Dear Reader
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo keeps saying this thing is like a marathon, not a sprint. So, theoretically, I should know how to keep my spirits up. I know marathons, I do marathons often enough — I’ve done 9, I should know how to handle this. But yesterday, after 10 days of Stevie being on the ventilator, I broke down on the Brooklyn Bridge, unable to stop crying. You could say, I hit the wall of this marathon. So I did what usually helps when you hit the wall in a marathon. You let yourself get down for a few seconds and then you re-adjust — your thoughts and your time goal — and you rely on the cheers and encouragement of those around you. “You’ve got the endurance to see this through and to keep believing.” And you keep on putting one foot in front of the other.
I am so absolutely thrilled with tears of joy and relief in my eyes to report that Stevie is now off the ventilator. We got word late last night that they will be monitoring him before he can be moved out of the ICU and into another ward. I can’t thank you enough for all the positive thoughts and prayers that I know helped my friend.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
On that wonderful note, here we go with today’s online entertainment options:
1. “She was working in a bridal shop in Flushing Queens, ´Til her boyfriend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes…” If you know the rest of the lyrics to that theme song, you’ll be delighted to know that Variety is reporting the original cast of The Nanny is reuniting for a virtual table read of the pilot via Zoom, which will be posted on the Sony Pictures YouTube page the morning of Monday, April 6. I’ll be sure to remind you again on Monday.
2. To the delight of parents and fans around the world, JK Rowling announced Harry Potter at Home, aiming to put a “Banishing Charm on boredom.” It’s filled with resources for teaching but also for having fun with the series (which I still can’t believe is over 20 years old already), including the first book offered free from Audible, read by Stephen Fry.
3. The queen of surviving, Gloria Gaynor, South African singer Zolani Mahola (Freshlyground) and Jewel all join the Global Citizen’s #TogetherAtHome programme today, as does James Bay, who incidentally, has also been giving guitar lessons on Wednesdays and Fridays. Plus - Koffee, who won a Grammy earlier this year for the hit song of gratitude that’s always worth singing. You can find the details and times here.
4. Sundance, which may end up being the only big film festival that happened this year, is really doing its part to help filmmakers — and budding filmmakers — during this time. They’ve made a whole bunch of masterclasses available for free that cover everything from pitching to plotting out your first film.
5. Author Elizabeth Gilbert is going to be on TED Connects talking about how to keep moving in a crisis. 9am PST/12pm EST on Facebook Live. Given how important it is to keep moving, this one should be good.
Thank you reading — please subscribe, share, send me ideas! We’ve got this. Again, thank you so much!
Stay safe, stay sane
Your neighbour
Nadia