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atopfourthwall · 7 years

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State of the Wall: 3-28-17

Lots to talk about this time, so click through to see what’s in store for many of my projects in the coming couple of months!

Schedule of Upcoming Episodes 4/3 – Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #4 4/10 – PATREON: Iron Man: The Animated Series: The Wedding of Iron Man 4/17 – Athena #3 4/24 – PATREON: Batman: The Dark Knight #1-3 5/1 – Patreon Viewers’ Choice Event Comics Month 5/8 – Crisis on Infinite Earths 5/15 – Secret Wars (1984) 5/22 – The Infinity Gauntlet 5/29 – Flashpoint

You will notice that for May 1st, we will be having a Patreon Viewers’ Choice! Here’s how it works – for Event Comics Month, I held a poll for what event comics would be covered during that period. Since it was a pretty big success (and because May has five weeks in it), at the end of Athena #3, I will provide a link to a Patreon poll where patrons can vote between three comics that will be reviewed that week. Because it’s been a while since I spotlighted any, they will most likely be PSA Hell subjects. Anyone who contributes at any level to the Patreon can vote in them, but it will be limited only to those patrons. They’ll have a week to vote, then I’ll announce the winner. I’d love to do more like this and we’ll see how it goes with this.

Otherwise, as always, the schedule is subject to change at any time due to unforeseen circumstances, illnesses, or just the material not providing anything to work with for a humorous review.

Platform Changes? The recent scare concerning my youtube channel is, for the moment, resolved. If you haven’t heard about this, you can read up on it HERE. Needless to say, it is over. However, there are still other issues that need to be dealt with. I have recently been informed that Screenwave’s partnership with the JW Player is coming to an end due to the costs of maintaining it. They’ll still remain as you my youtube MCN, at the very least (certainly appreciated after they were instrumental in getting my channel back up).

So what does that mean for the site? Well, that’s uncertain. I’ve contacted the JW Player to see if I can remain and I’d certainly like to – replacing the embed codes around here for a THIRD time would not be fun, especially since we still have occasional hiccups in that department from either lost videos from others or just ones where the embed code has not been replaced. That being said, I do understand the problems people have had with the player. I have not experienced the ad that many have (the still image that seems to prevent the video from ever playing), but I know people DO want to support the site and my work, which is why the youtube versions are so invaluable.

They’ve been helpful in another way – simply put, I make more money on youtube than I do on the Screenwave player. Part of this is sheer volume – more people watch it on youtube, so of course I get revenue there. It’s also partially because people are watching them ON YOUTUBE ITSELF vs. having the videos embedded – ads played through embeds (assuming they play at all) simply don’t pay out the same as when they’re watched on youtube. I have the advantage that with the Screenwave player on this site, there are no competing ads to deal with, so I get a larger revenue share than I do from the embeds on, say, Channel Awesome.

However, if the player DOES have to change yet again, we’re in a bit of a dilemma. I had the previous Screenwave player up and running while Blip was still in operation for a few more months, but I don’t really have yet another player entirely lined up yet. Here’s the issue we have: what player to embed if I have to change over to another? –DailyMotion: Unfortunately, DailyMotion has similar issues to youtube – they have their own ContentID system. However, their support system for dealing with copyrighted material is even less functional than youtube’s, if you can believe that. What’s more, there is a limit on how many videos one is allowed to upload per day, meaning it would take quite a while to get my backlog onto DailyMotion. –Vid.Me: Because of its growing popularity, I HAVE set up a Vid.Me account and have begun uploading videos to it. However, those videos are currently unlisted for a very good reason – the same reason why I am reluctant to use it as a new player on the site – Vid.Me does not have ads. The system is entirely tip-based. If it is a superior player to the JW Player, then more people will be able to watch videos on my site directly… but that would also mean less revenue overall. It IS an option, possibly the best option especially since they pride themselves for the ability to actually speak to humans when dealing with copyright matters (plus no ContentID system, AFAIK). –Amazon: Amazon actually started pushing out their own video distribution system a year or two ago. Some of the other video producers on Channel Awesome gave it a shot at the time, buuuut were mostly unimpressed, especially since the videos required a hardcoded subtitle system for the hearing impaired. It’s not a bad thing to have that, but it’s time-consuming to create that, especially since Amazon used a proprietary format. It’s recent enough that I don’t really know how useful it’d really be, or if it’d be a paid service for people and I prefer my videos be free for anyone to watch. –Vimeo: Vimeo IS a possibility. It’s a fairly solid platform, although like with Vid.Me it doesn’t really have ad-based content. In fact, from what I understand, you have to pay THEM to put ads on the videos and I don’t actually know how profitable that is. It still has its own ContentID system, it’s just a bit more lenient and, like Vid.Me, you can actually resolve it by talking to human beings. –Just Embed the Youtube Videos: This option… has its problems. Like I said above, embedded youtube videos don’t earn as much money as one does by just watching on youtube’s site. And frankly, if they’re embedded already, there’s no reason to GO to youtube to watch them. In addition, as we saw with the suspension of my channel, it’s nice to have a backup video player on hand so that people CAN watch stuff (for the most part, since many still had problems watching them) if something happens. Still, I’m open to anything.

So there we go. I’m eager to hear people’s feedback, although hopefully there won’t be any need to change anything. We’ll see, though.

History of Power Ranger Rangers It sadly feels like, despite my continual attempts to highlight these update posts whenever possible, encouraging people to visit the site, people will often miss that, indeed, they exist and often have the information they’re looking for. That information usually being “When’s the next History of Power Rangers coming?” And, of course, thanks to Patreon you HAVE that answer again… and perhaps even more to come, but that’ll be discussed below in the Patreon section.

In any event, Dino Charge is coming, as I stated in the last State of the Wall post. No, I still have not watched any more than last time. I’ll be doing that in April. No, I have not watched any of Ninja Steel and it’s likely I won’t be until it comes time to do that one. If you wanted my opinions on the movie, I did a Midnight Screenings video for Brad Jones on it, which you can find on my site by searching for it or searching his own site or youtube page.

Otherwise, of course, the current schedule: DinoCharge: April 27th Ninja Steel: N/A

In case you missed it, I did put up revised versions of the Turbo videos on youtube, which you can find HERE and HERE. In Space is taking a back seat for a while until I can figure out how to keep in the “Under Pressure” montage. Best guess right now is to make a cover, but we’ll see how things go.

T-Shirts Sorry to say that the Comicron Crew shirt did not get enough sales to justify keeping it around on Shark Robot. As a reminder, shirts require 20 pre-orders in order to remain on their site permanently. That being said, this one was partially my fault – giving it three colors meant it was technically three different shirts, so it spread the potential preorder sales in too many directions. Still, combined they wouldn’t have added up to 20 anyway.

I’m going to continue with the shirt idea – patrons will be able to vote on the next shirt among five options every few months and hopefully next time around we’ll get a keeper. As a reminder, though, the I am a Man shirt is still available HERE and those who DID preorder the Comicron Crew shirts will get them.

Patreon The Patreon is getting a few revisions! For starters, I’m going to be ending the $30 “Video Promotion” pledge. In recent times, few have taken advantage of it (either because of squatters in the spot or simple noninterest). The pledge will disappear at the end of March. I am of course open to suggestions for other pledge perks that could be done.

The bigger news is this – the milestones have been reorganized! I had originally placed the tiers much higher due to the fact that when I originally began the Patreon, I grouped them all so closely together that they all got fulfilled quickly. SO quickly, in fact, that I am still struggling to fulfill them two years later (some, like the additional Longbox videos, were easier – the AT4W Episode Guide not so much). It was also hoped that it would encourage more people to contribute to it and hopefully reach some loftier goals.

Unfortunately, it has not proven so – possibly BECAUSE they’re so much higher. As such, here are the new milestone levels, and definitely more likely to be achieved than going as high as $6000.

$3500: A Let’s Play of Star Trek: Elite Force II will be made and on a schedule. $4000: Other “History of…” videos will be produced, in particular focusing on other American tokusatsu works like Beetleborgs, VR Troopers, Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, etc. $5000: Both a 90s Kid and a Harvey Finevoice show will be produced, though due to the workload of other projects, will NOT be on a schedule.

So yeah, hopefully with the rearrangement of those goals as being a lot closer to where we are now, it will encourage people to get there.

As a reminder, ONLY those who pledge at the $10 level are given a spot in the end credits. You can of course give more than $10, but you have to specifically select THAT perk to get it. Those in the $20 pledge slot for a DVD and badge are NOT given the name in the end credits.

Let’s Play Pokémon Omicron The next Pokémon Omicron stream is scheduled for Monday, May 8th at 7 PM Central time! The current plan is stop playing the game after the Elite 4 (or, at least, the conclusion of the main storyline of the game). I know many would like me to do the post-game quests, but frankly this Let’s Play has gone on for far too long already and the end is finally in sight, with the last stream managing to get us the seventh badge. I’d be happy to return to the game someday, but I have hopes for more gaming content on the site and having an unfinished Let’s Play hanging over things is kind of irritating.

As it happens, I’ve been working hard in getting more videos pumped out for it! I’m hoping we can continue at a good pace, releasing several per week so we can finally be caught up, especially since at the time of this posting the episodes next coming out are from a stream done last year. Obviously we still have some catching up to do with the amount of footage I have.

My Twitch channel is HERE!

The Deathmate Problem As I have mentioned in the PO Unboxing videos and at conventions, I have many copies of Deathmate and I’d like to finally get around to reviewing them. For those unaware, Deathmate is the infamous crossover between Image and Valiant that likely is responsible for the beginning of the end of Valiant Comics. It’s been heavily requested by viewers before, with some speculating I’m saving it for a major episode… but nah, that’s not the case. I can tell you it’s not going to be this year, because I had INTENDED to review them as the first thing in January 2018. However, I’ve run into a few problems with that.

Firstly, Deathmate has a total of six issues, including prologue and epilogue. However, each issue has multiple stories within it – meaning if I were to do two issues per week, I’d actually be reviewing quite a few stories at once… aaaand let’s face it, with how generic a lot of early Image books were, there’s a reason we’ve mostly focused on Youngblood-related stuff. That means we’d be covering a crossover between a lot of characters that neither I nor the viewers are necessarily familiar with. Basically it’d be three weeks in a row of “I don’t know who these people are.” So that brings us to the next question: would people prefer we wait for Deathmate until we’ve met some more Image or Valiant characters? And finally: would people prefer we have all of Deathmate in a big three-week period or, like some other miniseries I’ve done, be spread out over however long it takes?

Longbox of the Damned As I mentioned last time, the storyline for AT4W has taken FAR LONGER than it should have. There are still many segments left and I’m hoping to finally get those out of the way in the coming months. However, that runs right into the issue of all my other projects I’m working on. Pokémon Omicron is fine – it’s not on any set schedule, so it can be put on the backburner if it needs to. However, the summer Longbox videos have become their own thing, necessitating a lot of time in planning, filming, and editing – especially if I do intend to stick to the daily schedule. As we saw last year with the Twilight Zone comics, it’s proven very difficult to get those videos out as planned.

As such, I am open to the idea that this year, we may just have to skip the Midsummer’s Nightmare and use its theme for next year. An alternative idea I had was maybe less videos, but more content – covering multiple things in a single video and spread them out over a week, or weekly over the course of a month or so. I’ d love to hear some thoughts on this, since I certainly want to do the summer videos, but it’s very stressful on top of everything else going on.

Conventions Animinneapolis – Once again, for any of you Minnesota locals who want to meet me, I’ll be at Animinneapolis at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis in, well, Minneapolis on May 26-28!

EDIT: Sadly, Wausaubicon has been cancelled, so I will not be making an appearance there.

Anime Midwest – I’ll of course be at Anime Midwest again at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois on July 7-9!

I’ve gotten confirmation that I will NOT be attending Too Many Games this year. This doesn’t mean I won’t attend in future years, just that they want to rotate out some people to make sure the experience is fresh for attendees and not ALWAYS the same people every year. Expect some more con announcements for the rest of the year!

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mariethecrocheter · 7 years

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Reflections of the Past Year & Thoughts For the Next

2016 was a pretty busy year, and for a whole lot of reasons. Some good, some bad, some...meh. (Whatever that means.)

I just wanted to take a few minutes to write about some stuff: a few games released over the past 12 months that were really important to me, some things that I plan to/hope to do over the next year, some personal challenges, and, most of all, my gratitude to everyone who has been putting up with me for the past...3+ years? That’s how long I’ve been on Tumblr? Time really flies, doesn’t it?

I have met so many friendly people through Tumblr and Twitter, and I am deeply grateful for all the kind comments and support! Let’s make 2017 a good one, right? Even though the rest of the world may be pretty bad right now argh

Anyways, time to briefly(?) delve DEEPLY AND IN A RAMBLING MANNER into some of the highlights of 2016 and discuss what’s to come in 2017!

First and Foremost: Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns Japanese release: 23 June 2016 North American release (tentative): 28 Feb 2017

A game celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Bokumono franchise! 1996 was the 20th anniversary of the series in the Japanese market, while 2017 is the 20th anniversary in the North American market. (And we now have two different series in the English-speaking world: the original series, now called Story of Seasons and localized by XSEED, and Natsume’s independently-made Harvest Moon games!)

Trio of Towns was first announced at the end of 2015, and released in Japan during the summer of 2016. I’ve been covering it on a side blog, http://friendsof3villages.tumblr.com/, so check that out if you haven’t already. (Seriously, though, I think about 90% of the people who subscribe to this blog subscribe to that one too, haha. Hooray for Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons love!)

@xseedgames is going to be bringing this title to North America early this year. Just a couple more months!

Just a couple more months until we can shear our rabbits in English!! Heh heh.

One question that I get asked from time to time is: is this game worth getting? If you liked previous instalments in the series (Story of Seasons, Harvest Moon: A New Beginning, etc.), then my answer would be YES!! If, like me, you really enjoyed those games, you’ll probably like this one. The controls and basic systems are very similar, but there are a lot of new features that will keep you busy.

They made some improvements based on feedback they got about Story of Seasons: The story is easier to clear, there are more heart events for each marriage candidate, and the reverse confession/proposal scenes are pretty easy to trigger this time around.

If, however, you weren’t as much of a fan of the two previous games, well... I’d still suggest you give this game a fair try if you get the chance, but I understand if it may not be your cup of tea.

I haven’t had the chance to try Natsume’s new game yet (Skytree Village) so I can’t say anything on it. I do hope to get the chance to play it sometime, though! I...kind of have a backlog of games I want to/need to play... xD

The next most important game was Fire Emblem Fates, which came out in North America in February 2016.

I have no physical copy of Fates or its Japanese version, so here’s a picture of the only physical Fates-related object I own: the beautifully boxed Japanese soundtrack! ...plus the other two games that made my year. Ahem. ^^; (And this totally wasn’t a test for photographing items on that shelf with the intention of later photographing some crocheted kitchen items I plan to sell. ...Kidding. This was a photography test. xD)

I’ve been doing some translations for the DLC here on this blog: http://fe14festivalofbondstranslations.tumblr.com/ Fellow admin Kiyoshi and I are going to finish up the Hoshidan Festival DLC soon, and...we’d like to translate more CD drama tracks.

...I have no idea why the Nohrian and Hoshidan Festival DLC isn’t available outside of Japan, but I hope we see it released in the English-speaking world this year! I’m dying to see what kind of adjustments they make in the English version. The conversations give us more insights into character relationships, and perceptions of them can change or give us greater insight depending on how the conversation is presented.

I plan to do some translation comparison posts on Fates after the festival translation is complete. I have a couple of topics that I want to write about I just...haven’t yet. (Most of them involve Kana, Forrest, and Soleil, who seems to have more changes to her English support convos than any other character.)

Slight changes in her conversations with her mother, for one... Details later. Mwahahaha. (They’re slight, though. But kinda cool.)

The Surprise Hit (For Me): Pokémon Sun & Moon

Until December 2016, I hadn’t touched a Pokémon game in about 15 years. But, I have fond memories of the early games...

Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version (both for the Game Boy) came out when I was in high school. I scoffed at them until trying my brother’s Red Version one day when I was very, very bored...and I liked it! I had my own GBC and managed to get a copy of Blue Version, and I liked it a lot. I also got Yellow Version after it came out, and after Gold and Silver were announced and released in Japan, I was miffed that I would have to wait a year or more to play them. I was so miffed, I decided to get the Japanese versions (through...means that I later realized were less than legal ^^;;;;;;;) and teach myself Japanese! And...I managed to do it. Somehow. xD I went through the ENTIRE Silver Version with a hiragana/katakana chart, a dictionary, and basic grammar/phrasebook I repeatedly checked out from the library (and my dad later bought them for me). Maybe I didn’t understand much of what was going on, but I got enough out of it to enjoy the game.

In other words, Pokémon Silver Version was the MAIN REASON I took up the Japanese language! Crazy, huh?

But then I started college and lost interest. Gaming had to take a backseat for a while, and I just didn’t want to devote time to another series. (I lost interest in Fire Emblem for a long time due to this and other reasons, too.)

But, after hearing a lot of praise for Sun and Moon, especially praise about the story and character development (two things I love in a game), and attracted by the bright, cheery style, I decided to give them a try. And I love them! I’m fully hooked again! Goodbye, free time. Don’t need you anymore.

The thing I found most intriguing is the number of languages available. This one was released simultaneously in English and Japanese!! I couldn’t even imagine that back in 1999 or 2000 or whenever it was that Gold and Silver were released!

I still have my copy of Yellow Version, and... I have my brother’s Red and (English) Gold versions. ...In fact, I have his Yellow, as well...? And where are my Blue and (English) Silver...? I have no idea, lol. He must have mine, and I have his...? Anyway, the battery that saves the data is long dead on all but one of them (I already forgot which one, though I know it wasn’t Gold but one of the older ones), so it doesn’t matter too much.

In case you’re wondering: my favorite Pokémon of the original 151 (152 if you count Missingno! xD) are Clefable and Dragonair. (And Dragonite, but not quite as much.) Of the next generation, Pichu and Bellosom. (Who I always think of by its Japanese name: Kireihana.) I’ve now found myself quite fond of Lilligant (because it looks like Bellosom!), Comfey, and the various Oricorios! ...I’m a sucker for plant and fairy types, heh.

Moving Forward & Personal Challenges & ...?

I want to branch out so I’m now doing a little work with Source Gaming, translating columns and such of one of my favorite game developer, Masahiro Sakurai. I’ve only done a couple, but this year I have some other interviews by a certain game producer that I want to translate and cover in-depth...

Yoshifumi Hashimoto Interviews

There’s a long interview with him in one of last year’s issues of Nintendo Dream. I’m sure others have already translated it, but... I want to do a FULL, thorough translation of the article because there’s a lot of interesting facts and trivia in it. He’s been the producer of the Bokujou Monogatari series since 2005, or for more than half the life of the series. (He took over upon the departure of creator Yasuhiro Wada.)

And there’s Mr. Hashimoto himself!

There’s an interview with him in the back of the guidebooks, too... AND some interesting trivia in the short official guidebooks! There’s a lot of trivia to be translated and shared! x)

In Conclusion

There’s so much to do this year, and I look forward to working on new projects when I’m able to! =D Unfortunately my health declined a bit in 2016, as some symptoms I hoped were temporary turned out to be long-lasting or even permanent, but it’s just one more thing learn to cope with and work around. That’s the nature of chronic illness, urgh. I’m used to it, but it still stinks. (In case you’re curious, I have something very similar to multiple sclerosis, so it really feels like I’m waging a war against the effects of time itself...)

Regardless of what happens, I’ve got a lot of stuff planned for the year. I’m especially looking forward to the English release of Trio of Towns, because I’m eager to see the writing in the English version! There are always small (and sometimes, big) changes and tweaks made to the localised English version, and comparing it to the Japanese one will be a lot of fun. I hope to get several more translated resident and heart events up before the game comes out in English, though! (And, if you must ask, my favorite bachelors are still Yuzuki and Ludus, and my favorite bachelorettes are the twins, Siluka especially. I like Kasumi a lot too. ...Actually, I like ALL the marriage candidates, so it’s hard to choose absolute favorites. The additional heart events and additional dialogue give the characters more depth and development than many of the previous games.)

That’s about all I have to say right now. Pretty much. Yep. Oh, wait, you read all this? Wow. xD Um, here, have a hug! **hug**

#personal #annual reflection #2017 #2016 #aaaaagggh this felt so cheesy but oh well #ok im having too much fun with these tags #TAGS #meow

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ladystylestores · 4 years

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Ukraine’s Backlog of Babies Born to Surrogates Begins to Ease

KYIV, Ukraine — For weeks, more than 100 foreign genetic parents of babies born to surrogate mothers in Ukraine have been waiting nervously, prevented by Ukraine’s rigid coronavirus restrictions from entering the country to pick up their newborns.

But the government has been granting some exemptions, and on Wednesday, having gone through a mandatory two-week quarantine, 11 couples from Argentina and Spain were joyously united with their newest family members. It was a first step in whittling down a backlog of babies born into Ukraine’s surrogate motherhood industry during the pandemic that some officials have said could swell to as many as 1,000.

“It was like a dream,” Andrea Diez, a mother from Argentina, said Wednesday after she was handed her baby at a news conference hosted by a surrogacy agency, Biotexcom.

Biotexcom, which has faced criticism over the backlog, staged the event for maximum effect, bringing out the babies and uniting them with their joyful parents for the first time.

With permissive legislation, high-quality private maternity hospitals and an abundance of poor women, Ukraine has in recent years become the leading country providing surrogacy services to foreigners, industry executives and women’s rights advocates say.

For the most part, the surrogacy agencies care for most of the babies, though some have been left with the surrogate mothers. Biotexcom, the largest such agency, is caring for 79 babies in cribs in a hotel and clinic in Kyiv. The company is expecting two more births on Wednesday.

The baby pickup on Wednesday is a step toward unwinding the problem, one of the more bizarre to arise from travel restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

But the schedule for pickups so far is slower than the rate of births, so the stranded surrogate babies are still growing in number in Ukraine.

The authorities have estimated that 1,000 surrogate mothers are expecting. So far, 120 genetic parents of 125 babies have asked for assistance with travel, and 31 couples have arrived, including the 11 who met their babies on Wednesday, according to Lyudmila Denisova, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said in a statement that it had helped six American parents travel to Ukraine.

Ukraine is an outlier among nations, though not alone, in allowing foreigners access to a broad range of reproductive health services, including buying eggs and arranging for surrogate births for a fee. Ukrainian law grants custody to the genetic parents.

Ms. Diez and her husband, Fernando Montero, both 46, said they turned to Ukraine for a surrogate mother after years of failed fertility treatments in Argentina.

They named their son Ignacio (and nicknamed him Nacho). Born April 29, he spent the first month and a half of his life cared for by nurses in a room packed with cribs.

The baby pileup has revived criticism of the business in Ukraine.

Biotexcom has been criticized for sometimes impregnating surrogate mothers with three embryos, increasing the chances of a successful pregnancy but risking an abortion if all three develop.

“We do it for the result,” Albert Tochylovsky, the company director, said in an interview. “We work for the result.”

La Strada, a women’s rights group, said it received about 100 calls a year from surrogate mothers seeking help. In most cases, the women are upset about having to hand over the baby, said Maryna Lehenka, the group’s legal director, indicating “insufficient psychological support for women who go into surrogacy programs.”

Other surrogate mothers have expressed appreciation for the pay — around $15,000 per birth, if everything goes right — and the chance to help infertile couples. But some are upset by the total separation from the babies once they have given birth.

Updated June 5, 2020

Does asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 happen?

So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.

How does blood type influence coronavirus?

A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.

How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?

Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.

How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?

Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.

My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?

States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?

Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

How can I protect myself while flying?

If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

Should I wear a mask?

The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

What should I do if I feel sick?

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

“It’s been five years since I gave birth to my twins, and I would be happy to receive a postcard to know how they are doing,” said Olha Korsunova, 27, who is now 12 weeks into her third surrogate pregnancy.

“The parents do not do that, and it is their right, I do not judge,” she said.

Ms. Korsunova decided to become a surrogate mother after the war in eastern Ukraine drove her from Donetsk, her hometown, and she needed money for medical school. She gave birth to her own son when she was 18 and at 21 gave birth to the twin boys, for parents from Spain.

“I received education and have a possibility to give my son all he needs thanks to the surrogacy programs,” Ms. Korsunova said. She is studying obstetrics.

Some surrogate mothers have been left caring for the babies themselves.

One woman living in Vinnytsia, in western Ukraine, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Dasha, to avoid repercussions from her agency, has been caring for a baby girl she gave birth to in April. She said she became a surrogate mother to pay her mortgage.

The baby, she said, cries constantly, and the agency that arranged the birth has provided little support. “It was very hard,” Dasha said in an interview. “I just want the parents to come and to take this girl away from me.”

Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting from Moscow.

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