ten was bit too many

I'm talking about events that required me to be on my gluteus maximus to partake, events that demanded my attention to be focused on an unblinking eye at close proximity.

Yes, I'm talking about Zooms and related platforms.

 

Those began last Tuesday with three such events - all Zooms - on a single day.

The first, at high noon, from the NY Council Navy League, had billed itself as a National Security Briefing.

That it was not.

In truth, "Not Your Father's Naval War College", with James E. Hickey, was a history lesson and sales pitch for the Navy War College.

As a veteran of the US Navy, I found it interesting, but not pertinent, as the talk was aimed at encouraging officers to enroll.

The evening found me at two events that started close together, requiring me to miss part of one in order to fully sit in on the other.

It actually worked in my favor that the Telfair event began first.

That was in conjunction with the Savannah VOICE Festival.

"Mozart To Puccini: Opera Costume and Set Production - a Chat with Two Met Legends" was one I'd looked forward to for a while, as it featured the new fashion exhibit as well as noted Verdi baritone Sherrill Milnes and famed designer Fabrizio Melano.

That chat turned out to be more from Maria Zouves than from Sherrill, but that's okay; they're an old married couple!

Overall, it was a very nice glimpse behind the curtains of opera productions, emphasizing all of the work - set design, costume fabrication, lighting, set construction - required to turn words on a page into musical delight.

(Of course, I'd had years behind the scenes when I was with A.C.T.O.R. in Okinawa and the Masquers at Armstrong, so that was a nice trip down memory lane for me!)

When the Q&A began, I stayed briefly, then jetted off before the end.

The next event was already on.

I missed about twenty-five minutes of the Georgia Water Coalition's "Clean 13 Water Heroes Awards Ceremony".

As it turned out, that meant I didn't see the two-minute videos touting the work of the first four awardees.

The good news is that I caught the ones for the other nine recipients.

I am so impressed with the environmentally-friendly work they are all doing!

The one that most amazed me was the WaterHub at Emory University, a device, akin to the system at Armstrong's greenhouse, takes the sewage from the University, treats it, and recycles it into clean water for the on-campus air conditioning system and flushing toilets; that amounts to 40% of the school's water needs!

Emory is the first site in the United States to have this water reclamation system from Europe and have been using it successfully for five years.

Hopefully, others will follow their lead!

Wednesday, I only had one Zoom.

That was the monthly talk, at 9 PM, from the UCBRFA, this time from Lorrie Shepard.

"What Research On Learning Says About Testing And Assessment" mirrored what I'd found true back in 2010, as a full-time teacher.

(As such, participation in faculty reading groups was a requirement and mine focused on a book about methods of teaching.)

What her talk mostly told me was how very slowly change occurs, as many places of education still use a on-functioning system which is a century old.

So, nothing particularly new, but very entertaining in its presentation.

That was good.

Earth Day found me with a stunning number of online events: four.

Two have already appeared here. 

A third, sandwiched between them, was part of the FSU Three Torches series.

Titled "Versatility In Hospitality", it was something I know my nephew Tyler would like.

Brian Ford, Chief Operating Officer of the Super Bowl LV Tampa Bay Buccaneers , graduated from my alma mater in 1989 (that's when I was there!) with a BS in business, parlaying that, as well as experience in contract food and beverage, into this hospitality-centered job that he's had for the last 15 years.

His interest in working in the sports field began while he was a student, spending summers in the construction of an arena.

He impressed upon the audience his view that sports are the entertainment that brings in people to buy the food and drinks - which certainly sounds like the same mantra of Jesse Cole of the Savannah Bananas, right?

Very entertaining talk!

That evening found me back online, this time at the National Geographic website, for "Behind The Curtain: Secrets Of The Whales, A Celebration of Earth Day", with Brian Skerry at the helm.

This was a much more family-friendly event than the earlier one I'd seen in March.

Then again, this special was to promote a new series on Disney+, so that accounts for the emphasis on whale families, whale babies, and whale communication.

My favorite shot, though, was this: him perched on a stool against a brick wall in his office, an alligator away from the camera man with the cue cards, with a second camera capturing the scene.

I guess I was the third camera, eh?

After that surfeit of laptop scenes, the silver screen of AMC was the focus of my gaze on Friday and Saturday, as I watched lead characters fighting evil die near movie's end.

(Those would be: King Kong in "Godzilla Vs. Kong"; Raya in "Raya And The Last Dragon"; Hanzo Hasashi in "Mortal Kombat"; and Rengoku  in "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train".)

Yesterday found me at two Zooms.

The first event was the virtual coffee hour following AMC's "Dancing In The Rain" sermon.

(That would be the church, of course, not the cinema.)

That had a smaller number of fellow zoomers than usual, so no breakout rooms this time.

We also closed up earlier than usual, though not before I shared my car washing story.

The early release was part of the reason I sought out the museum afterward, as I wanted to be around others.

Just as well I was home at 5 PM.

That put me in time for the final Zoom of the week.

It was the first time I've ever been to one intended for the Friends of The Telfair patrons and it was termed a Virtual Garden Party lecture.

Elizabeth Jamieson led us through "Traveling In Style: The Horse And The Country House In England", showing the correlation to the carriage houses in Savannah.

Her talk was quite in-depth on the workings of such places and the care of the buggies and the horses and the many roles of the people who handled such tasks.

I must admit, when I realized the focus of her talk, I wandered off, tidying up my house for Carolyn's visit.

Part of the issue was the tone of her voice, but mostly it was a lack of interest on my part.

I had hoped, really and truly, for a discussion of something more pertinent to garden parties: tea sets, silverware patterns, dish art, serving containers, picnic baskets.

None of that was forthcoming.

Ah, well, you can't have it all, right?

Where would you put it?

(That's a favorite joke of mine.)

So, what is lined up for this week?

Not any Zooms, that's for sure.

Perhaps a trip to Tybee is in order, with a trip to the Jepson on the near horizon.

A break from the small screen is definitely due.