Good news that the incidence of new Wuhan virus exponential rise in cases seems to be showing some signs of peaking. However, I'll conclude this posting with more about this epidemic.
For now, let me focus on the 92nd Academy Awards, which, if you live in Hawaii, started at 8AM today with the Oscars Countdown. The live telecast of the actual ceremony begins at 3PM (8PM if you live on the east coast). The show takes place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
There was a time when the Academy Award dinner featured meaty comfort food. This year, only healthy stuff is being served, not quite vegan, but dairy-free. The first dinner in 1929 featured broiled chicken on toast, fish sauteed in butter with veggies, cake and ice cream.
This year:
So my pre-Oscar meal showed this spirit:
Artichoke, radicchio, endive, king trumpet mushrooms, tomato parmesan soup, genovese pesto and mayonnaise. The wine was especially spectacular. A Stanford 2004 Chardonnay from Paraiso, Santa Lucia, Monterey County. Have you ever had a 16-year old Chardonnay that had full body, without any sign of over-aging?
The Francis Ford Coppola 2018 Chardonnay indicated for the Oscar nominees sells for around $15. Mine? Priceless.
Before we go into the Oscar details, I noticed that I had only seen five of the nine films nominated for Best Picture. Luckily, Little Women was playing, both in a local theater and on TV. So I began watching the 1949 version (there is also a 1939 movie had Katharine Hepburn, where Rotten Tomatoes reviewers said 94% and audiences 78%--if she were alive, she'd be 112). RT, incidentally gave the current LW scores of 95% and 92%.
The 1949 film ratings were 71% and 83%, and starred June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret O'Brien, Janet Leigh, Rossano Brazzi, Mary Astor and Leon Ames. Well, after 15 minutes, I gave up. Too boring.
So yesterday, I changed my mind, and at the last moment, standing outside the Ward Theater Complex, decided to go with Birds of Prey. I recall it had gotten decent ratings from RT (turned out to be 81%/84% on later check). BIG MISTAKE! It's a DC Comics film, and I avoid those films like the plague. After a few minutes I almost walked out, which would have meant losing $13. The movie was rated R, and deserved it, was bloody, gory, horrible, action-packed, over the top in almost every way...I can go on and on. But I stayed. Margot Robbie, played Harley Quinn, who was just dumped by The Joker (as played by Joaquin Phoenix in this film, and he is heavily favored to get an Oscar this year for Best Actor), was outrageous, but good. She was the one who pushed for the making of this production and was a producer. Otherwise, Ewan McGregor made a fine and vicious villain. 
But enough of that. According to Newsweek, here are the film odds:
1917: -182 (probability = 64.5%)
Parasite: +275 (probability = 26.7%)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: +900
Joker: +1000
Jojo Rabbit: +5000
The Irishman: +5000
Little Women: +10,000
Marriage Story: +10,000
Ford v Ferrari: +25,000 (probability = 0.4%)
Go to ODDS CONVERTER to get the rest of the probabilities.
Best director should go to Sam Mendes of 1917 (84.8%).
Best Actress:
Renee Zellweger, Judy: -2500 (96.2%)
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story: +1000
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet: +2000
Charlize Theron, Bombshell: +2500
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women: +3300 (2.9%)
Best Actor:
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: -5000 (98%)
Adam Driver, Marriage Story: +1000
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: +3300
Antonio Banderas, Pain & Glory: +5000
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes: +6600
Others:- Best Supporting Actor, Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (97.1%)
- Supporting Actress, Laura Dern from Marriage Story (96.2%)
Sorry if I ruined your Oscar-watching. However, now that you know all the almost sure winners, you can wow your friends during the show.
About the 2019-nCoV epidemic, you can almost begin to see some peaking beginning happen.
The media has been suggesting April as when the peak will occur. I predict later this month...IF this epidemic doesn't become a pandemic.
About what it will eventually be called? We know about the West Nile and Ebola virus, sites where it all started. Thus, Wuhan virus makes sense. However the World Health Organization has recently issued guidelines discouraging use of geographic locations, animals (like swine flu) or people groups (Legionnaire's disease). AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome, once actually called gay-related immune deficiency) and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) became accepted, so maybe Wars (for Wuhan) or Cars (for coronvirus) could well become the standard name.
Note that the coronavirus just overtook the 2003 SARS epidemic regarding deaths: 813 today versus 774. SARS only infected 8098, while the coronavirus cases are now up to 34,800. The fatality percentages are: SARS at 10% and coronavirus at 2.3%. SARS was also a type of coronavirus. That 1918 Spanish Flu (which did not begin in Spain) killed at a rate of 2.5%. But it was the more prevalent H1N1 virus (right) that was the cause, which is a lot more contagious than the coronavirus.
Something more personal for me, as I cruised on the Diamond Princess in December, the case rate of the coronavirus is now up to 69, with no deaths so far. Twelve are Americans. While the ship is quarantined until February 19, I wonder if passengers will be kept longer, for you really need to wait 14 days after the last possible contact.
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