Dear Reader
We’re clocking in at over 52 days in this quarantine/shelter-in-place/isolation/lockdown thing we’re in. It’s starting to get warm in New York, and as we saw over the weekend here, it’s going to be a fraught couple of weeks ahead. People want to be outside, and get together in “social-distanced” groups, many with masks, but others without. How this plays out will further tell the story of the great pandemic of 2020. For me, I’m having to practice constantly reigning in the fears and anger. I can only do what I can do. That means living by the ethos of, ‘I take care of myself for you, you take care of yourself for me’ — I wear a mask to protect you, and I sure-to-goodness hope you wear one to protect me. Is hope enough? That, and living by example, is all I have right now.
Here is today’s list of entertainment options for these times:
1. New Zealand stuntwoman Zoe Bell brought a host of her friends together for an epic “Boss Bitch Fight Challenge” video, with the likes of Cameron Diaz, Rosie Perez, Halle Berry and a whole host of stunt women (watch here, in case you missed it). Today, Cameron talks to her stunt woman of ten years Kimberly Shannon Murphy, who was also in the video. 4pm PST/7pm EST on Cameron’s IG.
2. Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal (who’s produced for Roseanne, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Michelle Branch, among others) kick off the New York Guitar Festival today, which will be taking place at 4pm EST each day, streaming on its YouTube channel. The festival continues daily and ends May 15, with donations benefiting MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
3. Staying with music, healthcare workers will be honoured each Monday in May with live-streamed concerts, through Northwell Health's #HealthcareHeroes Concert Series will stream live on the hospital's YouTube channel at 7pm EST each Monday. First off is a DJ set by Questlove today, followed by Gavin DeGraw on May 11 and Meghan Trainor on May 18.
4. The NY Public Library has released an album of NY sounds for those of us feeling out of sorts over not hearing the subway tell us what stop this is (or the barely muffled explanation of why the train has suddenly stopped for seemingly no reason). Missing Sounds of New York: An Auditory Love Letter to New, for those who live here and those who don’t, is available on the NYPL site.
5. Here’s a #MeditationMonday tip, if you, like me, are still feeling increasingly uneasy about things. PT, yoga and spin teacher, and all-round friend of this newsletter Angel Dee Fitness is hosting what she’s dubbed a cheeky guided meditation. It’s today at 2pm BST, 9am EST. Head over to the @gotsoulevents IG Live to join the session.
Thank you for reading, subscribing and sharing. And don’t forget your mask, gloves, soap, scrubs!
Stay safe, stay sane
Your neighbour
Nadia