Ah Shit, Here We Go Again – Your Survival Guide To A Dreaded Second Lockdown

With the announcement of a renewed lockdown in Milano, I’m sure we are all dreading confinement within the same four walls for a couple of weeks. Having gone through this just a couple months ago, finding out that we were going into lockdown all over again was a slap in the face to say the least. Like everyone else, I have watched every Netflix show imaginable, baked every treat, and consumed an ungodly amount of TikTok. So to combat boredom this time around, I’ve decided to compile a new list of everything that has been keeping me sane, helping time fly by a little bit quicker. And I hope these recommendations do the same for you. 

To Watch

 DAZED X GUCCI – ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS short film)

Dazed and Gucci collaborated to introduce Absolute Beginners, a series of short films featuring nine creatives embarking on a project they’ve never previously attempted– directing their own short film. 

FOUR TO THE FLOOR SERIES – MIGRANT SOUND (short film)

Four to the Floor series — Migrant Sound is a series by Boiler Room say best described as “a youthful celebration of migration and its impact on British music and culture.” It combines broad societal stories with personal family anecdotal histories to explore the ins and outs of migrant culture. Click here to watch. 

NERDWRITER1 (YouTube Channel)

The NerdWriter is a weekly video essay series that explores every topic imaginable, from analyzing art techniques, to studying fight sequences from movie scenes. I could honestly and truthfully say that this YouTube channel singlehandedly pushed me through the first national lockdown.

 To Listen

MYANALOGJOURNAL (YouTube Channel)

This is another personal favorite of mine. MyAnalogJournal is a YouTube channel that continuously explores rare grooves around the world on vinyl. Everything from Japanese City-Pop to Latin Jazz, this is your one-way ticket to wherever your heart may desire, giving you the chance to forget your confinement circumstances for a little while. 

STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW (Podcast) 

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering about the workings of the electoral college, what the KGB was, Narcolepsy, or how fire works – this is the podcast for you. Hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. Bryant, Stuff You Should Know is a one stop shop for you to learn anything and everything. A goldmine of information about anything and everything. It’s a great balance of educational material whilst still remaining extremely entertaining. SYSK can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

To Read 

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING – MILAN KUNDERA

In this novel, Kundera presents a rather unique portrayal of love. The story is told through 4 chief characters, all of whom were not made to be loved by the readers. Instead, Kundera makes it a point to deeply dissect their characters, morality, thoughts, and feelings – making them understandable, and sometimes acceptable. It’s a thought-provoking study of humanity and its capacity for being tormented by its pasts and desires.

DADDY – EMMA CLINE 

The stories in Emma Cline’s first collection exquisitely scrutinizes the inner workings of a human mind. She considers the dark corners of human experience through exploring the fault lines of power between men and women, parents and children, past and present.  

GLASS CASTLE – JEANNETTE WALLS

The Glass Castle is an account of the challenging childhood that the author, Jeannette, and her siblings suffered due to their dysfunctional familial dynamic. Having been horrendously neglected as children, this novel tells a heartbreaking story of the effects of an alcoholic father, a carelessly neglectful mother, and the impact this storm had on the children. The author shrewdly displays scenes of poverty and hardship beautifully, turning sad memories into strikingly curated art.