Bryce Moore's Blog, page 83
August 10, 2020
Television Series Review: Perry Mason
Denisa and I finished the new season of the Perry Mason prequel last night on HBO. I’d been excited for the show. Matthew Rhys (of The Americans fame) is a solid actor, and I wanted to see what they did with the character. I watched a whole ton of the Perry Mason made-for-TV movies that came out in the 80s, though I’ve never seen the original TV show. What would an HBO version of the character be like?
Pretty excellent, it turns out. As a prequel set in the 30s, they went full noir with the material, and that’s a genre I’m already very inclined to like. The season focuses on several main character arcs and one central trial. It shows how Perry went from being an embittered private detective to a slightly-less-but-maybe-more embittered defense attorney. It fleshes out the back story of his supporting cast (Della Street, etc.), diving into some of the racial tensions that would have been present at the time, but not doing it in an overly preachy way. (I prefer it when a show or a film trusts me enough to be able to reach conclusions on my own without being hammered over the head with them, something many historical pieces just can’t seem to hold themselves back from.)
Beyond the main characters, there are some great side arcs as well. There’s Perry’s lawyer mentor, played by John Lithgow in another good round of acting. There is a revivalist-style church that’s swept through Los Angeles, with a vibrant woman at its center. And then there’s the main case: a kidnapping gone wrong, with a dead baby at the middle of it all.
It’s a pretty bleak series,which is very fitting for the noir tone to it all, something that is heightened by the trumpet soundtrack. I mean, all it’s really missing is Bogart giving a voice over, and you’d be set. Perhaps this would be too much for some. I loved it.
Being an HBO show, it (naturally) has to prove how gritty it is with the inclusion of adult material. For the most part, however, it refrains from anything gratuitous, and it keeps the entire thing character-driven. That’s what I enjoyed the most about the series. I found the characters to be complex and riveting, able to surprise me in good ways and not gimmicky twists. While the central case may not leave you guessing all the way up to the final episode, the narrative arc will keep you hooked to the end for sure.
Of course, if what people really wanted was a Perry Mason encore, they might leave disappointed. This feels much more noir than Mason, and while that might be perfect for me, I did wonder if some might object. (It was a nice touch that they threw in the old theme music at the end of the finale, though I didn’t particularly care for the jazzed up version of it.)
All in all, it made for a thoroughly entertaining ten episodes. If you’re in the mood for some noir and you’ve got an HBO account, this is a great season, and I’m looking forward to more in the future. 8/10
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
August 7, 2020
Video Game Review: Slay the Spire
I love me some video games, even though I don’t get nearly the amount of time to play them these days as I used to. (Though I wonder how much time I ever really had. Maybe it just felt like I had a lot of time because I played an hour or so a day, and an hour or so felt like a longer amount of time when I was 16 than when I’m over 40 . . .)
That said, I’ve had some time at home for some strange reason the last few months, and I’ve taken that time to explore new things. One game that was suggested to me was Slay the Spire (now available on iOS). I tried it out, and I’ve really become hooked. It’s a great single player card game, so if you like drafting a deck on the fly, then this is the perfect game to scratch that itch when you have to be socially distant.
What does it mean to “draft a deck on the fly”? The concept behind Slay the Spire is that you’re working your way through various levels of a tower. You use a deck of cards to beat enemies. The cards either give you defense for the turn, or they attack for the turn, and you can only play a certain number each turn. Once you beat an enemy, you get to add a card to your deck, choosing between three random options. So bit by bit over time, you do your best to create a deck that will be successful in a variety of fights.
Better yet, the game’s difficulty scales. Once you beat the game, you’re able to increase the challenge, and when you’ve beat that harder level, you can do it again, up to 20 times. And on top of that, there are four different character classes you can use, each with their corresponding strengths, weaknesses, and card sets. I’ve put in many hours on this game, and I’m still not past the fourth difficulty level on all four characters.
Even if you manage to beat all of that, the game has daily challenges: custom made games you get to try to get a high score on. (And then you get to see where your score ranked compared to all the other players who tried that day. I’m proud to say I’ve gotten one day when I ended up #1 at the end of the day. It’s tough.)
If any of this sounds remotely up your alley, you should give it a shot. (It costs $10 on iPhone/iPad, $20 or so on PC.) It definitely plays better on an iPad screen than an iPhone screen, so take that into consideration. Honestly, as far as deck building games go, I think this is one of the best ones out there. An easy 10/10 in my book (because I love deck building games.) Tons of value for a pretty cheap investment. If you end up playing on iOS, add me as a friend. I’d love to compare scores!
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
August 6, 2020
Picking Out a Puppy
Back when we committed to getting a Golden Retriever, we knew we were getting one dog out of 18 spread over two litters. We knew it would be a male, and we knew we were 17th in line, so we weren’t expecting too much of a decision when it came time to get the actual puppy. What could be so hard about a simple thing like that?
Tuesday afternoon, we got The Call. We could drive over and pick out Ferris Drooler. Suddenly, the decision I’d passed off as easy weeks before seemed much thornier. As we headed over, I began to seriously wonder what, exactly, you look for when “choosing a dog.” After all, it’s not as if we’d chosen any of our children. You get what you’re given. And knowing how much can happen over the course of life, how much of a “good dog” is in the dog in particular, and how much is in how you raise him?
What can I say? It was a very existential drive. When we arrived, I still didn’t have any better idea how we would choose. Are you looking for color? Size? Temperament? “Something in their eyes”? A puppy that looks calm at the moment might only be calm because he was going crazy thirty minutes ago. It seemed like the worst case scenario for me: a decision that might really have long term effects, but which no amount of preparation could get me ready.
When we got there, the breeder made things even more complicated by letting us know there were four puppies we could choose from. “Just take them out back, put them on the ground, and see which one comes right for you,” she suggested. It seemed like great advice. So we took the four squirming bundles of energy to the back yard, I stood a bit of a ways off, and we Released the Hounds.
All four of them came right at me. So much for that advice.
(As a side note, can I say how glad I am that we’re not getting four puppies? Keeping track of all those guys was practically impossible, even with all five of us there. None of them really wanted to be held, and all of them wanted to go exploring in different directions. It was like the baby scene in Raising Arizona.)
Denisa and the kids were all drawn to a smaller, darker furred puppy. I couldn’t tell the difference between any of them (other than color), and so in the end, I made the easiest decision of them all: I let other people decide. We got the smaller one.
In all honesty, I don’t think it really mattered that much. I think we’d have been happy with any of them. If we’d have pulled up and been told, “This is your dog,” the end result would probably be the same.
But I’m very glad I don’t have to pick out a puppy again any time in the future. I can’t take that kind of pressure.
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
August 5, 2020
The Cure for COVID!
Like most of you, I’ve been scouring the interwebs trying to come up with a way to make all of this go back to normal. Life. Work. Health. The whole shebang. And today, in the middle of my writing group, it all hit me at once. The solution’s been staring me in the face this whole time. Due to my unique experiences, I think I was particularly well situated to come up with this, but I’m kind of stunned that it didn’t occur to me until now. Basically, it all comes down to one thing:
Somebody’s got to make Andie MacDowell fall in love with them.
I mean, that’s what did the trick for Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, and if we haven’t even given this a shot yet, then how can we really say we’ve been exploring all avenues? And I’m not talking about just some “she went on a fun date with me,” either. This isn’t something a simple snowman making session is going to take care of. It didn’t work for Bill then, and it won’t work now.
The good news is that we all know from Groundhog Day just how to get this to happen. We’re looking for someone who can:
Play the pianoMake a sweet ice sculptureKnow how to change a tire quicklyCan do basic chiropractic skillsKnows how to score WWE tickets
Ideally, they’ll convince Ms. MacDowell to bid on them in an auction, but I’m not 100% sure that needs to happen.
Other skills that would be useful, from my research:
HumbleIntelligentSupportiveFunnyRomanticCourageousGood body, but doesn’t have to look in the mirror every two minutesKindSensitiveGentleNot afraid to cry in front of Ms. MacDowellLikes animalsLikes childrenWill change poopy diapersPlays an instrument (see above)Loves his mother
What I’m saying is that we’ve got over 300 million people in this country. That list there doesn’t seem insurmountable. There have to be some really solid candidates out there, and Ms. MacDowell is single right now . . .
True, from what I’ve seen, this approach really works the best if it happens on February 2nd, but I don’t think we need to get hung up on little things like “days of the year” at this point. The fact is, every single day feels the same as every other day, so what does it really matter?
Now, I’m not advocating we find Ms. MacDowell and subject her to unwanted advances. (That doesn’t work anyway, per my research.) But what if we made a television show out of it? “Make Andie MacDowell Fall in Love with You So We Can Cure COVID.” The viewership would be through the roof, right?
All we need now is someone to see if Ms. MacDowell is open to the idea. Anyone out there got any good contacts?
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
August 4, 2020
The Fast Food Family Tradition Continues
I blogged a few months ago about how Tomas was on the job hunt, but keen-eyed readers will have noted I never actually had a “he found a job!” post. We didn’t really anticipate the fallout of a whole ton of jobs drying out all at the same time. After all, Tomas started looking for a job at the same time millions of jobs went away across the country. It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that actually finding a job turned out to be more difficult than it was when I was looking for a job in the early 90s.
That isn’t to say he was unemployed. He did pick up work picking strawberries when they were in season, and that kept him hopping for a while, but other than that, it’s been slow going. And when June switched into July, and July got pretty long in the tooth as well, we figured the days of getting another job were past us.
Then, out of the blue, the Dutch Treat called him up and asked him for an interview. With college ramping back up, they were losing some workers for the summer, and they wanted to know if he was up for filling in. One royal blue t-shirt later, and he officially joined the ranks of the employed.
Minimum wage in Maine is $12/hr, so he’s making more than workers start off in around 45 of the other states. (Looking over the minimum wages in each state is pretty depressing. $7.25/hour for Utah? Can that be right? Real estate prices have gone bonkers in that state. You’d have thought they’d be trying to keep the wages at least somewhat in line with cost of living. Hopefully most jobs are more than minimum wage there?)
In any case, if you’d like some soft serve creamy-licious treats or some fried food in the next couple of months, you can head on over to the building that looks like a windmill. Yesterday was his first day. 14 hours this week, and we’ll see how many in the future. He got practice on the register, taking order, making burgers, and (the hardest thing I ever had to do in McDonald’s) working the soft serve ice cream dispenser. (Seriously. You try getting a perfect swirl on one of those things. Mine always fell over, and the customers were definitely not happy . . .)
We may not eat fast food very often, but apparently we like to work in the industry when we’re teens. (Okay, so two out of five family members worked there. Not quite a tradition, but you have to start somewhere.)
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
August 3, 2020
Movie Review: Modern Times
When you think classic, silent movies, Charlie Chaplin is likely an actor that springs to mind. I’m not sure how many people these days have actually watched one of his movies, however. It can feel pretty daunting to be facing a 90 minute movie that doesn’t have any dialogue, after all. It’s black and white, the movement can be pretty jittery and sped up at times, and you might wonder how well the humor has actually aged. I certainly wasn’t sure how Daniela was going to take to it, despite the fact that there are multiple Chaplin movies on her list.
I shouldn’t have worried. We watched Modern Times last night, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. (Even MC, who watched the first bit before going to bed because it was late. She was disappointed she had to leave.)
Of course, Modern Times isn’t actually a silent movie, something I find really fascinating. It was filmed in 1936, just three years before movies like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz would come out, and nine years after The Jazz Singer broke the sound barrier. It was supposed to be Chaplin’s first big movie with sound, and it has sound . . . just very little speaking. It has a very precisely timed orchestral soundtrack, as well as a few actual lines, in addition to many different title cards spread throughout the film.
The plot is fairly straightforward: a factory worker goes crazy from being overworked and goes to jail after assaulting his coworkers. We then follow him through a series of misadventures, from being arrested as a Communist leader to helping rob a department store where he’s working as a night guard. It doesn’t sound like the material for light humor, but it’s slapstick, and so it all works. He also meets a girl he falls in love with, and they do their best to get along in a world that seems set against them.
A few scenes really stand out. The first that comes to mind is Chaplin’s musical number. It might sound at first like he’s singing in a foreign language, but he’s really just singing in gibberish. It’s the first time his Tramp character was going to speak, and it’s fascinating Chaplin had him speak and sing, but had the words still mean nothing.
Then you’ve got the rollerskating scene. (Which wasn’t nearly as dangerous to film as it might look, since they used a matte painting to make it just appear that he was skating on the brink of a broken leg the whole time.)
The whole movie is fun to watch, and if you’ve got some concerns that you’ll be bored, all I can say is to get over them. There’s some really funny stuff here. Think of it this way: Looney Tunes started in 1930. Do you get bored watching Bugs Bunny? Then why be worried that this will be any different?
8/10 for me. Definitely worth a watch, and I’m relieved Daniela had such a good time with it as well. (There are more Chaplin movies to be watched, after all . . .)
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
July 31, 2020
Home Renovations on the Horizon
Surely you didn’t think that just because we were in the middle of a global pandemic, I’d stop doing work on my house? Because that would be just silly. No, the more immediate question would be “Can Bryce afford to do work on his house?” And as we get closer and closer to fall semester, my Magic 8 Ball is consistently saying “Signs Point to Yes.”
Some upgrades need to happen one way or another. The bay windows on our house have had issues for years. The trim is rotting in some places, and a few boards have even fallen off, leading a family of birds to move in just above Daniela’s bedroom. At times, she thinks that’s cute. But when it’s early morning and they’re all tweeting away up there, the cute seems to magically fade somehow. (And who knows what structural damage those birdies might be doing to the house . . .)
Once that’s done, that means the fresh wood will need to be painted. This is on the second floor of the house, and I have no desire to paint that myself. Plus, the trim all around the house needs to be redone, as much of it is peeling and very sad looking. And late last fall, a wind storm ripped down some of the clapboards from our addition. (They’d been put up by our heroin-addict contractor from years ago. The one who stole $3,000 from us? We keep finding lovely little presents like that. Instances where he cut corners left and right, because heroin ain’t gonna buy itself, folks.)
And of course, there remains the grand-daddy of all renovations: our plans to redo the kitchen. Those have been kicked back to September, but after looking at our finances, things still look go for launch for them. I can’t wait for this project to be over, for a number of reasons:
It’s going to be very expensive, and budgeting for it has been a real pain the rear.It’s gotten kicked back multiple times, and each time it’s gotten kicked back, I’ve had to approach it fresh when it came time to actually prepare. I’ve spent so many hours looking at cabinets and counter tops, only to discover I couldn’t afford to do it right then. Redoing that research each time is less than fun.It’s the last “big renovation” project on the house. After this one, the things we want to get done are much smaller, and they don’t necessarily have to be done in any particular order. We need to renovate the downstairs bathroom, and we’d like to redo the office. Some of the roof needs new shingles. But all of those are straightforward projects. This kitchen renovation has a ton of moving pieces.It’s going to seriously disrupt our household. The kitchen is the center of our house, physically and socially. You can’t get to anywhere else without going through it. The actual act of renovating it will be seriously annoying.
So right now, I’m hoping that fall semester goes well, and that I can write a blog post by November that says “Mission Accomplished.” I think the odds are slightly in my favor of that happening, but you never know. Wish me luck.
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
July 30, 2020
To Open or Not to Open?
These days, it feels like you can find a raging debate just about anywhere you look. (I think some of this is due to the fact that so many of us have been cut off from other people, and the forum for discourse has shifted to social media, where people feel entitled to be rude and obnoxious to people they rarely (if ever) interact with in real life.) Yesterday I tackled hydroxychloroquine. Today I’m turning my attention to whether or not we should open schools back up, both K-12 and higher education.
First off, I will say that I don’t think a one size fits all approach would work for the country. Reasonable guidelines could be given at the federal level that could help inform school districts about when a safe reopening could happen and what it should look like when it does, but the actually application of those guidelines would depend on the district in question. There are many, many spots of the country that I don’t feel are ready for a return to school at any level. (Not that my opinion matters, but this is my blog, so . . . )
However, I’m not versed in all the ins and outs of every school across the country. I can speak for what I think should happen in Maine, or at least my corner of it. And in my opinion, schools at every level in Maine should be preparing to reopen. Yes, they should have various contingency plans in place to deal with the various “what ifs” that might occur later in the year, but from where Maine is right now, I can’t see a justifiable reason to remain closed.
There are currently only 421 active cases in the state. Compare this to hot spots like Florida (410,458) or California (319,833), and the difference is clear. True, those are places with much higher populations, but even when you look at cases per million, Maine has had 2,892. Florida has had 21,482. New York? 22,754. California? 12,337. All statistics are taken from Worldometer, a site I’ve been regularly using since this began.
Not only that, the percent of positive tests in Maine is extremely encouraging. According to Johns Hopkins, our 7 day moving average for positive tests is 0.8%. Florida’s in 19.3%. California is 7.2%. The country’s average is 7.8%. For the time being, we appear to be testing robustly, giving us an accurate picture of just how many people in the state have COVID. Overall, only 2 other states are “better off” at the moment: Vermont and Hawaii.
We have done an excellent job of containing COVID and keeping our state safe. Does that mean we will continue to do so? Hopefully. We’re almost through with July now, after all, and even with an influx of tourists, we’ve still stayed on top of things. That doesn’t mean we need to stop being vigilant, but if we stay the course and can keep things level through the end of tourist season, then things look even better. (I recognize that’s a big “if,” which is why I still strongly believe contingency plans should be ready.)
Of course, you could potentially make the case that there are parts of the state that have been worse hit than others. Parts that might want to take a different approach. Cumberland County currently has 274 active cases. York has 84. Androscoggin has 66. Franklin (where I am) has 6. I’m not familiar enough with the other counties to be able to definitively offer an opinion there, but I have a real struggle coming up with a the ability to say schools in Franklin County at any level should be closed because of 6 active cases.
I think you could still come up with ways to protect teachers, staff, or students who are at higher risk, but in my opinion that should be the exception. Yes, this still comes with the constant “this all might change if a huge outbreak happens,” but for now, I feel like moving forward with plans to open is the responsible thing to do. And yet I see many people in the state clamoring to stay closed. I’m sympathetic with the desire to stay safe, and I definitely feel like there are parts of the country where school should stay remote, but for the time being, those arguments don’t seem to apply to the situation we have here.
Let’s keep wearing masks. Keep washing our hands and staying socially distant. But all the studies I’m reading say that when you’re doing that AND testing properly AND the results are promising, then COVID can stay beat. Here’s hoping.
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
July 29, 2020
A Summary of Hydroxychloroquine Research
As I mentioned on Facebook, I was in an all day meeting yesterday, away from the interwebs. I emerged from said meeting to find the hydroxychloroquine debate raised from the dead on social media, with Twitter and Facebook feeds jam packed with articles flying from both sides, with people clamoring both for and against the drug yet again. In an effort to get on top of the debate, I took some time to look through the actual studies and see what’s been said, who said it, and why. And because I thought this might be helpful to some others, I’m presenting it here on the blog.
Before I get into that, a disclaimer that I think would be good for almost all of the people trying to insert themselves into this debate to remember: I am not a doctor. I am not an expert in this field. I can consume information and question its validity, and I can have a fair shot at piecing together unbiased sources and research to try to get to the bottom of things, but I lack the background to really be able to look at a scientific question like “is hydroxychloroquine effective” and be able to hope to answer it. That’s what we rely on other experts for.
And a second note about experts: as much as I might not like popularity contests in general, in science, it’s kind of the point. Science doesn’t work by finding the expert who agrees with the opinion you want to be true. It works by doing research, making findings, having people confirm that research with their own findings, and thus having the entire scientific community reach a general consensus around an issue. Yes, there will remain things in debate on the edges, but as a whole, scientific consensus gets us where we want to go, even if it might be more slowly than we’d like. Research takes time, or at least, good research does. You want to pay attention to how the studies were performed, how many subjects they involved, their rigor, etc.
I entered into the research for today’s issue with a simple question: “Is hydroxychloroquine an effective, safe treatment for COVID-19? If so, how widely can/should it be used?”
First, it’s good to check why the debate suddenly surged back to the forefront of the COVID discussion. From what I gather, it boils down to two articles/videos. The first is a video by Dr. Stella Immanuel and other doctors claiming hydroxychloroquine cures COVID and that taking it protects you from COVID. The second is an article in Newsweek from Dr. Harvey Risch, stating that when taken by high risk patients early in the disease, hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment. (Immanuel makes some of the same disclaimers in her statement, but she pressed the issue further, implying there’s a “cure.”) Dr. Risch seems like a more solid source, judging from what I’ve read about Dr. Immanuel, but let’s set aside their histories for the moment and look specifically at the claims. Have more studies been done that prove what these doctors are saying?
Here’s a rundown of the studies I’ve found.
Date# of PatientsConclusionsLinkJuly 23667“Among patients hospitalized with mild-to-moderate Covid-19, the use of hydroxychloroquine, alone or with azithromycin, did not improve clinical status at 15 days as compared with standard care.”StudyJuly 16423“Hydroxychloroquine did not substantially reduce symptom severity in outpatients with early, mild COVID-19” (second study in Spain had similar results)StudyJuly 12,541“In this multi-hospital assessment, when controlling for COVID-19 risk factors, treatment with hydroxychloroquine alone and in combination with azithromycin was associated with reduction in COVID-19 associated mortality. Prospective trials are needed to examine this impact”StudyJuly 1FDA Review“A summary of the FDA review of safety issues with the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is now available. This includes reports of serious heart rhythm problems and other safety issues, including blood and lymph system disorders, kidney injuries, and liver problems and failure.”ReviewJune 20500“A data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) met late Friday and determined that while there was no harm, the study drug was very unlikely to be beneficial to hospitalized patients with COVID-19.”ResultsJune 181,446“In this observational study involving patients with Covid-19 who had been admitted to the hospital, hydroxychloroquine administration was not associated with either a greatly lowered or an increased risk of the composite end point of intubation or death. Randomized, controlled trials of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19 are needed.”StudyJune 152,300“There was no significant difference between the number of people in each group who developed COVID-19”ReleaseJune 54,674“These data convincingly rule out any meaningful mortality benefit of hydroxychloroquine in
patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Full results will be made available as soon as possible”ReleaseJune 3821“After high-risk or moderate-risk exposure to Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness compatible with Covid-19 or confirmed infection when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days after exposure.”Study28 MayMeta-analysis“The results of efficacy and safety of HCQ in COVID-19, as obtained from the clinical studies, are not satisfactory, although many of these studies had major methodological limitations. Stronger evidence from well-designed robust randomized clinical trials is required before conclusively determining the role of HCQ in the treatment of COVID-19. Clinical prudence is required in advocating HCQ as a therapeutic armamentarium in COVID-19.”ReleaseMay 27Meta-analysis“These medications need to be widely available and promoted immediately for physicians to prescribe.” (There’s also a response to this analysis saying “We strongly think that there is no convincing evidence to support the claim made by Risch”, as well as a response to that response where Risch defends himself.)StudyMay 27Meta-analysis“Evidence on the benefits and harms of using hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat COVID-19 is very weak and conflicting.”ReleaseMay 2296,032“Large Multinational Cohort Study Finds the Use of Macrolide Antibiotics, Hydroxychloroquine, or Chloroquine Is Not Associated with Better Outcomes but Is Associated with Increased Harms.” NOTE: This study was retracted by the Lancet because the researchers wouldn’t fully share their dataStudyMay 14150“Administration of hydroxychloroquine did not result in a significantly higher probability of negative conversion than standard of care alone in patients admitted to hospital with mainly persistent mild to moderate covid-19. Adverse events were higher in hydroxychloroquine recipients than in non-recipients.”StudyMay 111,438“Among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, treatment with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, or both was not associated with significantly lower in-hospital mortality.”StudyMay 5181“Hydroxychloroquine has received worldwide attention as a potential treatment for covid-19 because of positive results from small studies. However, the results of this study do not support its use in patients admitted to hospital with covid-19 who require oxygen.”StudyApril 23368“In this study, we found no evidence that use of hydroxychloroquine, either with or without azithromycin, reduced the risk of mechanical ventilation in patients hospitalized with Covid-19. An association of increased overall mortality was identified in patients treated with hydroxychloroquine alone. These findings highlight the importance of awaiting the results of ongoing prospective, randomized, controlled studies before widespread adoption of these drugs.”Study
After looking at all these different studies, the conclusion I reach is that more studies should be done, as suggested by the research. It does appear that if taken at lower doses, there’s a chance that hydroxychloroquine can have a positive impact. But the bottom line is that we just don’t know that from the science, and any doctor making claims to the contrary is being downright misleading, no matter how well-intended they might be. Hydroxychloroquine does not seem to be a cure.
As another side note, I find it interesting so many are looking to a drug for a cure while ignoring the obvious “wear a mask.” In Breitbart’s video (where Dr. Immanuel speaks), none of the doctors are wearing a mask. They’re not standing six feet apart. I suppose you could argue that’s because they’re just that confident that hydroxychloroquine has cured them, but I look at other root causes that might explain that a little more fully. “America’s Frontline Doctors,” as they call themselves, are funded by the Tea Party Patriots and actively speaking out against the lockdown measures. These are people with an axe to grind, not necessarily a country to save.
And here’s the kicker: we know exactly what we could do to stop this pandemic in America. It’s been done in many other countries around the world. This article sums it up well, but it boils down to having 6 weeks of real lockdown measures, stopping interstate travel, mandating masks, and quarantining cases aggressively. All the debate about miracle cures makes me think about someone running around the deck of a sinking boat, talking about experimental flotation devices, while a plug to the hole in the boat is sitting right next to them.
If a loved one caught COVID, what would I do? I’d certainly bring up hydroxychloroquine to see if it might be of some help or at least be worth a shot. The science certainly hasn’t said it harms people who take it at appropriate dose levels. But I’m also wearing a mask and following social distancing suggestions, because I don’t want loved ones to have to be in that situation. Every minute we sit around dithering about hydroxychloroquine, we’re not paying attention to the simple measures that can and should be taken to make us safe. Now.
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July 27, 2020
Dog Alert!
That’s right, pound puppies: we’re getting a dog. A golden retriever puppy, to be precise. We had long thought that if/when we got a dog, we’d get a shelter dog. When the pandemic hit, we began to consider getting one, but by the time we decided we actually wanted to go through with it and started looking around at shelters, pickings were much slimmer than they had been when I looked before. Yes, there were still some dogs available, but most of them were either fairly old or else had disclaimers that they needed to be in homes with older children or no children at all. While we were in that quandary, trying to figure out which way to go, a friend’s mother’s golden retriever had puppies . . .
The rest was history.
Or it will be history when we get the dog, at least. That’s scheduled to be on August 17th. We’ll be going to see the puppies in person tomorrow. The kids are very excited. Denisa and I are excited as well, even though we’d never really planned on getting a puppy. House breaking and chewing? It’ll be an adventure. But it’s been good to have something to look forward to, and it’s helped brighten up the prospects for our kids, as well.
Last week, we took two hours to determine a name. We considered many, and it was difficult to come up with one that every member of the family approved of. I wanted it to be pop-culture-related, and I had a stipulation that it had to somehow be funny. My suggestions of Chewbarka and Sir Barks A Lot were vetoed, but surprisingly, Ferris Drooler went through and was approved after just a bit of debate. We’ll call him Ferris for short, of course, but it’s good for a dog to have a full name. How else is he going to know when he’s in a lot of trouble?
Yesterday we had another planning session, figuring out all the things we needed to look into to prepare for the arrival of the dog. Where will he sleep? What will he eat? Where will we take him to the vet? How about grooming? What equipment do we need to get for him? How will we train him? Assignments have been made, and we’ll reconvene next week to see how progress is going.
I’ve known a few Golden Retrievers in my life, and I’m looking forward to having one join our family. (I’ve always wanted a really big dog. A Newfoundland or a Bermese Mountain Dog. But a Golden Retriever is at least up there in size.)
If you have any puppy or dog related advice (especially around vets and groomers in the area), I’d love to hear it. And don’t worry: there will be (many) pictures incoming . . .
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Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.
If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking the MEMORY THIEF Amazon link on the right of the page. That will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything else. During that visit, a portion of your purchase will go to me. It won’t cost you anything extra.
