We share a couple personal stories before going into the main topic in this one.

Personal Stories

include…

• A different kind of lockdown. 12-days of air quality that ranged from Hazardous to Very Unhealthy in Portland, Oregon as historically huge climate wildfires rage across the West Coast.

• Citizen action. Contacting 12 lawmakers in one morning, inspired by The Notorious R.B.G.; Rest In Peace, in Power, and in Love to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Personal Entertainment in the Age of COVID-19

Topics include…

• the Zoom hangout vs. the in-person hangout

• watching movies with friends…using Zoom (not as weird as we thought)

• Black Mirror episode “San Junipero”

• live-streamed concerts: in an unexpected paradox, these ‘virtual’ events bring performers and audience members closer than traditional live concerts can

• Indigo Girls: songs we’ve been delighted to witness during live-streamed performances include “Crazy Game,” “Ghost,” and “Love Will Come To You”

• live albums elicit nostalgia for the communal experience of in-person entertainment

• creating playlists as entertainment, self-care, and solidarity

  • #Resist: Protest Songs for We The People (on Apple Music & Spotify) – This playlist is folk-rock-Americana-pop that sings to secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and Our Posterity. The songs embody the idealism, individualism and collectivism, the reverence, grit, and lament in every heart that fights for a government of, by, and for, We The People. Suggested use: Play, don't shuffle, at least on your first listen. There's an intended flow to this playlist. #LongLiveTheUnion

  • Fried Green Tomatoes: Real Sounds from Imaginary Whistle Stop (on Apple Music & Spotify) – Welcome to a place of love, humor, and heartache much like our own; where we wish things were different, but they aren’t, so we help each other through the best we know how. These are songs and sounds referred to in "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe," by Fannie Flagg.

• 7-hour Flight to Nowhere by Quantas Airlines sells out instantly (Australian lose their damn minds)

• David Blaine’s performance art piece: Ascension