I’ve mentioned in previous posts about how during this pandemic I’ve been able to transition to working from home.
I suppose that makes me one of the lucky ones. I empathise with those unable to work from home, who are forced to take the risks of continuing to engage in public. And also with those who have not been able to retain their employment. But for now, I’m doing my best to keep the economy moving while maintaining the health and safety of the community.
In this time of lockdown, one of the interesting things to note is what sorts of activities have become popular and what sorts of products are getting increased sales. And as far as I can tell, from both first and second hand evidence, one of these is jigsaw puzzles.
The second hand evidence I’m basing this presumption on is media reports. I’ve seen a number of newspaper and television stories detailing the rising appeal and consequential sales boost of these puzzles.
Zeitgeist – I love that word. I love that aura of European sophistication that it evokes (especially given that I’m as un-European-y sophisticated as you can get). I love the literal translation as well – time ghost. It summons up all sorts of images in the mind – like some sort of white shade holding up an hourglass (I know – I’m terrifyingly literal).
It’s one of the great cliches of fantasy writing. Crossing from the light side to the dark side – when a character who had previously seemed like the paragon of righteousness has a sudden change of perspective and becomes instead a paragon of evil – the classic example being the fall of Anakin Skywalker to become Darth Vader in Star Wars. Or the alternative – crossing from the dark side to the light side – the classic example also from Star Wars when Darth Vader becomes, well…, good Darth Vader (and dead Darth Vader not long after that).
