None of these things have anything to do with COVID-19!
It has become apparent that I need to watch Tiger King, a new Netflix docuseries about a man with a mullet, meth, a dream, and too many tigers.
The only problem with committing to Tiger King is that it will eat into my gaming time โ specifically, my time playing Animal Crossing, where I can focus on building up my growing community on a deserted island where there are too many tarantulas but no pandemics. (But all the same, there are face masks.)
I am not alone, and a lot of people are finding ways to be creative in between serving Tom Nook, the capitalist racoon with a social enterprise streak. Some are making memes, others are recreating movie scenes. And thanks to some inspiration from the Museum of English Rural Life, others are making a bunch of smocks.
Animal Crossing! Get it and be my friend, I have lots of fruit.
I have been cooking more often, thanks to all this time in my house, but the bar was admittedly low and lunch is still a casual affair. Perhaps I will find some inspiration from this Japanese series about lunches, which I could watch in between Bon Appetit videos.
I am unlikely to start making pandemic sourdough โ I know my limitations โ but if I ever got that ambitious, I could take some inspiration from Polish bread-baking VR.
Perhaps itโs time to add astrology to my list of hobbies. Why not! Nothing else makes sense! Maybe it will explain whatever the hell is happening with Trump!
This is probably not a GREAT time to put new art out into the world, in terms of your chances of media coverage or money being spent on your work or touring or otherwise showing that art in a public place. But the nice thing about music is that you can listen to that at home, and there are a few new albums out this week to freshen up those playlists.
Basia Bulat has a new release, and Bon Iver has rereleased Blood Bank. Dua Lipa and Waxahatchee has released new albums that have great reviews. And Bob Dylan released a 17-minute-long song, which seems unnecessary even with all this time on our hands.
Or you could familiarize yourself with an artistโs back catalog โ might I suggest Fiona Apple?
And there are, of course, movies! Studios are putting new releases online much more quickly than usual โ and of course, there is CATS.
You could also rewatch a classic favourite, some cinematic comfort food. Clueless is a perfect rewatch, and it has become newly relevant thanks to the ability to test its theory about driving in Los Angeles.
There will be no Olympics this year, sadly, but Tonga Guy has not forgotten us.
And letโs end on a hopeful note. It was only about a month ago that Australiaโs devastating wildfires were officially contained. Small leafy branches are now growing from the sides of burnt eucalyptus trees. Life finds a way.