Sam's Weekly Quarantine Digest #3: March 25, 2020

Hi all,

Hope everyone is doing well at home! Below is the full list of suggestions I’ve compiled thus far, plus a few new ones – enjoy!

-Sam
What to do with your time

• BroadwayHD is offering a limited-time free streaming subscription to access their library of Broadway performances.
• 92Y has made selections from their online archive available for free and their daily newsletter is sending out highlights (if you’d like to catch up, I can forward you a few). They’ve also been hosting free streaming concerts and talks a few times a week.
• The Metropolitan Opera is streaming live every evening at 7:30pm (and will be available for 20 hours thereafter) – you can access it through their app on most mobile/smart devices, or go to their homepage (Tip: Try the apps first, because the wait time is pretty long to get into the stream via their homepage – almost as though most people didn’t already have the app downloaded…).
• Virtual museum tours (a whole bunch of museums offer this these days – this article lists some of the most prominent ones).
• Complaining that there’s “nothing to watch” on TV/Netflix? Oral arguments in the 11th Circuit are now being livestreamed publicly. See their website here.
• A lot of artists have been streaming performances from wherever they’re quarantined, including John Legend, Chris Martin from Coldplay, and Keith urban – check out #TogetherAtHome if you’re curious.
• Baking/cooking: If you’re looking for a place to start, here is the link to my recipes from last year’s Cookie Party (I'll replace the link when I get this year's recipe collection finalized). I’m also sharing my base risotto recipe, to which you can add pretty much any produce or other ingredients you have lying around (including things like canned diced tomatoes or that pound of ground beef in the back of your freezer).
• Quarantine Bingo
• British Sports Announcer Commentating on Daily Life Activities
• Don’t forget to pull out your board games and jigsaw puzzles.  For couples, one game I think would work particularly well for two couples on Hangouts/Zoom is Codenames (also just a great group game in general if you’re quarantined with a larger group).

What to do with your mind

• Mindtravel: Guided meditation – I’d never really been able to get into meditation before, but this guy came to perform on the roofdeck of my building last summer, and his music is some of the most beautiful and soothing I’ve ever heard. Whether you’re a meditation guru or have just been wanting to dip your toe in, I highly recommend MindTravel. He has three livestreamed performances coming up this weekend: two free ones on March 27 and March 28, and a ticketed live performance (proceeds go to his foundation, which brings music to schools) on March 29.
• An article by Arianna Huffington with some cute and practical tips

What to do with your body

• A listing of free workouts
• GymPass has launched a virtual class subscription with a free 30-day trial period.
• I’ve been doing Zumba all week – if that’s also your thing, check out Refit Revolution on YouTube - they have a 19-day Covid 19 Quarantine Challenge.  Day 3 (kickboxing) was particularly great.  And for anyone with a video game system, my favorites on each of the main systems are: RingFit (Switch); EA Sports Active (Wii); and Your Shape Fitness Evolved (Xbox Kinect).  
• In addition to using your computer to stream workout videos, remember that you can toss them up on a larger screen if you have a Chromecast or a smart TV. If you’re not sure, pull up a YouTube video, hit the “Cast” icon and see if your TV shows up on your screen – you might be surprised these days.

What to do with your kids

• PBS has curated lists of freely available resources (content, activities, etc.) for parents and teachers
• Parent and teacher resources: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/parents-and-teachers/
• What's streaming: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/what-to-stream-on-pbs-nature/
• 92Y’s daily newsletter (mentioned above for entertainment purposes) also has tips for crafts and other activities specifically intended to keep kids occupied while their parents are working from home.
• This list has 125 quarantine activity ideas for kids – I’ve been tempted by a few myself!

What to do with your money

• One way to support local businesses you like is to buy gift cards – it gives them liquidity now when they need it to ride out the Covid crisis. Just remember to treat it as a donation and not to count on getting the value back later, because there is a chance that these businesses don’t survive – that’s exactly why they need your help.
• The James Beard Foundation has launched a new Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund which will give grants to small and medium independent food and beverage businesses in need during the Covid shutdown.
• DonorsChoose is an organization that allows teachers to make direct appeals for the supplies they need. There are a lot of projects now aimed at providing teachers and their students with the supplies they need to make remote teaching a reality, especially in low-income communities where the students’ families can’t afford to fund the transition. Today and tomorrow, Bill & Melinda Gates are also matching any donations made through this specific page.
• There are also many organizations that are collecting funds and supplies related to delivering medical supplies to those institutions most in need. If anyone has information about some of the best options in this area, I’d encourage you to share them! Even your new Allbirds can help donate to healthcare workers right now!