Please Lord, dont let Rich be right.
"Please Lord, don't let Rich be right." GETTY IMAGES

The historic SpaceX launch couldn't happen today: It was rescheduled for Saturday due to bad weather in Florida.

A dozen inmates have tested positive for coronavirus at an Eastern Washington prison: "The Spokesman-Review reports Wednesday that all the prison’s inmates will be quarantined in their units for 10 days. All classes and other programming will be suspended."

Terrible news from Cinerama: Looks like Seattle Art Fair and the Living Computers Museum might be going down too.

The Facebook comments on this Cinerama story have been busy, but I think this comment is particularly fun:

"If Paul Allen had given a shit, and not just used this to cover his incessant grifting, he would have set it up with a perpetual operating endowment. But no. Just give him SLU, and the stadium, and everything else, because worship the rich."

Nathalie's been up and down this blog today, but one more from her: What's With the Crop Circles in Seattle Parks?

Fancy Seattle arts college Cornish will hold in-person classes in the fall: How do you hold acting or dance classes during a pandemic? Cornish is trying to figure it out. "We are committed to maintaining the Cornish experience of small class sizes and mentorship, while also embracing this opportunity to adapt our curricula and expand our methodologies to respond to the question of what arts education will look like in the post-pandemic world," wrote the school's provost in a statement this afternoon.

Something else to worry about: An "avalanche of evictions."

Another streaming service enters the arena: Today's the launch of HBO Max, HBO's semi-confusing expanded streaming service that is apparently different from its other streaming offerings. It's $15 a month and, well, as CNET put it: "If you're already paying for HBO in some form, the amount you'll have to pay for Max now, or whether you have to pay anything extra at all... well, it's complicated." More here, but TL;DR: HBO Max has more content than the regular HBO channel or HBO Now. HBO Max doubles the amount of programming for the same price as its current offerings, and the understanding is they'll offer tiered services next year.

What's there to watch on HBO Max? A lot. Friends, Criterion Collection films, and (mostly) all of Studio Ghibli's films, including Kiki's Delivery Service. As Adam Not Sandler highlighted this afternoon...

If you're finding it hard to choose between streaming services, try this.

100,000 dead in America due to coronavirus, as of Wednesday afternoon. In February there were only two known fatalities from the novel virus. "What is different about this is, it is affecting all of us in a variety of ways, even if some of us are able to social distance in more effective ways than others," a sociology professor told NPR. "But we all feel at risk."

Washington's most recent update from its Department of Health lists 1,095 deaths and 20,406 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Washington state. That's an increase of 225 cases from the day before. 5.4% of our confirmed cases have resulted in deaths.

A heated discussion over cyberbullying laws has erupted in Japan: Professional wrestler and reality television star Hana Kimura died on Saturday at the age of 22. Japanese authorities have not yet confirmed Kimura's cause of death, but it has been widely reported that her death was by suicide. She faced a deluge of abuse on social media in recent months, coming into the spotlight by starring in the Japanese show Terrace House, which is streamed on Netflix outside of Japan. The show's producer, Fuji, announced today that the 2019-2020 season of Terrace House Tokyo will be canceled. It's unclear if the show is permanently canceled. I'm struck by how quickly Japanese officials moved on the issue of cyberbullying. From Variety:

Kimura’s death has not only led to soul-searching in the Japanese entertainment business, where such bullying Kimura experienced is widespread online and off, but also in the Japanese parliament.

On Monday both ruling and opposition parties joined forces to begin the drafting and implementation of new rules governing online abuse. Also, on Tuesday Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi told the media that the ministry was investigating ways of disclosing information on up-till-now anonymous cyberbullies.

Houses of worship can now open in Washington state: Sorta. "The guidelines will allow up to 100 people—excluding religious staff—to meet outdoors at the property of a faith group anywhere in the state," reports the Seattle Times. "Then, in the second phase of the governor’s four-part reopening plan, faith organizations will be allowed to hold services indoors while capping attendance to 25% of building capacity or 50 people, whichever is less." I hope they're praying that Rich's prediction won't come to pass.

One final word on the day: From The Stranger's Jasmyne Keimig.


Okay, okay: One more word. RIP Larry.