SPENT MOST of the day Wednesday convalescing on the sofa by the fire, having fallen ill the night before with what is most likely the stomach flu, possibly brought on by food poisoning. It was most unpleasant, but given the current state of things in the world, could have been much, much worse, and for that I am grateful …

I have seen people preoccupied lately with all kind of topics―finances, careers, relationships―and I realize how easy it is these days to fall into a whirlwind of negative thoughts. But in order to remain positive and keep the good thoughts flowing, you have to fill your time with beautiful things: with art, books, music and inspiring stories.

Everything feels new, unbelievable, overwhelming. At the same time, it feels as if we’ve walked into an old recurring dream. In a way, we have. We’ve seen it before, on TV and in blockbusters. We knew roughly what it would be like, and somehow this makes the encounter not less strange, but more so.

Life has been no party lately. Coronavirus has shattered our routines, pitched our economy into free fall and left us stunned. We’ve been stripped of our social safety nets, those customary conversations with neighbors, friends and family. We’re isolated and split off from each other like fish from water …

IT’S MONDAY but does not feel like it, for nothing has felt normal for a while now. While we’re all still practising social distancing and spending most of our time at home, here are some inspirational words written by Paul Williams…

Mick Jenkins has returned with two new songs since dropping off his latest EP, The Circus, in January. The Chicago MC offers up distinctive sounds through the new tracks, which are dubbed “Frontstreet” and “Snakes” respectively, linking up with Kaytranada and Kojey Radical along the way.