This concept is my way of sharing information and staying connected with my personal and professional network in these crazy times. Content is chosen based on what I think is interesting, entertaining and relevant, and there is no commercial aspect to any of it.

The last thing I want is to be an annoyance...so please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email if you don't want to receive any more of these messages.

Conversely, if you received this from someone else and would like to subscribe yourself (or if you'd like these sent to a different email address), you can subscribe HERE .

Have a great day!

John

POSITIVE VIBES!

I am in a positive mood of late, and wanted to share some thoughts on why I think we should all be feeling better about the trends we are seeing related to the Coronavirus pandemic. Despite the preponderance of doom and gloom streaming from news sites and TV coverage, there are some really encouraging trends developing related to both the spread of the virus and related death projections. I encourage everyone to draw their own conclusions, but I will provide some data and my interpretation below for your consideration.

The Peak is Nigh!

Please note that I didn't say "the end is nigh", and I am not encouraging everyone to throw away your hand sanitizer and home-made masks. But, the data is clearly indicating that the social distancing measures that we have been taking are flattening the curve...in some cases dramatically. The chart below shows forecast data from IHME and how it has been trending over the past week. As you can see, IHME has dramatically lowered projected negative impact and shortened the duration until we hit "peak" numbers.

The chart below is for the United States as a whole and shows that in just the past week:

For those not familiar, IHME is an independent global health research center at the University of Washington that is being used as the source of forecasts for a number of government agencies. There website has projections for deaths, how many hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators will be needed, as well as peak dates for needs, all of which can be broken down by country or state.

Here is an example of their projection forecast (click on picture to access site data and learn more about IHME.)

Consumer Behavior After Social Distancing Ends

The guy who came up with the term "ZOOM" has some thoughts on what the new normal looks like post-COVID-19. There is some good stuff in this medium.com article, in which he lists 10 new consumer behaviors that may be here to stay.

SpeedPro Printing in Chicago has started a campaign to support first responders and spread good thoughts across the City. The signs are pooping up around town in front of police stations, fire houses and hospitals, with supportive and positive messages featuring the Chicago and USA colors. 25% of all purchases is being donated to the Red Cross. Click on the photo below to learn more or to order some for your neighborhood!

The Chicago Blackhawks shared a video of the legendary Jim Cornelison taking WFH to a whole new level...decked out in formal attire to sing the National Anthem from his north side condo. Click below to watch and tell me if you aren't excited to get back into the United Center soon!

Two Takes on David Lynch...

TAKE 1:

30 years ago today, David Lynch introduced television viewers to the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington and the very strange things that occur there. The opening scene of a body washing up on the riverbank and the haunting musical score by Angelo Badalamenti contributed to making the series a phenomenon (for you millennials reading this, it was like the buzz around Game of Thrones, only it was on free TV.) This IndieWire article tries to make sense of it all...something fans have been trying to do for three decades...it also talks about where you can stream episodes.

TAKE 2:

Last Fall, I had the pleasure of meeting David Lynch after his appearance at Chicago Ideas Week. He was there to talk about Transcendental Meditation and (as you can see in the entertaining interview below) he feels quite strongly about its incredible potential for improving everything from education to crime prevention to PTSD. His Foundation is doing some incredible work, and TM might just be what all of us need a bit more of these days. Learn more about it HERE.

More Screen Time Options...

JETSETTER has links to some live cams around the world that you can tune into for some distraction and entertainment. The NYC live cams show the eerily calm landscape in Times Square, where the only things moving are the myriad video displays still promoting brands to the empty streets and sidewalks.

More Active Options...

WOMEN'S HEALTH LIVE 2020 pivoted to a virtual event to connect with their followers this weekend and the content continues to live online, with workouts, techniques and interviews from Jillian Michaels, Davina McCall and others. Here is a CAMPAIGN article about the event with a link to the content if you're interested...

I'm still excited, so the countdowns stays!

Click on the photo for a sneak peek!

Here is Chicago, our new Mayor is becoming a familiar site around town as the memes depicting her battle for social distancing continue to spread. The original photo came from a daily press conference on COVID-19 where she was standing behind Governor Pritzker as he spoke. Her stern gaze and stance soon began appearing on social media, overlaid on photos depicting closed parks and bike paths. With her announcement today of a new 9:00pm liquor curfew for the City, we are bound to see a whole new crop of memes in the days ahead. Here are some of my favorites thus far...