CoViD-19 Diary & Links: Sports Get Indefinite Hiatus | National Vote-By-Mail Campaign Picks Up Steam | NPFOA Postponed

A Little Free Library in my neighborhood

It's Friday and it just might be a speakeasy night. I woke up feeling optimistic and in a fine enough mood. In checking email I had over 200 messages in my combined inboxes... dozens of press releases about new music and new releases and new show dates. For a minute, life seemed normal.

But then I got to reading and sorting the newsletters and news and had that little back-to-reality shock that happens. It's like this weird position--you don't want to be thinking about everything all the time, but when you let it get away from you for a second, the harsh reality floods back. So I went back about my day as I have been and coping as I've been coping and doing what I can not to keep my brain busy. And when there was a small break in the rain, I took a short walk up and down my block, with camera in hand, to get some fresh air trying to find anything beautiful I could find. (more after the jump)

• Today I had to share this news with all of the artists I booked for the North Park Festival of Arts. Since we don't know what the greater world our our neighborhoods look like in 6 months, we just have to plan and hope things have adjusted by then. This is the official word from North Park Main Street. I'll share more when it's appropriate:

This year’s SDCCU North Park Festival of Arts & Music has been rescheduled to Saturday, October 10th from 11am to 7pm! As always, the event is open to all ages, and will spotlight art from over 200 of San Diego’s local artists. 

The festival will also include live music and dance performances, food trucks, craft beer and cocktail gardens, interactive experiences and artisan items for sale.

• I caught this last night on Twitter but I wasn't quite sure what they were talking about. I certainly hope that in this specific circumstance, we follow the Bay Area's lead in which they're basically creating wider spaces for walkers, joggers, and cyclists because people need to get outside and move their bodies for their health:

Coronavirus: Oakland banishes cars from 74 miles of city streets:
‘Oakland Slow Streets’ will open 10% of city’s roads for cyclists, pedestrians - Mercury News

• This was the one that really bummed me out. I know I'm generally outspoken about how much I hate the NFL as an organization, but I've certainly had my share of memories at Padres and Chargers games, seeing the Gulls, the Sockers, the Seals, Gold Cup, working at tennis tournaments and on and on. I don't need to necessarily watch sports on TV and I still maintain that cities shouldn't subsidize or otherwise financially support stadiums and arenas for sports, but I don't hate sports and what happens with sports is going to have a huge influence on concerts, touring, an festivals. So this take is especially harsh. At the same time, we have to be realistic about the future normal:
  
  Bursting the Bubble: Why Sports Aren't Coming Back Soon - Sports Illustrated
  
• There's going to be a big push for and against voting by mail for the election. With this administration, don't be surprised to hear people even proposing canceling or postponing the election. California isn't really a problem here, but you should support all efforts for universal vote-by-mail proposals and campaigns. 

Here are some more shots around my block, just for good measure. I hope you're able to find beauty where you live, too.