PJMcK
PJMcK's JournalAt least months
Let's face it: Until there are antibody tests, treatments and a vaccine, this disease is going to be around and we'll have to socially distance until we have those tools. Businesses will be irreparably changed, schooling will be very different and our previously normal social activities will never be the same.
Even with fast-tracking and relaxing of testing protocols, a vaccine won't be available in 2020. So more people will become infected and more people will die. The disease isn't Trump's fault but his lazy dismissiveness and inattentiveness will cause suffering and death for many Americans. MAGA, my ass.
I'm lucky to have my best friend (my wife) to isolate with. We're able to do some of our work remotely and we're developing a "new normal" for our day-to-day lives. Our big thrills of the week are when we leave the property to go to the post office, the dump or the supermarket! Sometimes, we'll go for a long drive through the Catskill Mountains and with gas so cheap, I don't feel any anxiety about the supply for now.
I'm with you, leftylady, this feels really weird. I have no idea when we'll be able to go home to our NYC apartment but I know it won't be soon. Several weeks ago, I changed my mailing address to a P.O. Box here in Pennsylvania making this the 6th state I've officially lived in. We were thinking of retiring here just not this soon!
Have you ever traveled to the American South?
Those who fly the CSA battle flag are clueless about their flag. They also lack any self awareness about their bigotry, ignorance and treasonous desires.
I've often wondered what our nation would look like if the North had prosecuted and executed the traitorous leaders of the Confederacy. My thought is that by trying to quickly heal the nation following the Civil War, our country's leaders failed completely in that goal. By allowing the criminals to go free, their supporters were able to build the myth that the South would rise again. I also think that the racism that has plagued us would have taken a less destructive trajectory had those treasonous and divisive leaders been held to account.
That flag is the most un-American banner I can imagine! The Confederation wanted to dissolve the United States. That's a fact and, frankly, I don't care to debate what their reasons were, (although I know exactly what motivated them). Don't we pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag and the U.S. Republic, in part, saying, "One nation, under God, indivisible..."?
Do those idiots carrying those ugly flags know what that word means?
Perhaps there's an historical lesson for us should VP Biden become our next president. Don't let these bastards run free or the results will be long-lasting.
My business is changing forever, I think
I work with Broadway musicals and represent the writers of some classic shows and songs. The music business has undergone tremendous changes in the last decade and the income streams available to creative writers have, in many cases, dried to a trickle.
In the past, songwriters and their publishers could count on various royalties for income. These included mechanical royalties (for the sale of records, tapes and CDs), public performance royalties (for radio, TV and live performances), printed sheet music, commercial licensing, theatrical licenses (for the use of songs in stage plays) and synchronization licenses (for the use of songs in a motion picture, television show or other video-type use).
Today, the only viable income stream is the last, sync licenses. The rest of the list above has become nearly irrelevant. Music creators and their publishers have had to re-tool and re-focus their business models to adapt to this reality.
One aspect of these profound changes is that almost all of the business transactions-- from pitch through negotiation to final agreement and payment-- are done by email. It doesn't matter where the individuals are located as long as they have internet access.
My wife and I retreated from New York City to our mountain house in the Catskills over a month ago in anticipation of the self-isolating that we're all experiencing. Through good fortune, I've been able to keep working with my clients' "intellectual property rights" and continue to make good business for them. I think this is going to be a new model for this sliver of the entertainment business that I inhabit.
Profile Information
Name: Paul McKibbinsGender: Male
Hometown: New York City
Home country: USA
Current location: Catskill Mountains
Member since: Mon Jun 5, 2006, 05:16 PM
Number of posts: 22,022