Internet Fun! Quarantine Edition
Hello, pals.
You might have noticed that, due to le coronavirus, we are all mostly stuck in our homes, save for healthcare workers and other brave front-line souls keeping the essentials out there up and running.
And if you’re anything like me, you may also be getting a little cabin fever.
I used to do a series of fun things from the internet every Friday; and while that died off a long time ago, I kind of miss having a dedicated post to share the stuff I love from other makers and platforms, and decided now was as good a time as any to put together a link list.
Here are some of my favorite things I’ve read, watched, listened to from the interwebs over the past week or so. Share your favorites, too, and we’ll all help the time pass a little quicker! (FYI for those that try to avoid it — assume that, unless the link is to something faith-based, there will be some language to watch out for in these!)
This essay on the importance of nature during times of anxiety was no revelation to me, but it was beautiful to hear something I feel in another person’s words (and she included great ideas for how to apply them at the end, too!).
I realized the other day, as one does, that I had never actually read Susan Orlean’s famous feature piece that Blue Crush was later based on. The movie it inspired makes it seem like this is a joke, but it really is considered a classic in the canon of modern feature writing, and after reading it for myself I can confirm that it deserves its spot and that Susan Orlean is the journalistic goat.
I found this unreasonably funny. Just like I do this account in general.
ROAM Media was started by a group of powerhouse adventure storytellers, and I’ve been basically going through their website over the past week weeping over the beautiful work they’re producing. Two of my favorites so far — this film on photographer Ben Thouard, and this film on big wave surfer Ian Walsh joining a crew of snowboarders for a mountaineering expedition on Denali.
The UnderDonkey is the hero we need in a time like this.
I listen to The Enormocast in spurts here and there, but this recent episode with Dru Mack was so good that I actually reached out to him to tell him how much I enjoyed and appreciated his approach to it. A lot of podcasts, especially with high-level athletes, sound polished to the point of being boring. Dru is still up-and-coming enough that you can tell this is all still a bit new to him, which is fun as a listener; and he spoke with an incredible degree of vulnerability about mental health and his own struggles with it, which is admirable and so important. Kudos to you, Dru. (And thanks for the climbing tips.)
Slowly, Slowly caught my eye because of the amazing photography from Jess Talley and Francois Lebeau — I look up to both of their work immensely. (Seriously, does anyone want to buy me this book? Lmk !!!) The words turned out to be beautiful, too, though; great work from Sidetracked Magazine.
You’ll need to turn on English subtitles for this film about Polish climber Kinga Ociepka-Grzegulska, but it’s well worth it. Beautifully edited mini-doc. I watched it twice back to back, then rewound one particular scene that made me unreasonably emotional towards the end about ten times. Climbers will get it. (Also, I don’t know if it’s just me, but the cover/design for the film makes it look not great to me… so if that’s you, too, just know it’s a lot better than it looks! Ha.)
Last but absolutely not least — the thing that has brought me the most comfort in all of this (and that I’ve returned to again and again) is this message about freedom from fear — I’m a little biased, since it’s my dad and one of my most precious mentors, but it’s been my lifeline, and maybe you ned it, too.
Now, send me your internet things. We’ll survive this thing together!
