Shanghai Disney closing again in response to Covid outbreak

With China's zero-covid strategy, this seems like it's going to be a trend for the foreseeable future. I don't pretend to understand it.

At this point I'm more concerned about this thread getting longer than the previous Shanghai Disney COVID thread than I am about getting COVID.

Sequels are never better than the original.

At this point, this is the 3rd sequel, right? The one with all the D-List actors

HeyIsntThatRob? said:

Sequels are never better than the original.

Enters the chat, The Empire Strikes Back does.

Raven-Phile said:

With China's zero-covid strategy

With earlier variants, maybe. With BA.2 Omicron? That's a tall order, as it's often asymptomatic and much more easily spread than anything else to date. I mean, maybe? But my money is on horses, barns, etc.

The strategy is already failing in Hong Kong, though the island is arguably different enough from mainland China culturally that the two will turn out differently. IIRC, NZ/AUS started out zero-tolerance but have since pivoted for similar reasons.

That's what I'm saying - I don't understand the end goal, at this point. I guess it's confusing seeing things opening up everywhere else, and talk of living with this through the next variants, and then - this.

It's pretty clear that as long as people are vaccinated, the risk of hospitalization and/or death is very low even if you do catch it. But let's be honest, for the last three months whatever mitigation was in place was for the unvaccinated and the benefit of them not overwhelming hospitals.

No Way Home was another good sequel.

Can this just be a thread that lists good sequels? Please? :)

Toy Story 2 which is a sequel and Disney (by way of Pixar) so it's even sort of on topic.

All of the Jackass sequels have been pretty good. Might have even gotten better once Steve-O got sober.

Jackass was my guilty pleasure.
Wait… pleasure? I’m filled with nothing but anxiety and it’s the only time I’ve ever fought a puke at the movies.
I love them though. Don’t tell anyone.

I'm still sticking around and watching all the content those guys create. Wife and I went to see the 4th movie opening Saturday (couldn't make opening night due to blizzard of the century) and we'll be watching the Paramount+ release this weekend for any extra footage. Steve-O's podcast is great content, as are his "life story" videos.

A local restaurant/bar called the Boneyard used to be the local spot for my band after practices, and Ryan Dunn (RIP) and his crew would always be in there, too - so there's a bit of a local connection, too.

Steve-O's standup act is really good. He gives the context behind a scene then plays it back and provides more context afterward. He had the Pittsburgh Improv rolling when I saw him last year.

I've been wanting to see his latest tour, but he's not coming close this time around. I haven't watched Gnarly yet, either, so that's on the list.

Genuinely feel like I almost grew up with those guys - I mean, I guess they're within 10 years of me, and I've been following them for 22 years, so it's kind of true.

Pop Cocktail Supreme still might be one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Not sure where to put this, but we were previously leaning on the Shanghai Disney story...

My doctor's office, which has been masks optional for a bit, has made it mandatory again. Cases in OC went from 8 per 100k to 12, which doesn't sound like a lot, but 50% in one week is the kind of exponential spread that got us into trouble. With public testing greatly reduced, the assumption is that it's probably higher.

I know quite a few people who managed to avoid it for two years, then got it recently, and almost all have had what they describe as minor symptoms, being vaccinated. What's particularly odd about it is few can point to something we used to consider "bad behavior," like a wedding or concert or something, as the place they likely got it. We seem to be in a place where it can be manageable, but the difference is still being vaccinated or not, and the nots are still occupying an awful lot of hospital beds even if they're not overwhelming the system.

If you didn't see it, Moderna has some solid initial results from a bivalent vaccine, meaning it works against multiple variants. The biggest unknown is still around the waning period of vaccines, but preliminary data shows we might be able to reach a rhythm of six months to a year to generally keep it in check. That doesn't strike me as hard to adhere to.

It's weird, here in my corner of WV I rarely see a mask anymore (my kids wear one in school, though it's not required anymore; it's more of a security blanket at this point), and I rarely hear of any COVID cases anymore. We met friends over the weekend who drove from near DC and they were still extremely cautious about everything and wanted to meet at a restaurant with outdoor seating. Until then I really haven't thought about COVID that much at all in recent weeks. My family had a few close calls a few months ago (my wife is a pre-K teacher and it ran through the school a couple times), but we have all remained COVID-free since everything started.

^^ Yeah, We are actually on that schedule now. Initial dose(s) April '21, booster October '21, booster April '22.

It is not difficult, but I am not sure I want to continue the same booster for the original strain indefinitely. A combo flu/updated covid shot next up in the fall would be the ideal. I am pretty sure that is being worked on.