Social-distance weekend: A to-do list redo
When I was growing up, my mom had a book “What to Do When There’s Nothing to Do.” And we needed it: No cable, no video players, no internet, and no allowance big enough to get us anywhere farther than the backyard.
With most of the world wearing a “closed” sign as we use social distancing to break the tide of the coronavirus pandemic, grownups could use that book this weekend — for themselves.
All those things we’re used to being able to do — festivals, concerts, movies, getting together — are out. We know, they’re hard habits to break. So, for the first official weekend of the social-distancing era, we offer some Plan B options for the stuff that you were expecting to do.
You wanted to check out a museum …
So that museum visit you had planned this weekend is squashed. Sub in a virtual museum tour; many of the world’s top museums can be found online for digital walk-throughs. If you’d rather your trip had more of a Badger State flavor, check out the 360-degree view of the spiral staircase at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, designed by Wisconsin architect Frank Lloyd Wright. You can find the view at Google Arts & Culture (artsandculture.
google.com), which also includes a portfolio of scores of works from the Milwaukee Art Museum.
You wanted to step out a little …
Yep, lots of places you’re used to going to and hanging out are closed, or otherwise limiting access. But you know what isn’t? The great outdoors. Park and trail facilities are generally closed, but a number of trails are still open for walking, including those in Milwaukee County Parks and Retzner Nature Center in Waukesha. (Check ahead first; like everything these days, access may be a moving target.) And don’t forget your own neighborhood: Walks aren’t just for dog owners, after all. But always: Be sure to practice social distancing; give yourself about 6 feet of space from other hikers on the trails.
You wanted to see a new movie …
In the new normal, Hollywood is shattering the window between the theatrical release and a movie’s availability digitally. On Friday, three movies that were still in theaters when everything shut down — the Jane Austen comedy “Emma,” the horror reboot “The Invisible Man” and the violent class-conflict allegory “The Hunt” — will all be available for rental digitally on on-demand services, including iTunes and Amazon.
You wanted to watch the game …
OK, so you can’t see Giannis drain another three this weekend. But you can watch some other great games from Wisconsin sports history, with a surprising number of complete games uploaded to YouTube. Among them:
❚ The 1961 NFL Championship Game, Vince Lombardi’s first title victory with Green Bay Packers, over his old team, the New York Giants
❚ The only no-hitter in Milwaukee Brewers history, pitched by Juan Nieves during the Crew’s 13-game winning streak to start the 1987 season.
❚ Game 4 in the 1970-’71 NBA Finals (well, the second half, anyway), in which the Milwaukee Bucks win the franchise’s first, and to date only, NBA title.
❚ The Packers’ win in Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
❚ The Brewers’ win in Game 5 of the 2011 National League Divisional Series over the Arizona Diamondbacks, which took Milwaukee to its first NL Championship Series ever.
You wanted to grab a bite …
The state-ordered shutdown of bars and restaurants for dine/drink-in service has been tough for a lot of people to swallow. But a growing list of restaurants (and some bars and taprooms) are offering takeout, delivery and curbside pickup services. Check the Journal Sentinel’s ever-expanding list at jsonline .com/dining.
You wanted to hear the Milwaukee Symphony …
The symphony’s weekend concerts, a tribute to Aretha Franklin, didn’t happen, but you can catch the MSO in the presence of another master in a 2002 performance by the Milwaukee Symphony of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Andreas Delfs at the baton and master pianist Lang Lang, then 18. It’s still available on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=nv9GTZGp6fw.
The MSO also has multiple concerts from its 2019 radio series online. Stream the audio at mso.org/about/music/ listen.
Contact Chris Foran at chris.foran @jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cforan12.