35 Things You Can Do Or Explore From Home

In a time of COVID-19 more and more groups and organizations are closing their doors as a preemptive action. In addition, more individuals are staying at home either to self-quarantine or because few entertainment opportunities are still open.

I see individuals wondering what they will do with themselves to stay busy during this time. In response, I have composed the following list of 35 links/activities/ideas you can do/explore from home to get people thinking. This list includes everything from at-home fitness to helping scientists perform research to exploring online collections including photos, medical history, and comics.

At Home Fitness

Yoga With Adriene -- Difference yoga videos for any mood or ability. Adriene is also amazing.

Darebee -- Workouts for cardio, core, and strength training. Some are even RPG Style.

Refitrev --  Dance fitness set to all your favorite songs

Knowledge (General)

(All these are free to sign up and provide courses for free though you might not get certificates but if you are just learning for fun that does not matter)

Coursera  -- All Topics (These generally are longer courses and involve submitting assignments)

Edx -- All Topics

Futurelearn -- This one is based in the UK so you get more UK history etc

Harvard -- Want to say you took a Harvard class? This is your chance. (To find free ones click price then free)

Knowledge (Specific)

Duolingo -- This site covers everything from languages spoken around the world to fictional languages such as High Valyrian and Klingon

Codecademy -- You can pick us the basics of coding for free

NaNoWriMo -- While Nanowrimo is best known for its Nov program they have tips all year round. In addition, April is Camp Nanowrimo where you set your own word count goal.

Digital Images/Collections 

(Many research institutions have digitalized some or all of their holdings so you can do cool personal research) 

• The Newberry Library
• The Library of Congress
• Naval Collections
• Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library
• JFK Library
• FDR Library
• The Granger Collection: Historical Photos
• Mathematics and Statistics: Digitized Collections
• Duke University Collections
• The Vatican Archives
• The Digital Comic Museum
• ...

Virtual Volunteering

Catchafire -- You can volunteer your professional skills helping many organizations

Transcribe letters and diaries -- The Newberry Library in Chicago needs help transcribing handwritten letters and diaries which have been digitalized

Zooniverse -- A whole collection of research projects you can help with from home. The selection is amazing from stars to cells, from elephants to helping track plant species, locations and scientists hidden in XIX century handwritten letters, to identifying and classifying nineteenth-century microscopy illustrations

Non-Virtual Volunteering/Donating (If you have money)

Check what types of items your local organizations need and create/donate via an amazon wish list or equivalent

If performances are canceled don't ask for a refund or donate the equivalent to the organization

Ask a cultural organization how you can help fundraise for them in these times. 

Non-Online Ideas (General)

Deep clean/organize of your apartment/house

Cook/Bake yummy foods

Write

Create/Make Art

Non-Online Ideas (Social)

Call a friend or neighbor

Write letters 

Contact a senior center and see if it would be possible to call/skype individuals there

Check if your typical social gatherings will be streaming etc. (Some places of worship are closed to in-person worship but many will be live streaming services. If your place of worship is not, check online for others in your faith tradition)

Politics, Fandom, Parallels

Recently I have been seeing many parallels between politics and fandom. I noticed these when Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Joe Biden. After we mourned our candidate we began branching out with slogans like "Team Pete for Joe Biden" or "PB&J" (Pete Buttigieg & Joe) which highlighted we still feel a part of a unique "Team Pete" community.

Candidates Parallel Fandom Universes

Candidates are like the shows within the Star Trek universe or each of the doctors within the Doctor Who universe or each James Bond. Each has a different flavor but still fits within a larger context of the universe/show.

It is heartbreaking and we mourn when our candidate/show gets canceled because many have invested a lot of time and energy. And those not part of the candidate/show's community do not always understand why mourning is occurring because they see it as "Just a candidate" or "Just a show"

Supporters parallel fans

Some connect to the characters, some connect to the ideas, some connect to the community, some are casually involved, some are super involved creating their own supporter groups and organizations.

Some are known for their kindness and welcome to others while some are known for being very exclusive and focused on "Fake" fans/members.

Sometimes politics directly references fandom.

As I was thinking about the ideas behind this post I ran across the below political ad which uses fandoms (clips of various shows/movies) in the context of politics (Removing Trump). While the ad is a bit something it is also very enjoyable, was energizing, and made me laugh, which does not typically happen when watching political ads. :) It also proves my point there are parallels between politics and fandom.

Dispatches from C2E2 #2

Days 2 C2E2 2020

Cosplay: The Doctor

Day 2 was a panel light day. I spent a good amount of time walking around the dealers' room. This year was once again was a giveaway book year. (The past few years have been very light on what free books etc were being handed out).

The Panels I attended:

Tried but did not get into the Adam Savage panel :(

The Psychology of Love and Shipping: 

This was a very interesting, data-driven panel.

It was cool to see data on:

Ships that fans like and dislike
How the most liked and most disliked ships change over time
Which ships were most likely to be correlated with what different type of fans
How different ships correlated with different types of love (which were a modified version of the 6 greek words for Love)

Spotlight on Iron Circus Comics:

Interesting to see what new types of comics are soon to be published

Making Comics for Women by Women

Day 3 C2E2 2020

Cosplay: Hamilton

Day 3 was even more panel heavy than Friday. All I ended up doing day 3 was going to 7 panels. Many of these I will just list titles and not go into any detail.

Mark Ruffalo

I was glad I saw this panel, via TV screens, as I was in line for the next one.

William Shatner

I struggled to enjoy this panel. Shatner was rambly, kept interrupting those who were asking questions, and made a few jokes/comments which felt very problematic to me.  Overall I found his panel very blah. His co-workers on Friday Walter Koenig and George Takei were much more interesting and entertaining.

Hot Takes: Creating Healthy Romance for YA Readers

Comics and Crime Criminal Justice & Graphic Novels

Super Salaam! Muslims and Fandom

One two of the presenters were able to make it (2 others had gotten sick) so it became a very interesting panel about Muslims and Cosplaying. The panel ended with a miny presentation of the various Muslim based comic books and related media.

The Devil You Know

It was fun to have a panel talking about how to write good villans

Wakanda Forever! The Psychology of Black Panther

This was very interesting and thought-provoking. It was fun to see the Psychological background for the various Black Panther runs.

Overall I really enjoyed C2E2 this year and the time flew by. I can't wait for next year.

Belonging, Heartbreak, Hope

I am in the middle of processing the fact that tonight Pete Buttigieg suspended his campaign for president. I have written a little about how much Pete means to me previously but feel moved to write one more post. In the end, though I want to leave you with the knowledge that no matter what we all still belong here.

I was drawn to Pete for many different reasons. From amazing stories about him using his language skills to help a family at a hospital in South Bends, to how he captured my creative imagination (He and Chasten are characters in a whole range of my daydream fanfiction and we have been all over together: Hogwarts, B5, Torchwood, Doctor Who, ...) to how deeply he made me feel like I belong.

During his campaign he time and time again talked about the Crisis of Belonging which has led to the epidemic of mental health and other challenges. He made me much more aware of the mental health struggles in rural America (including the high prevalence of suicide there) and the struggles of Vets. He was a candidate who spoke to these issues in a way that the other candidates did not. He reminded me that no matter what I was personally experiencing, for good or for bad, I still belong. (And having a context for why Depression seems to visit me and visit so many of those I know, more frequently recently, was really soothing for me)

He made me proud to be an American, and connected to America, in a way I had not been before. (Deeper than even Hamilton: The Musical) I also ended up connected to politics in a way I had never been before. I had the opportunity to go to an event with Chasten, one with Pete, and be on 2 supporter calls and a supporter video call with Pete. I event helped text bank for him.

His and Chasten's love for each other made me even consider if partnered love was something I wanted for myself (verdict is still out) and his description of trying dating in his book led me to try this dating thing and go on my first date date (dating not my cup of tea).

I could go on and on how Pete and Chasten and Pete for America have touched my life but I did say I would end on hope. One way Pete and Chasten and the Campaign was able to stay so kind in the face of politics are the campaign's rules of the road.

These rules of the road will go on. These are still the things that matter in this world. These are still things that are real even when they seem impossible. While Pete may not be running for president in 2020 anymore, know that does not mean these rules are no longer valid.

Most important to me is remember You belong, I belong, We belong here in America. We can not allow any of the hate or racism or sexism or homophobia or transphobia or Islamophobia or anti-immigrant rhetoric ... to allow any of us to forget we belong.

We belong and we shall be bold and may we all find joy in that.

Dispatches from C2E2 #1

Day 1 C2E2 2020

Cosplay: Newt from Fantastic Beasts

Today was a Panel Heavy Day

Japanese Mythology, Folktales, and Urban Legends: 

This was just a fun panel listening to Japanese Mythology etc. Takeaway: Japanese Mythology is a melting pot of various traditions, Shintoism, Buddhism, ideas from China and Inda, etc.

Walter Koenig Spotlight:

You never know the impact you will have. A heartwarming story from a fan who was working a con and got invited by a friend to a meetup which happened to be in Harlen Ellison's room, when Ellison asked who allowed this fan in, Koenig spoke up and said he did (even though Koenig did not know the fan), this led to Ellison recognizing the fan at future events and helping them vocationally, and recently this fan published a short story of their own for the first time. So a simple speaking up for this random individual changed the individual's whole trajectory. A moment that Koenig has no remembrance of had amazing ripple effects. I think the lesson is we never know what our small actions can accomplish. 

RWBY Cast Q + A:

I had no background knowledge of RWBY (I actually thought that the letters were an acronym) and stayed so I would have a good seat for the next panel. Q + A was a lot of fun and I now want to look up this show and find a way to watch it. It looks like it is a lot of fun. The cast also spoke about how it is about highlighting the similarities between people, not the differences.

George Takei Spotlight:

So many stories we packed into a short amount of time including many about what happened to the cast afterward and the friendships they developed, "Time is Gifts, memories, and loss".

During the Q + A someone asked about his various interviews on the Howard Stern show which led to an amazing complex and intertwining story. 1st time he was on the show his publicist set it up and he knew nothing about the show, so when said Good morning Stern made a raunchy comment, at which point Takei said "Oh My", a recording which was used on the show long afterward, and is how "Oh My" become his catchphrase.

Takei then told his personal story of being in the closet, how you could not be out in Hollywood at the time, the hardships of that double life, and how and why he finally came out which was very moving. (He only came out openly in 2005 which was very surprising, I think I assumed when I first learned he was gay that he had been out since the very beginning, which knowing the historical context was a very illogical thought, and I don't know why I thought that, but I did. I know I sometimes forget how coming out used to be much more challenging then it is today)

So after Takei came out he was having conversations at campuses etc and realized he was speaking to mainly LGBTQ and allies. He wanted to reach more people and ended up speaking on the Howard Stern Show to reach an audience he would not have reached otherwise. As he said "Howard Stern is a decent guy, and Howard Stern's audience is raunchy but decent"

These Geeks Fight Fascism: (I was late because of the Takei panel) 

Everyone has a role to play in anti-fascist work, some to march some to talk to their grandmas. One key idea was the importance of standards and creating spaced that are welcoming which being clear who is not welcome in the spaces (racists, sexists, etc).  Ok to make spaces safe from certain conversations. When spaces feel safe and welcoming individuals can take bigger risks and trust their audiences. Life is political, Life can't be apolitical. If we can't see something we can't imagine it for ourselves. 

It's all geek to me: Queer Perspectives on Classical Art and Comics:

An interesting panel on the intersections of queerness, theater, and fandom/geekiness.

Other:

I got to see my C2E2 buddy Robbie Thompson :)

I got 3 free books, plus a sampler book, etc

I won a cool figpin of Miles Morales