Resources for Staying Home
Endless Choices
We are grateful for technology more than ever before, remembering to still shut it off, of course, but on top of the usual streaming fare, here are some other choices depending on our mood of the moment.
Communal Activities (all on Instagram)
@dnice - happy hour music set by DJ D-Nice perfect for dancing while you cook dinner in the form of Club Quarantine
@ryan.heffington – mood-lifting dance five days a week, movement and community
@secularsabbath – cooking, ballet, meditation, sound baths, etc. on Instagram Live - upcoming schedule posted periodically
@suaysewshop – a movement in making face masks to donate and guides to make your own #suaymask
@carsonellis – weekly drawing prompts every Tuesday #quarantineartclub
@helendealtry – painting flowers with a flower announced for each day #paintingwithdealtry
@lilystockman – draw any flower and share! #quarantineflowerdrawings
@turshen – food writing prompts with chef Julia Turshen #foodwritenow
@gettymuseum – the Getty Museum is encouraging people to create their own at home versions of famous paintings #BetweenArtandQuarantine
Virtual Book Clubs
War and Peace with author Yiyun Li on Twitter, Instagram, and at www.apublicspace.org #tolstoytogether
The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd with nature writer Robert MacFarlane on Twitter @RobGMacfarlane #CoReadingVirus
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb with the blogger Cup of Jo, discussion on April 14 at www.cupofjo.com
Things (to listen to)
Ragnar Kjartsson – The Visitors – Musicians playing a piece while in separate rooms of a house, being alone together
Ragnar Kjartsson with The National – A Lot of Sorrow – Live recording of a performance at MOMA PS1 where The National plays the song “Sorrow” over and over again for six straight hours
Bird sounds – learn to identify the birds around you: www.audubon.org
Reading (with themes of pandemics, isolation)
Severance by Ling Ma – The only woman left in New York, carrying on a normal life as long as she can in the face of a pandemic that makes people sick with nostalgia.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John – A traveling troupe of Shakespearean actors trying to make art and meaning in a brutal post-apocalyptic world.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh – A woman retreats to a state of hibernation to avoid the world outside.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson – A small family (mostly about the grandmother and granddaughter) on a tiny island in Finland, just being.
Note: Buy books from independent bookstores! Try bookshop.org instead of Amazon to support local stores.
Podcasts
The Long Finish – Hosted by the owners of Esters Wine Shop, they talk about wine, parenting two small kids, running a business, books, etc. A cozy listen and an easy way to learn about wine.
Show Your Work – Hosted by the writers behind LaineyGossip.com, about the strategy behind celebrity. Smart talk about “dumb” things.
Where Should We Begin – Hosted by relationship therapist Esther Perl, each episode is a couple’s counselling session. Constantly amazed that the couples are so open and vulnerable for everyone to hear.
Virtual Games and Tours
Codenames - Already a popular family game, the company is currently preparing an online version but until then, use a video chat to play with friends and players around the world. www.codenamesgame.com
Kahoot - Another already popular one for trivia game lovers, they have so many categories to fulfill any group's genre wishes. It conveniently keeps score for you along with 1st, 2nd, 3rd place podiums at the end of each game. www.kahoot.com
Google Arts and Culture - A great way to digitally visit hundreds of museums around the world (don't miss the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea). There's now a special series, The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks, where majestic tours of volcanoes, caverns and canyons. www.artsandculture.google.com
Bonus: If you’re in Los Angeles, there are restaurants that are now grocery stores!
