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Meet Peter Christian Hall November 9, 2011 On Flu Wiki

by: cottontop

Wed Nov 02, 2011 at 06:37:43 AM EDT


UPDATE:
American Fever will be released in eBook and print 1/16/2012 from Arterial Witness.
For further information visit: http://www.americanfeverbook.com/

(There will be another session in January when American Fever will be released. Check back for more info.-cottontop)

Mr. Hall will be a guest speaker here on Flu Wiki Forum Nov. 9, 2011, from 7-9pm EST. It is a Q & A for everyone. Mr. Hall is the author of American Fever: A tale of Pestilence and Romance, a pandemic novel due out very soon.

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cottontop :: Meet Peter Christian Hall November 9, 2011 On Flu Wiki
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Meet Peter Christian Hall November 9, 2011 On Flu Wiki | 173 comments
He has an extensive flu resources page.
Flu Wiki is on it, as well as many familiar names of bloggers, authors, forums, and news aggregators.   http://americanfever.squarespa...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor
Hi Jane. Mr. Hall will be here to talk
with us. He has questions for us and we have questions for him. We will discuss flulogia, the impact it's had (if any), how everyone came to follow H5N1, Mr. Hall's new book (soon to be released), and anything else we can think of. I think it should be an interesting session. I hope you will be able to join us.  

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
[ Parent ]
More details?
Will this be 7-9pm EST?  

Will it be here on FW Forum or on the wiki itself (http://www.fluwiki.info/)?

Thanks for setting this up, Cottontop!

Hi AlohaOR
It will be 7-9 est and it will be here.

Thanks for the support. :-)

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com

[ Parent ]
Great job on setting this up, cottontop.
I thought it was wonderful that Mr. Hall personally interviewed you and I am looking forwarded to him being on Fluwiki and to reading his book.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

Is Mr. Hall already registered here?
If not, you might suggest he get that out of the way in case there's a glitch in the process. It would be a shame if things get held up that evening because the mail server decides to slow down for a while. Or something.
I'm here, thanks!
Your system worked instantly. I look forward to our meeting on Wednesday!
Thank you all very much.
Best, Peter
[ Parent ]
while we are waiting for the others
I'd like to go ahead and give a little background on Mr. Hall, from Mr. Hall:

"I'm basically someone who got caught up in microbial matters when SARS popped up, as so many did in Flublogia. When H5N1 turned more threatening a year later, I started reading the blogs (H5N1 first), discovered the boards, read many books, and then -- because I am a writer -- realized I should drop the project I was working on and write a novel about flu.

My first note to myself was: It has to be a love story because the personal becomes so intense during times of crisis.

Hence: American Fever: A Tale of Romance & Pestilence

Then I felt that the protagonist should be a blogger because it opened the door not just for him to explain things to others, but to learn for himself, as Flublogians do every day.
That raised terrible problems such as: How does a blogger fall in love? It was fun solving that one."


United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com

Here -- Greetings?

Welcome Mr. Hall.
We are very pleased to have you with us tonight. thank you for taking the time to do this.

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
[ Parent ]
Hi Peter!
Do you have a science background?  (Asked by someone who could put all the scientific information she knows on the head of a pin with plenty of room left over.)

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
[ Parent ]
My background
Good question. My blogger has that issue, too. I'm not trained in science. I studied literature and history and economic development and Africa.

But I've been a journalist for a long time and I learnedf early how to research and then write with some authority. You have to go to the experts.

I learned a LOT from these boards and from flu bloggers. And I read pretty much all the books, even Hope-Simpson.

[ Parent ]
I figured out some shocking things
My blogger at one points says that the more he learns about flu, the less he knows he knows about it.

I had moments like that, particularly regarding how flu is transmitted among people.

My novel might shock some of you!  

[ Parent ]
Thanks for the info.
I can't get the comments to load on my computer tonight for some reason so I can't really follow the conversation well.  But I have to say it is very interesting that people from so many different backgrounds are interested in this topic.

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
[ Parent ]
Thanks - I love history , too

[ Parent ]
I'm glad you like it. I never buy it when someone tells me . . .
they don't like history.  I tell them they just haven't had my class!

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
[ Parent ]
Hi :-)
It's midnight here so I'll apologise in advance if I fall asleep on the keyboard. Of course, my spelling might improve.
[ Parent ]
Hi UK -Bird
No snoring allowed. LOL Glad you stayed up to provide us some of your wonderful humor.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Peerhaps I should sing something
That's sure to wake you.
[ Parent ]
pleased
I'm delighted to be here, Cottontop!
First things first
I understand there is some issues with Anerican Fever release date. Can yo give us a window of when we can expect it's release?  

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
[ Parent ]
I should explain
My novel, 'American Fever: A tale Of Romance & Pestilence' will be published early in January. There were delays because the ebook has more than 1,000  live links (some to sites you know well!) and the print edition has no chapters because it appears as a pandemic flu blog.  
As the holidays loomed...
I felt it best to let people around the world shop in peace without infecting them with my H5N1 pandemic, in which the U.S. undergoes a Hurricane Katrina-like mess.
Hi Peter!
Welcome to our world. LOL I have come to think of it as that because it is both a hobby and a passion for me. It has also helped me keep my sanity for the past 7 years since I gave up my job, closed up my home, put my entire life on hold and took on the job of fulltime caregiver for my elderly mother.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

January
So the New Year became the obvious time to turn the page, so to speak.
I should add that 'American Fever' will be available in print from various online sources in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, the planet Amazon, and in all ebook formats.
Thank you!
Flublogia is a very special world. People seem extremely open-minded here.
Us? Open minded?
Did I say that out loud?

Welcome to Flu Wiki.

[ Parent ]
LOL! Hi pogge. Thanks for being here. n/t


United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
[ Parent ]
Hi pogge, glad you made it.
I guess Dem doesn't know you have escaped from the computer room, huh? We won't tell. LOL

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
I didn't escape
They just put me on a longer chain for the evening.
[ Parent ]
Yes, there's a great spirit in Flublogia!
I'll stand by that.
[ Parent ]
Sometimes too open
and we have to put our tin foil hat back on ;-) Fluwiki is a great link between the dumbed down government site and the wilds of Flublogia where theories can get a little creative at times.
[ Parent ]
Carol, how much time do you spend daily on flu matters?

Several hours
and more than I should sometimes. I search and post at various times during the day in between doing everything else that needs doing here. My best time is the middle of the night. I am usually on here from about 2 AM until 4 or 5 AM posting stories for people to read with their coffee. All is quiet here during those hours so I call that my "me time". Did I mention that I don't sleep much....ever? LOL

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
It's great that you use the time well.
The exchange that takes place -- the fact that so many of you add to the information flow -- makes this such a useful and vigorous culture. It affects so many people. And speaking out -- talking back -- is plain healthy! Simply consuming disturbing information may not be so great for people.
[ Parent ]
What was your reaction to the movie
Contagion? did you feelit was real enough for a real pandemic such as that of and H5N1 pandemic?

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
Contagion
Well, I kept my own feelings out of what I wrote. I found the virus fascinating and I was deeply impressed with the work they had done.
I was appalled that they made the villain a blogger.
I found some plot developments entirely unbelievable.
And too much about doctors and professionals.
My novel is about everything BUT them.
That was the general attitude from the flubies.
I just felt that it wasn't realistic enough and didn't focus on the lives of those affected and how one would struggle to survive such a situation.  

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
[ Parent ]
The article I wrote for Reuters
is linked next to the cover art for 'American Fever'
http://www.americanfeverbook.c...
I am really looking forward to reading your book, Peter.


Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
As am I...
I'm a 'doom n' gloomer' from way back . . .
[ Parent ]
Hi BB!
Good to see you here this evening. Peter, in case you don't know this, Bronco Bill is our resident funny guy who brings some humor to what is sometimes a very somber place. He keeps us entertained.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
And every once in a while
I have to give Carol her feather boa back so she doesn't feel so out of place...  :-)
[ Parent ]
What's with the boa?

[ Parent ]
The quick story of "The Boa"
Carol@SC, AlohaOR and myself swap around a feather boa (or so those two think!!) to wear when posting the daily news (and in Carol's case, when she wants to look "sparkly" on those big nights out!!).
In reality, I got sucked into the gag somehow way back a couple of years ago..... I simply refuse to wear a feather boa that is dyed lavender; if it's not real feathers, it's not for me! LOL!!
[ Parent ]
I have two leather boas that a designer gave me
They're great at Halloween.
[ Parent ]
OMG!! Leather boas?!?
Those have GOT to be scratchy!!! LOL!!!
[ Parent ]
They're pretty cool - from strips
They work swell as scarves, look pretty crazy. One is silver and black, spiky, and the other is gold and black, suede. She has the bits left over from pattern-cutting.
[ Parent ]
Please Peter...
don't give BB any ideas. He will be wanting one. ROTF

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Only if it's suede...
I don't like that scratchy stuff from the cheapy holster I got at the five n' dime...
[ Parent ]
one is.

[ Parent ]
LOL


Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
It's become a wonderful joke.
I am always forgetting to switch identities of "Carol@SC" that I post articles (and my opinions) under and "NewsDiary" that I use to add the headlines at the top of the diary page.

It became a joke that I couldn't manage changing costumes. "NewsDiary" (also the name AlohaOR uses when she does behind the scenes work) wears spandex, a mask and cape. BB, added the pink feather boa. I have gotten a lot of laughs at myself for all the screw ups I have made.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
While I was working I had a sign on my door
It read "You DO have to be mad to work here and no, it doesn't help."

Dealing with something as grim as H5N1 and even swine flu requires humour or you'd go mad.  

[ Parent ]
So true!
A sense of humor is priceless.
[ Parent ]
I have to work at being positive, Bill
Things like the euro crisis really get me going. I've been on that for a year....
[ Parent ]
Fingers crossed for the movie! n/t


United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
[ Parent ]
Thank you, I answered that later....

[ Parent ]
Thanks, Carol -
I'm really sorry about the delay. I had expected it would be out yesterday. But practice makes perfect. I have finished copies on my desk here and the ebook is done. Just need to survive the holidaze....
[ Parent ]
Vaccination
I felt that the vaccination plot developments were particularly poor. And I agree with the real flu bloggers that the texture of crisis in the US was not rendered by the movie.
I LOVED the postscript showing how the virus had emerged. I loved that it was a kind of Nipah/Hendra virus.
I did learn something there.
I had never heard of a bat having such a flu virus. So I agree with you. That was a good.

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
[ Parent ]
I also like the eco-aspect
I've read so many good books as to how a new jungle road unleashes virions. In my novel, my bloggers talks about how viruses can do a lot worse than to jump on the top species on earth!
[ Parent ]
The ending was surprising...
...but I think most of us in Flublogia realize just how fast a virus can travel in this modern age of jet travel and global economy.
[ Parent ]
I think the speed of spread of swine flu surprised many but not us.
One of the great values from books and movies is the creative person's ability to stray from preconcieved ideas. eg 9/11 was partially predicted by Hollywood and I believe G W Bush asked a group of moviemakers to try and think up how terrorists might hit America in the future.
[ Parent ]
Excellent point! n/t

[ Parent ]
Life is getting so bizarre that it gets harder to write
Technology can be intimidating. Imagine writing a script with a smartphone -- your story becomes outdated in 6 months. Or surveillance capabilities....
[ Parent ]
But I still think H5N1 is the likely threat
Nathan Wolfe's new book, 'The Viral Storm,' (which I'm about to review, probably at Huffington Post) presents H5N1 in context. It's a great book -- fast, lively, broad, deep, and even surprising.
It's great that you let your imaginations loose here
I think the scientific and medical establishments are hidebound, especially about influenza. It's an amazing virus. I compare it to Continental Drift in my Introduction.
I think that governments underestimate the public
on how much we want to know, how much we can assimilate and how information is the best way to prepare people.
[ Parent ]
I think they are terrified of the public
It's an unhealthy situation. It's a fact that people with open minds really can figure out lots of things, skirt the high priesthood, ask good questions, perhaps develop new solutions. And when officials themselves don't understand much about the root problem -- influenza is an extremely complex entity -- the lame ones don't want the public involved.
[ Parent ]
True, plus...
...public health folks are damned if they do (e.g. proactively raise awareness/alarm and then the pandemic turns out to be relative mild, like H1N1) and damned if they don't (e.g. downplay the risks or delay notifying until the risk is obvious).
[ Parent ]
Yes, they were in a terreible spot with Novel H1N1/
I cannot criticize them for anything but over-promising on the vax.
[ Parent ]
They really don't get the internet
even though they've tried to engage. Web sites always try to cover the lowest common denominator because they think that it's the less intelligent people who need the basics. Oddly it's the same with adult education classes - always beginner classes and no advanced ones. So genuinely interested people have nowhere to go and the exisitng courses/web sites are poorly attended.

Even the media are slow to catch on and are moaning about the rise in bloging. All those upstarts, going into detail and rarely an English degree amongst them! The survivors will be those journalists who are embracing the more personal world of interactive blogs.

[ Parent ]
They are too obsessed with control.

[ Parent ]
Or the illusion that they have any control at all (n/t)

[ Parent ]
Yes and no
They just don't realise it can be any other way. Having met some of the UK members of TPTB (The Powers That Be) I know they are earnest in their plans. It's not a big conspiracy, more of an exasperation with what they consider, wayward public. They tend to treat us as simple minded kids, to be gently forced to do what they think is the right thing, instead of giving us the facts and letting us make our own minds up.
[ Parent ]
Flublogia is a great, democratic force
Science needs more people who take pleasure in the details and who ask questions.
Well said.


Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Someone who just read it said it read like a movie
Which thrilled me because hey, it's a blog! I have made a movie though and I guess I hope everything I write has a vivid, mobile  quality.  
I think I'm doing this wrong!

You are doing fine.


Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Do it whichever way works for you.
We'll find you.
[ Parent ]
Thanks, I'm zeroing in on comments now, getting there!

[ Parent ]
Your doing fine. It can get a little crazy keeping track. n/t


United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
[ Parent ]
I just go back up to the top, and then...
do a screen refresh and scroll down to all the "New" comments.  Seems to work fairly quickly....
[ Parent ]
Personal question for Peter
Wondering if you reside in the US or other country, and if your novel is taken from the point of view of an American blogger or other nationality.
The reason I ask is that it seems to me (as a natural-born 'merican) that many in the US tend to look askew at how citizens/scientists/doctors/writers of other nations view pandemics and 'doom n' gloom' themes...  Here, many people think that nothing can happen to them (surprise, surprise!), where, in other nations people still have the wherewithall to fend for themselves in most cases...
Yes, I'm from Upstate and now live in New York
My blogger is from Missouri.
I have visited more than 50 countries in my life and I have a master's degree in international affairs, specializing in Africa, and I'm a pretty global American.
Plus I have a taste for trouble. I remember the moment SARS went public....
[ Parent ]
I think that as Humans encroach more and more on
wildlife habitats, we are going to start seeing more and more novel viruses that will become more threatening.  

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
That's entirely true and I see no stop to it....

[ Parent ]
Welcome, & a question or two
Hi, Peter.

Thanks for coming on board for this discussion.

Do you also read the Recombinomics commentaries?  Do you have any thoughts on the recent trH3N2 cases?

Also, after having immersed yourself in flubogia, have you changed any of your behaviors?  Have you done any preparation for a pandemic that could be far more deadly than H1N1?

Recombinomics was where I first heard about H5N1 in 2005
or maybe a bit earlier.
[ Parent ]
I used to read Recombinomics a lot
I link to it once in 'American Fever.' It's hard not to find Niman to be alarmist after some years of reading him. I think his work is fascinating but he definitely overplays the possibilities. (I love those chains he posts and I think the basis of his work is becoming more accepted.)

I don't know what to make of these cases. The writer in me wants things to settle down! But the viral freak is very worried. These are not events to ignore. Our agro system is plain dangerous.

[ Parent ]
My behavior, hmmm.
I had stopped eating chicken for a long time. Spending all this time writing and not making a lot of money made me go back to it! I try to drink big organic veg drinks with it though.

I am personally poorly prepared. I have an RO system and a bunch of cans, but....

[ Parent ]
Peter, Dem is busy giving a lecture tonight.
He said I could quote him on what he said to me in an E-mail when I asked why he got involved in the world of flu news:

"I got involved because no one else was even talking about pandemics, and I knew how much our own community readiness lagged at the time."

"I can't speak for Revere, but I know he had similar thoughts."

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

Dem has done great work
His spirit is all over Flublogia. I miss the Reveres, too. I still wound up using a lot of their posts in my novel. But I'm also delighted at how well Flublogia survived the torpor that followed swine flu and the departure of the Reveres. I'm glad Dem keeps it up!
[ Parent ]
hear, hear! n/t

[ Parent ]
As are all the rest of us!! :-) n/t

[ Parent ]
I, for one, am very greatful to Dem
for continuing to provide a place where we can come everyday to stay informed.  

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Question for everyone
Will we stop worrying if/when there is a universal vax?
I certainly won't...
...and the reason is that nature will adapt to humankind's attempts to stop her faster than humankind has been able to adapt to nature and the natural process.  JMHO of course.
[ Parent ]
Sigh . . . you're probably right.


"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
[ Parent ]
Exactly! Well said, BB.
Viruses and bacteria were here millions of years before us and would be here even if we humans gone. They are the ultimate survivors. They will always find a host no matter how they have to adapt to do that.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Are we descended from viruses?
I discuss mimivirus in this entry from my novel:
http://www.americanfeverbook.c...
[ Parent ]
I think I'm more of a bacteria
I grow on you and can be driven back with mouldy bread.
[ Parent ]
making way for the fungi...

[ Parent ]
Bronco Bill would be that Fun Guy
Get him to show you his silver spandex picure, drove me back!
[ Parent ]
OMG! Now that was really sexy.
I still breakout in a hot flash when I think about it. LOL

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
LOL Good one, UK - Bird


Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
My thought is that Enza will find new ways to mutate
but it might give us a few dacades peace.
[ Parent ]
I don't expect a universal vax for flu
I think it's trickier than that.
[ Parent ]
I became involved after watching a news piece
one evening on "bird flu" in China. I thought "there is this deadly virus out there and I've never heard abut it?" It sparked my curosity. The more I learned the deeper I got into the flu community. It is overwhelming at first, I will say that. But, here I am about 7 years later. We try to help keep each other grounded when things heat with as with Indonesia, or the H1N1 pandemic. It's the support system that is great.

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
I became aware in 2006 when...
...a very good friend (a nurse) told me that her conscience wouldn't let her rest until she told me about her concerns about the Karo family cluster in Indonesia and what she and her family were doing to prepare to shelter-in-place.  

I started reading and thinking about H5N1, and haven't stopped since then!

[ Parent ]
I remember what you said when I interviewed you
Cottontop, you said you were getting loads of hits at Flu News Network at at Flu Wiki from Indonesia. Sure enough, things there were soon reported to be getting a lot worse. I was impressed at the foreshadowing quality.  
[ Parent ]
I became involved when I read a news story
on a "mystery disease" that had infected and killed some people in Hong Kong and the scientist were trying to figure out what it was. I remember having a very bad feeling when I was reading that and thinking it was going to be something to fear in the future. I guess I had a premonition. I searched the Internet after that on a regular basis, hunting more news on it. Then in 2006, I found Fluwiki. I have been a dedicated poster here ever since.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Did you start on Old Yeller?
I always thought the colour made me think of diarrhoea which was rather apt, if unpleasant
[ Parent ]
I hadn't categorized it so specifically
but didn't like it and changed it to mint green.  Much better!  (But sometimes it reverts to mustard, unfortunately.)

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor
[ Parent ]
Now THAT's funny...
...if not a little disgusting! LOL!!
We didn't begin moving from Old Yeller until November 2006 and were fully migrated in December 2006...
[ Parent ]
Reading yes
but I didn't become a member and start posting until Jan. 2007. I have hung around here ever since. Almost 5 years now.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Once upon a time...
I was corresponding by email with this American blogger named Melanie Mattson. (For Peter's benefit: I'm Canadian -- living near Toronto.) One day Melanie wrote me to say that she and some friends -- that would be Dem and the Reveres -- wanted to start a wiki about influenza but none of them knew enough about the inner workings of websites to make it happen. Could I provide some advice and maybe some help, she wondered. I guess I did.
[ Parent ]
Wow! That's the original honor roll. Great work, pogge!

[ Parent ]
I found about H5N1...
While I was working at a major health insurance company in (where else?) Hartford CT. Their Intranet page talked about prepping and the availibility of hand sanitizer within the company.  

I Googled "H5N1" and "Bird Flu" and first item that showed up was the Flu Wiki wiki.  I spent hours (to my boss's dismay) reading through as much info as I could get. I read CanadaSue's Scenario (which, by the way, got me VERY concerned about a pandemic), and the rest as they say, is history.

I've been a member of FluWiki since Nov 2005. Dem and Pogge asked me to help out with some of the minor maintenance of the site and I tend to log on first thing in the morning and again right before going to bed at night---gotta make sure I can get a good night's rest before starting all over the next day! :-)

Since learning much more about influenza than I ever thought I wanted to know, I've become a devoted prepper, have met dozen's of wonderful people online and in person, and thank DemFromCT, pogge, Melanie, the Reveres and many other bloggers for opening my eyes to the possibility of another "Spanish Flu-" or "Black Plague-" style pandemic...

[ Parent ]
Question about H5N1
In my novel, I discuss Hope-Simpson and Hilleman, who both said they didn't think an H5 virus could go pandemic. Do you follow those arguments? About the H1, H2, H3 cycles?
The real question may be...
...whether Mother Nature follows those arguments!
[ Parent ]
I certainly didn't buy it.
Given that there IS an H5N1 pandemic in my fictional world, my blogger wonders how it happened against the expectations of thos experts. H5N1 in Hope-Simpson's book is very close to (I think) an H2. It might explain why pre-1969 people have some immunities, which I illustrated with a pic from Woodstock....
[ Parent ]
My biggest concern about public awareness & family preparedness
...is that, after the relatively mild H1N1 pandemic, any alerts about a new pandemic are going to fall on very apathetic ears.  

It's like earthquake preparedness here in Oregon -- we've had some 5s and a few rare 6s, but haven't had a magnitude 9 in 300 years.  Nevertheless, we have the same type of subduction zone as the areas off Chile and Japan.  But since folks have experienced mild earthquakes, they don't seem to think they need to prepare for the serious ones.

Same thing I saw
Growing up in California (the SF Bay Area), it wasn't 6 weeks after the Loma Prieta 'quake in 1989 that people literally forgot about what happened. As long as their daily lives weren't disrupted for very long, everything was fine.
It only took 30 days for the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge to be repaired, and 2 weeks after that nobody gave a big 'quake a second thought.
[ Parent ]
Americans don't like to prepare and wait
If trouble's coming, it should be like a TV show. It's a terrible disposition we see in practice every day.
You are all the active, intelligent canaries regarding myriad diseases...
[ Parent ]
True but unfortunately,
many consider us just plain nuts! Even people who know me well sometimes look at me with a skeptical eye and a silent head shake for doing what I do and believing in something they don't think will be a big problem or make a difference in their lives.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Then you have to find it suffiiciently rewarding to continue
Even in the middle the the pandemic in my novel, people think my blogger is weird -- especially when flu is lying low. People tend to be petty minded. If you want to pursue something different, you have to take your own pleasure in it. It's good to see you all joking like this. That makes you strong.
[ Parent ]
Having observed some of the key UK science correspondents discuss H5N1
I suspect that one of the first clues the public would get that a pandemic was underway would be a deafening silence from the usual reporters and editors. Not because they have been silenced but because they're off prepping for their families. Anyone who's studied H5N1 knows that a bird flu pandemic would blow most sci-fi visualisation out of the water (Mr Hall excepted).

While many people might be dismissive of a 'normal' pandemic, I think there is enough public awareness of H5N1 that people would act and being here at Fluwiki is the best early warning you and your loved ones will get.

[ Parent ]
I agree - it will be run-for-the-hills tme
When Wave 2 hits in my novel, people ave been sneering at H5N1 after Wave 1 expired. My guy is utterly amazed at how swiftly everyone panics the moment H5N1 resurfaces in New York.  
[ Parent ]
And of course, everything we've been following..
...says that the second wave of a pandemic, even if drawn out over several months, is generally much more devastating than the first or third waves.
I think this has a lot to do with the fact that people become complacent after the first wave shows as not too bad, and then the second wave which is much more virile sneaks up on them and does it's damage...
[ Parent ]
And then swine flu did so little the second time around....
I think influenza finds itself in a new world, with all these factory farms. I expect fresh tricks. Hope-Simpson said flu has to seed the world before it springs. I feel that H5N1 may still be doing that.
[ Parent ]
On balance I think it was a good thing that swine flu was so mild
even ignoring the death rate, any potential mixing vector and lulling the public into a false sense of security.

Governments thought their pandemic plans were quite good. Swine flu showed them that they were largely useless, in the most gentle way possible. My only fear is that in some quarters they've decided that pandemics are unstoppable, stop trying.

[ Parent ]
Sometimes I fear they are right
My blogger sells masks and gloves and goggles and disinfectant and he tries very hard, but ....

I still think that understanding a threat is important, even if our tools are so puny.

[ Parent ]
And with poultry being shipped all over the world
It wouldn't take long for a single infected bird to infect the entire food supply... :-(

I agree with your synopsis of how H1N1 created a totally complacent public view of influenze. Too many people just said "It's just the flu. I sneezed a few times, but went to work/school anyway..."

[ Parent ]
No one can afford to take time off
I talk about 'Presentism' in my novel. Americans can't afford to be sick.

And they won't stay home if they have plans, either. We are so lucky that SARS broke out in Toronto and not in a U.S. city that was holding NBA championships!

[ Parent ]
It may be different here
but I'm sure the public knows the difference between H5N1 and swine flu but I'm not so sure they know that an 'ordinary' pandemic could be a rude (and fatal) awakening.
[ Parent ]
I agree with you Aloha. People
beleived H1N1 was hyped up and they lost interest. that concerns me as the "big one" is looming.

My main focus is to get people to prepare for natural/emergency disasters. And I've always said that if you are preparded for that, than you are prepared for a pandemic.

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com

[ Parent ]
As Michael Osterholm said at the start of swine flu...
He warned that it might be the worst thing that could have happened for flu prep.

At the start of 'American Fever,' H5N1 has been pretty busy but only overseas, so Americans are not much concerned. My guy begins blogging on the day the first New Yorker dies....

[ Parent ]
And here I am, wishing I could visit a friend in Bali
after all the research -- and knowing how active H5N1 is there. So I'm no better, really!
OK, let's talk about doom!
Here's my blogger's take on apocalypse:
http://www.americanfeverbook.c...
Be sure to visit 'American Fever's pandemic art gallery
Wow!! Amazing art pieces...
Will these images appear in the printed novel?
[ Parent ]
Thanks! Only one
I did include a frontispiece, which the artist created in '07 after reading an early draft of 'American Fever.' He named it 'Greed & Duplicity' after a phrase my blogger uses in the Introduction (which is written five years after the pandemic).

Here's Frank Zirbel's 'Greed & Duplicity':
http://www.americanfeverbook.c...  

[ Parent ]
There was a blogger on Google Blogger
Who wrote an interesting 23-chapter story about what was assumed to be 'Bird Flu' and the months after the third wave...very compelling and absolutely 'doom n' gloom'.  Title is "ED Day -- Dead Sydney" and takes place in Sydney Australia.
http://ed-day.blogspot.com/200...
[ Parent ]
I saw the start of it -
Did he develop characters? It started very intensely, with fires on the balconies, as I recall. Back in '07, right?  
[ Parent ]
That's correct
He developed his characters quite well...a first-person account, and introduced and fleshed out several other folks in the story, including the inital 'story tellers' long-lost love and the woman who almost took him away.  If you find time, you really ought to try to finish the novel. I found that I couldn't wait for the author's next chapter to be posted...
[ Parent ]
I'll look it up forthwith -
I was afraid to think about it when I was writing. Now I'm in print so I needn't worry about his ideas leaking into my hungry imagination.

Is he gong to publish it?

[ Parent ]
I don't think so...
He was of the mindset that the Internets were the next major publishing craze and that people would move away from paper.  He was going to start another e-book with the same type of storyline, but nothing has come from him since early 2008.
[ Parent ]
Since our time's almost up...
I wanted to thank you, Peter, again both for your novel and for participating tonight.  Don't be a stranger here!
And thank you, Cottontop
...for putting this together.  Great idea!
[ Parent ]
I'd like to add my thanks to both Peter and Cottontop.
And if I may brag a little about my friend, Cottontop is both an Indonesian and Egyptian Newshound.  And really really cool!  

I look forward to reading your book, Peter.

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

[ Parent ]
Great job, cottontop!
Thank you for this tonight.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

[ Parent ]
Thanks, Aloha!
Be well, Peter
[ Parent ]
Thank you all for having me!
And for all the work you do. It's been a great honor to
'meet' you all, especially here.

Please give my best to Dem.

and thank you, Cottontop!

Thank you Peter
For giving us of your time and insight. This has been a very interesting and educational 2 hours. We do need to do this again....
[ Parent ]
Thanks, Bill!
It was fun.
[ Parent ]
Thank you so much for joining us.
I have enjoyed it. Perhaps when the book comes out you will join us again?

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
Thank you!
I'd love to do it again. It's a trip skating around, once I figured it out. Sorry about the clumsy linear start...!

Thank you very much, Peter

[ Parent ]
Peter, I have to sign off for a while now..
but I wanted you to know that I have really enjoyed your visit with us tonight. I hope you will become a Fluwiki member and check in on a regular basis for the news and to contribute too. It was wonderful meeting you and I WILL be buying your book. Please stay in touch with cottontop so we know how things are going for you. Take care and keep writing!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

Thank youy Carol.
Be very well!
Best, Peter
[ Parent ]
Thank you everybody!
and good luck with the book Peter.

I'd write more but I had to correct three of those words already. Nighty night!

Thank you everyone for joining us.
It isn't any wonder I have stay around for as long as I have. You guys are great!

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
That was cool!!!
Thank you cottontop, for putting this together. Great job! And many thanks to Peter Christian Hall for coming here tonight and putting up with us crazy, tin-foil-hat-wearing flu nuts!  :-)
There's something wrong with tin-foil-hats?
Why wasn't I informed?

Thanks, Peter. Thanks, cottontop.

[ Parent ]
Over 160 comments in 2 hours...
I think we've set a new record for number of comments in a single Diary in a two-hour time frame!!!  Great job everyone!
O.K. Miss Carol. You can break out the feather boa. LOL! n/t


United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
Jeeze, that makes two of us! Mine is purple! LOL n/t


United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com
Sorry I missed this live
It was a good read....thank you Mr. Hall...and all.
I, too, am sorry I missed this live....
Again, Thanks to all my friends here, for continuing the efforts.

Cottontop... Marvelous job / topic & thank you for the time putting this together.

Peter, I look forward to reading your book. Thank you for sharing your time.

This is a thread I will share with my friends... forewith!  Hehe.

Will be checking back in..

Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have. ~ Margaret Mead

Hi FloridiaGirl
Sorry you missed it. We are planning another session sometime in January when American Fever is released so check back to see what's going on.

Good to see you back!  

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com

[ Parent ]
I will, for sure! (n/t)


Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have. ~ Margaret Mead
[ Parent ]
Meet Peter Christian Hall November 9, 2011 On Flu Wiki | 173 comments
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