Life in Live for Films – Self-isolation, working from home, and free things to see and do

I thought I would take a quick break from writing about films and say hello to you all and have a bit of a chat with you all.

Both globally and personally, 2020 has been a most strange year so far. The whole world seems to be holding its breath as our entire social landscape is changing day by day.

The hunt for toilet paper seems to be an ongoing quest for many and on social media, it is a never-ending battle to see what conflicting posts are actually true.

So far (quickly touching some wood) those people I love and care about are all free of COVID-19 (how I wish that was actually just a designation for a planet in a cool sci-fi movie) and many of you out there are also not loaded up with the latest coronavirus. For those of you who have caught it or have family members who are sick, I wish you a most speedy recovery.

For many of you out there, your day to day routine will now be widely different. Self-isolation, kids off from school, your place of work has closed, loved ones or yourself are ill and it all means you have to find new ways to deal with the time you now have.

To be honest, for me not much has actually changed. Most of the time I work from the home office on my PC, or at my kitchen table or sofa so the whole working from home thing is my ongoing reality.

I am keeping calm, washing my hands, trying to shop locally where I can to help smaller businesses stay afloat and everything else I can to stay healthy.

For those of you who are new to working from home, my main tip is lots of self-discipline to begin with. It can be so easy to just end up sitting back and not doing much of anything. Put aside an hour or two to do the work then have a break and then get back on the work. Also, make sure your work area is comfortable and don’t sit around in your pajamas all day. It may be comfy, but getting dressed for work does help towards putting you in the right mindset.

Looks after your mental health as well – take a break from social media; put down the phone, put on your favourite album and just sit and listen to it all the way through; do the things that help you relax.

During your spare time there are lots of things you can do – cook, exercise, catch up on your reading, do a hobby, facetime a friend or family member etc.

You can also crack open the board games you keep meaning to play (some board game companies have been releasing rules for solo play for some of their products) or jump online with Roll20 or similar sites to play role-playing games with your buddies all from the comfort of your respective homes. I’m currently going through the tutorials and sorting out my set up to make sure it all runs smoothly.

If you want to listen to me ramble on about films, you can listen to the After the Ending podcast that I do with my buddy Mike Spring. We will be getting back to making more episodes soon, but there are almost 200 previous episodes you can listen to here.

Since COVID-19 began closing places down there have been many free resources released online – free books, comics, movies, courses, plays, concerts and more.

With that in mind, I thought I would share some of the free resources here to help you get through the day – I will keep adding to the list as I find them.

FILMS

• Check out the Korean Film Archive on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/KoreanFilm
• Watch David Niven in A Matter of Life and Death – https://archive.org/details/Lbines-RetroVisionTheaterPresentsAMatterOfLifeAndDeath502
• Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space is often described as the worst film ever made and you can watch it here – https://youtu.be/M2EdYGSk1VE
• Watch A Farewell to Arms with Helen Hayes & Gary Cooper – https://youtu.be/dHu0MPCXSmQ
• David Cronenberg’s Secret Weapons was a 1972 film made for TV – https://youtu.be/MgFgEW8DAfY
• Take a look at Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors – https://youtu.be/UhSP0ldQnuk
• Watch Trey Parker’s Cannibal: The Musical – https://youtu.be/alqtKb17Ggo
• Basil Rathbone is Sherlock Holmes in Terror by Night – https://youtu.be/Ae5KnCP6QbI
• Take a look at Richard Linklater’s 1991 film Slacker – https://youtu.be/jB4xlYKAVCQ
• The 58th annual Ann Arbor Film Fest is streaming all of its films and panels
• OpenCulture have many more links to free movies – http://www.openculture.com/freemoviesonline

BOOKS AND COMICS

• Image Comics has put loads of first issues online which you can read here – https://imagecomics.com/comics/read-first-issues
• You can download over 300,000 from the New York Public Library using SimplyE their e-reader app – https://www.nypl.org/books-music-movies/ebookcentral/simplye
• Jim Zub is giving away the first volumes of both Skullkickers and Wayward over on his Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/posts/34846589
• Devil’s Due Comics have got a load of their titles ready to read for free – https://devils-due-1first-comics.myshopify.com/collections/digital-comics?page=1
• 2000AD have got 400 pages of Judge Dredd goodness for you to download – https://2000ad.com/news/free-to-download-400-pages-of-epic-judge-dredd/

MUSEUMS, ZOOS, ART GALLERIES AND THEATRES

• The Monterey aquarium in California is live streaming many of their creatures – https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams
• Take a wander around the World Cultures gallery in Liverpool – https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/world-cultures-virtual-gallery-tour
• Take a tour around some of the most beautiful theatres, opera houses, and concert halls – https://artsandculture.google.com/theme/11-dramatic-virtual-tours-of-stages-around-the-world/1gJiszMqltReJA
• The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks takes you on a journey through some of the National Parks in America – https://artsandculture.withgoogle.com/en-us/national-parks-service
• Take a tour around Ireland’s Blarney Castle – https://www.virtualvisittours.com/blarney-castle/
• BroadwayHD has lots of plays and musicals you can watch during a free trial period – https://www.broadwayhd.com/
• Have a look around New York City’s Guggenheim Museum – https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/solomon-r-guggenheim-museum-interior-streetview/jAHfbv3JGM2KaQ
• Faces of Frida takes us on a journey through the life, and artwork, of Frida Kahlo – https://artsandculture.google.com/project/frida-kahlo
• Check out the exhibits in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits
• Wander around the ancient temples, buildings and other places around the world – https://artsandculture.google.com/search/streetview?project=streetviews

COURSES

• 500 Free Ivy League courses – https://www.classcentral.com/collection/ivy-league-moocs

OTHER BITS AND PIECES

• Watch lots of celebrities reading various children’s books over at StorylineOnline
• Stay At Home Fest lists lots of the online concerts and performances that various musicians, bands and singers are doing.
• Download and print off Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu Colouring book!
• Watch a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors play Dungeons and Dragons in the brilliant Critical Role.
• Storytime in Space features astronauts on the International Space Station reading kid’s books.
• Finally, you could always watch Betty White read Harry The Dirty Dog.

Thanks for reading and I hope you are all okay. Stay safe and be excellent to each other.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay