6 Things on a Sunday: Dragon’s Lair + Free Wrestling

I’ve been working on this post since the middle of last week, but without my regular commute rides on the train, my writing schedule is out-of-whack.  Also, the COVID-19 outbreak has gotten so bad that making jokes about it isn’t really in good taste anymore.

Happy Hour at Casa Cabeza in the era of COVID-19.

Well.  Let’s do it.

1. Three Army field hospitals ordered to New York, Washington states (Army Times)

The orders will deploy the 531st Hospital from Fort Campbell, Kentucky; the 627th Hospital from Fort Carson, Colorado; and the 9th Hospital from Fort Hood, Texas, to deploy to New York and Washington states.

All of those units are active duty, an Army headquarters spokesperson said. The field hospitals could arrive at their destinations in as few as seven days or less, they added.

Among many others, my friend and teammate Ward is on his way to New York with the Army.  Ward’s a JAG, so I’ve no idea what he’ll actually be doing, but on the off-chance he breaks free, it would be nice to catch up.  Granted, all the coffee shops are closed, and I myself may yet wind up either quarantined or more likely sequestered, so I’ve no idea how that would work.

Some medical person out there could do the world a solid and come up with an antibody test, so we can figure out who all has been exposed and developed an immunity.

2. "It's Spreading Throughout The Hospital": NYC Healthcare Workers Describe Dire Conditions As Coronavirus Patients Flood Wards (Gothamist)

“It’s like a cesspool...It’s now spreading throughout the hospital,” he said. “I am sure I am going to get infected. My concern is that we are both getting infected and spreading it to other patients.”

Healthcare workers aren’t being tested for the virus proactively, he said, and they were dissuaded against using face masks as a precaution for patients who don’t have COVID-19. A letter sent out to staff provided to Gothamist/WNYC threatened employees with termination if they used masks when not indicated by hospital policy...

I printed this in case you’re not scared.  I’m sure your local medical community is better than the one we have here in New York City, right?

3. Netflix Making a ‘Dragon’s Lair’ Movie Based on Legendary Arcade Game, Ryan Reynolds to Star and Produce (/Film)

Dragon’s Lair was released in 1983 and quickly became a mega-hit. The game was largely comprised of sequences animated by famed ex-Disney animator Don Bluth, who you know from his directorial efforts An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and many more. (The 83-year-old Bluth will serve as a producer on the film adaptation.)

This is literally the best news of the week.  In case you weren’t aware, this blog was originally named for Dragon’s Lair.  I love that game quite a lot.

4. Fighting with My Family (Amazon Prime)

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson produced an indie film about WWE Women’s star Paige, and it’s out on Amazon Prime.  We watched it this past Tuesday as part of Family Movie Night, and everyone in the house liked it a Hell of a lot.

Highly recommended.  We’re all stuck inside, so give this a try.

5. WWE offers free access to WWE Network, including every past WrestleMania (WWE.Com)

ESPN is showing Wrestlemania 32
tonight at 7 pm.

Beginning today, WWE is pleased to unlock a vast portion of the WWE Network library and extend free access to thousands of hours of extraordinary on-demand content, including every WrestleMania in history, countless pay-per-view spectaculars, original documentaries and more, for a limited time.

This unprecedented offering to WWE fans worldwide includes each epic installment to date of WrestleMania, plus, every Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series event; every NXT TakeOver and NXT UK TakeOver; and groundbreaking originals such as the entire WWE 24 docuseries, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions interview show, the recent five-episode hit, WWE Ruthless Aggression, and its 20-episode predecessor, The Monday Night War series.

Found this article by accident.  Having just watched the Paige movie, we set out to find some of her old matches and discovered that the WWE itself is giving free access to the WWE Network.

Friends, we have watched a Hell of a lot of wrestling these past few days.

We’re definitely gonna subscribe to the network for a year.  There’s no sports!  This may not be the lifeline that we wanted, but in these trying times, it's the lifeline we deserved.

6. Pics from the Epicenter

I’ve been working a fair amount, and since I work in a windowless bunker, I’m still taking occasional walks outside.  I took this series of pictures in Manhattan on Tuesday during my lunch break.  I wasn’t really gonna show them to anyone but my family, but the folks who’ve seen them have all reacted pretty strongly.

That’s all I've got.  Stay safe out there.