he will die one day in peace times by a Polish fighter jet crashing into his bed ...


Hm, sorry, I just read it was in 1989 a Soviet-Russian pilot from a Polish airbase used by the then still existing Soviet-Union.

 

[Silent_Water]

I was and I will be on a trip through Germany during the last and coming weeks in some different hotels, so I might need a bit of luck not to get to near to some viruses and I hope we will not have Italian circumstances soon with blocked streets and train stations here in Germany.
I still can not really understand how this coronavirus affects nations. When I look at the latest time table from this site right now ...

Coronavirus Update (Live): 118,094,991 Cases and 2,619,779 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer

Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of confirmed cases, recovered patients, tests, and death toll due to the COVID-19 coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Coronavirus counter with new cases, deaths, and number of tests per 1 Million population. Historical data and info. Daily...

www.worldometers.info

... it is hard to believe that Germany has not one single case of death up to now and I would really like to know what exactly is the reason.



But on the other hand, especially in my case, I should better not ask because I always want to know too much.

Once, one of my French girlfriends told me, I sometimes remind her of a French joke because I seem to be a similar person like the count or earl in this French joke about Germans:

"During the French revolution, all noblemen and also those from all neighboring countries were in danger to be executed because they were regarded as enemies of the poor people or as spies from the other countries. So, a French, an English and a German nobleman were brought to the guillotine.
When it was the French count to be executed, the blade got stuck in the center of the guillotine and the executioner said: "This is probably the will of God and so you can go free into exile now."
The French count: "Oh wonderful, my family does not expect me to come back anyway, so I can still visit my mistress before I go into exile!"
Then the English count is to be executed and again, the blade got stuck. The executioner said: "This obviously is again the will of God and so you can go home to England and better, you never come back!"
The English count said: "Very well, when my horse is fast, I might be back in England right in time for the English five o'clock tea!"
Then, the German count is to be executed but he goes straight to the French executioner and asks:
"Are you all a bit silly here? Why don't you see that this guillotine is out of order and has to be repaired?!!" "

(Hm, the French seem to know us Germans very well ...)

 

[Silent_Water]

Concerning the strange story with the Soviet-Russian MiG one posting before, I am interested in strange historical coincidences or predictions which came true although they were not meant to be as prophecies at all. I would like to write a book about it if I had enough spare time.
I collected some examples and I sometimes think there must be an universal intelligence which cannot be regarded as "God" because of its - sometimes - cruel kind of humour, but there are "patterns of developments" which seem to be "eternal" because the ancient Greek have already remarked very strange antagonisms which you cannot simply explain by pure coincidences. They thought of a universal law of nature in which developments are caused by leading at least two extremes towards each other so that they destroy themselves - or - in order to invent a new progress by balancing the extremes. Some ancient philosophers like Heraklit even took the similar lives of enemy generals as examples for this "law of nature" which they (and later C.G. Jung) called "enantiodromia", e.g. later the lives of Hannibal versus Scipio Africanus.
In any case, I am also interested in predictions which sounded very funny when they were made in satire-form, for example in the SF-story "The Muller-Fokker Effect" by John Sladek in 1970, there is Ronald Reagan a president in the future and it is really sad that Jerry Lewis did not become his vice-president as "Back to the Future" suggested, but nothing could have been more devastating and unrealistic in my imagination than Donald Trump. Since he became president, I am almost sure that I must have been catapulted somehow into a kind of perverse parallel-universe.
By the way, in "The Muller-Fokker Effekt", there is a very funny diagram which could also be the future of mankind in robot-form:


Anyway, if you know of similar absurd predictions like the presidencies of Reagan or Trump which came true, please tell me and I tell you some of my collection, if you like.
Until then, I found some other pictures in my archive which may fit in here (somehow).

 

[Silent_Water]

Up to now, I was not really sooo scared about the coronavirus but when a Trevor Noah - video looks like this one ... hm ... I think it over if I will be scared tomorrow:

I always have so strange unusual feelings when I see Donald Trump, which I cannot describe in a rational way - but how will you explain love or hatred in a rational way?
I think it is simply that I love to hate Donald Trump.


And then these bad news today! Ouch! Tom Hanks is one of my most loved actors!

Coronavirus: Celebrities including Tom Hanks, Naomi Campbell react to outbreak - National | Globalnews.ca

Tom Hanks son Chet said 'it's true, my parents got coronavirus. Crazy.'

globalnews.ca

Good Luck, Tom!

 

[Apostate]

I always have so strange unusual feelings when I see Donald Trump, which I cannot describe in a rational way - but how will you explain love or hatred in a rational way?
I think it is simply that I love to hate Donald Trump.

Your feelings about Trump are neither strange nor unusual. At every stage of his life and career he has been a DSM-6 certified malignant narcissist, who corrupts or otherwise damages everything and everyone with which he comes into contact.

You don’t love hate him, it’s a reflex, a defense mechanism.

 

[Silent_Water]

Your analysis of my feelings about Donald Trump is so convincing for me that I would like to insert here two small funny videos from YouTube in order to make us "alien" Germans and our feelings about "our" world more understandable for everyone. Have fun!

 

[Apostate]

Your analysis of my feelings about Donald Trump is so convincing for me that I would like to insert here two small funny videos from YouTube in order to make us "alien" Germans and our feelings about "our" world more understandable for everyone. Have fun!

45 seconds into the first one I brought it up on YouTube and bookmarked both of them.

Vielen dank.

 

[Silent_Water]

Bitte sehr! / Gerne! / Gern geschehen! (= You are welcome!)
By the way. In the second video there are mentioned two very important German words which I write her for those who want to know how complicated these words are written:
1. Reiserücktrittsversicherung
2. Fahrvergnügen
Explanations in the video.

(Even I myself found some German words in some places where I did not expect some word of this length and I thought: Once, shortly after God created countries and their nations, there must have been a competition of making the longest words in the world and only two nations have become the winners: Wales and Germany.
For example, on a graveyard in Austria I once saw a tombstone (about 130 years old) of a woman who must have been very proud of being the widow of such an important man in the Austrian Empire of those times because the inscription of her grave stone described her as "Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänswitwe" !

Try to find out what her husband's profession was!

 

[Apostate]

(Even I myself found some German words in some places where I did not expect some word of this length and I thought: Once, shortly after God created countries and their nations, there must have been a competition of making the longest words in the world and only two nations have become the winners: Wales and Germany.
For example, on a graveyard in Austria I once saw a tombstone (about 130 years old) of a woman who must have been very proud of being the widow of such an important man in the Austrian Empire of those times because the inscription of her grave stone described her as "Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänswitwe" !

Try to find out what her husband's profession was!

"Danube steamship company captain widow."

Google Translate is spoiling the bejeezus out of me.

 

[Silent_Water]

A typical German would have said instead:
"OK, it is not so difficult as it looks because you can split the words easily behind the filling "s" and then recognize the words by your knowledge of comparing linguistic similarities of non-roman languages in Europe ... - .... but I took the google translator because I am too lazy for this work!"