In a few minutes, the Berkeley community will be coming together to help one another as we face the COVID-19 emergency. -more-
The latest developments around the region related to the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, as of Thursday morning include: -more-
They may call it the week the music died.
All throughout the Bay Area, presenters of classical music are reeling from the impact of the coronavirus. Postponements and cancellations of events that began with a trickle at the beginning of March have cascaded into a flood that has silenced our concert halls.
In Berkeley, performances of the Philharmonic Baroque Orchestra and the Berkeley Symphony have been cancelled.
Berkeley Chamber Opera has suspended its production of Poulenc's Dialogue of the Carmelites, originally scheduled for early April. It hopes to resume rehearsals in August in hopes of mid-August performance dates.
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These need not be such dark times. There is still art to be made! Warm up your vocal chords or start practicing your instruments. Each week, on Wednesday at noon, step outside your door or open your window and make the hills (and the flats) come alive with music. -more-
Introduction
When the news arrived this March 16 with virtually no advance notice that Berkeleyeans were ordered to “shelter in place” at home for three weeks, starting the next day, I remembered an interesting little fact from history. In 1945 there was a newspaper deliveryman’s strike in New York City and papers, although printed, didn’t reach much of the general public. New York’s third term Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia had a regular weekly radio show. In July he decided he would read the comics in the papers over his radio show so New York children could keep up with their favorite characters. He was also making a political statement (because, although generally pro-union, he opposed the strike).
Now I’m no mayor, thank goodness and I’m not making a political statement, but recalling that incident gave me the idea to write serially about the 1918 flu epidemic and how it was experienced in Berkeley, for all of you sequestered at home these days waiting out the 2020 epidemic.
Many Daily Planet readers may know that I already write a weekly column summarizing Berkeley history a century ago, published each Friday in the pages of the Berkeley Voice.
I have often said, based on extensive reading and research in Berkeley history for that column and other projects, that most things that happen here today have happened in Berkeley before. This is notwithstanding the near-constant statements by proud or prideful civic leaders or journalists today that something they’ve done or proposed or covered is a “first” for Berkeley (it’s usually not, but the actual first time something similar happened has typically been forgotten).
So has Berkeley experienced an influenza emergency before? Yes, as all the world did, in 1918 / 19 when the “Spanish Influenza” pandemic circled the globe and, as fall 1918 began, struck our city.
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Has Berkeley ever been depopulated by a virulent plague?
Yes. At least twice, in fact! In fiction and novels, that is.
Both stories provide a glimpse of fictional worlds which have now come perhaps a little too close to our own current reality. Empty streets, a depopulated Berkeley campus, infectious disease that can strike instantly at anyone.
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Hand washing is one of the most important actions we can take to prevent infection, especially with our new viruses—CoV19, MERS, and SARS
The importance of hand washing was driven home recently when I spent time with a relative in the ICU, the Intensive Care Unit at my local hospital. In the ten days I kept vigil until his recovery, the hospital staff kept his room sterile. Every time the room was entered a new pair of gloves was put on. Blood pressure and other monitors were wiped down when entering and leaving the room. The floor and bed rails were cleaned often. For the short time he was considered contagious, we all put on paper aprons when entering, discarding when leaving. There were four trash receptacles—one for needles and sharps, one for soiled linen, one for bio-contaminated equipment like tubes and wipes, and one for plain refuse. Staff efforts at keeping the room sterile were impressive.
Poor Dr. Semmelweis would have been very pleased. In 1847 he tried to convince doctors in his Viennese maternity ward to simply wash their hands. He was convinced doctors were inadvertently carrying infection into the ward where mothers were dying of puerperal fever. It is thought that Jane Seymour, the third wife of King Henry VIII was possibly the most famous victim of puerperal fever. In 1537, she died two weeks after giving birth to Henry's only surviving son, the future Edward VI of England. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (who wrote Frankenstein), also died of this disease shortly after giving birth.
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“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'” - Mr. Rogers
Beginning last evening and continuing for the next two weeks, the Metropolitan Opera is screening a different opera every night for FREE on its website, beginning with its 2010 production of Carmen. Each opera will be available to watch on demand until 3:30pm the following day. Enjoy!
Additional upcoming classical concerts being live-streamed:
16, 17 & 18 March, 18:45 GMT: Musicians from the Budapest Festival Orchestra perform ‘Quarantine Soirées’ from the BFO Rehearsal Hall.
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What does this Order do?
-more-There is an emergency meeting regarding the novel coronavirus and the City response to it tonight at 6pm at 1231 Addison St. As always you can watch via live webcast here, and tonight you are especially encouraged to do so. Because this is an emergency special meeting, we know that many will not have yet had the opportunity to read through the materials, and so all four items will be summarized below, followed by a list of frequently asked questions. The situation is changing rapidly, and we are doing our best to communicate any changes to you. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reply to this email and ask. -more-
The latest developments related to the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, around the region as of Tuesday morning include: -more-
Worth Noting:
A special City Council meeting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is scheduled for March 17, 2020 at 6 pm. The meeting can be viewed via live webcast https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Agenda_Index.aspx
All other Berkeley City meetings and events have been cancelled.
The Shelter in Place (stay inside) order for all residents (except those providing essential services) begins March 17, 12:01 am and lasts through April 7 and includes Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, and Contra Costa Counties.
https://www.cityofberkeley.info/City_Manager/Press_Releases/2020/2020-03-16-health-officers-order-residents-to-stay-home/
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Berkeley City Council Special Meeting, Tuesday, March 17, 6:00 pm, 1231 Addison Street, BUSD Board Room, Agenda - Action: 1. Adopt Resolution ratifying the recommendations issued by the Director of Emergency Services and Public Health Officer regarding meetings of legislative bodies in response to COVID-19 pandemic. 2. Urgency Ordinance – COVID-19 Emergency Response Ordinance to provide protections to residential tenants against evictions during the declared state of emergency to preserve the health and safety of the Berkeley Community, 3. Berkeley COVID-19 Relief Fund and Expanding Flexible Housing Pool, Refer to City Manager to consider the creation of tax-exempt special fund at up to $3 million to provide gap resources which to be matched with grants or philanthropic donations to provide gap assistance to renters, small businesses and arts organizations significantly impacted by COVID-19 state of emergency, 4. Strategies for Special Populations during COVID-19 Crisis, Refer to City Manager to develop and implement strategies to address the needs of populations in Berkeley who face unique challenges
https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2020/03_Mar/City_Council__03-17-2020_-_Special_Meeting_Agenda(COVID-19).aspx
This meeting list is also posted on the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition website.
http://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html and in the Berkeley Daily Planet under activist’s calendar http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com
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Governor Newsom has issued a "shelter in place" order for the next three weeks until April 7 in six Bay Area counties, including Alameda County, starting at midnight tonight. Everyone is asked to stay inside their homes as much as possible, and non-essential businesses are temporarily closing while public health officials work to curb the spread of coronavirus. Individuals are being asked to: -more-
This is an AC Alert message from the City of Berkeley on Monday, March 16, 2020.
The City of Berkeley Health Officer has ordered all residents to shelter at home, leaving only to receive or provide essential services, starting 12:01 am on Tuesday, March 17. See details of the Order, frequently asked questions, and recommendations from Berkeley Public Health at https://www.cityofberkeley.info/coronavirus.
The associated news release is below:
SEVEN BAY AREA JURISDICTIONS ORDER RESIDENTS TO STAY HOME COVID-19 spread reduces activity to only most essential needs
Berkeley, California (Monday, March 16, 2020) - Seven health officers within six Bay Area counties are taking a bold, unified step to slow the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and preserve critical health care capacity across the region. On March 16, the Public health officers of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties announced, with the City of Berkeley, a legal order directing their respective residents to shelter at home for three weeks beginning March 17. The order limits activity, travel and business functions to only the most essential needs. The guidance comes after substantial input from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and best practices from other health officials around the world.
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With health professionals expecting the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) to accelerate, Kaiser Permanente is setting up several drive-up testing sites for its members at East Bay locations.
The drive-up testing sites are only for Kaiser members, and only those who meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for testing and have a doctor's order to be tested, Kaiser officials said Sunday. Kaiser spokeswoman Kerri Leedy would not say where these drive-up stations are operating, because they are not open to the public. This is a pilot program currently being tested at Kaiser's Northern California medical centers.
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Seven Bay Area jurisdictions will institute a shelter-in-place order Tuesday in an effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Monday. -more-
Health officials from Kaiser Permanente and John Muir Health medical facilities in the East Bay said Sunday their four hospitals are ready for a surge of COVID-19 coronavirus patients, and in fact expect an "accelerated spread" of cases in the coming weeks. -more-
The current Bylaws were drafted by a group headed by Carol Spooner after the 1999 crisis. At the time It was felt that all-elected Board was the preferred governance structure. -more-
The civil rights movement posed a very difficult challenge to the establishment, which forced it to make major and unprecedented concessions to African Americans. Indeed, “forced” is certainly the appropriate characterization because the resistance particularly among white southerners was strong and even violent. -more-
Trump’s tweets have lost their sting. America is too preoccupied with the deadly “take no prisoners”, Coronavirus. Our 401’s have become “201”s. The tax man is pounding the door demanding his pound of flesh. -more-
Berkeley is one of the most densely populated cities in California and open space is needed, particularly in the extremely crowded south campus area.
Historians, preservationists, students, neighbors and concerned citizens have come together to form the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group to document and preserve the open space of People’s Park and the historic resources encircling it.
Although there is no denying that truly affordable housing is needed, People’s Park is Berkeley’s most famous landmark and is valuable, irreplaceable public open space for the densely populated south campus area. We oppose construction on People’s Park. Our group, which formed in the summer of 2019, is moved to action by the following issues:
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Based on empirically based projections of how the virus will spread, on the experience of other countries and cities, and on what I think I know about the structure of our society, I have some suggestions.
We are entering a period when our collective well-being depends on volunteerism and pitching in.
Assume that there is a good chance public schools will be shut down, but may need help serving students who are unhoused and/or lack alternative child care.
Prepare for the possibility that most businesses will be closed temporarily, but please do not competitively hoard and please try to avoid shopping in big weekend and evening crowds. If you are a landlord, be prepared to take some losses and don't initiate evictions.
If you have IT skills of the right kind, please find ways to organize and help the City keep communications and public process open even if public meetings must be more or less ended. Are you competent to help with streaming? Teleconferencing? Rapid turn-around on web sites? Forums, mailing lists, and so forth? The City IT dept. lacks the capacity to step up as much as is needed here.
As you prepare your own households, keep in mind that many will not. If you are able, prepare to help others.
Be aware that the Bay Area is one of the ground zeroes. Be aware that we are unlikely to “much” limit the number of people who become infected but we can slow it down.
We *must* work to slow the spread down because otherwise our health care system will likely be overwhelmed sooner rather than later. That will mean that people who go to the ER with otherwise survivable conditions (virus or otherwise) will be allowed to die in a triage process.
Wash your hands etc. :-)
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KPFA members are being asked to vote on a complete overhaul of the Pacifica Network (KPFA Radio) bylaws - by March 19, 2020. I'm urging a "no" vote. -more-
Let me begin by saying that I am new to the Pacifica Radio Network struggles. I decided to get involved because I could see NPR (National Propaganda Radio) shifting to the Right with its corporate sponsors and I did not want Pacifica or KPFA to follow suit. I was elected to the KPFA Local Station Board (LSB) in early 2019. Since then I have witness up-close the disasters that the advocates for these bylaws have inflicted on Pacifica using Shock Doctrine tactics. These advocates seem to have been struggling for control of the Pacifica Network for decades and their actions over the last year appear to be a last ditch attempt to either wrench control of Pacifica for themselves, or take Pacifica down. Don’t let the advocates of bylaw-change use fear to sway you. They use narratives to pit one station against another – or to pit management and privileged staff members against other staff. These are divide and conquer tactics that elites have always used to control us. Please remember that Pacifica has always been different – and experiment in community radio and democracy. -more-
"Can't you hear what Mother Nature is screaming at you?" — Al Gore
In Joaquin Miller Park, in the hills above Oakland, California, the remains of an ancient tree are on display. Taller than a standing human, the rings of the remnant stump reveal a long and challenged history. At one point, hundreds of years ago—long before the arrival of European settlers—a bolt of lightning struck the tree, leaving a mark that still remains.
Part of the tree was severed by the impact and resulting fire, leaving the towering tree unbalanced and in danger of toppling. What happened over the next several decades gives an astonishing look into nature's remarkable—and underestimated—survival responses.
Leaning to the east and threatened by collapse, the tree did something that trees are not widely known to do: It grew a leg. On the side of the tree that had begun to tilt toward the ground, a new woody growth slowly emerged from the trunk, creating what an architect might describe as a "flying buttress"—the kind of exterior support used to secure the walls of tall, stone churches.
That tree in Oakland has something in common with a mutant lamb in Ukraine.
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As events related to the fast-moving coronavirus pandemic evolve, emergency declarations in many locations have banned all but small-sized public gatherings in an effort to protect families, save lives and prevent the spread of the disease. These actions have led to the shuttering of large, medium and small venues, sporting facilities, and the preemption of live media production involving studio audiences. This has prompted the widespread cancellation of concerts, shows, theatrical productions, festivals, and musical performances of every kind—all of which have inflicted disastrous economic effects upon performers who often live gig to gig and who bring joy to the world wherever groups are gathered. -more-
The following statement by National Nurses United Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN and Presidents Jean Ross, RN, Zenei Cortez, RN and Deborah Burger, RN is in response to the Trump administration’s COVID-19 press conference:
“At a press conference today, President Trump declared a national emergency and announced that Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar will now have broad new powers to “immediately waive revisions of applicable laws and regulations to give doctors, all hospitals and healthcare providers, maximum flexibility to respond to the virus and care for patients.” Trump also announced a new partnership between the government and corporations, including commercial labs Roche and Thermo Fisher to make the COVID-19 test; Google to market the test; and Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, and Target to administer the test to patients.
While launching this windfall for corporations, what the Trump administration did not mention was that the best way for health care workers to respond to COVID-19 is to ensure that they have the protections they need—which they currently do not.
This week, nurses were outraged that the federal Centers for Disease Control weakened its guidance on health care worker protections. These changes include, among other things, rolling back personal protective equipment (PPE) standards from N-95 respirators to allow simple surgical masks; not requiring suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients to be placed in negative pressure isolation rooms at all times; and weakening protections for health care workers collecting diagnostic respiratory specimens. These are moves that National Nurses United nurses say will gravely endanger nurses, health care workers, patients, and our communities.
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So here we are, knee deep in a catastrophe different in kind from anything we have ever experienced, and the President of the United States of America is a blithering idiot. His media availabilities last week were a good opportunity to see exactly what that term means.
First: idiot. It is clear that he doesn’t know the simplest thing about medical science, for example that a vaccination must be administered before you get sick to do any good. He’s established himself as the leader of a flock of sheep eager to jump over a cliff, as exemplified by one of his fans I heard on a radio call-in program: “America is the best in medicine, and there will be an anecdote soon which will cure everyone.”
Yes indeed, Trump’s foolish followers believe in “anecdotes”, not antidotes. Obviously, they also haven’t heard that “data” is not the plural of “anecdotes”.
And blithering: his recent—I hesitate to call them this—press conferences were ideal opportunities to observe an idiot blithering, defined by Merriam Webster as “talking foolishly”. Time and again his mind wandered into uncharted waters, often to contradict something sensible one of his scientific advisers had just said.
What is blindingly clear is that we can’t rely on the people in power to do what needs to be done to get us through this. Donald Trump and his Republican Party henchmen and henchwomen have almost succeeded in Grover Norquist’s 2001 expressed goal: “I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”
The federal government is almost drowned for sure. Now the rest of us will have to work together to do what needs to be done to bail us out.
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Wow! Over a four day span, stretching from the South Carolina Democratic Primary to the conclusion of "Super Tuesday," Joe Biden vaulted from the position of a marginal Democratic presidential candidate to the frontrunner. The 538 website now predicts that Biden has a 93 percent chance of winning the Democratic nomination. Here's my assessment of Biden's pros and cons.
The latest Real Clear Politics summary of national polls shows Biden beating Trump by an average of 6.3 percent. Nonetheless, we remember all too well that Clinton led Trump throughout a long and agonizing campaign and then lost the election, courtesy of the electoral college. Uncle Joe can beat Trump but it's far from certain.
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It is intrinsic in human nature that people will have incorrect beliefs. People will always have incorrect beliefs. A million years from now, if humans survive long enough to evolve into something better, those descendants will have incorrect beliefs. The human mind, and at a likely guess, the mind of any creature, terrestrial or otherwise, has a representation of truth, but not truth itself. This is analogous to looking at a map versus navigating the terrain that the map represents. -more-
Coronavirus: Some Jaw-dropping Advice
A Bay Area radio reporter covering a coronavirus-driven mob-shopping event at a CostCo in Novato asked a number of participants about their thoughts on the spiraling outbreak of the contagion. One woman said she heard alcohol was effective against the disease "so I'm stocking up on wine."
Another lady advised against overreacting to the threat of the fast-spreading Wuhan virus. Her advice: "Everyone just needs to stay calm, slow down, relax, and take a deep breath."
I'm mot sure about that last part.
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Both South Korea and the U.S. knew about the coronavirus (COVID-19) as early as January this year. Since then, South Korea has tested more than 140,000 for COVID-19 whereas the U.S. has only tested about 5,000 because of the lack of tests. -more-
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest gamble in Syria’s civil war appears to have come up snake eyes. Instead of halting the Damascus government’s siege of the last rebel held province, Idlib, Turkey has backed off, and Ankara’s Syrian adventure is fueling growing domestic resistance to the powerful autocrat. -more-
Worth Noting:
Public Library – Saturday, March 14 – The Board of Library Trustees is holding an Emergency Meeting, 1:30 pm, at 2090 Kittredge, 3rd floor Community Room, Central Library, Agenda: Approve resolution to suspend public access to Library facilities during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/about/board-library-trustees
Farmers’ Markets to stay open.
Expect more meetings to be cancelled – to check if a meeting/event has been cancelled since this posting, the contact person is listed.
The City Council March 24 meeting agenda is available for comment and follows the list of City meetings.
The memo from the City Clerk listing which Boards and Commissions may continue to meet if they have time-sensitive, legally mandated business to complete, as determined by the Director of Emergency Services and which are cancelled follows the March 24 City Council agenda.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
No City meetings or events found
Monday, March 16, 2020
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Staying Home to Stay Alive 03-15-2020
African Americans: The Struggle for Dignity and Survival Harry Brill 03-15-2020
Trump Fiddles While America Suffers Tejinder Uberoi 03-15-2020
People’s Park is Berkeley’s most famous landmark and provides irreplaceable open space Harvey Smith, People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group 03-13-2020
Pitching In Thomas Lord 03-13-2020
New KPFA Pacifica Bylaws may be something - effective, "democratic" or inclusive they're not Virginia Browning 03-15-2020
Vote NO in the Pacifica Bylaws Election Dr. James McFadden, KPFA LSB 03-15-2020
Is COVID-19 Nature's Revenge? Gar Smith 03-15-2020
Press Release: American Federation of Musicians President Urges Relief for Gig Economy Workers Ray Hair, AFM International President 03-15-2020
Press Release: National Nurses United statement on today’s Trump administration press conferenc 03-15-2020
Tune in at 3 p.m. for Berkeley Relief Fund Councimember Kate Harrison 03-22-2020
Bay Area COVID-19 Update Eli Walsh (BCN) 03-19-2020
Concert Halls, Classical Music Silenced by Pandemic Sue Gilmore, Bay City News Foundation, and Planet 03-19-2020
Sing Out with the Berkeley Music Circus on Wednesdays Lisa Bullwinkel, Hoopla CEO Another Bullwinkel Show 03-18-2020
Berkeley and the 1918 Flu (First Installment)
Steven Finacom
Copyright by the author
03-18-2020
New: Tales of Fictional Berkeley Plagues
Steven Finacom
Copyright by the author
03-18-2020
Why We Wash Our Hands Margot Smith, Dr.P.H. 03-18-2020
How to Help Councilmember Kate Harrison 03-18-2020
Housebound? Hear Free Music Online: Metropolitan Opera and More Sent by a string of friends 03-17-2020
Frequently Asked Questions About the Shelter In Place Order: Councilmembers Harrison and Hahn, with information from City Manager Williams 03-17-2020
Flash: Berkeley City Council's Special Meeting Online Tonight at 6 Berkeley Councilmember Kate Harrison 03-17-2020
Daily Status Update on Bay Area Coronavirus Bay City News 03-17-2020
Flash: Berkeley City Council Plans Special Meeting about COVID19 Response Kelly Hammargren, Sustainable Berkeley Coalition 03-17-2020
Shelter in Place Advice Councilmember Kate Harrison 03-16-2020
Advisory: City of Berkeley Health Alert 03-16-2020
Kaiser Opens Drive-Up Testing Trial Bay City News Service 03-16-2020
Shelter in Place Order to Cover 6 Bay Area Counties Eli Walsh (BCN) 03-16-2020
Kaiser, John Muir Delay Elective Surgeries During COVID19 Surge Sam Richards (BCN) 03-16-2020
Vote YES in the Pacifica Bylaws Election Akio Tanaka 03-16-2020
THE PUBLIC EYE: Joe Biden: Pro and Con Bob Burnett 03-13-2020
ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Psychiatric Medication is not a 'Sanity Pill' Jack Bragen 03-13-2020
SMITHEREENS: Reflection on Bits & Pieces Gar Smith 03-15-2020
ECLETIC RANT: We Need More Coronavirus Testing Ralph E. Stone 03-13-2020
DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE:Syria-A Turkish Dilemma Conn Hallinan 03-13-2020
The Berkeley Activist's Calendar, March 15-22 Kelly Hammargren, Sustainable Berkeley Coalition 03-15-2020
and
The March Issue and
The February Issue and
The January Issue and
The December Issue and
The November Issue and
The bit old October Issue
(and please support Grace Underpressure with a donation :-)
