Social Distancing [#91]
Wow.
I just got back from New York, where the difference between Wednesday (before everything shut down) and Thursday (when America shut down) felt stark and scary. Every time President Trump speaks publicly, I feel my entire body tense up. "Normal" will be an entirely new one by the time this pandemic's curve is flattened.
Thankfully I got a new kitten, Abe Lincoln Hu-Stiles, since cats are a must-have if you're gonna be working from home indefinitely.
Read
The appeal of watching a fictional pandemic during a real pandemic. A comprehensive post on SARS2/COVID19 that I found helpful. Life in China's lockdown. Judy Blume's timeless advice to parents. The science on not what you say, but how you say things. The scourge of corporate speak. End the GOP. Will the millennial aesthetic ever end? The premise of empathy has to be equal humanity. Sexism is so exhausting that we forget to be indignant about it. American boys and their problematic sexual educations. What exactly happened on Natalie Maines' boat? (h/t Reeve) The obit for the man who invented cut, copy and paste. Move over cheese boards, pancake boards are where it's at. And I'm serious everyone: step up your wanking to combat this pandemic.
Werk and Musings
How to live a more Bong Joon Ho life, according to Bong Joon Ho, is something I wanted to write just for fun. I also reviewed a book of essays about the Asian-American experience that resonated deeply. And my book proposal is finally finished, so we went to meet with interested publishers this week. It felt steadying to talk about big ideas in the midst of a roiling, anxiety-producing crisis. Big shoutout to Dan Sinker who took it upon himself to check in on me at routine intervals, to make sure I didn't stop writing.
Watch and/or Listen
These are all gonna be slightly melancholy, which suit my mood:
The Parasite soundtrack while you're working from home
Will Arnett: I've been doing that LA hiking thing.
Dax Shepherd: What's that?
Will Arnett: Hiking. ... Well, people call it hiking, but really it's just going for a walk.
Be well, people. Take care of yourselves and one another.
E