At 5 PM Saturday, March 21, Governor J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 Executive Order No. 8, aka the Stay at Home order, took effect. Here's a daily-ish journal of how Reader staff, our friends, family—and our pets—are spending our time.

Days 43 and 44: May 2 and 3

What we’re reading:

• “The End of Poetry,” a punch in the neck of a poem by current Guggenheim Fellow Ada Limón (bonus - there’s an audio version)
• “Can LGBTQ+ Bars Survive COVID-19?” by Naveen Kumar for Them
• “Are You a Foreign Artist?” by Lori Waxman for Quarantine Times

What we’re listening to:

• Comedian and Chicago native Dwayne Kennedy’s new comedy album, Who the Hell is Dwayne Kennedy?
• a 12-hour loop of the engine noise from Star Trek: The Next Generation’s USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D

Which adoptable animals we’re considering this week, so we can live out that Dr. Doolittle fantasy and annoy our neighbors:

• Cookie and Cream, a pair of senior donkeys
• Ruby, a 40-pound pig
• Kelly Kapowski, a young Dutch mix rabbit

What online livestream events we’re looking forward to:

• FitzGerald’s Stay-At-Home concert series including next week’s Lil’ Ed gig
• Hideout Online presents the Fire-Toolz record release party
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