Their Book Club for Two

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Their Book Club for Two

Although her musical tastes usually run to R&B, the following weekend she and Dr. Romero went to “Love’s Command: Sacred Poetry and Music,” a performance by the Orlando Consort, a Medieval and Renaissance vocal music quartet, at St. Mary the Virgin Church near Times Square.

“The combination of poetry and music was intriguing,’’ she said, and after the concert, they had their first kiss.

As a romantic gesture, they soon began writing letters to each other every couple of weeks.

“Yes, by U.S. mail,” said Dr. Gabler, who included a poem by Rupi Kaur, a Canadian poet, in one letter, which she had read aloud to him.

“I always wanted to find somebody to read books to or with,” she said. “Now we read to each other every night, even for five minutes.”

Dr. Romero proposed on New Year’s Eve, around their first anniversary, when they got back to her apartment from dinner at a French restaurant in Fort Greene.

“Sigrid loves books, and I work in a music library,” said Mr. Romero, and with that in mind they had planned to first legally get married at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau on June 26, and then exchange vows two days later at the Housing Works Bookshop in Lower Manhattan, expecting about 60 guests, before the coronavirus outbreak. They still plan to have a party there in June 2021.

Instead, on June 26, they were married in the garden of the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn in Brooklyn Heights. The Rev. Adriene Thorne, a pastor at the church, officiated, and they were surrounded by their children.

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She Felt Special by the Nikes He Wore

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She Felt Special by the Nikes He Wore

Lana Price was living in New York in 2015 and losing enthusiasm for dating when it struck her that she and her friends, who also reported lackluster attempts at romance, should try a new approach.

“We really talked a lot about how challenging it is to be a single person, and how dating can be fun but can also be demoralizing at times,” she said. “The origin was this idea that you get credit for dating, right, so you date as if it’s your duty.”

Thus was born the Duty Dating Challenge, which Ms. Price, now 41, and her group of friends approached with sober intention. There was a form that participants filled out for each date, answering questions like “How did you meet?” and “What went well on this date that you can be proud of?” Each date earned one point, and the goal was to accumulate as many points as possible within the eight-week challenge period.

“It became a mechanism,” Ms. Price said, “a way for us to support each other.”

In 2017, Ms. Price decided it was time to try living somewhere else. In addition to factors like job availability, proximity to family and cultural scene, she considered the ratio of single men to single women. She chose Austin, Texas, and soon moved there.

And it was as a continuing participant in the Duty Dating Challenge that she met Mel Wallace on the dating app Tinder, in 2018.

Mr. Wallace, now 40, said, “Her profile was interesting — ’I just want to do fun stuff’ — which was my profile, too.”

The two met at a beer garden, and, Mr. Wallace, said, “We talked and talked and talked. The highlight was, we also took Jager shots. When she was willing to take a Jager shot, I was like, she’s fun.”

Mr. Wallace, who collects sneakers and now has more than 100 pairs in his collection, wore Air Max 1 Atmos with animal prints for their first date. Ms. Price was impressed by what she read into his choice: “Our first date was special, and so he wore special shoes.”

The two shared a Lyft ride home. After she got out, Mr. Wallace said, “The Lyft driver was like, ‘Bro, she likes you.’ I was like, ‘Oh. That’s wonderful.’”

In her challenge log entry after their first date, she described him as “a cutie patootie” and “REALLY SMART.”

The two soon got together again, touring a recently opened Korean grocery. (Ms. Price grew up in Korea, and was surprised to learn that Mr. Wallace had never had Korean food). On their fourth date, they shared their first kiss on a nightclub dance floor.

“I’m in full-on heart-eyed emoji mode,” she wrote afterward in her challenge log.

The two quickly fell in love. Mr. Wallace remembers realizing this when the two were at a pool near his house. “She did this jump into the water, and in my head, it was the most wonderful thing I’d seen,” he said. “And I thought, ‘Oh man, I really love this girl.’”

In 2019, he received a job offer from New York, and the two moved together. He is a senior marketing manager at Tilting Point, a mobile game publisher. She is a business planning-services consultant for nonprofit groups.

On June 27, the couple married in the backyard of the Harlem brownstone where they live. Their landlord, Leah Poller, officiated, having joined the American Marriage Ministries.

In Ms. Price’s circle of friends, her return to New York was a triumph. “That was the big joke for Duty Dating,” she said. “That I had to leave New York to find someone. But then I brought him back.”

For the wedding, Mr. Wallace wore Nike SB Zoom Blazer “Kevin & Hell” Velcro low-top sneakers, as they perfectly matched his seersucker suit.

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A Connection Rooted in the Land

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A Connection Rooted in the Land

When Benjamin Litwin spotted Madigan Beck arriving at the Colorado ashram where he then lived, he sprinted to the entryway to greet her.

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AP Top Stories July 3 A

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AP Top Stories July 3 A

Here’s the latest for Friday July 3rd: Pelosi, Schumer blast Trump over Russia-Afghanistan allegations; Texas governor makes masks mandatory in public for most of state; Coronavirus outbreak in U. of Washington frat houses; NJ casinos reopen.

       

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Singapore is on track to face its worst dengue outbreak in history

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Singapore is on track to face its worst dengue outbreak in history

More than 14,000 dengue cases have been reported in the city-state since the start of the year, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA). The total number for the whole year is expected to exceed the 22,170 cases reported in 2013 — the largest dengue outbreak in Singapore’s history, the agency said.
Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, the same insect responsible for spreading Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. It is commonly found in hot, wet regions of the tropics and subtropics during the rainy months.

Only about 25% of those infected show symptoms, which include high fever, severe headaches, muscle and joint pains. Extreme cases can bring bleeding, breathing difficulties, organ failure, and potentially death.

In Singapore, 16 people have died of dengue this year — twice the death toll of 2013.

The warmer months from June to October are traditionally peak dengue season in the city state, due to accelerated development of the Aedes mosquito and the shorter incubation period of the Dengue virus.

But this year, it has been particularly bad.

Last week alone, 1,468 cases were reported, the third consecutive week case numbers have exceeded 1,000 — and the highest number of weekly dengue cases ever recorded in Singapore.

In response to the soaring cases, the Singaporean government has stepped up checks to remove potential mosquito breeding habitats at public areas and housing estates.

Over the past three weekends, about 6,900 premises have undergone inspection and vector control, according to the NEA.

“The majority of mosquito breeding detected continues to be found at common areas of residential estates, premises and homes,” the NEA said in a statement on Thursday.
And starting from July 15, the agency will increase fines for people who fail to take action to prevent mosquitoes from breeding both inside and outside their property. Mosquitoes are known to favor damp, dark corners and areas of stagnant water.

Why is it so bad this year?

Dengue cases have grown dramatically worldwide, increasing 30-fold in the past 50 years. There are an estimated 100-400 million infections each year, and about half of the world’s population is now at risk, according to the World Health Organization.
Scientists say hotter, wetter weather brought on by climate change has created ideal conditions for female mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Not only are there more mosquitoes, but the rapid urbanization occurring in many Asian nations means that susceptible populations are living in closer contact with disease-carrying insects.
Last year, the Philippines declared a national dengue epidemic in August. By the end of that month, 1,107 people had died of the disease, and more than 270,000 had been infected.

In Singapore, experts believe a key reason for the surge in dengue cases this year is the return of an old strain of the dengue virus that has not been around for nearly three decades.

There are four strains, or serotypes, of the dengue virus. In Singapore, DENV-2 has been the dominant strain since 2016. But starting from last year, the less common DENV-3 has been on the rise, according to Luo Dahai, associate professor of Infection and Immunity at Nanyang Technological University.

“Considering the local outbreaks are usually caused by DENV1 and 2 in the past, the immunity built among the community residents against these DENVs may not be protective against the emerging DENV-3,” Luo said.

According to the NEA, DENV-3 cases accounted for 48% of the dengue cases in February, almost double that of DENV-2 cases.

“The rise in proportion of DENV-3 cases is of concern, as we have not had dengue outbreaks driven by DENV-3 in Singapore for almost three decades,” the NEA said.

“This means that our population has lower immunity to DENV-3, and consequently a large proportion of our population is susceptible to DENV-3 infection.” it said.

Have lockdown measures made it worse?

Another potential factor that worsened the dengue outbreak this year, Luo said, could be the lockdown measures imposed for coronavirus.

In April, a second wave of infections broke out in Singapore among migrant workers living in packed dormitories, sending daily new infections from below 100 to above 1000 at its peak.

To contain its spread, the government issued a stay-at-home order and closed down non-essential workplaces and schools. These restrictive measures, known as the “circuit breaker,” lasted from April 7 to June 1.

“When more people stay at home all the days, there could be more residential mosquito breeding and more opportunities for ‘blood meals’,” Luo said.

According to the WHO, the female mosquito is a daytime feeder. The peak biting periods are early in the morning and in the evening before dusk.

The NEA said it had observed a five-fold increase in the incidents of mosquito larvae detected in homes and common corridors in residential areas during the two-month circuit breaker period, compared to the two months prior. “The highest percentage of mosquito breeding found in homes in the top five dengue cluster areas was 84%,” it said.

CNN’s Helen Regan contributed to reporting.

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Chris Hayes Explains Why Trump’s America Is ‘Laughingstock’ Of The World

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Chris Hayes Explains Why Trump’s America Is ‘Laughingstock’ Of The World

“Our cases are skyrocketing. Our government’s response is a failure. We are living in this tragedy, this national humiliation for all to see,” Hayes continued, noting how COVID-19 is again spiking at record levels across the country.

Hayes explained how some of the nations that had been hardest hit by the global health crisis in March and April were now transitioning to some sort of normality after successfully flattening the curve of new infections.

“No other country is struggling with the virus like we are,” he said.

Hayes slammed the Trump administration’s depiction of the virus as “embers.”

“That is not us. No. We are way past the embers stage,” he said. “The country is on fire. It is in flames. We cannot stomp it out. And the rest of the world is looking on in horror.” 

Check out Hayes’ monologue above.

A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus



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UK service sector slump levels off, as China growth surges – business live

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UK service sector slump levels off, as China growth surges – business live

Despite flare-ups in some places, the epidemic remained largely under control in China. Work resumption in the services sector accelerated. The business activity index hit a 10-year high, and the gauge for total new business also reached its highest level since August 2010, indicating a good recovery of services activities.

Despite uncertainties over the pandemic overseas, the measure for new export business returned to expansionary territory, meaning that external demand has not been a drag for the first time in five months….

The gauge for business expectations rose further into expansionary territory for the fourth consecutive month, suggesting that service providers remained highly optimistic about their business outlook over the next 12 months, as the epidemic was under control, restrictions were lifted, and the economy recovered at a faster pace.

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French Prime Minister resigns, forcing cabinet reshuffle

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French Prime Minister resigns, forcing cabinet reshuffle

The French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has resigned, forcing an emergency government reshuffle.

President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to open a new chapter for the two remaining years of his term that will focus on efforts to relaunch the French economy deeply hit by the coronavirus crisis.

In an interview given to several local newspapers today, Mr Macron said he is seeking a “new path” to rebuild the country.

He praised Mr Philippe’s “outstanding work” in the past three years.

“I will need to make choices to lead (the country) down the path,” he said.

The reshuffle comes days after a green wave swept over France in local elections. Mr Macron saw his young centrist party being defeated in France’s biggest cities and failing to plant local roots across the country.
The reshuffle was planned even before the voting, as Mr Macron’s government faced obstacles and criticism before Sunday’s election and during the virus crisis.

As the pandemic was peaking in the country in March and April, authorities came under fire for the lack of masks, tests and medical equipment.

Before that, Mr Macron’s pro-business policies, widely seen as favouring the wealthier, had been hampered by the yellow vest economic movement against perceived social injustice.

This winter, weeks of strikes and street demonstrations against a planned pension overhaul disrupted the country.

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Ticked-Off Florida Seniors Turn On Trump In Scathing CNN Segment: ‘He Blew It’

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Ticked-Off Florida Seniors Turn On Trump In Scathing CNN Segment: ‘He Blew It’