Maya Rushing Walker's Blog, page 2

Y’ALL I SAW A DOUBLE RAINBOW

Hey! Maybe it's common where you are, or maybe I don't pay attention, but this is what I saw!

I have a SkiErg machine, which is essentially a cross-country ski machine, next to a big picture window in my study. I was doing my cardio workout with earbuds in, watching an intense and scary show on Netflix, when I happened to glance out the window. That's the swamp over there, and there are also a bunch of small ponds down in that direction. The Merrimack River is also in that direction. So who knows where the ends of those rainbows are, but I was startled!

I rushed out into the rain to grab a pic…here I am all sweaty, bedraggled, and rain-soaked! (and the camera app turned the rainbow backwards, but oh, well!)

I promise to populate this space better as soon as I can catch my breath!

I’m starting a blog! (all over again!)

Welcome! I can't believe I'm “starting” a blog. Aren't blogs, like, so 2005?

I used to read blogs, and I mostly don't anymore. It feels too hard to try to figure out what's relevant or accurate. Also, when I am scanning my email on the go, I'm not likely to click over to a random link. Again, it's just too hard, and I believe that my phone exists to make my life easier, not harder, so I don't do anything stressful or complicated with my phone, as a rule.

And when I'm sitting at my desk, I just don't have time to relax and read things. I'm working.

I read the newsletters in my email inbox, and yes, those are sometimes also available as blog posts on those writers' websites. And I also have an email newsletter with a wonderful group of readers…but I don't put my own newsletter on my website, because those are meant to be direct conversations with people I “know.” It's quite a different thing from writing a blog post meant to be read by a wide, random audience.

So why am I starting a blog?

For fun.
To share.
To update in between newsletters.
For those joyful moments.
For sad occasions.
For a way to be social without feeling like a digital sharecropper on someone else's platform.

If you want to get to know me in any “deep” way, you'll have to read my books and join my newsletter, where I try to dig deep into the human experience on this planet.

But if you want to just see what I'm up to or to hang out with me more frequently, in a “lighter” way, my blog is where I'm being “real” in real time. Apologies to Facebook and Instagram, but it's like Facebook and Instagram, without…well, without Facebook and Instagram.

It's better than social media, because it's mine. It's not there to enrich Instagram or Twitter. And you don't have to join anything or share your personal info in order to hang with me.

I'll be posting pretty randomly, but every Wednesday I'll try to stick something more edifying in there. If you sign up for the blog feed (SO 2005!), you'll get the weekly update automatically, but I probably won't include the little snapshots and in-the-moment posts, because won't that drive you nuts? Tell me if you feel otherwise….

And on that happy note, I'm signing off on this first HEY WORLD blog post. Enjoy your week! I'm going to go out and enjoy the lilacs.

Monthly Writing Update

I'm hard at work on a novella that I started in January. Yes, January!

If you're on my list, you've already heard about it. It has a temporary name, “Charlie.” And it was intended to be a short story. But as we plunged forward into coronavirus sheltering-at-home, my concentration wasn't very good, to say the least. It was slow going. And it's not quite finished because over time it grew into a novella. I'm almost done, though. I'm hoping to get it out within a week or two (I know, I know, I keep saying that–honestly, I'm working really hard to make this happen). The cover is almost done, and I've got the title lined up. At this point, it needs tweaking, editing, and formatting, before I can release it to the world.

What's it about? Well, if you've read my second novel, Coming Home to Greenleigh, you'll recognize Beth Burnham, the main character in my small-town romance. Only this time we're back in 1995, when she's fifteen years old and trying to grapple with her father's death and her mother's unhappiness and descent into depression. “Charlie” is the name of a long-dead relative, whom she meets out in her woodshed.

I don't normally write stories with paranormal elements in them, but this idea popped into my head one day when I was out in the woodshed, grabbing wood for our woodstoves. And yes, Beth's adventure starts in just the same way.

If you're on my email list, you'll get it for free. If you're not, here's where you can sign up.

And as a gift for signing up, you can have the raw first chapter. No cover, just a PDF, directly out of my computer. It may change a bit when published, but most likely not.

Hope to see you on my list!

 

“The Weather of New England”

Here's an excerpt from an address delivered by Mark Twain at the 71st Annual Dinner of the New England Society in the City of New York. I found this in the archives of the Society because I was trying to track down the oft-repeated quote, “If you don't like the weather in New England, wait a minute,” which has been the case for us over the course of the past weeks! Many people have attributed the quote to Mark Twain but I couldn't find independent corroboration. In the course of my research, however, I found this gem of a speech by Mark Twain, on much the same subject. This text from The New York Times on December 23, 1876, courtesy of the website, www.twainquotes.com. Enjoy!

“Gentlemen: I reverently believe that the Maker who made us all, makes everything in New England – but the weather. I don't know who makes that, but I think it must be raw apprentices in the Weather Clerk's factory, who experiment and learn how in New England, for board and clothes, and then are promoted to make weather for countries that require a good article, and will take their custom elsewhere if they don't get it. [Laughter.] There is a sumptuous variety about the New England weather that compels the stranger's admiration – and regret. The weather is always doing something there; always attending strictly to business; always getting up new designs and trying them on the people to see how they will go. [Laughter.] But it gets through more business in spring than in any other season. In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours. [Laughter.] It was I that made the fame and fortune of that man that had that marvelous collection of weather on exhibition at the Centennial that so astounded the foreigners. He was going to travel all over the world and get specimens from all the climes. I said, “Don't you do it; you come to New England on a favorable spring day.” I told him what we could do, in the way of style, variety, and quantity. [Laughter.] Well, he came, and he made his collection in four days. As to variety – why, he confessed that he got hundreds of kinds of weather that he had never heard of before. And as to quantity – well, after he had picked out and discarded all that was blemished in any way, he not only had weather enough, but weather to spare; weather to hire out; weather to sell; to deposit; weather to invest; weather to give to the poor. [Laughter.] The people of New England are by nature patient and forbearing; but there are some things which they will not stand. Every year they kill a lot of poets for writing about “Beautiful Spring.” [Laughter.] These are generally casual visitors, who bring their notions of spring from somewhere else, and cannot, of course, know how the natives feel about spring. And so, the first thing they know, the opportunity to inquire how they feel has permanently gone by. [Laughter.]

Old Probabilities has a mighty reputation for accurate prophecy, and thoroughly well deserves it. You take up the papers and observe how crisply and confidently he checks off what today's weather is going to be on the Pacific, down South, in the Middle States, in the Wisconsin region; see him sail along in the joy and pride of his power till he gets to New England, and then – see his tail drop. He doesn't know what the weather is going to be like in New England. He can't any more tell than he can tell how many Presidents of the United States there's going to be next year. [Applause.] Well, he mulls over it, and by and by he gets out something about like this: Probable nor'-east to sou'-west winds, varying to the southard and westard and eastard and points between; high and low barometer, swapping around from place to place; probable areas of rain, snow, hail, and drought, succeeded or preceded by earthquakes, with thunder and lightning. [Loud laughter and applause.] Then he jots down this postscript from his wandering mind, to cover accidents: “But it is possible that the program may be wholly changed in the meantime.” [Loud laughter.]

Yes, one of the brightest gems in the New England weather is the dazzling uncertainty of it. There is only one thing certain about it, you are certain there is going to be plenty of weather. [Laughter.] A perfect grand review; but you never can tell which end of the procession is going to move first. You fix up for the drought; you leave your umbrella in the house and sally out with your sprinkling pot, and ten to one you get drowned. [Applause.] You make up your mind that the earthquake is due; you stand from under, and take hold of something to steady yourself, and the first thing you know, you get struck by lightning. [Laughter.] These are great disappointments. But they can't be helped. [Laughter.] The lightning there is peculiar; it is so convincing when it strikes a thing, it doesn't leave enough of that thing behind for you to tell whether – well, you'd think it was something valuable, and a Congressman had been there. [Loud laughter and applause.]

And the thunder. When the thunder commences to merely tune up, and scrape, and saw, and key up the instruments for the performance, strangers say, “Why, what awful thunder you have here!” But when the baton is raised and the real concert begins, you'll find that stranger down in the cellar, with his head in the ash barrel. [Laughter.]

Now, as to the size of the weather in New England – lengthways, I mean. It is utterly disproportioned to the size of that little country. [Laughter.] Half the time, when it is packed as full as it can stick, you will see that New England weather sticking out beyond the edges and projecting around hundreds and hundreds of miles over the neighboring states. [Laughter.] She can't hold a tenth part of her weather. You can see cracks all about, where she has strained herself trying to do it. [Laughter.]

I could speak volumes about the inhuman perversity of the New England weather, but I will give but a single specimen. I like to hear rain on a tin roof, so I covered part of my roof with tin, with an eye to that luxury. Well, sir, do you think it ever rains on the tin? No, sir; skips it every time. [Laughter.]

Mind, in this speech I have been trying merely to do honor to the New England weather; no language could do it justice. [Laughter.] But, after all, there are at least one of two things about that weather (or, if you please, effects produced by it) which we residents would not like to part with. [Applause.] If we hadn't our bewitching autumn foliage, we should still have to credit the weather with one feature which compensates for all its bullying vagaries – the ice storm – when a leafless tree is clothed with ice from the bottom to the top – ice that is as bright and clear as crystal; when every bough and twig is strung with ice beads, frozen dewdrops, and the whole tree sparkles, cold and white, like the Shah of Persia's diamond plume. [Applause.] Then the wind waves the branches, and the sun comes out and turns all those myriads of beads and drops to prisms, that glow and burn and flash with all manner of colored fires, which change and change again, with inconceivable rapidity, from blue to red, from red to green, and green to gold; the tree becomes a spraying fountain, a very explosion of dazzling jewels; and it stands there the acme, the climax, the supremest possibility in art or nature, of bewildering, intoxicating, intolerable magnificence! One cannot make the words too strong. [Long continued applause.]

Month after month I lay up my hate and grudge against the New England weather; but when the ice storm comes at last, I say: “There, I forgive you, now; the books are square between us; you don't owe me a cent; go, and sin no more; your little faults and foibles count for nothing; you are the most enchanting weather in the world!”

Joy for the Week Ahead 25 May 2020

We're entering a whole new phase.

When I heard about John Krasinski ending his “Some Good News” pandemic-lockdown-show on YouTube after eight episodes, I looked at the calendar and realized that I have already sent out nine versions of this newsletter. And who am I to surpass John Krasinski!

But seriously, my Monday newsletters were meant to buoy our spirits at a time when many of us were stuck inside, reading scary news coming out of Italy and New York City, and without any sense of when this would end and where we would end up. And now that we are on the other side of national and international lockdown, we have other things to contemplate. As I went about trying to collect links for you, I've seen this all over the ‘net. It's become more difficult to find pure expressions of support and common humanity, because what we all want right now is a strategy to cope with the new world out there. We're in the next phase. We're no longer hunkering down. We're trying to figure out next steps. We're all in different places, physically and mentally and emotionally, but the common thread is: what next?

So this will be the last Monday “Joy” newsletter. Please have fun with the links below, and stay tuned for my usual Friday newsletter!

Erin Bromage's “viral” blog post. Dr. Erin Bromage is a comparative immunologist at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. He's written a comprehensive blog post on how the COVID19 virus spreads. The visuals are gripping. I thought I understood how viruses spread before. After all, I've got four kids! And wash your hands, etc. is the mom's mantra, right? But no, this really hit home for me. Go read this post as you make your decisions on how to live your life this summer and beyond, until a vaccine is available.
Living in “the new normal.” In this New York Times-sponsored YouTube video, Dr. Shan Soe-Lin from the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs at Yale tells us how to live safely as we reopen our doors and go out into the community.
Remember the “BBC Dad? Back in 2017, this video clip of Professor Robert Kelly being interviewed from his home via live feed went viral as his two cute children burst into his study in order to interrupt his Very Serious Political Assessment of something-or-other. I think it's now been officially replaced by this video clip of Ayala Land Malls, Inc. CEO Janylle Tupaz being interviewed by TeleRadyo while chaos breaks out behind her.
Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Join Taika Waititi and a LOT of famous friends in reading Roald Dahl's wonderful novel, James and the Giant Peach. This is a fundraiser for Partners in Health, a global healthcare organization. If you love Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Chris and Liam Hemsworth, don't miss it!
What performing artists do. I somehow missed this back at the end of April, and here it is, the end of May! But better late than never. Here is “Bolero Juilliard,” a rendering of Maurice Ravel's Bolero by students and alumni of The Juilliard School in New York City. I was struck by both the generosity of the famous alumni in support of their younger colleagues, and the notion of being an artist during this pandemic. What would we do without art? When we are left with ourselves, we need art. Kudos to the artists who keep working even when they can't see the audience or hear the applause.
Last but not least. Recreating that epic final dance from “Dirty Dancing.” Dancer and photographer Quinn Wharton did all of this by himself, and every shot from the movie is recreated! Human creativity always wins, no matter what hardship you impose on it.

Please stick around for the Friday newsletter, which isn't a list of joy, but it's on point with what I do…write stories! I do try to include joyous writing-related tidbits, like this one (I saved it for the end of this newsletter because it had me rolling on the floor laughing…and if you love it like I do, you DEFINITELY need to stay on for the Friday books newsletter! Please tell me you think this is funny! (shout-out to Teri Case, whose sense of humor has kept me giggling!)

Have a good week!

Joy for the Week Ahead 18 May 2020

We're seeing some of our retail businesses open up very cautiously, and some restaurants are offering outdoor service. My local indie bookstore has created a complicated system of appointments, masks, and assigning a staff member to assist each shopper. And in nearby Massachusetts, which has suffered a lot, there is also some limited opening up of businesses this week and next.

Since all the different countries and states are doing different things at different times, we'll have to make our own well-informed decisions about whether we want to resume haircuts, workouts at the gym, and eating at restaurants. I think self-care plays an important part of the decision-making process, because we will have a hard time making good choices for ourselves and our families if we are stressed out and upset all the time. So even though I feel I need to keep up with the flow of information about the virus, I also need to temper that with positive experiences as much as I can. A positive experience, for me, can be as simple as taking a picture of a beautiful flower blooming in my yard.

I randomly found a lot of financial help links for this newsletter, and if you are one of the lucky ones who doesn't need it, please consider a donation to Full Cart.

Money concerns. It's an understatement to say that most of us are probably really worried about money right now. Unless you're so wealthy that a huge recession won't touch you, a pandemic-induced drop in economic activity is going to negatively affect everyone in some way. If you're looking for advice or information on getting a job, budgeting, mortgage payments, or anything even remotely in the realm of making ends meet, check out The Penny Hoarder.
For U.S. residents: public assistance. If you are in the U.S. and receive public assistance benefits such as SNAP, this app is what you need. It's called Fresh EBT, and you can check your balance, find coupons to “clip,” and get information about other types of assistance that may be available for your situation. There is also a limited pandemic-related opportunity to qualify for $1000 of no-strings-attached assistance to families who are in dire need. The Fresh EBT company has teamed up with a charitable organization to provide these grants, but the application for the grant is being sent randomly to Fresh EBT users. There's no way to access an application except through the app, and the application will appear randomly when funds are available. More information is available here. But if you are struggling and you are living in the U.S., please go to the Fresh EBT site for information on whether you qualify for aid.
Where to find emergency resources for COVID19-related hardship. This is a mostly U.S.-centric enormous list of resources. You can look for regionally-specific assistance, assistance for people working in the arts sectors, and business-oriented assistance. At the very bottom of the list are a few international resources.
Food aid. If you could use a free bag of groceries due to COVID19, go to  Full Cart . You'll see that there are two buttons on the home page, one for donations and one for free groceries. If you don't need free groceries and have a little bit of wiggle room on your bills this this, please consider a donation. When you click the button, you'll see several options for donations. It is shocking to be reminded that just $15 will feed a family this week.
Children's Storytime. Looking for something to amuse the kids? Barack and Michelle Obama do a session of the Chicago Public Library's “Live from the Library” and read The Word Collector, by Peter H. Reynolds. And wow, I just heard of this: readings from the Harry Potter books on the Wizarding World website! If you (or your young friends!) haven't explored this website yet, it'll take you a long time to get through all the fun stuff here!
Last but not least. I cried during this poem. It's just four minutes. I promise it has an uplifting message. From “Probably Tom Foolery,” a filmmaker on YouTube. If you're curious, like I was, about this incredible work, read this interview from the Washington Post.

I know that this list is a bit of a jumble. I just didn't want anyone in need to feel forgotten, so I started with the most basic of needs, food. I usually talk a lot about the arts, but we all need to eat, even the artists.

Have a good week!

Joy for the Week Ahead 11 May 2020

Are the numbers looking better in your part of the world? I hope so. Many communities are opening up a little bit over the course of the next few weeks. I have not left my house in six or seven weeks now. Perhaps some of you are the same. Perhaps others have been working the front lines, in grocery stores, hospitals, or delivery vehicles. Whichever category fits you, thank you for your generous sacrifices. If you are sheltering at home, you are protecting yourself and others. If you are working in the community, you are making it possible for others to continue to have access to goods and services. None of us is going to escape the consequences of this pandemic, so whatever your role, I deeply appreciate it. Mine is apparently to stay home and to stay away from others, while continuing to support my community with my dollars as best as I can while helping to end the spread of the virus. Whatever your role is, I hope you know that it’s important and valued.

I think COVID19 fatigue has entered the mainstream, because it’s actually becoming more difficult to find joyous, generous offerings online nowadays. Everyone is tired of all of this. Of course, this means we need it even more!

Masks. Are you looking for mask supplies, patterns, or guidance? Jo-Ann Fabrics has a comprehensive mask-making resource. Many Jo-Ann stores are open for curbside pickup if you order online!
Do you have a library card? Do you have access to ebooks via your local library? I discovered that some library systems will let you get a card without actually going to the library…you can do it online! Here’s a good guide to help you do that. Also, I was able to get a second library card in a different library system because we have a rental property in another state. The book selection and waiting times are different in different systems, so if you have access to another community system, you can have double the options.
Online library access part two. Some library systems also offer non-residents access to their ebook catalogue! You may have to pay to subscribe, but given how much it costs to buy books online (and the risk that you might hate the book and waste your money on a bad read), it might be worth it to you to pay the annual fee in order to borrow. Here’s a list.
Online library access part three. Don’t forget the Internet Archive. You can sign up for a library card right on the website (upper right-hand corner) and borrow scanned copies of books from the participating libraries. Especially useful for old books that aren’t in print as well as school books. They also offer other media, such as films, television, and audio.
Free art lessons. There are lots of online art “schools” but this one is amazing. I’ve watched YouTube tutorials but the tons of good stuff at The Virtual Instructor is only available by paid membership. However, in order to help out art teachers and students who have to teach and study at home right now, The Virtual Instructor has made a collection of its classes free. They are also available to the rest of us who are not students or teachers. Drawing and working with art materials is a wonderful contemplative activity when times are stressful. Check out this generous gift here. The links to the free coursework are in the video description.
Last but not least. I used to research and read reviews before buying things online. I don’t anymore. First of all, I’ve figured out that many reviews are bogus (the best word for a review that’s not real). Second, I don’t want to read a rant or a gush, I just want facts. So I turn to Wirecutter. It’s a review website that supports itself by earning a few pennies when you click one of their links (you don’t pay extra, the seller does). When I need to buy something, I go to Wirecutter, find the expert article, scroll down to their recommendation, and click. End of story. So if you’re looking for specific ways to solve coronavirus-related problems, here’s their comprehensive list of carefully researched and vetted solutions. So before you cut anyone’s hair (including your own!), check Wirecutter! (Yes, there is an article on that!)

Thank you so much to everyone who writes in to say hello! I am honored to have the opportunity to say something to an audience of devoted readers.

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Joy for the Week Ahead 4 May 2020

It's May! Here in New England, the news is still grim. In some of the less populated areas, it never got that bad, but my friends in the Boston area are still struggling. My heart goes out to everyone out there who has been knocked off their footing by the pandemic. If you are feeling sad, anxious, and wondering when this will end, I hope that I can help by providing some useful information and distraction every Monday.

Here are a few tidbits from all over the internet over the past few days.

Free masks. Dhvani is an athletic wear company that decided to use its production capacity to produce hundreds of millions of masks. If you sign up, they'll send you one for free. The mask initiative is funded by donations, so they ask for donations if you are able to give, but no donation is required. They have an explanatory video on their free mask initiative page. Note, if you are a healthcare worker, they will send you a medical grade mask!
Massive yoga resource. I've recommended a few workout and yoga apps and YouTube channels, but I hadn't heard of this one: Do Yoga With Me. It's a huge site, with a membership option if you want access to premium content, but also a lot of free material. The members-only videos are designated by a “+” sign in the corner. Right now, they are offering two months free if you want to try them out and see if the membership is worth it. They also offer guided meditations and challenges to spice things up. My favorite (maybe because I'm such a beginner!) remains Yoga With Adriene, which is free on YouTube and organized under categories such as “Yoga Practices by Length,” “Yoga for Beginners,” “Yoga for Back Pain,” etc. But if you're an experienced yogi, then you might want something with more variety and with built-in community. If so, try the Do Yoga With Me site.
My first Dr. Becky YouTube channel recommendation. If you are interested in space, stars, planets, and anything to do with astronomy or astrophysics, this is the channel for you! It's also a great channel for precocious science-oriented kids. Dr. Becky Smethurst is an Oxford astrophysicist with a fascinating and busy YouTube channel, on subjects like black holes, stars, and the meaning of Brian May's doctoral dissertation (yes, Brian May of the group Queen!). Science professionals who are also fantastic educators are so hard to find. We have a couple of powerful telescopes and have always loved star-gazing, so I'll be bookmarking this channel.
My second Dr. Becky YouTube channel recommendation. This YouTube channel is completely different from the previous Dr. Becky channel! This one is from Dr. Becky Gillaspy, whose specialty is diet, health, and weight loss, especially for people after the age of fifty. Are you feeling the physical effects of lockdown as weight gain, snacking, or unhealthy eating in general? Dr. Becky has videos on stress eating, boosting the immune system, and how to use tools such as low-carb eating and intermittent fasting to train your body to burn fat.
Drawing as therapy. I've always wanted to learn to draw better. My mind is very visual, and I often feel that if I drew my thoughts I would be able to make better sense of them. I'm a photographer, but using photos as note-taking is cumbersome. Ingrid Lill is a business consultant who uses illustration to help her clients brainstorm and create visual branding; she also runs weekly open drawing classes on Zoom, and offers a free drawing mini-course.
Live streams and virtual concerts to watch. Brought to you by Billboard Magazine, this list is updated frequently. Check out the May 15 Instagram/Facebook live concert for 2020 graduates who have had their graduations canceled. Oprah Winfrey is the commencement speaker!
Last but not least. If you are looking for something amazing to watch for a couple of hours straight, try this: Take Me to the World, a Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration. All the greats are performing from their lockdown locations…Neil Patrick Harris, Sutton Foster, Lin Manuel Miranda, and the list goes on. Donate if you can, relax and enjoy the amazing talent of these performing professionals even if you can't.

I'm sorry that this list comes out so late in the day on Mondays. I work really hard on it all day Monday and I'd love to have it available earlier in the day for you so that it is truly a positive start to your week, but this is what I can manage! Please send me your suggestions–have you seen something amazing recently anywhere on the ‘net? This is the best way for all of us to connect right now, so if you've found a joyful internet gem, please share!

Joy for the Week Ahead 27 April 2020

Some of you are in places where things are opening up, and you are cautiously venturing out of your homes, perhaps returning to places of work or making decisions about whether to patronize businesses that have opened. There are changes everywhere, and no consistency in the recommendations from doctors and political leaders.

Despite the arguments offline and online about how and when and where to take the next step, there is no one single correct answer. If you feel exhausted from the mental gymnastics of making the “right” decision, be assured that there is no perfect choice. We're all doing the best we can to figure it out as we go along. In order to move forward in the most productive, positive way possible, I indulge freely in any moment of joy if it happens my way!

Once more, Ten Percent Happier. Free access to a wonderful meditation app for all people working in healthcare (broadly defined–anyone who works in any kind of healthcare role, whether you are a cleaner or a nurse or a driver or are in any way connected to caring for people during this crisis) and all people who are grocery-related or food-related workers (drivers, cashiers, cleaners, anyone who helps keep us fed in any way). Even if you don't meditate per se, this is a great tool for bouts of anxiety or fear, and there are even short recorded “talks” geared to help you with the self-care that is necessary right now. If you aren't a worker in either of those capacities, the daily 3 p.m. live chat is accessible to all (the recordings are also available).
Music for hard times. My father was from Mississippi, and I have clear memories of him singing, “Hey, Good Lookin'” by Hank Williams when he was in a good mood. He loved Hank. I'm not a country music person, but one of my teenagers recently told me that the Hank Williams album, Turn Back the Years: The Essential Hank Williams Collection (Spotify link; you can create a free Spotify account! You can also listen on Pandora, Apple Music, and Amazon Prime Music) is her go-to album for “soothing” music. I asked her why it was “soothing” given that Hank grew up during the Great Depression and World War II, and she replied that the songs are filled with empathy for hard times. I learn something every day from my kids! This is a wonderful collection. The acoustic instruments are lovely, and the storytelling feels like these are people I could know. Lesson: human beings have beat back despair repeatedly, since the beginning of time.
Music specifically for isolation. This piece is radically different from Hank Williams' album! Ryuichi Sakamoto, a Japanese composer known for soundtracks such as The Revenant and The Last Emperor, improvised a piece for the people of Wuhan, China in February. The video of his performance is now available on YouTube because so many more people all over the world are in isolation now. The music can sound a bit eerie and mystical, but it's also very calming, and lovely to have in the background if you are working on the computer.
MoMa.co.uk. This is the “Museum of Many Artists,” where you can buy and sell art from all over the world. If you are an artist or in a field like graphic arts or design, you will want to look at this list of “Public Domain Images for Artists.” These collections are free of copyright for you to use, but do read the individual collection's requirements carefully, as they are from different countries and have slightly different interpretations of what constitutes public domain use. But the depth of this list is staggering! If you're looking for an artwork to riff off, it's in here for sure…everything from the Smithsonian to the British Library to the Yale Museums.
Our Daily Breather, from National Public Radio. NPR asks artists how to find calm during the pandemic. The result: recipes, book recommendations, new songs, and unusual movies to watch, among other interesting suggestions.


Last but not least. My local indie theatre presents: The Best of Cat Video Fest. Pay whatever you want for forty minutes of cat joy! Proceeds will support my local (closed for COVID19) indie theater, Red River Theatres in Concord, New Hampshire. Thank you!

I kept thinking that as we got more answers, things would get easier. In fact, things feel harder, now that we know that the transition back to in-person living is going to be difficult. We need each other more than ever right now. Let's be kind, to each other and to ourselves.

Joy for the Week Ahead 20 April 2020

In the early weeks of this crisis, I had lots of helpful and/or joyous links to pass along to you. This week it was a bit harder to put this list together. Why? Well, I think we're beginning to hit saturation. I've now got a routine, and I'm not noticing much outside of it. Whereas in the beginning I was concerned about addressing fear and the unknown, I'm now used to the fear and the unknown. But that's not a good way to be. Numbness is bad for us. We're apparently re-watching things we've already watched and listening to things we already know. While I understand the urge to hibernate and seek refuge in comfort food, extended periods of numbness can't be a good way to go on into the future.

So I urge you to shake things up a little bit this week if you can. Don't let this be the new normal. Look forward to something different. We don't know what it is, but we can handle it. Try something you've never read or listened to or watched. Do something that's outside of your usual.

Once more, Dr. Judson Brewer. I've recommended Dr. Jud's meditations before (he has helpful free and discounted tools to fight COVID19-related anxiety on his website) but I hadn't realized that he offers daily YouTube videos to help with anxiety. The playlist is called “Coronavirus Anxiety: Daily Update” and features short videos addressing what you might be feeling right now.
Humans of New York. Started in 2010 by photographer Brandon Stanton, Humans of New York is full of stories of the people he has interviewed and photographed, not just in New York, but everywhere. Warning, once you start reading (or scrolling, you can keep up with his stories via Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter) you won't be able to stop. Fresh, relatable, fascinating stories from the lives of ordinary people.
An uplifting poem from America's inaugural Youth Poet Laureate. Harvard University senior Amanda Gorman recites her poem, “The Miracle of Morning,” courtesy of CBS This Morning. There is a brief ad at the beginning and a sudden burst of music in the middle, but I think even our very experienced national networks are struggling to put together and edit material shot during these social distancing times! Food for thought…I don't know what Ms. Gorman's plans for the future are, but it's wicked brave for a bright young person to publicly take on the mantle of “poet” nowadays. And what would we all do without the poets?
Global Big Day is coming. Every year, the Cornell Lab keeps track of bird sightings on a single day in May. Last year's Global Big Day was on May 4; this year the Big Day is May 9. You can participate, no matter where you are, no matter whether you are housebound or able to get outdoors. The Cornell Ornithology people want to know where and what the birds are! And by participating, you are connecting to a worldwide community of bird watchers as well as contributing to science. All you have to do is sign up. Then on May 9 keep track of what you see and type it into the website or into their free app. If you need help identifying the birds, they offer an absolutely wonderful free app for exactly that purpose. We use it all the time! It's called Merlin Bird ID, and with it you can identify birds by song, color, geographic area, etc. Then watch the Big Day page for sighting results. It's more exciting than the way it sounds, I promise. With the drop in industrial activity right now, there may be some fascinating results this year, a truly silver lining to a very cloudy spring.
Last but not least. Keep your spirits up, everyone. Here's a tweet from Boston.

I hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Remember that seemingly healthy people may have the virus and never get sick! Let's stamp this thing out.