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Corona – Day 16 – My Playlist

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I gave my students the task to create a playlist with songs that help them get through this strange time. Part one of the task was to compile the playlist, and they also had to write a few sentences about each song and why they chose it.

I decided to do the task as well, and here’s the result. You can click on the here to open it on Spotify.

My Corona Playlist

I tried (or at least pretended) to be eclectic in my music taste and decided not to use some all-time favorites. Instead, I went mostly for quiet and somber songs with beautiful crescendos. Most of the tracks are light on electric instruments, focusing on piano, strings, and similar elements. That wasn’t a strict rule—I simply chose songs that work well in the background as much as for active listening.

Here we go:

A good playlist starts strong—you need to communicate that you mean business and introduce the theme of your playlist.

Track 1: “In the House – In a Heartbeat (28 Days Later OST)” by John Murphy

Yes, I’m opening with the soundtrack to a zombie apocalypse. This track has a driving quality, an almost relentless crescendo that ends very quietly with just a guitar.

Because, as we all know, you start strong and then you calm things down…

Track 2: “Diamond” by Bandit Heart

…crickets… and then we ease into this melancholic song. “Time is a bandit…” It certainly feels like COVID-19 has stolen a lot of time from us.

Okay, let’s keep the mood but with a bit more oomph.

Track 3: “Fake Empire” by The National

I love this song, especially for Berninger’s baritone voice—you don’t hear that often in this style of music. The song has a somber tone, yet it’s weirdly engaging and almost uplifting, leading us perfectly to…

Track 4: “Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car” by Iron & Wine

Time to get a bit folky. These are strange times, but let’s try to stay upbeat, live in the moment, and let the rhythm and strings soothe us.

Which brings us to Tracks 5 & 6—the midpoint of this 10-song playlist. It’s time to bring the heat… and turn things up.

Track 5: “Defying Gravity (from Wicked)” by Stephen Schwartz

There are many musical power ballads, but there’s only one Defying Gravity. Performed by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel (yes, Elsa from Frozen), this song truly lifts you off the ground—and we could all use a bit of that right now. (Side note: I could do a whole playlist of musicals, and depending on how long this goes on, I just might.)

And we stay strong with…

Track 6: “Your Song (Live)” by Elton John

Even with social distancing, there’s room for one of the greatest love songs of all time. This live version, performed in Australia with an orchestra, adds an extra layer of magic. It was either this or Tiny Dancer.

Now it’s time to calm things down again before the big finale…

Track 7: “Pt. II C (The Köln Concert)” by Keith Jarrett

We stick with the piano, but now it’s solo piano jazz, performed by Keith Jarrett. If you don’t know it, The Köln Concert is one of the most beloved jazz albums of all time, and “Pt. II C” was technically the encore. The music is stunningly beautiful, and I highly recommend the whole album. Fun fact: Jarrett wanted to cancel the performance because he had a cold.

Track 8: “Giorgio by Moroder” by Daft Punk

Time to bring in the groove with Daft Punk and Giorgio Moroder, the “Father of Disco.” This track has one of the greatest “needle drops” ever and is one of my favorite Daft Punk songs. I also recommend their Tron: Legacy soundtrack.

As we near the end, it’s time to return to the theme…

Track 9: “The Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter

A piece of music that explores the meaning of time—something we’re all reflecting on right now. What does time even mean in the age of corona? Max Richter is a German-British composer who blends classical and contemporary styles. Another great piece to explore is Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons.

And finally…

Track 10: “My Body is a Cage” by Peter Gabriel

From his album Scratch My Back, Peter Gabriel covers this Arcade Fire song with a stunning orchestral arrangement. It’s hauntingly beautiful… and don’t we all feel a bit caged at the moment?

And with that, there’s nothing left to say. Stay healthy.

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Corona – Day 15 – Workflow

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Back from a little blog break. I had a relatively quiet weekend 1. I uploaded an old video essay of mine—damn you, YouTube content filter—and then I uploaded an edited version again. 2

I’m already working on another video essay, and I think I’ve got a decent plan for this week’s episode of “Mr. Vogt Explains.” The plan is to write it on Wednesday, record some new band inserts, and then, like last week, shoot and edit the episode on Thursday. At least, that’s the plan.

I spent most of the day correcting assignments. As long as my students hand in their work like they’re supposed to, the workflow is pretty smooth. I use my iPad for corrections, so I can write with “a pen” without needing to print or scan anything. When it works, it feels like magic… unless… well, let’s not go there.

Time to grab some dinner, then it’s back to more correcting before heading to bed early to get rid of this jet lag—damn you, daylight savings time.

Worst time of the year

  1. like everyone else, I presume ↩
  2. Those content/copyright laws are really outdated. ↩
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Corona – Day 12 – Murphy’s Law

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Feedback on the video has been good! I only shared it with a couple of students, and I’m not claiming I’ve hit the YouTube jackpot, but one could say the video went a bit viral. 🙂

That being said, work on Episode Two has officially begun. I’m aiming for that 10-minute mark. I’ll probably record some more band reactions, and I’ve got a few ideas for “Anonymous Reporting.”

One thing I might have to introduce, though: “RANT!” Guess what—the video got copyright flagged for the short Corona Song clip. I’m probably not going to dispute the claim since there’s no money in it, but doing a segment on copyright could be an interesting idea.

On another note, I’m toying with the idea of making the next video really educational. If something besides Corona comes up over the weekend, I’m seriously going to consider it.

Another idea: I could base a video on one of the topics my students are working on, like the Revolution of 1848 or WWII, and make it both educational and fun. WWII with jokes—what could possibly go wrong?

I’m taking a blog break this weekend. I have to get started on some grading—apparently, if you let your students do work, you eventually have to correct it. Who knew?

Besides that, I need to get my new D&D campaign up and running. I’ve outlined the first few sessions and know where I want the campaign to go, but I’ll need to adapt to the new circumstances. It’s going to be a bit of “trial and error,” but by now, I’m used to that.

If it works out, I might even try to join an online D&D game myself.

Murphy s law

WWII with jokes—what could go wrong?

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Corona – Day 10 – Proof of Concept

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Yeah, the thing with the computer didn’t go so well. I had to start from scratch, and apparently, at 2 in the morning, I made a mistake with the partitioning. Now I need to move some stuff around. On the bright side, I finally got iCloud to work properly.

I did a videoconference with two of my classes today, and it went quite well. The quality wasn’t great, though. Not sure if it’s my setup, theirs, or just the technology being stretched to its limit.

That being said, I worked on the video today and am uploading it to YouTube right now. It’s probably not the final version yet—I’m just figuring out how it’s going to look. But it’s going to take ages to upload. It’s almost 7 minutes long and turned out quite okay. I had to redo the whole intro, and recording myself was a bit weird. I’m definitely stiff, but I think it’ll get better if I keep at it.

The material itself is fine—nothing groundbreaking or super insightful—but as a “proof of concept,” it will do. I’m not expecting a call from a TV station anytime soon, but with some practice, it might not be too bad.

Stay tuned!

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Corona – Day 9 – Setbacks

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Damn it. My computer is having issues. It crashed and became unusable just as I was about to finish the first draft of the script for the first episode.

Now I need to reset everything, which might take a while. I just hope that all the things I prepared yesterday (and hadn’t backed up yet) aren’t lost. That would really suck.

Wish me luck.

UPDATE:
It’s not looking good. Tried a reinstall—FUBAR. Looks like I’ll end up with a clean Mac. I might use a late backup for all the non-cloud data, but unfortunately, the new stuff was only on the hard drive. Looks like the first episode’s premiere will be a bit later than planned.

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Corona – Day 8 – Quick & Dirty

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Just a short one today. Students are working, and so am I. Some of them are doing a great job and are very motivated… others, not so much.

My webcam arrived today, so my setup is now complete. I recorded the band segments today (yes, my show has a band!) and familiarised myself with Adobe Premiere. Tomorrow marks the first day of shooting the actual episode. I’ve already lined up some jokes, and the plan is to put together a 10-minute show by the end of the week. Who knows—depending on how long this lasts, I might even start doing video essays on a regular basis.

Stay tuned and stay healthy!

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Corona – Day 6 & 7 – One week down

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So, it’s Sunday evening. The first week is over, and what a week it has been. I just finished updating tasks for my students—they should be busy for the next couple of days. I’m really curious to see how they handle the assignments I shared. Ideally, some of these could be useful once regular school resumes.

The goal for next week is to plan a face-to-face lesson with at least one class. I’ll probably start with my own class, set a date, and see how well the video conference feature works. Speaking of video, my proper webcam should arrive tomorrow, so I might start test recordings for my “show” as soon as it’s here. I’ve got a few ideas for the first episode—I’m aiming for a 10-minute version of Last Week Tonight. It’ll be more of a “proof of concept” than anything else. I’m not sure if I have the broadcast energy to pull off what I have in mind. It’ll probably be very embarrassing, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for the greater good. 🙂

Another thing I looked into this weekend is Dungeons & Dragons. We have a pretty solid group, and we’ve decided to keep playing through the crisis by switching to online. I’ve been exploring roll20, and it seems pretty good—manageable without too much hassle. I still prefer sitting around a table, but this is definitely better than not playing at all.

I’m also in the middle of learning Premiere, so stay tuned for next week’s adventure in homeschooling!

To close the day, here’s a German video that explains quite well why you should stay put.

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Corona – Day 5 – Remain Indoors

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No big news today. I’m settling in, students seem to be working and home-office starts to become normal. I have a broad plan for the next few weeks and I’m now trying to find ways to make those tasks more fun for students or to maybe prepare a reward for them. I testing out a bunch of software and I’m making progress. I’ll probably try to cut a little movie tomorrow and figure out how to properly record a podcast.

The plan is to start writing creatively this weekend as well. As I said, I’m getting the hang of this and between tech-support and watching tutorials I’m sure I can find some time to write.

That’s it for today. Stay healthy and remain indoors.

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Corona – Day 4 – What to consume during the Apocalypse

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Today was a holiday, but that didn’t stop me from working. I updated the tasks for tomorrow, so I’ll only have to answer questions and still tackle that exam I need to grade.

I promised you some entertainment tips to help get through these days, so without further ado, here’s a list of suggestions:

Books

On the non-fiction side:

  • Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: A fascinating exploration of why certain people succeed.
  • Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas: A critical look at the rich elite and their philanthropic endeavors—and why that’s often a problem. Entertaining and thought-provoking.
  • Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari: An intriguing look at the history of mankind.
  • Five Came Back by Mark Harris: The WWII experiences of five legendary film directors.

On the fiction side:

  • Anything by Neil Gaiman is usually a great idea.
  • John August recently released the final book in his middle-grade series, Arlo Finch in the Kingdom of Shadows—fun and exciting bedtime reading.
  • For a little apocalyptic preparation (just kidding): World War Z by Max Brooks.

Music

I listen to a lot of music while working from home. Subscribing to streaming services is great for trying out new things. Right now, I’m really into Max Richter’s work. I also stumbled upon an “Early Music” playlist—those old chords have a soothing quality that I’m finding quite comforting these days.

Movies

With theaters closed, now’s the time to revisit classics or explore some lesser-known titles:

  • Everyone seems to be watching Contagion or Outbreak right now.
  • If you’re into self-punishment, Cats is out on VOD.
  • For something animated, the recent DC flicks The Death and Return of Superman and Superman: Red Son are worth checking out.
  • On my rewatch list: Dawn of the Dead (both versions) and The Andromeda Strain. Sensing a theme here?

TV

  • There’s a new season of Cosmos airing, titled Cosmos: Parallel Worlds. It’s quite good.
  • I started The Outsider and, three episodes in, I’m hooked—it’s a gritty cop procedural meets…well, no spoilers!
  • The latest episode of Star Trek: Picard was pretty interesting; the season finale is next week.
  • For something older and much weirder: Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. Too strange to describe, but it’s on YouTube. You’re welcome.

YouTube

Speaking of YouTube, here are some channel recommendations:

Games

I dusted off my PS5 and Switch recently. While I was waiting for The Last of Us Part II and Cyberpunk 2077, I’ve started playing Detroit: Become Human and Luigi’s Mansion 3.

So that’s it for today. Stay healthy and see you tomorrow! 😊

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Go figure. 🙂

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Corona – Day 3 – What’s in a day

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I’m a master procrastinator, so working from home is a dangerous game for me, but these first two and a half days of “Corona Time” have been surprisingly productive. Communication with students seems to be working, and most of them are hard at work. One big challenge will be ensuring no one falls through the cracks.

I listened to a couple of voice memos my students made while discussing a book—it worked great! Honestly, why didn’t I think of this earlier? Another class is writing their results in the ClassNotebook while discussing current events. If there’s one good thing to come out of all this, it’s that more people in schools are embracing the possibilities modern technology provides. I count myself among them.

I promised you some insight into my day, so here it is.

I get up around 7 and take a morning stroll. By 8, I’m back home, and by 8:30, I’m in “the office.” I usually start by checking emails and answering questions. After that, I make sure all my classes for the day have enough work prepared (though I obviously set up most of it earlier, just in case questions arise). As I mentioned, I listened to some voice memos today and started working on a little treat for my students… I might finally go full John Oliver. But more on that another time.

I also adjusted some teams, watched a few tutorials, and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. After lunch, it was more of the same, with a quick break to help my dad in the garden. I’m trying to make sure I step out of the “office” regularly.

I plan to break early today. I’ll still listen to a few memos and answer messages, but I’ve worked enough for one day. Tomorrow is a holiday, so no work for my students. I might even sleep in. I also need to correct an exam from last week, which I’ll probably tackle tomorrow or Friday. I’ve definitely put in my hours over the past few days, so I think I’ve earned a bit of rest.

I’ll definitely blog tomorrow—I’m planning to share some recommendations for things to watch, read, and listen to.

Let me end today with a little tease: Stay tuned! 😊

Mr. Vogt Explains the World

Coming Soon…