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Welcome. Start your weekend with “Keeping Love Close,” an expansive collection of responses by Asian and Asian-American photographers to the question, “What does love look like in a time of hate?” The photos are accompanied by an essay by the novelist Celeste Ng. “There is value,” Ng writes, “in choosing how to be seen, in reclaiming the right to select the face you show the world, in insisting that others see you as you know yourself to be.”
It’s April, springtime, and anticipation mixed with anxiety can make it hard to relax. The critic Jason Bailey says Emma Seligman’s comedy “Shiva Baby” is “as tense as any thriller, with the strained small talk, copious side-eyes and unapologetic gossip augmented by nervous camerawork, jarring sound effects and a jangling, dissonant musical score,” which convinces me it’s just the thing to stream this weekend, a sympathetic complement for a season of quickly shifting moods.
Eric Asimov has a starter kit for those of us who’d like to get into wine but don’t know where to start (no gadgets or fragile stemware needed). And for those who feel they’ve forgotten how to give hugs, tell jokes or offer compliments, Bonnie Tsui has gathered expert advice on how to be social again.
There’s a lot to look forward to: A new Prince album. The reopening of Tanglewood and other outdoor performance venues. Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book, “Empire of Pain,” on the Sackler family and the opioid crisis, is out on Tuesday.
Try to find balance this weekend, some peace in the mess of emotions we’re all feeling. It may lie somewhere between Elena Boils’s animations of erupting volcanoes and this 30-minute balm of pacifying visuals from Studio Ghibli.
A reader recommends.
Ginger Monplaisir in Ridgewood, N.J., is finding comfort in stand-up comedy.
I have always been a fan of Mike Birbiglia and have been faithfully listening to his “Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out” podcast on the daily walks I take with the dog in order to escape our full house. He now offers virtual live-comedy shows. I bought tickets to a show in February for a Valentine’s date with my husband; we told the kids we were having a basement date and made a nice meal and watched the show. We have tix for the next one, “Worldwide Pizza Party.” So hopeful that someday I can see him live!
Tell us.
How are you preparing for an increase in human contact, for seeing and socializing with more people after over a year of limited interaction? Write to us: athome@nytimes.com. Include your full name and location and we might use your contribution in a future newsletter. We’re At Home. We’ll read every letter sent. More ideas for leading a full and cultured life at home or near it appear below. I’ll see you next week.
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