Hi All,
Welcome to the Weekly Rapport. A weekly guide of things I’m reading, doing, and experimenting with. It’s been nearly a month of quarantine and we’re all running out of stuff to do. I’m trying to share what I’m doing and also taking everyone’s advice on new things to try out.
Enjoy.
Quote of the Week
“We’re all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding.”
― The Light That Failed
What I’m Reading
Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides
So the American conquest of the West and Native American life was absolutely INSANE in the 1800s. You probably learned about most of this stuff in elementary school – the Navajos, the Mexican War, Kit Carson, etc. But when you’re eight years old you think it’s just cool and fun to learn about the history of cowboys and Indians riding horses, shooting arrows and walking into dusty saloons. But now that I’ve invested the time to really read and learn about the conquest of areas like New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and California – HOLY SHIT. These people were ruthless. I know the cool thing nowadays is to trash on every historical figure for being an absolute piece of shit, but, kind of everyone was a piece of shit back then. People just like stabbed your horse, stole your wife and burned your house to the ground. Oh yeah, then they’d raid your loved one’s graves and do mutilate to the corpse. Fun times. That’s Americans, Europeans, Native Americans, and Mexicans. They were all pretty shitty to each other. Shitty clearly being an understatement by miles. There just weren’t a whole lot of morals in the wild west, so you just took what you wanted. And now we have cities like Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Santa Fe, and Los Angeles. Yay Manifest Destiny!
But seriously, I think it’s really important to read in-depth about how this country was formed. It puts everything in to context and makes you appreciate every culture, country, language and history as a whole.
What I’m Watching
The Outsider
Stephen King knows how to write a fucked up story. I haven’t finished this series yet but I’m on episode 6 of 10. So far it’s been really really good. It’s about a string of murders where evidence places the killer in two different places at the same time. It’s a thriller, a bit of sci-fi, and lots of good music and acting. Jason Bateman always land (shout out Ozark and Dodgeball) and Cynthia Erivo plays and incredible private investigator. Excited to finish this thing so my nightmares go away…
New WFH Device
I’ve pretty much only been spending money on groceries in the last few weeks, so I felt like I owed myself a nice little shopping spree. Since we’re clearly going to be working from home for the foreseeable future, I figured I’d give my home office a major upgrade. I hate sitting all day and have had a standing desk for the last few years (life changing if you have back problems).
I’m really particular about my work space, and having my monitors on top of my bedroom dresser just wasn’t cutting it. I bought this standing desk from Walmart for $80, ant there are lots of good options for less than $100. It has wheels so you can use it as a scooter while you’re on Zoom calls!
What I’m Listening To
Lo-Fi playlists seem to be the rage now that everybody’s working from home. They’re kind of trippy beats that hit the right wavelength to keep you focused for at least 15-20 minutes. Alexa has been a god-send in this work from home life and she’s been putting up with my peculiar questions like “Alexa, how many calories are in a chicken leg?”
Supplements
Zinc + Vitamin C
There are so many recommendations on the news now of what you should and shouldn’t do, it’s kind of exhausting. I think it’s always best to just stick with what you know and what people have always done. Like saltines and ginger ale when you have a tummy ache. Who knows what the hell it does, but it works so don’t mess with it!
I’ve really just been trying to strengthen my immune system since that’s really all you can do. Besides wearing a mask and gloves and staying at home, I just try to eat oranges, take Emergen-C, and Zinc. I also take a boatload of other vitamins and supplements just to stay safe. I take gummy multivitamin like the handsome little boy I am, Vitamin D & K, Metphormin, NMN, and Magnesium.
New App I’m Trying Out
I’m all-in downloading as many apps as possible during this lockdown. My average screen time is up like 400% week over week. Tik Tok has been amazing, Seamless obviously, the NYT crossword app, Chess app and now I just downloaded “The Next Door” app. It’s essentially like a Facebook group or forum for your neigborhood. People sign up and post updates on things that are going on to local businesses, areas, traffic, political events, restaurant offerings, etc. People also share recipes, tools, DIY home improvement tips, and sell things. Seems pretty cool, but I imagine like any social media, it can get messy and hateful, but I think now is the perfect time to stay up to date on how your neighbors are doing and what you can do to help each other out.
Great Reads Across the Internet
- How Quitting Caffeine Will Affect Your Sleep and Your Worldview (WSJ – Subscription): Michael Pollan (awesome author and documentarian) has a new Audiobook called Caffeine and the ways it affects your everyday life. I’ll probably never give up coffee, but every now and then I try to abstain from having a cup for at least 24 hours – just to see how differently it changes things, and to test my discipline…
- I Lived With Tiger King’s Doc Antle for 8 Years. Here’s the Truth: Barbara Fisher from the Tiger King documentary tells a bit more about her time living in Doc Antle’s sanctuary
Feel-Good Video of the Week
And to end it, here’s a poem written by an Ireland priest named Richard Hendrick titled ‘Lockdown‘
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing
Enjoy the quarantine. Oh and Happy Birthday to my beautiful fiancé Lauren.
-KB
One Reply to “The COVID Rapport – April 10, 2020”