Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine. What are you doing with your time?

National Post ^ | 4/8 | Calum Marsh

[nickcarraway]

The last thing I want, emerging on the other side of social distancing, is to feel I could have done more with my time. Plus my show has 11 seasons

My first week in self-isolation was a flurry of enterprise and initiative. I don’t mean to boast, but it’s astonishing how much I managed to get done.

My biggest achievement? I watched almost half a season of the hit Australian competitive-cooking, reality-TV show My Kitchen Rules, a dozen 60-minute episodes, devoured as ravenously as a vegemite buffet. Of course, this demanded commitment and intractable resolve, and there were more than a few evenings when, howling at the screen in agony as Manu Feildel lambasted another auspicious dish for being served without adequate sauce, I seriously considered abandoning the endeavour.

But this is an extraordinary moment, and the last thing I want, emerging on the other side of social distancing, is to feel I could have done more with my time. And My Kitchen Rules has 11 seasons.

An unexpected consequence of the coronavirus pandemic is that we have suddenly been endowed with a colossal surplus of time. More daunting than the time itself seems the continuing prospect of it — the huge expanse of unused time still to come, stretching out ahead like a collective sabbatical.

We’re now being advised that social distancing measures, such as the closure of non-essential businesses, could persist in something like their current form for as many as eight months, which means we might have to spend the rest of the year sequestered in our apartments, forbidden to leave except to pick up groceries once a fortnight. In the absence of bars and restaurants, without concerts or cinemas, deprived of parties and dates, we are facing a period of superabundant leisure. The spare time is our

[PaulZe]

joined 2 online chess leagues. Studying chess with a chess coach A GM from India via zoom.

[Prolixus]

What am I doing with my time? Thinking about what I should be doing with my time.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Not in quarantine. Working forty hours a week outside the house, grocery shopping, etc.

[Lurker]

Ah, a cunning linguist.

L

[GreyHoundSailor]

We just got another 10 inches of snow - even the bears won’t be out of their dens by the 17th. How about a parade on 4 July to celebrate all our freedom?

[xp38]

It was noted the other day that Isaac Newton while a plague raged went off into the country and invented calculus. I’m doing my best to keep my sock drawer neat.

[IronJack]

I might try rereading “King Lear.” I’ve already done “Moby Dick” and “War and Peace.” Not since the quarantine, but at least once in my lifetime.

[orlop9]

Porn. Pretty much porn.

So you work for the Gov't huh?

[cyclotic]

Gather your kids and build a fort in your living room.

We’re trying to do something for kids and families now, something to be fun and look forward to. July is pretty far off.

[silverleaf]

And during his self isolation from the Great Plague of London, Isaac Newton invented calculus, and discovered gravity. Good thing there was no social media then or he might have been a gamer or blogger..

https://www.biography.com/news/isaac-newton-quarantine-plague-discoveries

[silverleaf]

During the summer lockdown, read the books

[DoodleBob]

[JudyinCanada]

Not reading King Lear.

[lee martell]

I carefully escorted an entire family of Dust Bunnies from my bedroom, down the corridor, down the steps and toward the front hallway. Papa Bunny, Momma Bunny, the 10 sets of Dust Twins and all their lint covered pals.

Just then, my doorbell rang. Somebody from Amazon with a package to sign for. I had been waiting a while for that package. I open the front door just a crack, sign and close the door. In that length of time, all the Dust Bunnies had been blown right back into the apartment. My immediate reaction is a little too profane for Free Rep.

Some of the clumpy clusters now lay on the staircase, but most were apparently in their brand new hiding spots.
This seemed like a good time for me to step outside on the terrace and burn a menthol, chasing that with a small glass of Italian wine. I’m done for now.

[rfreedom4u]

I prefer books to movies. But if a movies been made from a book I have to see the movie first. Otherwise I get frustrated by the things the movie leaves out.

And there will be NO Summer lock down!

[GreyHoundSailor]

They might let us free for one day to have a big parade celebrating our freedoms - maybe on July 4th.

[Bob434]

[[Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine. What are you doing with your time?]]

Learning how to wash out hands properly?

[Paladin2]

Looks a bit like some kind of Wac-A-Mole game.

[DoodleBob]

Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine. What are you doing with your time?

Testing out my newfound conjoined virology-statistics-data-Excel-html coding skills while providing a critique to this whole travesty of a mockery of a sham.

Which means here is today's installment of the proper relative comparison of deaths across the world.

Below is today's update with April 10th totals for the US and other countries that started their round of golf on March 26. While the US' time series ends on Day 17 (which is April 10 - and is basis of the order, i.e., I sorted the data by Day 17 values), I am publishing other countries future totals/'golfer's scores' who are on hole 8 while we're at hole 4.

The US' ranking doesn't look like it'll move from here on out. Since Switzerland passed us a few days ago, the nearest country is Luxembourg and the US is good 2500 or so adjusted fatalities ahead of them. Thus, in terms of Western Europe, the US will have higher adjusted fatalities than Luxembourg, Portugal, Denmark, Germany and Austria.

On the 'bright' side, We are doing better than the 'hands-off' countries like Sweden and the Netherlands who have higher adjusted fatalities but some would question if the economic carnage was worth about 3.2M-6.7M fewer fatalities. (The answer: if would, if one of those fatalities was your mum.) The rest of Western Europe is a relative disaster.

Speaking of disasters, there was a NYT article on how today, the U.S. Surpasses Italy in Total Number of Confirmed Deaths. As we all know, they're technically right but 3 paragraphs into the article, the Times noted on a population-adjusted basis Italy is still in the lead. As we can see, Italy started golfing a good 20 days before America. So we're 'winning' but it hardly feels like a win. Pray for those impacted by this entire mess.

Country	Date of Day 1=day priot to hitting 1,000+ population-adjusted deaths	Day 14	Day 15	Day 16	Day 17	Day 18	Day 19	Day 20
San Marino	3/3/20	68,711	68,711	107,974	107,974	137,421	196,316	196,316
Andorra	3/21/20	68,000	72,250	76,500	89,250	93,500	97,750	106,250
United Kingdom	3/15/20	34,021	41,018	47,016	59,744	78,537	97,497	120,322
West Bank and Gaza	3/25/20	28,167	28,167	28,167	56,334	-	-	-
Spain	3/13/20	30,541	35,950	41,855	47,600	53,988	59,222	65,680
Belgium	3/19/20	23,678	28,911	32,686	36,689	41,379	46,669	58,193
France	3/18/20	17,353	19,864	26,521	32,034	37,212	39,762	43,855
Italy	3/5/20	16,291	18,627	22,057	26,395	29,956	33,244	37,308
Netherlands	3/17/20	16,335	19,640	22,189	25,324	28,138	31,273	33,445
Sweden	3/23/20	12,789	15,213	18,848	21,910	25,290	27,746	-
Ireland	3/25/20	14,062	15,736	17,611	19,218	-	-	-
Switzerland	3/16/20	11,514	13,779	16,619	18,730	20,572	22,683	25,561
United States	3/25/20	12,722	14,695	16,478	18,586	-	-	-
Luxembourg	3/17/20	11,810	12,347	15,568	16,105	16,642	16,642	19,326
Macedonia	3/24/20	11,153	12,608	14,063	14,548	15,518	-	-
Portugal	3/23/20	9,460	9,973	11,064	12,186	13,116	13,950	-
Denmark	3/22/20	9,112	10,131	10,584	11,489	12,338	13,414	13,980
Germany	3/25/20	7,990	9,310	10,333	10,967	-	-	-
Austria	3/23/20	7,552	8,144	8,995	10,106	10,920	11,809	-
Iran	3/9/20	6,664	7,166	7,649	8,214	8,835	9,404	9,954
Iceland	3/23/20	3,619	5,428	5,428	5,428	5,428	6,333	-
Cyprus	3/23/20	3,386	3,386	3,386	3,386	3,762	3,762	-

And, of course, I'm celebrating the Greatest Story Ever.

[DoodleBob]

Strike “that started their round of golf on March 26.” Sorry.