Good Monday morning, geographers—

Yesterday I took a walk—facemask and all—and the sky was the clearest, most cerulean blue I have ever seen. It seemed to go on forever, almost to the point where you could see the blue transition into the void of outer space beyond, and then it struck me: no contrails. There was not a single jet contrail in the sky. It reminded me of the many weird twists of this pandemic, including the way the Earth is shaking less with billions of people under lockdown (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-lockdowns-earth-shaking-less-seismic-noise/) or the way people in northern India can see the Himalayan skyline for the first time in memory (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/himalayas-visible-lockdown-india-scli-intl/index.html). As difficult a time this is, it’s important to also pay attention to all these remarkable changes and signs of hope.

What’s new @MizzouGeog this week?

• Taylor Fox will be defending her thesis, entitled “Place-Making and Transculturation in Little Havana, Miami” TODAY at Noon. All are welcome to attend the public portion of the defense, which will be the first 20 minutes or so as Taylor presents the results of her research and fields questions from the crowd. Please join us! Here is the Zoom link: https://umsystem.zoom.us/j/98800302412
• Mark Your Calendars! Thesis defenses coming up next week:
  • Sydney Bailey    Monday, May 4th – 12PM
  • Hesston Bridgeman    Monday, May 4th – 2PM
  • Alex Ringling               Tuesday, May 5th – 1PM
  • Steven Cardinal Wednesday, May 6th 1PM
• The zoom meeting information for the first virtual End of Year Geography Celebration (May 8 at 3:30) is now available!
  • Zoom Link: https://mizzou.zoom.us/j/91720316345?pwd=VjJNdSt6SitVMjFiZnY0NVY3LzZzUT09
  • Password: 295710
  • Note that the meeting requires a password. Please do not share this password beyond our community of geographers.
  • Along with the usual awards and bookings, there will be gags, goofs, and games to boot!
• The MU Geography Map Poll will close this Wednesday. Take Poll Here. Abby Hunt and Tom Vought put this poll together to map the dispersion of our department in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. All answers are anonymous.

Be well, all, and don’t forget to look at the sky!

Soren

Professor & Chair

Department of Geography

University of Missouri

Columbia MO 65211-6170

https://geography.missouri.edu/people/larsen