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pandemic

Holding on to Hope: Ways to Cope in the Face of a Pandemic

“These are mad times we live in. Mad!”    These words, spoken by Professor Slughorn in The Half-Blood Prince, have been tumbling around in my head for weeks. In the film (and perhaps the book, I don’t recall), Slughorn relays this message to Dumbledore as the imminent threat of Lord Voldemort grows stronger. In this story, the imminent threat is COVID- 19, rather than an extremely powerful wizard.    I don’t know that there is a “chosen one” to defeat COVID-19 as Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, but I do find comfort in knowing some of the smartest folks in the world are working on a vaccine. In the meantime, the rest of us are scrambling to find relief from the madness and hope in the days to come.      This is why I am writing today. I want to share the ways I am finding peace and stillness. Most of all, I want you to know you are not alone.     Pandemic    I have been feeling more than a little overwhelmed in the past weeks as the reality of what is happening in the world has sunk in - and I know…
Score: 1.25

Quarantine Playlist – Songs to Listen to While Stuck at Home

by CFC123

Music, with all its transcendent power, can help us through some tough times. For some, music helps those who need to assuage their anxieties caused by depression. Other times, it can just be for a troublesome problem sweeping the nation.   Since we all are experiencing that similar problem right now, let’s dive into some good music to help alleviate everyone’s cooped-up feelings. Skip to the right mood for you, or ride the whole wave beginning to end (I promise it will leave you will a hopeful ending).   Now presenting, your new QUARANTINE PLAYLIST for 2020!   If you’re feeling "Cold and Isolated"       “Station to Station” – David Bowie      The first avant-rock foray for David Bowie pulls the listener into his uniquely devised world, at once inviting and alienating to outsiders. Atmospheric sound gives way to a grooving rock riff replete with major key melodies, contrasting beautifully with Bowie’s alluring harmonized vocals and mysterious lyrics.   Bowie knows better than almost any rock star how…
Score: 1.25

Watch These Movies While Stuck at Home!

by CFC123

Bored at home?  Looking for something to watch, but tired of cycling through the same Netflix options?   For those of you who have already burned through your queue, it's time to start looking for rentals, a nearly extinct concept in 2020.        Fear not, because there are plenty of exceptional films out there that are not on popular streaming services. This article is meant to dig into a few good choices that you might not have already thought of.    Explore these overlooked gems today, then go visit your local video rental store (once they reopen, of course)!       Malcolm X Directed by Spike Lee (1992)      When the end credits begin to roll, viewers will be shocked at the conciseness of this almost 3-1/2 hour movie. So much is left out in the open when Malcolm X (played spot-on by Denzel Washington) gets assassinated, you feel ready for more details to be filled in. Lee aims to keep us laser-focused on Malcolm X, balancing a film that feels full but not overstuffed, brief but not insignificant, and…
Score: 1.01

Feel-Good Songs to Boost Your Immune System

by CFC123

Music has properties that defy human understanding.  Why a collection of notes and sounds can mean so much to people confounds scientists and sociologists to this day. In some incredible studies, music has even exhibited the ability to keep people healthy.       In these articles, we see that the “immune-boosting” properties of music are worth investigating. So without further ado, here is the Immune Booster Playlist, which taps into the various feel-good moods that music can inspire. Listen and help yourself through the tough times – it can only help!     Bruce Springsteen – “Born to Run” (1975)    Since its release, Springsteen’s “Born to Run” has been a signature song for motivating empowerment, an enthusiastic grasp at taking on the world. It’s desperate, life-affirming, and undeniably exhilarating, even after almost five decades and millions of listens. The song instantly bursts with energy, grabbing hold of the listener with its legendary guitar hook and never letting up.    Metronomy –…
Score: 1.22

Best Summer Zoom Hangout Albums

by CFC123

Meet up with friends over Zoom and enjoy some of the best music of the 2000s, for gatherings of any occasion! Find your favorite genres and styles below, match the vibe, and let these great records spin. With a little something for everyone, check out the list below and let your tastes be heard!      I'm all about the classic HIP-HOP sound, both from the old guys and the modern greats. I've heard all the best out there, and I want my rappers to be......brash and cocky   Jay-Z – American Gangster      American Gangster may not be the best Jay-Z album, but it contains that undeniable East Coast "cool" quality that will please anyone worn out on The Blueprint and The Black Album. This record moves briskly with bravado as Shawn Carter raps about the struggle of the New York gangster lifestyle, drifting through a semi-conceptual story of the rise and fall of the American Gangster. Though Jay-Z frequently goes into a confessional mood on this album, he never leaves too much space between his typical…
Score: 1.06

Freelance Writing in a Post-COVID-19 World

    How long will the shadow of the Corona Virus pandemic darken future history?   We do not know. Therefore, there's no way to know how much I should exposit COVID-19 in this here paragraph. Obviously, if I'm talking to readers in the short term, you're all sick of hearing about it. But did the pandemic gets cured by, say, 2021? Do I have to go back over what it was like for audiences in the 2030s? Or is it indelibly ground into the pages of history textbooks like the 1918 Spanish Flu was?  Just from this point, you can already see how Corona Virus affects media. There are things we could normally talk about that we can't talk about now. In my freelance online writing career spanning its third decade now, I've seen disruptions that I never would have seen before. Yet insight from my experience has helped me maintain a grip on the situation, and I'll start bypassing some of these aphorisms on to you:    Disaster-Proof Freelance Axioms:      #1: Money always goes SOMEWHERE.  No matter how much the…
Score: 1.38

The COVID-19 Investigation : Drastic Times Call For D.R.A.S.T.I.C. Measures?

     Your humble author grew up reading science fiction; it was my first passion and continues to be an enduring comfort. I was also born within the ranks of Generation X, so I came along at the right time for the cyberpunk wave in science fiction. I do write for a living now (oh… you noticed?), but as a teen I tried scribbling some sci-fi stories of my own. That turned out to be a bad idea, but you have to find these things out the hard way.  And let me tell you: Had I come up with the ridiculous plot which I am about to lay out here, I would have ripped the paper out of the typewriter (we still used those then), crumpled it up and dunked it in the trashcan, and taken the rest of the day off in self-discipline, because clearly I would have needed a rest. Had I read the plot of the COVID-19 virus in any novel at the time, said novel would be digesting in the guts of the nearest trashcan before long.  If I may borrow a turn of phrase from the late Kurt Vonnegut: this story is a crock…
Score: 1.27