As the coronavirus (COVID-19) news, regulations and infection rate all grow day by day, keeping on top of the financial assistance available to independent contractors and small-business people can be challenging.

So too can keeping up on reliable sources of information about personal safety, self-care and the pandemic itself.

MASSAGE Magazines editors curated these one-click-away resources to help you connect to the most current information about financial assistance and loans; state regulations; news about the virus; and keeping yourself healthy and safe.

1. Small and midsize employers can begin taking advantage of two new refundable payroll tax credits, designed to immediately and fully reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing coronavirus-related leave to their employees, as announced by the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of Labor.

Refundable Payroll Tax Credits

2. The CARES Act promises unemployment benefits for independent contractors and loans for small-business people, among other things.

U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business Entrepreneurship Guide to the CARES Act

3. The CARES Act might not offer enough financial relief to Americans, according to finance experts. Conversations about an new act to help the Act are underway.

Forbes Report

4. The Small Business Administration is funding up to $2 million to small businesses and nonprofits experiencing disruption from coronavirus.

SBA Disaster Relief Funding

5. Some state boards of massage are allowing massage therapists to complete all required CE online; some are waiving fees; others are waiving CE. For the most accurate information, contact your state board directly.

Contact information for State Boards

6. Sometimes like this time, right now we have to do whatever we can to stay afloat. Get some nitty-gritty advice on saving, recycling and working (not as a massage therapist) in 21 Tips to Save Money, Cut Spending, and Keep Your Practice Poised to Re-Open With the Coronavirus Pandemic is Over.

21 Tips

7. You might reach, or have reached, a point where you need help feeding your family. Theres no shame in that. The United Ways COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund will support communities throughout the U.S. with food, household supplies and more. MASSAGE Magazines advertisers are contributing to our Massage Relief Effort, which goes directly to the United Way. The link below takes you to a page where you can search state-by-state and county-by-county for assistance where you live.

United Way COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund Local Responses

8. The Small Business Majority, a national small-business advocacy organization, maintains a COVID-19 resource page featuring articles and podcasts pertaining to both state and national topics.

SBM COVID-19 Page

9. NPRs map of the U.S. is updated daily and shows how many cases and deaths related to coronavirus have been reported in each state.

Map: Tracking the Spread of the Coronavirus in the U.S.

10. The New York Times, which normally keeps its content behind a paywall, has made all coronavirus-related coverage free of charge.

NYT Coronavirus Breaking News

11. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Preventions Coronavirus Disease 2019 page covers topics including health policy, its response to the pandemic, and helpful tips like how to wear cloth face masks and reduce stress.

CDC.gov

12. Coronavirus Daily is a daily news podcast all about the pandemic. Brought to you by NPR, it includes stories from NPRs science, international and business reporting teams, to name a few.

NPRs Coronavirus Daily Podcast

13. Grief. Stress. Anxiety. Fear. Most of us are feeling all of these emotions, one by one or sometimes all at once. The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley offers articles, podcasts and videos on Self-Care, including Three Tips from a Therapist for Calming Your Coronavirus Anxiety.

Greater Good Science Center

14. Writing can help release emotions and provide a respite from stress. The article, Write to Heal from Trauma, Loss & Illness: 7 Prompts to Explore Now is designed to help.

Write for Self-Care

15. Yoga in your living room? Of course. You probably have some CDs ready to pop into the DVR player now. Did you know you can take free classes in yoga (and tai chi and hip hop dance and pretty much anything else that can be videotaped?) Welcome to YouTube.

Yoga for Vulnerability

16. A healthy immune system is always important; it builds physical resilience but do not believe anyone who says you can stave off the coronavirus with a strong immune system, as that is not proven.

Self-Care Habits to Benefit Your Immune System

17. Cooking every meal in ones home is a privilege and can get a bit stale. Plus, snacking. Still, the only podcast list we felt we should include here is the Top 10 from Taste of Home.

Taste of Home Top 10 Food Podcasts

Do you know of a source you think we should include in our next update? Email it to edit@massagemag.com. And stay healthy.

Karen Menehan is MASSAGE Magazines editor in chief. Her coronavirus coverage includes Massage Therapists Who are Independent Contractors or Business Owners will Benefit from CARES Act Approved by Congress; Help During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Massage Relief Effort FAQ and Coronavirus and Its Impact on the Massage Industry.

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Do You Need Help? Here are 17 Resources on Finances, Business & Self-Care for Massage Therapists Coping with the COVID-19 Shut-Down - Massage...

It may seem like the world is constantly in flux, particularly right now, as we find ourselves in such unforeseen circumstances. But even during a pandemic, there are some nuggets of wisdom that will always ring true.

As people across the world stay at home to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and find themselves with more time on their hands, there's no better time pick up one of these classic self-help books and learn a thing or two about living life for when it all starts back up again.

These seven picks might be more than 20 years old, but the advice they contain is timeless.

Dale Carnegie

This is the oldest one on the list dating back more than 80 years and yet its probably the most famous, as it was named one of Time magazines 100 most influential books of all time. It promises to get you out of a mental rut, help you make friends easily and quickly, teach you how to increase your popularity, and how to become more persuasive and win new clients or customers, as well as boost your earning power among other things. Dale Carnegie, a public speaker and writer, may have been born in 1888, but he would still be one popular man today.

Tony Robbins

Love him or hate him, American life coach, public speaker and writer Tony Robbins has a knack for turning peoples lives around. Awaken the Giant Within wasnt his first book, but it is arguably his most influential. First published in 1992, it provides readers with tips on how to clarify their personal values, resolve any internal conflicts, master their emotions and overcome bad habits that have been holding them back. Its packed with research to back up his assertions, as well as practical guidelines to follow. Not many of us can say we dont need that kind of advice.

Norman Vincent Peale

Case studies and practical instructions are what fill the pages of this 1950s book by Norman Vincent Peale, an American minister and author best known for popularising the idea of positive thinking. His book helps boost self-confidence, build power and determination to reach your goals, break the cycle of worrying too much, improve personal relationships, assume control over your life and, ultimately, be kinder to yourself. The international bestseller was written with the sole objective of helping the reader achieve a happy, satisfying and worthwhile life. Who doesnt want that?

Eckhart Toll

German-born spiritual teacher and author Eckhart Tolle is highly praised within the world of mindfulness and meditation. Hes written a number of books, but this one is perhaps his most beloved and has been translated into more than 50 languages. In it, were introduced to the idea of enlightenment, and how the mind is its natural enemy. Tolle teaches people about their role in the creation of their own pain, and how to live fully in the present, as opposed to constantly lamenting or yearning for the past and worrying about the future. Once youve finished with that, you can move on to his other bestselling work, A New Earth: Create A Better Life, a personal favourite of Oprah Winfreys.

Stephen R Covey

Theres a reason why companies still send employees on this course: it just never gets old. The business and self-help book by American educator, author and businessman Stephen Covey presents a principle-centric approach to problem-solving both in our personal and professional lives. He uses insights and anecdotes to lay out a step-by-step method for living with fairness and integrity, allowing us to embrace the wisdom and power to adapt to change. He does all this while explaining seven habits that are grouped into three categories: independence, interdependence and continual improvement. The book has sold more than 25 million copies around the world since it was first published, and became the first non-fiction audiobook in the US to sell more than one million.

Pema Chodron

Pema Chodron, the only female author on this list, is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun and, for many people, her bestselling book When Things Fall Apart has been life-changing. Its a classic from 1996, but she tackles topics that are particularly poignant for today. She addresses how we can continue to live life when everything seems to be falling apart, when we are constantly overcome by fear, anxiety and pain. The solution, she says, is to move towards painful situations, rather than backing away. She draws from Buddhist wisdom and offers tools for transforming suffering and negativity into endless joy.

By Robert Greene

American author Robert Greene is best known for his books on the mastery of strategy, power and seduction. He has written six international bestsellers, but this one, his first, is his most enduring. Its a practical guide for people who want to gain, observe or protect themselves against ultimate control. He distils 3,000 years of history into these 48 truths, drawing inspiration from the lives of influential historical figures, from Niccolo Machiavelli to Queen Elizabeth I and Henry Kissinger. Laws include never outshine the master, enter action with boldness and crush your enemy totally. It has sold millions of copies and is particularly popular with the rich and famous, including Kanye West, Jay-Z and Will Smith.

Updated: April 3, 2020 04:32 PM

Excerpt from:
Timeless tips: 7 classic self-help books to read while youre staying at home - The National

Global mental health platform InnerHour will offer its online programmes and self-help tools pro bono to help mental health professionals, employees working from home and college students to better cope with stress, anxiety, depression because of the changes brought about by COVID-19 in peoples lives.

Also read: Work from Home in the time of COVID-19

InnerHour's self-help app has benefited nearly 6 lakh people globally, its founders Dr. Amit Malik and Neha Kirpal claimed in a press statement.

The organisation will offer a range of clinical tools and self-help psychological activities, topical content, webinars, bot-based check-ins and voice or video therapy sessions available in seven languages.

The mobile application has been live for 18 months and provides for self-awareness through free assessments, a range of cognitive behavioural therapy based self-help tools delivered, support communities and a step-care approach. It uses algorithms and data/intelligence with the guidance of trained therapists to identify unique user needs and create a highly personalised programme suitable for each user. Users can also avail live sessions with therapists via text,voice, video through InnerHour's network of 120 therapists across 60 cities in India.

Also read: COVID-19: Work from home, a difficult strategy for non-IT companies to adopt

The covid pandemic has brought great socio-economic uncertainties, giving rise to increased anxiety, depression, addiction and suicide the world over. Together, we can resolve to find the optimism, resilience, and emotional balance to tide over these challenging times, and help provide access to treatment and care, for those who need it. Our mental health problems and solutions are much the same across boundaries, race and colour. Lets join hands and share a pledge, the statement said.

#MyMindMatters #MentalHealthForAll.

The app has 5 lakh downloads globally, of which 40% are from India with a similar number from the U.S., followed by other countries across the globe.

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(WJCL) - Organizations everywhere are taking special precautions because of concerns over the Coronavirus.One of those organizations is Bluffton Self Help. Bluffton Self Help is a nonprofit that works to help neighbors in need.But at this time, their services will look a little different. Its our responsibility to prevent the spread of disease locally, but we really want to serve our community where its needed most," says Kimberly Hall, Executive Director of Bluffton Self Help.Until further notice, the clothing closet is shut down. No clothing donations will be accepted, and clothing items will not be distributed.Food items, however, will still be available during normal hours but through a modified, drive-thru style.Drive through our parking lot, drive around to the back of the building, and a volunteer or staff person will load pre-packaged groceries, essential items into their car," says Hall.Additionally, the nonprofit has set up a COVID-19 fund to support affected families. Were here for the community through mortgage/rental assistance, financial support, utility assistance, everything from that even to families who normally wouldnt access our programs here. We want to make sure were here for our community," says Hall.Typically, this nonprofit only serves clients who live and work in Bluffton.But right now, theyre extending help to neighbors beyond the town, too.We wont turn anybody away. If anybody calls us and is in need of help, we will make sure we can help them," says Hall. Right now, Bluffton Self Help is in need of paper bag donations.If youd like to donate to their COVID-19 support fund, click here.

(WJCL) - Organizations everywhere are taking special precautions because of concerns over the Coronavirus.

One of those organizations is Bluffton Self Help.

Bluffton Self Help is a nonprofit that works to help neighbors in need.

But at this time, their services will look a little different.

Its our responsibility to prevent the spread of disease locally, but we really want to serve our community where its needed most," says Kimberly Hall, Executive Director of Bluffton Self Help.

Until further notice, the clothing closet is shut down.

No clothing donations will be accepted, and clothing items will not be distributed.

Food items, however, will still be available during normal hours but through a modified, drive-thru style.

Drive through our parking lot, drive around to the back of the building, and a volunteer or staff person will load pre-packaged groceries, essential items into their car," says Hall.

Additionally, the nonprofit has set up a COVID-19 fund to support affected families.

Were here for the community through mortgage/rental assistance, financial support, utility assistance, everything from that even to families who normally wouldnt access our programs here. We want to make sure were here for our community," says Hall.

Typically, this nonprofit only serves clients who live and work in Bluffton.

But right now, theyre extending help to neighbors beyond the town, too.

We wont turn anybody away. If anybody calls us and is in need of help, we will make sure we can help them," says Hall.

Right now, Bluffton Self Help is in need of paper bag donations.

If youd like to donate to their COVID-19 support fund, click here.

Original post:
Bluffton Self Help commits to helping neighbors in need through modified services - WJCL News

The Valero gas station at 120 Watchung Ave. had a sign that announced new temporary hours, but was not open during those hours on Friday, April 3. ANDREW GARDA/STAFF

by Andrew Garda garda@montclairlocal.news

While Gov. Phil Murphys executive order closing all non-essential businesses to the public has left gas stations free to continue to operate, some have decided to shut off their pumps.

Lukoil, at 632 Valley Road in Upper Montclair, Valero, at 120 Watchung Ave., and Delta, at 2 Orange Road, are closed, though Valero had a handwritten sign that read, New Hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., hopefully temporary.

The station was not active during those business hours on Friday, April 3.

Two other Delta stations in Montclair one at 651 Bloomfield Ave. and another at 223 Harrison Ave., on the border with West Orange, remain open. The Delta on Harrison runs gas from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, while the mechanics work from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Delta on Bloomfield did not answer phone calls.

The Exxon at 264 Bloomfield remains open 24 hours a day. The Shell station at 115 Bloomfield is also open but was unable to be reached for specific hours.

The 76 station at 45 Claremont Ave. will close for the next week, according to an employee at the station, and then decide what to do going forward.

New Jersey is the only remaining state to be completely full-service at the pump, with Oregon allowing self-service in counties with 40,000 or fewer residents. The ban on self-service fuel filling has been in place since 1949, when service station owners lobbied to get rid of it. It has survived in part because of concerns about safety and jobs.

There has been pressure building to change that during the COVID-19 pandemic, though.According to an article on CSPDailyNews.com, which covers news in the convenience and petroleum retail sectors, the New Jersey Gasoline-Convenience-Automotive Association recently sent a letter to Murphy asking for a temporary suspension of the self-service ban and outlining the risks a full-service employee may face even with precautions in place.

COVID-19: NJ GOVERNOR SAYS FLATTENING CURVE WORKING, DONT STOP

COVID-19: MONTCLAIR AMBULANCE UNIT NEEDS HELP

The NJGCA represents a group of independently owned fuel retailers. Sal Risalvato, executive director of NJGCA, expressed concern that employees cannot follow the recommended six-foot distancing while fueling vehicles and have to handle money or credit cards.

There have been many instances in which motorists have insisted on pumping their own gas and have refused to allow attendants to even touch their credit cards, Risalvato stated in the article.

All open gas stations are attempting to follow the health and safety guidelines to avoid spreading COVID-19. Attendants wear gloves while working the gas pump, and many are wearing masks.

Oregon recently lifted its total ban on customers pumping gas. According to an April 1 article on CSPDailyNews.com, the move was to help ease labor issues stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak, which has resulted in employees who were unable to work due to health issues, find day care for their children, or were just too worried about exposure to contagion.

There are concerns that the virus could spread via gas pumps as well, though there have been no definitive answers as to how long it can live on various surfaces.

Murphy indicated on March 31 that the state has no plans to revisit the law at this time. He said at his Friday, April 3, press conference in East Orange: I will not commit political suicide this morning in East Orange. Im not going near who pumps the gas.

Meanwhile, with the recent stay-at-home orders across most states, gas sales have dipped along with prices. The Associated Press reported early last week that the average price in New Jersey was down nine cents from the previous week and 45 cents from the same time in 2019.

Link:
COVID-19: While some gas stations close, Montclair still has plenty of fuel in the tank - Montclair Local

Allour lives have been changed dramatically by the coronavirus pandemic. Most of us are being sequestered at home, manyare losing jobs and some of us have had to cancelmilestone events, such as weddings and graduations. But we are not the first people to experience tough times and we won't be the last.

Weveselected 10 books, mostof which have appeared on USA TODAYs Best-Selling Books list, that readers have turned toover the years for comfort during difficult times. Some books are spiritual and religious, offering solace. Others are secular and pragmatic, offering a littletough love. All provide some insight on how to improve our current circumstances and remind us thatthough we may feel cut off from the world, we are most definitely not alone.

"Ego Is the Enemy" by Ryan Holiday(Photo: Portfolio)

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, by Ryan Holiday.The author uses stoicism and its ancient adherentsfigures such as Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Cato to argue that much of life is beyond our control, but not all of it. If we focus on what we can control and let go of the rest, we have an opportunity to improve.

When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harold Kushner.This classic, originally published in 1981, predates our best-seller list but does not preclude its popularity. Kushner, a rabbi, addresses the dichotomy of a loving God and human suffering. Kushner dedicated the book to the memory of his sonwho died at the age of 14 of an incurable disease.

More: 100 books to read while stuck at home during the coronavirus crisis

More: Coronavirus: Here's where to find free ebooks and audiobooks while self-isolating

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered, by Lysa TerKeurst.Life does not always turn out as we planned. According to Christian author TerKeurst,sometimes when thingshappen in life that are beyond our control, we question Gods goodness. TerKeurst explains to readers how to turn their own disappointments in God into divine appointments.

"Man's Search for Meaning," by Viktor Frankl.The neurologist and psychiatrist chronicleshis life in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. He argues that one's mindset can affectone's future, and that meaning and purpose can be found in almost any circumstance.

"You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times" by Max Lucado(Photo: Thomas Nelson)

"You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times," by Max Lucado.Lucado, a pastor at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, encourages readers thateven though it wont be painless and wont be quick, difficult times can be gotten through with the help of God.

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams. The Dalai Lama and Tutu are both spiritual men who suffered years of exile and hardship. Yet both Nobel Prize-winners were still able to find joy. The pair look back over their lives and answer the question:How do we find joy in the face of lifes inevitable suffering?

Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, by Thich Nhat Hanh. In addition to fear and anxiety, many of us are experiencing anger. In a book that was popular after the 9/11 attacks, the Buddhist monk gives advice on transforming the negative emotion we all experience into something positive.

"Crushing" by T.D. Jakes(Photo: FaithWords)

Crushing,by T.D. Jakes.Similar to Kushner, Jakes addresses the age-old question, why do the righteous suffer and where is God when they do? Jakes, through sharing examples of his own crushing life experiences, encourages people to have hope and trust in God during difficult times.

10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found a Self-Help That Actually Works, By Dan Harris.People are feeling anxious, understandably. Harris knows something about that:Thejournalist had a televised panic attack in 2004. What helped? Meditation. Harris recounts his own journey through spirituality and self-help that led him to the adoption of the age-old practice.

More: 50 great books to entertain quarantined kids, whether they're newborns or high schoolers

More: Travel the world in spite of coronavirus by reading these 10 transporting travelogues

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson.Dont let the title fool you: The book actually takes an empathetic look at the cold, hard fact that life is not fair for everyone. Manson does not sugarcoat with platitudes but reminds us that, in life, we need to find meaning in all moments, good or bad.

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Coronavirus reading: 10 inspirational books that offer advice on how to live in tough times - USA TODAY

Arnon Rosan manufactures giant Lego-like building blocks, which can be converted into furniture or walls for offices, classrooms, and military training operations. Theyve been used to build a life-sized ice castle in New York Citys Bryant Park and a 17-foot-tall menorah in Washington, D.C. But now his company, EverBlock Systems, is sending truckloads of plastic blocks and interlocking wall units from New York to Louisiana to build a temporary hospital for coronavirus patients.

We dont wish for disaster, certainly, Rosan says of the virus sweeping the country. But were happy to be able to respond with something that we know people need and solves the problem quickly and efficiently.

State and federal governments and health systems across the United States are scrambling to find space to treat patients as coronavirus cases have quickly overwhelmed emergency rooms and ICUs. Convention centers and arenas from Los Angeles to Philadelphia are being transformed into temporary hospitals, as are outdoor spaces, such as New York Citys Central Park.Today In:Healthcare

The one thing all these places have in common? They have enough room to set up safe and appropriate working environments for the medical staff and the equipment and supplies that are needed, says Dr. Irwin Redlener, Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University.

For his part, Rosan is busy working to fulfill an order to build 2,000 patients pods and 130 nurses stations for the field hospital under construction inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Louisiana-based Dynamic Construction Group, the primary contractor on the hospital project, tapped EverBlock on March 26 to provide its products. At that point, Rosan had a head start: there were nearly a thousand wall panels and 60,000 blocks in his companys warehouse ready to load onto the 53-foot trucks that would take them down to New Orleans. But hell need to provide a lot more. Rosan estimates the total project will require close to 6,000 panels and 150,000 blocks. In addition to 13 full-time employees, hes recently hired 9 temporary workers to help scale up production at the companys manufacturing facility and warehouse in the Bronx.

Were being asked to deliver a years worth of product in one month, says Rosan. Though his usual orders have dried up, hes already expecting EverBlocks revenues to more than double from an expected $7.5 million to more than $20 million by the end of this year. The convention center contract alone will likely come in well above $10 million, he says.

This isnt Rosans first time supplying material for disaster relief projects. His previous company Signature Systems Group, which he founded in 1999, manufactured temporary floor and roadway systems that could gain access to remote sites, such as oil rigs. Rosan says he supplied modular floors for tents used by the National Guard following Hurricanes Katrina, Ike and Sandy. He also worked on the flooring for a tent project for the World Food Programme in Haiti after the earthquake.

In 2013, he sold Signature Systems Group to a private equity firmand was looking for something new to keep busy. He declined to disclose the deal price, but said at the time of the sale, the company had around $90 million in revenue. His current company began as a side project the idea for developing the companys giant blocks came from his kids. But when customers began to realize their potential, the company took off.

People seem to just engage and resonate with this concept of Wow this oversized building block. I can build anything, he recalls.

EverBlock is delivering the walls and blocks that make up the tented structures in which patients will sleep. Each pod is an individual chamber that will have its own ventilation duct to ensure that patients with different viral loads are kept separate. Dynamic Construction is working on the ventilation, electrical and all of the other construction components needed to make the temporary hospital function.

These beds will be for patients who are not fragile. They dont need to be on a ventilator, they dont need an ICU bed, but they still need to be hospitalized, Louisianas Democratic Governor Jim Bel Edwards said earlier this week at a press conference outside the convention center. While the original plan had been to care for 1,000 patients at the facility, Edwards had to quickly double that number a few days later in response to the surge in patients. The goal now is to have 1,000 beds set up by early next week and the full 2,000 beds by April 20.

My philosophy is when these things happen, you have to react in real time, Rosan says. Thats something that were just really good at that quick rallying of resources to make it happen.

Katie Jennings, Forbes Staff, Healthcare

See the article here:
Health6 hours ago 5 Ways To Cope With The Self During Isolation - Forbes Africa

Nine days, which feel like nine weeks, have gone by, as of this writing, since Broadway went dark and New Yorks theatres closed their doors. By the time you read this, it may well feel like nine years. The suddenness with which the citys performance ecosystem has vanished defies comprehensionits as if the Great Barrier Reef had died overnight. Grasping for comparison, we have to look well beyond the proximate disasters of Hurricane Sandy and 9/11, when, ultimately, the shows went resolutely on. Theres been some optimistic speculation online as to whether Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine when the plague forced the Globe to close, in the summer of 1606. (A comforting thought, if you happen to be both a genius and good at focussing in times of existential crisis.) During the Second World War, London initially shut its theatres and cinemasa masterstroke of unimaginative stupidity, George Bernard Shaw called the decisiononly to reopen many of them when it became clear that morale needed boosting. But keeping calm and carrying on is not in the pandemic playbook. We are our own threat. The enemy is within.

Whats immediately apparent, in a suddenly theatreless world, is how difficult theatre is to replace. The mechanismbodies doing things in front of other bodiesis too basic. (Or bodies cavorting with other bodies, as the case may be; among this seasons now suspended offerings was Taylor Macs new play, The Fre, in which the audience was seated in a ball pit.) You can tape theatre and stream it, for which I am hugely grateful, not least because it gives more people access to shows. But what you watch through this method is inevitably only a facsimile of the real thing. Its like eating a food that you can smell but not taste.

The New Yorkers coronavirus news coverage and analysis are free for all readers.

I hope it doesnt sound too prematurely elegiac to say that one of the things I miss about going to the theatre is the going: leaving home, travelling, with a sense of purpose, to a specific place at an appointed hour. I miss threading my way through the obstacle course of Times Square, secretly proud of my agility. And I miss being part of an audience, one soul among many. I even miss the reliable, infuriating madness of other people. Dear Elderly Sir, who inexplicably texted throughout Greater Clements: I may not think highly of you personally, but I hope youre doing all right. Dear Madam, whose chromatic, flutelike snoring during the first act of The Ferryman led to an intra-aisle shushing war the likes of which I have never heard before or since: my best wishes to you. To the tweens who packed together in a line around the block, just before the advent of social distancing, for a preview of Six: your energy was infectious, I hope only in the figurative sense. Please stay home.

Theatre artists and technicians are out of work right now, which spells terrible anxiety and financial distress. It also means that creative people are trying to find creative things to do. If there is one silver lining to this crisis, its that it hit in the age of the smartphone, when performance is everywhere. So we find our perspective shifted. The ratio is now one to one: me watching you, my screen to yours. Glamour? Mystique? Polish? Shine? No, no, no, and no. But who needs them? This is a time for the curtain to be pulled back.

Instagram Live, previously a place for celebrities to offer the public slick glimpses into their worlds, has been repurposed as a cabaret, abuzz with performing artists doing what they can for us from their living rooms. Patti Smith and her daughter Jesse Paris Smith squeezed together to serenade their followers through the screen. The sublime jazz singer Ccile McLorin Salvant, with Sullivan Fortner on the piano, gave an impromptu concert; it looked as though the pair were performing for their own pleasure, which, in turn, bolstered ours. Rosie ODonnell raised money for the Actors Fund by chatting, via video stream, with other performers, including Cynthia Erivo, Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel, and Chita Rivera. LuPone showed off her jukebox. Andrew Lloyd Webber sang Happy Birthday to Stephen Sondheim; Stephen Sondheim sang Happy Birthday to Andrew Lloyd Webber while vigorously washing his hands. Alan Menken, at a piano stationed in front of a grandfather clock, performed a career-skimming medley that ended, on the nose, with A Whole New World, from Aladdin. The lighting was reassuringly awful. Watching these bits was like getting stuck on a FaceTime call between the famous: cute at first, then a little boring, but endearingly nerdy, with Channel Thirteen fund-raiser-style energy.

It must be hard to make original work under these conditions of general menace, but some performers are persevering. The best Ive seen in the past week was produced by the 24 Hour Plays, an organization whose regular stunt involves putting together plays and musicals that are written, rehearsed, and performed in the space of a single day. On Instagram, the group has been hosting a series of viral monologues: new, very short pieces that were commissioned from homebound playwrights and performed by homebound actors. The first installment, still available for viewing, was posted on March 17th. No surprise that the subject most on the minds of the playwrights was disaster. In a monologue by Lily Padilla, Marin Ireland, playing a dissolute young teacher, delivers, directly into a phone camera, what we soon realize is an application to be abducted by extraterrestrials. Shes ready to be beamed up and away from this cursed planet, but the question is whether the aliens will have her. What I would contribute to your galaxy? she asks, chewing her lip. Well... I am enthusiastic. And I... think thats an important quality on any team. In just four minutes, Ireland, with her big, distant, unreadable eyes and expressive mouth, sketches a portrait of a woman who wants nothing more than to trade in her known life and surrender to the intoxicating unknown. Honestly, Im afraid the world is burning, she says. And its not that Im afraid of dying or even catching fire. I just dont want to watch.

Part of the pleasure of the 24 Hour viral monologues lies in seeing what actors do when left to their own devices, far from the smoothing, sculpting hand of a director. The selfie-video format has the feel of an audition tape, an allusion that the great Richard Kind makes explicit in a quick, clever monologue by Jesse Eisenberg, in which Kind asks Hollywood to cast him against type, for once, as a Gentile. In a piece by Stephen Adly Guirgis called L.A.Yoga Motherfuckers, Andre Royo sits in a car and launches into a disgruntled, hilariously unhinged rant about civility and these Bernie bros and their Bernie hos, who appear to have chased him out of a yoga class after he expressed support for Joe Biden. A coronavirus joke falls flat, but its good to see playwrights bringing new characters into the world to respond, in the moment, to the same things that were responding to. Free from motive, free of the harness of plot, they flicker briefly alive to share these strange times with us and then disappear, but not without leaving a mysterious, human trace.

In good times, we want performance to shake us and stir us, to horrify or delight, to rouse, to make us feel strong things. Daily living can dull the senses (including the moral one), and we ask the theatre to help us sharpen them again. But in a time of fear and strained feeling, when we are thinking non-stop about our welfare and its connection to other people, its comfort that we want. Thats why, while watching the 24 Hour viral monologues, I thought of one of my preferred forms of digital direct address, the soft-spoken parallel universe of the Internet genre called ASMR.

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Performers on Lockdown Turn to Their Smartphones - The New Yorker

A NEW Irish navy vessel docked yesterday across the Liffey from the Dublin convention centre, where it will support a testing centre for the Covid-19 virus.

The Navy ship was greeted by bagpipes played by a member of the Irish United Nations Veterans Association (IUNVA) as it pulled up into the Dublin Docklands yesterday evening.

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The navy vessel, L Niamh began working to support a nearby testing centre this morning.

The main testing area is set up on tents on the quay wall and nobody being tested will set foot on board the vessel, Lieutenant commander Gavin McCarthy told the Irish Sun.

The swabs used to collect samples will also stay on dry land to be tested.

The navy vessel will be used to provide administrative and technical support to the HSE staff and army medics in the in the main testing centre tents on Sir John Rogerson's Quay.

The ship also provides hot water, food and WiFi to staff working on the quay.

The L Niamh, took over from the L George Bernard Shaw which had been supporting the test centre.

The Irish Naval Service described the scene on Twitter, saying: "Welcomed alongside by a Lone Piper, Christy OBrien, IUNVA, L Niamh arrived in Dublin yesterday and took over from L George Bernard Shaw"

They said the vessel was "now helping to run a test centre as part of glaigh na hirean's [the Irish Defence Forces] efforts to assist the HSE fight Covid-19."

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The L George Bernard Shaw sailed from the Dublin docklands this afternoon after handing over their responsibilities to the L Niamh the night before.

A navy spokesperson said that he was not able to tell The Irish Sun where the ship's next destination was.

Irish navy vessels have also been supporting test centres in Cork and Galway.

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Coronavirus in Ireland Navy ship greeted by bagpipes as it arrives in Dublin docklands to support Covid t - The Irish Sun

The Queen of the Universe, Jane Fonda, is now on TikTok. Which means anyone who doesnt have the app needs to download it ~immediately~ because this is content the world needs right now.

She an incredible actor, a top-class philanthropist and a boss b*tch activist. And now: A TikTok star.

Jane posted her first vid of her reviving her notable 80s aerobics workouts, with a PSA at the end.

During this isolation period, we can get right into our glute with Jane OR we can join her Fire Drill Friday that sees the activist stand up to politicians on climate change each week.

Its gotten her arrested a couple times for protesting (hell yeh!), but her efforts in urging US politicians to end fossil fuel consumption has had buzz around the world with many other celebrities have jumped on board.

Even though were stuck at home, 82-year-old Jane is still doing her part to tackle the climate crisis. And so should we.

So, whip out your leg warmers and leotards and get stretching because theres still a battle to be fought as Jane holds her Fire Drill Fridays!

- Tait McGregor

Main Image Credit: Licensed by Getty

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Jane Fonda Reviving Her 80s Aerobics Workouts To Save The Climate Is The Reason We All Need TikTok - MTV News Australia