Like everyone else, I'm trying to process the coronavirus pandemic and what it means for me, my family, our community, the country, and the world. That's a lot to process, huh? And like everyone else, it's largely manifesting as increased anxiety and an inability to tear my eyes away from Twitter and all the breaking news emails in my inbox.
While things aren't (and shouldn't be) business as usual, it is helpful to maintain some sense of normalcy, even if we can't get out into the world and spend time with one another in person.
To that end, I'm sending out my newsletter with links to some interesting stuff I've found online, a recent blog post on a conference from last week (got it in just under the wire!), and—more pertinent to these times—info about a webinar I'm excited about.
If you need to chat about anything, just reply to this email. Stay safe, wash your hands, make good choices, and try to stay positive.
This is the webinar I'm excited about. I'll be chatting with Kristin Bond from the Girls Scouts and Matthew Smith from Really Good Emails about how email marketers (which a lot of you are) can tactfully handle your work during times of crisis.
We're trying to make this one a bit more interactive and have set up a way for everyone to submit questions before hand. Do that here.
And register for the webinar here.
I was lucky enough to attend UNSPAM, a conference from my friends at Really Good Emails last week, just before everything started getting shut down. While I'm still working on a blog post with takeaways for the Litmus blog, I was able to put together some quick thoughts after doing a last-minute talk at the conference.
Learn how to prep in record time.
I had the chance to go see David Byrne's American Utopia tour but foolishly skipped it. I'll be kicking myself forever for that one... I'm glad there are some videos from it, including this amazing performance of Toe Jam on SNL.
Mo Willems (of Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie fame) is hosting lunchtime doodling for everyone stuck at home. Mo Willems is without peer in the children's literature landscape, so you'd better believe I'm going to start doodling along.
Follow The Kennedy Center on Youtube.
I know, I know... I'm late to the game. But the pandemic hase given me a good excuse to catch up on some games. I just bought both Stardew Valley and Untitled Goose Game on the Nintendo Switch. Although I just started the latter during lunch today, I'm already hooked.
Finally, this is pure gold from Patton Oswalt.
Serve the people at the bottom. The people at the top don’t need your help.
Yuri Kochiyama
Jason Rodriguez
Mostly writer, sometimes designer.