I spent two hours this past Saturday night watching the One World: Together At Home special, where musicians performed from home in support of frontline first responders and the WHO. It was absolutely wonderful, and I checked in with friends who I was sure would be watching. Some were, but others:
Nah, I can’t watch that… makes me sad to see everyone performing in their houses.
I was surprised until I realized… I’d skipped out on church for a month, because ‘online church’ felt different. Grab a beverage, and hop below the Story Break for some musings on the New Normal and what’s replaced our Old Normal.
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In this era of Social Distancing and Intentional Isolation, Zoom Happy Hours (including the first C&J Rum&Coke Friday Zoom Happy Hour!) have replaced in-person gatherings, and you can do everything from yoga to business meetings from the comfort of your own house, pants optional.
It’s NOT the same, and I’m finding some of the substitute things work for me, others do not. To wit:
I love my yoga instructor and her in-person classes dearly, but I simply can’t participate in her weekly Zoom classes because I don’t have a place to do so in my house.
Seeing the One World concert on TV worked, because I was never going to get to see all of those performers anyway.
Watching Facebook Live concerts by musicians new to the format isn’t working great for me, primarily because I’ve been listening to performers stream online for well over a decade in the virtual world of Second Life, and honestly they’ve got this down SO well they can relay stream three or four musicians and sound like they’re all in the same room while most non-SL musicians are still trying to figure out how to get the sound right. There are exceptions, however!
Getting takeout from my favorite sit-down restaurants is something I do to keep them afloat, but truth be told it just doesn’t taste the same after the drive home and that time in a takeout container.
Church is not the same, but it holds value in a totally unique way if I treat it as a whole different experience (like I did last Sunday), then it works.
I have a friend who works in the theatre industry who says she just can’t watch performances on TV because it is just NOT the same. And now that I’m thinking with an open mind, I get it.
So how about you? Are the substitutes working for you, or is there nothing that replaces the real thing (or even comes close)? Tell us in the comments, which are the guaranteed, real genuine Top Comments comments you’ve grown to expect!
This is a LONG video, but (for me at least) is well worth the… umm… eight hours. If you didn’t get to watch the special last night but wanted to, this is for you.
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From raboof:
We receive (in response to this comment by yet another liberal, about Trump’s response to Kim Jung Un’s medical condition) this comment by freshwater dan.
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From BeninSC:
I would like to issue a Top Comments thank you to tampaedski, for trying to help karij with the above top comment submission. Deeply appreciated!
And, in the same thread, in this comment, laughingriver provides a much darker view of the governor’s ill-advised move
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TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, April 20th, 2019, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
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