Sam's Weekly Quarantine Digest #9: May 6, 2020

Hi all,

This week's digest is chock full of culture! There continue to be an enormous number of organizations bringing their art online and sharing it with the world for free. There are also a bunch more recipes from iconic eateries that have been shared with the world, and therefore also with you.

I've also been reflecting on what it means to be and to feel connected, especially after reading this article. Although I miss connecting with my friends and family in all the familiar ways, and I wonder when I'll next be able to get a hug from anyone other than my husband, it's also pretty incredible to look at the new ways in which the digital world allows us to interact. This Sunday, I'll be celebrating Mother's Day with my family - but instead of only including the usual suspects from the Tri-State Area, we'll have family members who usually can't be present (like my in-laws in Alaska!) joining us in exactly the same way as everyone else. This past weekend, I was feeling a bit sad because I was supposed to be in Barcelona, about to embark on a two-week cruise with my parents and my husband - but instead, I did a puzzle that really captured the essence of Barcelona, and I took a virtual tour of Sagrada Familia, which just might be my favorite place on Earth. My regular brunches with one of my life-long best friends has been moved to Google Hangouts, and my husband's close friends from college all hang out on Zoom every other Saturday night, with kids or cocktails or games depending on our mood.

I know that the transition online has not been seamless for many of us, so please reach out if you need some tips or some technological tutoring. I'm also always available for a video chat or a phone call if you'd like to hang out - sometimes it can be hard to say "I'm lonely." So I'll say it for you - I'm feeling lonely, and I'd be thrilled to talk to you any time. I am always just an email, text, phone call, or Zoom invite away.

Previous digests can be found on my blog at thatsthewaythecookiecrumbles.com. If you have suggestions or would like to stop receiving these emails, just let me know.

Best,
Sam


Take Care of Your MindThe Arts

• The American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is hosting an online fundraising performance called ABT: Together Tonight at 7pm on May 12th.
• The Public Theater is also hosting an online fundraising performance called We Are One Public (hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson) on June 1st.
• 92Y is making Nora & Delia Ephron's acclaimed Love, Loss, and What I Wore available to stream, from now through May 25th. Tune in here.
• Playing Animal Crossing? If you're looking for some more high-brow decor for your avatar's home, check out the game's collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art here! You can choose from over 406,000 works to hang on your virtual wall. I'm sorry, maybe you didn't notice that number: that's more than four hundred and six THOUSAND works of art!
• The Guggenheim has made over 200 art books available for download. These exhibition catalogs are being offered completely free of charge.
• Fancy yourself an art connoisseur, but don't have any training? MoMA has made a number of online art classes available through Coursera.
• Miss your concert-going days? Does great music relax you? Want to piss off that neighbor who's been making loud noises early every morning? Book Concerts from Cars to come play a 15-minute show on the street outside your building - they wear masks and play from in or near their cars, and they keep the performances short to avoid drawing a crowd.
• I haven't mentioned this one since my first Quarantine Digest, so I thought I'd recirculate it: The Metropolitan Opera is continuing nightly performance livestreams. This week includes La Nozze di Figaro and La Bohème.

Other Entertainment Options

• Looking for a new rabbit hole to jump down? Check out this list of weird and fascinating Wikipedia articles that will have your head spinning and will make you want to click every link.
• The U.S. Supreme Court began broadcasting its oral arguments this week, beginning with a trademark case this past Monday where even Justice Thomas joined in the virtual fun with multiple questions for both sides. You can find the audio streams at cspan.org, and the arguments are being followed by breakdowns led by experts in the relevant fields. Six more cases are on the docket next week - you can see the full schedule here.

Coping Strategies

• Are you a student in law school? (Spoiler alert: I know a bunch of you are.). The NYSBA is offering two webinars targeted at current law school students. One focuses on tips for paying off your student loans, and the other includes general coping strategies and advice for navigating the uncertainty of these crazy times. Both are free for NYSBA law student members.
• If you've been feeling down, check out the wonderful website called Stuck at Home, Together from The Foundation for Art & Healing and The Unlonely Project.

Take Care of Your Stomach

• Tomorrow (Thursday), the Cheesecake Factory will be hosting an online cooking class featuring their Lemon Ricotta Pancakes and Chicken & Broccoli Pasta. Tune in on Facebook Live at 4pm EDT.
• Missing the classic NYC food experiences? Check out these iconic recipes from Junior's Cheesecake and Shake Shack!
• The Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA has shared its chocolate chip cookie recipe.
• Eataly is now delivering through Caviar, Uber Eats, and DoorDash. Check out the details and place an order here.

Take Care of Your Friends

• Call three people this week and tell them why you love them, respect them, or miss them. Imagine how you'd feel getting that call!
• Have a friend with a birthday or anniversary coming up, or someone who just needs a little love right now? Try sending them the gift of self-care: bath bombs, a tea sampler or chocolates, puzzles and games, an art set, or anything else you know they love. Not only will it cheer them up, but they'll think of you every time they reach for those items, which can really help dispel the loneliness we're all feeling right now.
• The Resolution Project, an organization I've been involved with for over a decade (Oliver, can you believe it's been that long?!), is hosting a day of gratitude, positive news, and giving, called Giving AMPlified, on May 18th, in honor of the 518 Resolution Fellows who are continuing to undertake their life-changing work during this crisis. Check out the details of the event and the incredible work of this organization here.