Ive been stuck inside ill for the last couple of weeks. During this time, I thought to myself what would I do if I was stuck at home and had to entertain my kid as well?, wrote Vicky Blyde, a parent from the UK.

So she started writing a list of ways to keep a child of infant school age occupied without simply putting the TV on. Full disclosure: Id also shove the TV on, Blyde wrote.

As more and more schools are closing and I see more of my friends are self-isolating with their families, I hope this list is helpful to some of you!

Blydes suggestions include cooking and baking together, making models from rubbish, making paper planes, building dens, carrying out basic home science experiments, making paper chains from old magazines, dressing up, putting on a fashion show and setting treasure hunts.

Image: Origami is among the suggestions from UK mum Vicky Blyde

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Mum shares list of child-friendly activities, to help self-isolating families - Positive News - Positive.News

With the current coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) upon us, youve likely heard health officials, celebrities, and even the friends you were supposed to go out for drinks with tonight, stress the need for social distancing. But as a relatively new phrase, there maybe some confusion over what it means and why it's important for us to follow right now.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines social distancing as remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible. Its the reason many colleges are finishing out the spring semester online, Broadway shows are on hiatus, and cinemas are only allowing half as many people in as usual.

The best way to better protect yourself from developing COVID-19 are things you can do right now: wash your hands, avoid large crowds, and stay home if you feel ill.

It's all in an effort to try and minimize the number of germs that pass from one person to another. Anytime we interact with other people, we exchange microbes bacteria or viruses, says David Larsen, Ph.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist and assistant professor of public health at Syracuse University. Each interaction carries a probability of a transmission, and in the case of an outbreak of an infectious disease, if you decrease those interactions, you can decrease the probability of transmission events. Essentially, if a person practices social distancing, they can protect themselves, he says, but if an entire community practices it, you can possibly stop a virus in its tracks.

In fact, theres a graph circulating online that features two bell curves: one that goes up and down steeply past a horizontal line indicating the capacity of our healthcare system (illustrating the current track were on), and one whose rise and fall is more gradual and doesn't surpass that horizontal line (illustrating what might happen with more protective measures in place).

Since our healthcare industry can handle only so many severe cases at once, if COVID-19 spreads too quickly, well be in big trouble: Experts say that 10-20% of people with the disease may require hospitalization. With that number of hospitalizations, you can overwhelm the system and get into situations where theres insufficient care available for all the people that need it, says Larsen. We want to avoid being in a position where doctors are trying to decide who gets a ventilator, where theres not enough available for the people who need it to continue living, which is happening in Italy. Healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, technicians, etc.) may also start to get sick, bringing down the quality of care and triggering a rise in fatality, he notes. If you wait for the curve of the graph to rise before you take precautions, it could be too late to make a difference, but the right precautions can "flatten the curve."

But even if you're feeling fine, or aren't in the group of higher-risk people, practicing social distancing is important. One problem with COVID-19 is that some people, especially those who are younger, have only mild symptoms or none at all. New science suggests that people can spread the virus before they are symptomatic, says Larsen. Theres whats called a latency period between the time when you are infected and when you exhibit symptoms. This means that someone who seems pretty healthy could infect others without even realizing they carry the virus.

Unfortunately, testing isnt widespread right now so we dont know exactly who has COVID-19, which makes it more difficult to contain. It is believed that one positive person can transmit the virus to two or three other people, which results in those two to three affecting more people, says Peter Gulick, D.O., professor of medicine at MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. The mild or asymptomatic are high-risk as they are not sick enough to know to stay away from crowds, whereas those who feel sick usually visit a doctor or ER. We can mitigate the spread if we disassemble the crowds.

Remember: If youre exhibiting symptoms, call your doctor and let them know and decide on a course of action, says Dr. Gulick. Even if you dont have symptoms, but youre an older adult or a person who has heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes, youre at a higher risk of developing life-threatening complications from COVID-19 and should follow these precautions from the CDC.

However, social distancing doesn't mean you can't leave your house, or have fun with friends. It's important to remember to practice it within reason. We need to do things, we need to go out and be human, says Larsen. We need food and we need social interaction to be healthy. But voluntary things like attending large events, large gatherings, and voluntary travel we should try to decrease those.

Instead of going out to drinks with friends, try doing a virtual hangout where every can still interactive with one another. And rather than taking a spin class at your gym, go for a jog outside. Remember, you're not just doing this for yourself, you're helping your entire community, especially people who are at higher-risk for serious illness from COVID-19, including older adults, and those who have serious chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by say, working from home, or if you're experiencing anxiety over the coronavirus, there are certain things you can do to keep yourself healthy, including: eating well, getting enough sleep, and communicating with friends and family via phone and text.

For helpful resources regarding coronavirus, visit: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Coronavirus Disease 2019 fact page and The National Association of County and City Health Officials' directory of local health departments.

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What Is Social Distancing and Why Is It So Important During the Coronavirus Outbreak? - GoodHousekeeping.com

Give your mum the gift of a lie in or a sex toy. Photograph: Alamy

Mothers Day has got weird. Hasnt it? As I remember it, next Sundays celebration has traditionally been a morning of handmade cards rashy with glitter, a proud bunch of tulips and perhaps jammy toast in bed. Of course these traditions have evolved Ive been aware, as age has come, of the increasing number of afternoon tea deals and heavy marketing of heavy perfumes, neither of which offer much change from a hundred pound note. Soaps stand in for apologies, hand creams are purchased in lieu of a conversation about the past. Here is a bath bomb, signifying regret. This year however, I am conscious of a shift.

A ping, an email: The case for buying your mum a vibrator New sex toy retailer offering 25% off Mothers Day gifts. I dont think of myself as a prude, though yes, I can see the appeal. I can see the appeal of identifying as such, and so being free to ignore the sweaty sexualities of others, their glazed little eyes when somebody says angina. Prudishness has much going for it, but I am a modern woman, able to contemplate and acknowledge the private shadowlands of my fellow passengers evenings without judgment. But Christ, not my MUM. Lovely lady, but she is, always has been and must always remain sexless, thank you. Its not appropriate to gift a vibrator to the woman whose genitalia one once emerged from. Its not appropriate, and its not nice.

Among the other mad and maddening suggestions for Mothers Day ideas Ive tripped up on this week were a list of Instagram captions to pay tribute to your mum, helpfully divided into funny (Cheers to the woman who gave up wine for nine months, just for me), cute, song lyrics and quotes (A mothers arms are more comforting than anyone elses, Princess Diana). The idea here being that a person can copy and paste her love from a pre-approved selection, only one typing finger necessary to @ literally the person who created her. Im struggling to imagine something that requires less effort. Blinking, perhaps. Raising a buttock for a muted fart.

More creative, yet just as baffling is the new scheme in Hull providing small thank-you cards for strangers to give to mothers they see breastfeeding in public. Again, weird. Why should a passerby be thankful a stranger was feeding their child? If the card came from the suckling kid hanging off her chafed tit on a cold March morning I could perhaps see the logic.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mail has published a list of self-help books to give as Mothers Day gifts, which, call me old-fashioned, I would very much take as a passive-aggressive snipe from an unappreciative whinger whos neither paid me back for last years loan nor, clearly, is willing to listen to my advice on eyebrow plucking. And finally, in the window of Boots (which last year did a Mothers Day promotion on intimate feel condoms, and has this year added a rack of Berocca to their seasonal display) a sign urging customers to celebrate Mothers Day by purchasing menopause hero products for them, including discreet bottles of Durex lube. Happy Mothers Day Mummy, just a little something to help your boyfriend guide himself in more smoothly, Xx.

Could the new Mothers Day marketing have been inspired by the campaigns around International Womens Day, which fell with a pinkish clank a fortnight earlier? It is certainly familiar, this soggy combination of commodified female pleasure, misplaced branding and expensive mindfulness. We have become accustomed to being sold our feminine celebrations wrapped in empowerment, accustomed to every female emotion being price-tagged, sugared and sold back to us as feminist. For every occasion women have come to expect a slogan T-shirt telling us how fierce we are, and in every gift bag a book explaining, actually, how we could improve. This is how such celebrations are marked now, in cupcakes and sweet things to help the medicine go down.

The history of Mothers Day can be plotted back to ancient Greece, where they honoured Rhea, mother of many mythological gods who tricked her husband into swallowing a stone rather than their baby; then through to the Roman festival Hilaria, dedicated to another mother goddess, Cybele. In the 1600s, mothers were celebrated in England on the fourth Sunday of Lent, and the day was made official in 1872. Far be it from me to sigh at the modern world it has treated me well; I have two pairs of Uggs but even I can see a disconnect between the gentle honouring of women who bore us, and the sparkling confusion of politicised boredom.

I will fight for the right of women to have afternoon teas at fancy hotels, and to wear a Badass Mama shirt, and for Dior to decorate their catwalk with feminist platitudes (Womens love is unpaid labour) in order to sell high-heeled boots. But personally, this Mothers Day I am hoping to receive the gift of a lie-in, and I will be giving daffodils. My mum can sort out her own vagina.

Email Eva at e.wiseman@observer.co.uk or follow her on Twitter @EvaWiseman

Excerpt from:
Mother's Day marketing is not what it used to be - The Guardian

But the constant spring of information, precautions and warnings, whether it's straight from the CDC or some recirculated, dubiously-sourced post on Facebook, can take a real toll on your mental health.

A pandemic is a rather abstract villain, so it may help to sit down and really consider what specific threats worry you. Do you think you will catch the coronavirus and die? "The fear of death taps into one of our core existential fears," says Bufka. "But you have to think about what your fear is, and how realistic it is." Consider your personal risk and how likely it is that you will actually come in contact with the virus.

Of course, you could have other, more practical fears. "Some people may worry about what would happen if they were moved into self quarantine, or if they're not able to work. They're wondering if they would have access to groceries or childcare," says Bufka. "Again, people have greater abilities to manage hardships than they think they do. Think about a plan. Consider options if you can't telework. Do you have savings? Do you have support?" Being prepared for your fears will help keep them in scale.

Since action can allay our anxieties, you may want to also consider what you can do to help others who may be more affected by the outbreak than you. Service workers, medical workers, hourly workers and people in the restaurant or entertainment industries may have their livelihoods paralyzed or have to put themselves in disproportionate danger. "It will be important for us as communities to think about how to support these individuals whose lives are going to be disrupted," Bufka says. "How can we even this burden and support those who have less options?"

People are going to talk. But if you want to run to a friend to discuss the latest outbreak cluster or your family's contingency plans, try not to create an echo chamber. "If you are overwhelmed, don't necessarily go to someone who has a similar level of fear," Bufka says. "Seek out someone who is handling it differently, who can check you on your anxiety and provide some advice."

If you can't seem to get a handle on your thoughts, professional help can be an option. "It doesn't need to be a long-term thing," Bufka says. "It means you can get some guidance for this specific situation."

In short, don't get so wrapped up in thinking about the coronavirus that you forget the essential, healthy practices that affect your wellbeing every day. "In times of stress, we tend to minimize the importance of our foundation when we really should be paying more attention to it," Bufka says. Make sure you are:

Practicing mindfulness, meditation, yoga or other forms of self care can also help center you in routines and awareness, and keep your mind from wandering into the dark and sometimes irrational unknown.

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How to keep coronavirus fears from affecting your mental health - CNN

Jacinda Ardern with a print-out of the Spinoff 'Flatten the Curve' visual by Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)

With the exception of arrivals from the Pacific islands, those coming from every country in the world will be required to self-isolate for a fortnight. It follows the cancellation of the remembrance service scheduled for tomorrow in Christchurch and confirmation of a sixth positive Covid-19 case in New Zealand, a man who had been in the US.

The Spinoffs coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here.

The New Zealand government has announced a step change in measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, with arrivals from all countries required to self-isolate for a fortnight upon arrival in New Zealand. The measures go into effect from midnight tomorrow, with the Pacific region exempted. Australia is not exempted.

New Zealand will have the strongest restrictions in the world, said Ardern.

In effect, the change means incoming passenger numbers will reduce to a trickle, but the government believes that the public health imperatives outweigh the economic and social implications.

At a media conference in Auckland, Ardern said New Zealand had not seen the volume of cases experienced elsewhere, but needed to flatten the curve.

We must go hard, and we must go early.

The decision will be reviewed in 16 days, and applies only to passengers, not freight. Ardern also announced there will be exit controls applied to those travelling from New Zealand to Pacific islands. No one who had been out of New Zealand in the last 14 days, in casual or close contact within anyone confirmed as having Covid-19 or showing symptoms of illness would be permitted to travel.

Announcements on guidelines for social gatherings, new support measures for people in self-isolation and a business support package will be announced in the next few days.

Previously the requirement to self-isolate applied only to arrivals from South Korea and Italy, as well as New Zealand citizens and permanent residents who have been in mainland China or Iran. A blanket ban on foreign nationals travelling to New Zealand from China and Iran remains in place.

As of midnight Sunday every person entering New Zealand, including returning New Zealand citizens and residents, will be required to enter self isolation for 14 days. Everybody, said Ardern.

The Pacific are exempted from this measure, but they are the only ones. Anyone from these countries, though, will be required to self isolate should they exhibit any Covid-19 symptoms on arrival in New Zealand.

(The Pacific is defined as the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu & Wallis and Futuna.)

The announcements follow a meeting of the Covid-19 Cabinet Committee, set up to coordinate and direct the government response to the outbreak, as well as a full Cabinet meeting.

At the media conference Ardern held aloft a print out of the gif created for The Spinoff by Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris.

The goal is to ultimately flatten the curve. That doesnt mean you have no cases. It means the pace at which you receive them is at a rate such that you can make sure people are cared for in the places they need it most, be it with mild to moderate symptoms at home, or be it in critical care if required, said Ardern.

The decision meant New Zealand would have the widest ranging and toughest border restrictions of any country in the world. We are also encouraging New Zealanders to avoid all non-essential travel overseas this helps reduce the risk of a New Zealander bringing Covid-19 in, said Ardern.

She also announced that all cruise ships would be directed not to come to New Zealand until at least the end of June.

We do not take these decisions lightly, we know these travel restrictions will place a significant strain on the aviation industry and anticipate some routes will reduce or cease for a period of time, she said.

More than a million passengers passed through the border at Auckland International Airport alone in January.

The changes come on a day marked by an intensified New Zealand response to the outbreak.

Early this afternoon a planned service to mark a year since 51 people were killed at prayer in two Christchurch mosques was cancelled. Organisers said the event, which had been scheduled for 3pm tomorrow at the Horncastle Arena, would not go ahead owing to the risk of Covid-19.

Just moments after the announcement, the Ministry of Health revealed that New Zealand had its sixth confirmed case of Covid-19, with a 60-year-old man, who had recently returned from the United States, testing positive in Auckland.

The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said they had taken a pragmatic decision to cancel the Christchurch event. Were very saddened to cancel, but in remembering such a terrible tragedy, we shouldnt create the risk of further harm being done.

In a statement, she said: The advice we received for this event, is that based on people travelling from different parts of the country and from overseas, if there was a case it could be difficult to trace those who had come into contact with that person, so we are taking a cautious approach.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said: My understanding is what changed was very much a focus on this not being a ticketed event and the risks around traceability. So if there was a case then it would be harder to trace all the contacts that were made. That was probably exacerbated because it is hard not to embrace people at a remembrance service. I think if it had been something else it would be much easier to stand back, but your heart naturally goes out to be people and there is a desire, a need to embrace, and that creates a risk situation.

The health of the community comes first. We were gathering tomorrow to commemorate the worst possible events you could imagine. It would have been worse to have added to it: the fear that it could have acted as a vector.

Spokespeople for the Al Noor and Linwood mosques said they accepted the decision had been made in the public interest, and would hold small gatherings tomorrow for their own communities and Muslims visiting the city. Al Noor spokesperson Tony Green said they would be small events with known members and a few invitees.

The Pasifika event which was to have taken place in Auckland this weekend was yesterday cancelled, but a range of other events, including the St Patricks Day parade on Queen Street and Super Rugby games, have proceeded.

Tomorrows scheduled service in Auckland has also been cancelled.

The sixth positive test for the coronavirus involves an Auckland man in his 60s who recently returned from the US. He did not require hospital treatment and is in self-isolation at his home.

The Ministry of Health said that because he did not become unwell for more than three days after returning home, they do not believe anyone else on his flight is a close contact.

In a statement, the ministry said: Once he became unwell, the man did everything right. When friends in the US alerted him to their possible link to a Covid-19 case in the US, on Wednesday he phoned ahead to the GP and told them of his travel history and his symptoms.

The man was then assessed in his car by his GP, with the GP wearing appropriate protective equipment, and a test swab taken.

A handful of close contacts who were at a church service he attended at 8.30am on Sunday 8 March at St Marys church in East St Papakura shortly before becoming unwell are being contacted and put into monitored self-isolation.

New research suggests that some people may be able to transmit Covid-19 virus for up to three days before they display symptoms. Writing in The Spinoff yesterday, microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles said: This is in line with influenza and several other viral infections. Its obviously a worrying development as it does mean that people may be more infectious in the early stages of Covid-19 than we initially thought.

As well as the six confirmed cases, there are two other cases considered probable officials believe they have had Covid-19.

Health officials are currently scaling up the ability to contact trace individuals who have been able exposed to others with Covid-19, in anticipation of further positive cases.

The ministry statement said: With regard to concerts and other large gatherings we have coming up, including this weekend the ministrys advice is to please stay home if youre unwell.

In Australia, official guidance is that no public events with more than 500 people in attendance should go ahead.

The White House has performed a handbrake turn in its own approach, with President Trump in recent days banning travel from continental Europe for 30 days and declaring a national emergency as the number of positive cases spiral.

Meanwhile New Zealand First minister Tracey Martin has gone into self-isolation. This follows her recent engagements in Washington DC with Peter Dutton, the Australian minister of immigration, who announced yesterday that he had tested positive for Covid-19.

Anyone feeling unwell should ring Healthline on the dedicated Covid-19 number: 0800 358 5453 or ring their GP.

This story was updated at 4.30pm to include the prime ministers announcements.

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Covid-19: All arrivals to NZ must self-isolate for 14 days. Heres what you need to know - The Spinoff

A GROWING community is hoping to build a volunteer bank of people who can offer assistance to those self-isolating in their area, across the island.

The proposal is open to anyone, although particular emphasis has been place on people who are elderly, vulnerable or alone.

Help could include getting essential supplies, a friendly phone call or generally assisting people during this difficult time.

The total number of people testing positive for coronavirus rose to 1,140 in the UK yesterday, with a second case confirmed on the Isle of Wight.

If you are part of an organisation that could help coordinate the community response, or an individual wishing to help, please get in touch with IW Coronavirus Community Help Facebook page by clicking here.

Don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Isle of Wight community are you able to assist those vulnerable and in self-isolation? - Isle of Wight County Press

While social distancing has been adopted as a proactive measure to protect our physical health, its important to maintain social connections and look after our mental health, too. Here are some ways to care for yourself during times of uncertainty.

Important information regarding CAPS

As of Friday, Mar. 13 Counseling & Psychiatric Services (CAPS) will be operating on a reduced service schedule.

At this time CAPS will be providing walk-in services online. Please call 303-492-2277 to set up a walk-in appointment.

Additionally, CAPS will continue to provide individual therapy and psychiatric follow-up appointments online based on provider availability. At this time all groups and workshops are cancelled.

Due to licensure laws, all students receiving CAPS services must be present in the state of Colorado at the time of their appointment. Our staff will provide support and work to connect students who are out of state with local resources.

Given the sensitive nature of what we do, we are working diligently to provide the best services we can at this time. We appreciate your understanding and support. Please continue to check the CAPS website for updates as the situation evolves, or contact the CAPS office at 303-492-2277.

Routines give us structure. They also provide comfort and a level of predictability to our lives. Recent changes have disrupted many of our routines, but that doesnt mean we should let them go completely. Try to stick to routines that you enjoy or modify your routines to fit your new schedule. This can help you manage additional stress or anxiety that may come with major life changes.

For instance, if you usually get coffee with friends on the weekend, try to recreate a new variation of that routine. Consider taking your coffee to-go to enjoy the fresh air outside and get out of your room. If you are missing your friends, schedule a time to video chat with them like you normally would in person.

While many routines help us stay connected socially, they also play a role in our class schedules, homework and other school-related activities. If youre struggling to stay motivated or feel overwhelmed by the transition to online classes, try to create a new routine for yourself:

News cycles, social media and other outlets can sometimes bombard us with negative news. If you start to feel overwhelmed, consider taking a step back to focus on the good things that are happening, too.

One way to emphasize the positives is to practice gratitude. Grab a journal and start writing 3 things youre looking forward to each morning and 3 things youre grateful for each night. Gratitude can be as simple as getting your favorite cup of coffee or the warm weather. You can also download free gratitude journaling apps like Grateful (iOS) or Gratitude (iOS, Android).

Practicing mindfulness is another great way to focus on good in the moment. If youre feeling stressed, anxious or overwhelmed, try to tune in to yourself. Turn off all distractions and take 5 deep breaths. This will help your body calm down so you can focus on being present. Paying close attention to your senses can also help you feel more grounded.

If youre unsure where to begin, try out free mindfulness apps like Jour (iOS). This app can help you check in on your mood and practice mindfulness throughout the day. Smiling Mind (iOS, Android) is another good option that coaches you through a variety of 10-minute mindfulness activities each day.

Change impacts us all differently. We also process our emotions differently. While we may think we can handle things ourselves, asking for help is an important component of self-care because we cant always manage everything on our own.

Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) will continue to provide services to students on a reduced schedule. They will be providing walk-ins online through their telehealth platform. You can call 970-492-2277 to schedule a walk-in appointment. CAPS will also continue to see students for individual therapy and psychiatric follow-up appointments online based on provider availability. Therapy groups and workshops are not available at this time.

For students who are interested in self-help, there are a number of resources available online. CU Boulder offers SilverCloud, an online mental health resource for students struggling with stress, anxiety and depression. Students can complete activities and learn techniques for managing their mental health.

Students can also access online platforms like Happify. This free online program provides tools and activities to help you manage your thoughts and feelings. They also offer free apps for iOS and Android, so you can take your mental health care on the go.

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3 self-care tips for this week | Health and Wellness Services - CU Boulder Today

Right now, the world is in the midst of an outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus was first found in China back in December, but has since found itself in countries across the world, including the United States. The World Health Organization has officially declared this a global pandemic, and officials are warning everyone to avoid public gatherings, wash your hands, and avoid contact with others if you can help it.

For a lot of us, symptomatic or no, that means holing up in our homes, working remotely (if you are afforded that option), and self-quarantining until its safe to come out again. Social distancing is the key to avoiding the virus or, if you might have it, spreading it to others.This, of course, means many of us have a lot more time on our hands than we might normally. So what better time to work through our respective streaming queues?

As a public service, we here at Consequence of Sound have assembled a quick and dirty guide to the movies, TV shows, games, and videos we think will help you escape (or, in some cases, lean into) the chaos around us. So, wash your hands (20 seconds minimum!), grab your laptop, and read on.

Clint Worthington Senior Writer

Editors note: You can find a complete and updated list of the impacted cultural festivals, concerts and other cultural events here.

Were you shaken, maybe even stirred, to find out that the much-delayed No Time to Die was delayed yet again? Hold on to your martini because theres plenty of 007 to go around until it finally, hopefully, maybe drops in November. While not all of his world-renown adventures are available for streaming, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, and Netflix have several titles to revisit from the comforts of your disease-free couch.

Specifically, and in sequential order: On Her Majestys Secret Service (Amazon Prime), Moonraker (Amazon Prime), For Your Eyes Only (Amazon Prime), A View to a Kill (Amazon Prime), The Living Daylights (Amazon Prime), License to Kill (Amazon Prime), Goldeneye (Amazon Prime/Netflix), Tomorrow Never Dies (Amazon Prime/Netflix), The World Is Not Enough (Amazon Prime/Netflix), Die Another Day (Amazon Prime/Netflix),Casino Royale (HBO Go), and Quantum of Solace (HBO Go).

It can all be very confusing, so be sure to consult our franchise guide.

Michael Roffman

While news of Corona the beers demise at the hands of corona the virus are deeply exaggerated, Coronas most loyal son, Dominic Toretto, is feeling the heat. Among the many recent cinematic casualties of the coronavirus pandemic is Fast 9, which has delayed release by an entire year amid concerns over the virus effects on global stability. Still, until such time as you can see Dom and his familia enact #JusticeforHan, there are nine other films (and an animated TV show!) to tide you over until the gang meets again.

Itll take a bit of doing, though: The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Tokyo Drift are all available on USAs streaming service (Hulu has an add-on); Fast Five (HBO), Fast & Furious 6 (FX), Furious 7 (FX); Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw (HBO). Fast & Furious (confusingly, the fourth one) and The Fate of the Furious will all require rentals.

But, turn your eye to Netflix, and youll find the kid-geared CG animated series Fast & Furious: Spy Racersin which a government agency recruits a group of car-happy teens, led by Doms younger cousin *checks notes* Tony Toretto, to take down an evil car-based crime organization. If you really need your Fast fix until the ninth one comes out in 2021, thats an option?

Clint Worthington

Arguably the greatest hit to the entertainment industry has been the live scene. So many concerts and festivals have either been canceled or postponed over the past two weeks and its truly a stroll through Bummerville. Eventually, were going to get that itch for live music again (if we havent already), which is why itll be nice to put on a rock n roll movie every once and awhile. Sadly, a good number of the headliners ahem, Almost Famous, Control, This Is Spinal Tap, The Commitments, and Popstar will cost you a few bucks. However, there is a wide swath of music-fueled movies for your perusal; it just depends upon the depth of your roster of streaming networks.

Act accordingly: 24 Hour Party People (Starz), A Star is Born (HBO Go), Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure (Starz), Bill and Teds Bogus Journey (Vudu), The Blues Brothers (Starz),Bohemian Rhapsody (HBO Go), The Dirt (Netflix), The Doors (Amazon Prime), Inside Llewyn Davis (Amazon Prime), Josie and the Pussycats (Starz/Showtime/Amazon Prime), The Last Waltz (Amazon Prime), Purple Rain (Netflix), Ray (Starz), Rock N Roll High School (Cinemax), School of Rock (Showtime), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Netflix), Sing Street (Vudu), Singles (Vudu), Stop Making Sense (Amazon Prime/Vudu), Straight Outta Compton (FX Now), That Thing You Do (Cinemax), Waynes World (Amazon Prime/Hulu), Waynes World 2 (Amazon Prime/Hulu), Yesterday (HBO Go)

Of course, if youre in the mood for some non-fiction, you could tune into This Must Be the Gig or revisit the shows sprawling back catalogue. Host Lior Phillips has spoken to over dozens upon dozens of your favorite acts about their first concerts, worst shows, and so much more. Below, you can hear Liam Gallagher wax nostalgic about his experiences in the live scene and so much more.

Michael Roffman

We were so close to reuniting with the Abbots. Alas, well have to wait until Paramount and John Krasinski decide when its safe to return to theaters again. Fortunately, that gives us plenty of time to revisit the 2018 original, and Hulu is currently streaming A Quiet Place. Seeing how the whole thing revolves around a family hunkering down amidst a time of chaos, the nature of the story is all too fitting for current times. Even better, you wont have to worry about any crinkling, sniffing, or coughing while you watch. Below, you can extend the domestic nightmare with a great deep dive by The Horror Virgin. Michael Roffman

Right about now, living in a galaxy far, far away might not seem like too hazardous a proposition. That said, Star Wars is currently in a really interesting place, even if The Rise of Skywalker wasnt your cup of tea. We enjoyed it more than most, but if youre looking to revisit Episode IX to see if it really was as good/bad as you thought, nows as good a time as any as it drops digitally on Tuesday, March 17th.

But if you need some alternative Star Wars content in your life, the non-film legs of the franchise are stronger than ever. If youre feeling some lo-fi space Western energy, spin through the eight chapters of The Mandalorian on Disney+ again while sipping some bone broth.

Or if youve got a console fire up Jedi Fallen Order (PC/Xbox/PS4) and take out your frustrations on many hordes of hapless stormtroopers with your handy-dandy lightsaber. Burning Mans probably canceled too, so where else are you going to find a twink in a poncho twirling a glowstick?

Clint Worthington

What better time to indulge in the isolation and claustrophobia of The Overlook Hotel? Well, if you havent got around to either a.) seeing Mike Flanagans cruelly underrated Doctor Sleep or b.) its expansive three-and-a-half-hour directors cut, then you might want to check into Amazon Prime. The epic sequel to Stanley Kubricks The Shining is available to rent and the Doctor is a perfect guest to join your self-quarantine.

Though, if youre really thirsty for the Torrances, you could spend a whole day at the Overlook by also renting Kubricks 1980 masterpiece. Hell, go meta and make it a true-blue family occasion by grabbing the just-released Shining board game. Then, you can close out the night by hanging with The Losers Club, who recently covered Stephen Kings 2013 novel and Flanagans adaptation. Anything more and were concerned.

Michael Roffman

After being canceled and stowed away, The Hunt is ironically one of the few new films hitting theaters right now. As we outlined in our mildly positive review, Blumhouses tongue-in-cheek romp is a grisly rollercoaster reimagining of The Most Dangerous Game and chock full of thrills. So, if you need to escape your house, you could always take a risk and join Betty Gilpin at the cineplex. Just bring your Purell. Michael Roffman

For all you sadists out there, know that there are plenty of flicks with viral scares to keep you itching, squirming, and smiling? Whatever floats your boat. Now, were confident there are other films were glossing over here apologies if were not all racing to watch this stuff but weve gathered a number of the biggies. From 28 Days Later to The Crazies, Outbreak to Quarantine, youre in good company.

Grab a mask and binge, baby, binge: Contagion (Cinemax), The Crazies (Tubi), Outbreak (Netflix), 28 Days Later (Hulu), Carriers (Netflix), Pontypool (Shudder), The Girl With All the Gifts (Hulu), Children of Men (Hulu), The Stand (Vudu), and Quarantine (Starz).

If you need a break from the screen, you could always actually read Stephen Kings The Stand. The similarities to now are a little jarring, but thats all part of the fun, right? And because the idea of a book club is currently out of the question, feel free to join The Losers Club, who devoted not one, not two, but five episodes to the epic tome.

Michael Roffman

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Coronavirus Self-Care: How to Quarantine With Movies and TV - Consequence of Sound

By Manisha Aggarwal-Schifellite Harvard Staff Writer/The Harvard Gazette

The New York Public Library recently reported that Dale Carnegies 1936 bestseller, How to Win Friends and Influence People, was one of the librarys most requested books of all time. But despite the success of Carnegie and other self-help authors over the decades, scholars and literary authors often dismiss the genre as poorly written and commercial.

By contrast, literature has historically been framed by self-improvement advocates as an unproductive distraction for readers seeking personal growth. In a new book, The Self-Help Compulsion: Searching for Advice in Modern Literature, Harvard Assistant Professor of EnglishBeth Blumtraces the historical relationship between ambivalent shelf-fellows of self-help and literature from the 19th century to the present, highlighting the different ways the two kinds of writing have influenced one another, and how readers have engaged with books as guides for becoming better people.

GAZETTE:Why did you choose this topic?

BLUM:The seeds of this project began when I was teaching a class called Reading for Life Advice: From Socrates to Self-Help. While teaching the class, I became really interested in the story of Samuel Smiles, who wrote the first book to be called Self-Help. The name was in circulation in other texts, but he published Self-Help in 1859, which was earlier than I thought the industry had started. The guide was written as a way to inspire working-class laborers to persevere to improve their conditions through self-education. The other point that interested me was the extent to which Smiles used literature in his manual. One of the great pieces of advice from Smiles is that you shouldnt waste your time reading novels or literature, but ironically there were quotations from literature throughout the book. The quotations were decontextualized and then reassembled in interesting ways. So already, in one of the first self-help books, you see a real reliance on literature and an invocation of literary authority, yet at the same time a denunciation of literature as escapist and a diversion. It stirred my interest in this dynamic and often rivalrous history between self-help and literature.

GAZETTE:Did you find that these connections remained an important part of self-help in the 20th century?

BLUM:The more I investigated, the more I realized that there was this really substantial history that hadnt been explored in literary scholarship: a history of self-help that went back further than I had thought, to include, for instance, the New Thought Philosophy movement of the 1920s, which is a fascinating mind-cure philosophy that emerged around the time of literary modernism. It was a direct precursor of todays positive thinking movement. All of these pamphlets were emerging in the 1920s arguing that you could use your mind to achieve anything you want in life through positive visualization, meditation, and repeating mantras.

I was also surprised to uncover examples of so-called serious authors who had had some encounter with self-help and were responding to it. One of the most striking examples is the case of Virginia Woolf, who had a famous feud with Arnold Bennett, an Edwardian novelist who was considered very stodgy. Woolf critiqued him for being realist, materialist, and boring. But Bennett was also a hugely popular early self-help author who wrote books like How to Live on 24 Hours a Day, Self and Self-Management, and Literary Taste: How to Form It. Woolf was aware of these books, so it became interesting for me to consider Mrs. Dalloway, which is a novel that famously takes place in a single day, alongside Arnold Bennetts How to Live on 24 Hours a Day. For an example of a similar yet reverse relationship that I discuss in the book, take famous advice columnist Dear Abbys vexed response to Miss Lonelyhearts, a 1933 short story by Nathanael West about an advice columnist suffering from a nervous breakdown. Thats a really intriguing case of self-help commenting on the limits and methods of fiction.

Why do people turn to literature for advice when there are so many other, more willing sources of guidance?

GAZETTE:How do you bring your findings on the relationship between self-help and literature into your teaching?

BLUM:One of my really popular classes is called How to Live: When Literature Meets Self-Help, where we read the contemporary novel and directly address questions like: Why do people turn to literature for advice when there are so many other, more willing sources of guidance? What is the relationship between the rise of commercial advice and the decline of religious authority? One assignment asks students to go to the Coop or the Harvard Book Store and look at the different ways self-help and literature are shelved, who is reading them, and to assess what the bookstore is trying to say about genre and audience by those different designs and displays. In all of my classes, I am interested in the question: How can a formal literary choice for example, stream of consciousness or narrative omniscience reflect an argument about how a person should live? Its a concern thats threaded throughout a lot of my teaching. Students are eager to think about the life relevance of literature, and this is a tendency that professional academic literary critics are ambivalent about, but in general it can be a great way of bringing a student into a text and inviting them to consider the way the literature theyre reading responds to and prepares us for the challenges of daily experience.

GAZETTE:What does the landscape of self-help look like today?

BLUM:Self-help operates in waves, so you have one trend and then a reaction to that trend. For a long time, the self-help model popularized by How to Win Friends and Influence People was focused on how to please other people, to say what they wanted to hear in order to get what you needed from them. Much of contemporary self-help is reacting against that other-directed philosophy and the burden it places on the individual. Examples of that style include books like Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis, You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero, and Drop the Ball: Achieving More By Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu. All these contemporary books take the anti-people-pleasing approach, advising people to learn to redirect their sense of self-worth away from other people and away from the workforce and toward a more inward, self-determined metric for contentment.

GAZETTE:Are others writing about these books?

BLUM:A lot of the extant scholarship on this topic focuses on its rather negative political implications, particularly the idea that individuals are responsible for their own well-being and happiness in a way that absolves institutions and governments of responsibility for supporting people and making conditions more equitable. These are important arguments to make, but part of what drew me to this project was the slightly more affirmative story that I saw in the history of people turning to self-help, not just because they were being manipulated or out of a sense of political helplessness, but because they were successful in using books to improve their conditions. To me thats a hopeful thing because it shows that theres a strong demand for that textual-advice relationship. Its one that professors of literature or the humanities can tap into in productive, socially responsive, and personally transformative ways.

This interview was edited for clarity and condensed for space.

(Reprinted with permission from the Harvard Gazette.)

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Self-help books, literature, and how they help us live - India New England

The risk to earnings is clearly high but Spectris has self-help levers and our analysis suggests that it is probably better placed than many peers"

Berenberg gave a leg up to () on Friday, upping its rating to hold from sell highlighting the mid-cap instrumentation and controls company's self-help levers and dividend attractions.

The German banks analysts also raised their target price for the FTSE 250-listed stock to 2,250p from 2,065p, with the shares currently trading at 2,366p, up 4,.6% on Thursdays close.

In a note to clients, Berenbergs analysts pointed out: These are unprecedented times and we continue to assess the pros, cons and sensitivities of the UK industrials that we cover.

While Spectriss 2019 results did little to alleviate several of our concerns, we believe it would be wrong to ignore the companys more diversified business model, balance-sheet strength, potential portfolio reshaping and clear commitment to return cash to shareholders in these uncertain times, they added.

The analysts concluded: The risk to earnings is clearly high but Spectris has self-help levers and our analysis suggests that it is probably better placed than many peers. With the 150p special dividend a further attraction, we upgrade to Hold.

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Spectris upped to hold" by Berenberg, highlights self-help levers and dividend attractions - Proactive Investors UK