As we head into the weekend, below are the latest additions to “Stuck at Home Doesn’t Have to Mean Bored at Home.”
The purpose of the original post and these updates is to provide ideas for maintaining some quality of life while on lock down. Note that the original post is updated regularly to contain all of the suggestions, including the updates; these separate (now weekly) update posts are intended to provide an easy way to know what’s new. (I know that these posts are entirely unrelated to the general subject matter of the blog. But, given the circumstances and that I have received a surprising number of appreciative comments about it, I plan to continue for the foreseeable future.)
If you have found things not on my list that others may benefit from, please send them to me, and I will include them in the next update.
In the meantime, enjoy! . . .
Friends and family
MIT Technology Review’s The Download found some a resource for the older generation who needs some technology help to get video conferencing up and running: Bernd Karlsboeck’s very helpful guidance in “Remote user test methods could save seniors from isolation.”
Home Not Alone (with Kids)
Fracture (a company offers excellent quality glass prints of your photographs) ran a “photography scavenger hunt” last week that your kids can do anytime. The full list of prompts is available here. While Fracture’s scavenger hunt involved letters, you can make your own with all different types of prompts. (And check back at the fracture blog to see if they run another one.)
Depending how old your kids are, they may be prime age for “Sir David Attenborough To Teach Geography To The Nation’s Children, Starting Today.”
Aquariums, Zoos & Museums
The Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam) is streaming live tours on Instagram every Friday at 2 pm (CET) and accepts questions through the comments.
The Frick Collection has a wonderful program called “Cocktails with a Curator,” which they describe as follows: “The Frick is concocting the perfect mix of cocktails and art. Every Friday at 5:00 p.m., join us for happy hour as a Frick curator (remotely) offers insights on a work of art with a complementary cocktail. Bring your own beverage to this virtual event. Audiences under 21 are encouraged to join with a non-alcoholic drink.”
The New York Times has a new article, “Now Virtual and in Video, Museum Websites Shake Off the Dust,” with good suggestions and some background information to all of these projects.
Games (without the Board or Boredom)
If you need to know how to play boardgames remotely, the New York Times offers some advice in “Classic Board Games With a Touch of Tech.”
Education
Interested in some college courses? “Here are 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free.”
One of my favorite pre-COVID-19 educational activities was One Day University, which “brings together professors from the finest universities in the country to present special versions of their very best lectures – LIVE.” Well, like many others, they are now live streaming their amazing programing.
Music
The BBC arranged for a group of renowned artists to cover the Foo Fighter’s “Times Like These” and released it as a single. In alphabetical order, the artists are: 5 Seconds of Summer; AJ Tracey; Anne-Marie; Bastille; Biffy Clyro; Celeste Chris Martin of Coldplay; Dermot Kennedy; Dua Lipa; Ellie Goulding; Foo Fighters; Grace Carter; Hailee Steinfeld; Jess Glynne; Mabel; Paloma Faith; Rag’n’Bone Man; Rita Ora; Royal Blood; Sam Fender; Sean Paul; Sigrid; YUNGBLUD; and Zara Larsson. International proceeds will go to the WHO’s COVID-19-Solidarity Response Fund.
Cooking, Cookies, and Other Food Options
In need of coffee? Have a look at wirecutter’s favorite places to order coffee online.
If you like cheese (I can’t imagine who doesn’t), how can you improve it? Well, several years ago, friends (from Switzerland) exposed us to Switzerland’s (and France’s) best kept secret: Raclette. (Okay, maybe it’s not so secret, but it is amazing.) Basically, heat cheese, put it on a starch (usually French bread or small potatoes), and add side dishes to taste (cornichons, pickled jalapeños, broccoli, you get the point). You’ll need a reaclette maker (there are different types), cheese, bread, and the add-ons. For more information, see Raclette Corner. Enjoy!
Don’t feel like making a big production out of your cheese? How about some cheese you can enjoy room temperature with wine (or any other way you like it)? The Cheese Shop of Salem, Massachusetts, has tons of great cheeses, related products, and great staff and advice – and they offer curb-side pick up, local delivery, or shipping (if you’re not nearby). We just ordered a ton!
Pubs and Dining Out (Virtually)
This is a new category and will see where it goes! But, I just learned that the Green King Brewery in England (which runs, among others, the Eagle in Cambridge, England in the 16th-century coaching inn where DNA was discovered) has begun a virtual pub called “The Lock Inn.”
Photography
Fracture has all sorts of terrific photography-related ideas on their “fracture blog,” including on-line photography courses, mistakes to avoid, Paris museums making over 100,000 high resolution images available to the public, scavenger hunts (see above in the Home Not Alone (with Kids) section), and more.
Still bored? Check out Bored Panda’s, “50 Fascinating Pics Of Rarely Seen Things.”
Travel (Virtually)
If you feel like seeing New York City isn’t enough of a NY fix, how about listening to it? “How Does a New Yawker Tawk?”
News that Doesn’t Suck
“People Are Sharing Stories About Their Dumbest Dogs And We Love Them.” Need I say more?
Random / Other Lists
On the lowering-the-bar theme, I had been wondering whether to stand when speaking (as we do in court), but then saw this, “Florida judge: Get out of bed, get dressed for Zoom hearings,” and realized that whether lawyers stand up “in court” is not really the court’s primary concern at this point.
Thrillist has come through again with “Everything You Can Do in Boston This Weekend” (the weekend of April 25/26, starting today of course, April 24).
Finally,
How about some in-home gymnastics?
And, do you miss Tom Lehrer and Allan Sherman? Then try this guy’s (DanielMatarazzo) rendition of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious COVID style.
For a day in the COVID-19 life, see enjoy…