Video games have been a very practical outlet for millions of people stuck in their homes as they do their best to practice good social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic, and now we know that practice is World Health Organization approved.

The WHO announced earlier in the week that it has partnered with video game companies to encourage people to stay home and, well, play video games as a way to help flatten the curve.

The #PlayApartTogether hashtag encourages people to use gaming to make human connections that won’t be at risk of spreading coronavirus by remaining safely away from others.

Many gaming companies have used the hashtag to share information about the WHO’s COVID-19 safety guidelines as a way to help gamers take precautions as coronavirus cases rise worldwide, especially in the United States.

This is a pretty significant stance by the WHO, especially considering that in 2019 the organization actually classified “gaming disorder,” or playing games to the point of addiction, as an illness. Clearly COVID-19 is a far more dangerous and deadly ailment than gaming disorder, so it makes sense that the organization would encourage solo gaming as not only a way to practice social distancing and pass time but also interact safely with others through online play.

Finding a Nintendo Switch console to occupy yourself with has become increasingly difficult and it seems the coronavirus pandemic has made it all but impossible to do so without paying a hefty price. Part of the problem is the arrival of Animal Crossing on the Switch, as the special edition of the console was essentially sold out well before the game was actually released. But with the coronavirus keeping folks inside and the World Health Organization actually encouraging people to play video games, demand has gone up even further.

For people who would like to get into gaming the Nintendo Switch may not be a reasonable option thanks to the pandemic. The console appears to be all but impossible to find online at retail price, which for many is their only option now that visiting retail stores is not encouraged.

As of this writing the cheapest Switch available for purchase on Amazon starts at $469, hundreds of dollars over the $299 retail for the full-sized model. The only consoles available are all from secondary sellers, as the console is sold out through Amazon’s own vendors. Walmart has similar price gouging issues, and Forbes pointed out Best Buy has Switches available but apparently not able to deliver until the second week of April.

It’s not impossible to get a Switch if you really want one. Some stores like Target still have stock available in some models for in-store pickup, though going out to buy a video game console may not be considered an essential trip no matter what the WHO says. Those models, however, tend to be the Switch Lite, the cheaper more handheld version of the console.

There’s certainly something to be said about supply and demand here, or maybe price gouging during a global pandemic. But even when you take into account Nintendo’s fairly consistent supply shortages, it’s clear folks trapped at home are trying their best to keep occupied with new hobbies. Unfortunately for most, checking out Animal Crossing or Breath of the Wild won’t be an option unless they already have their console or are willing to pay a premium.

Songwriting legend John Prine is one of the most influential in the world. His story of rising from a working class mail carrier to profound fame as a country and folk-leaning musician has struck a chord for decades, and even well into his sixties and seventies, Prine has remained prolific and continued to produce incredible work. He has also beat cancer twice, an underlying condition that makes him more susceptible to a disease like Coronavirus.

During the pandemic that is currently sweeping across America, Prine has unfortunately been diagnosed with COVID-19, and his estate shared today via the John Prine account on Twitter that his situation has worsened quickly. “After a sudden onset of Covid-19 symptoms, John was hospitalized on Thursday (3/26),” the statement said. “He was intubated on Saturday evening and continues to receive care, but his situation is critical. This is hard news for us to share. But so many of you have loved and supported John over the years, we wanted to let you know, and give you the chance to send on more of that love and support now. And know that we love you, and John Loves you.”

The full statement from their Twitter is below:

Sending as much love and healing strength as possible.

The John Wick movies have always emphasized style over realism. Keanu Reeves‘ title character is an unstoppable killing machine, there’s a world of assassins collecting shiny gold coins right out in the open, and Lawrence Fishburne has a pigeon army. The events of the films are largely based in New York City, but there’s an other-worldly quality to the story that a new viral fan theory suggests might be very intentional, and not just because it looks cool as hell.

If you’ve ever sat through a movie and thought, “This is like watching someone play a video game,” Redditor u/mantaraypreviouslife has taken that idea and run with it when it comes to the John Wick universe, and they might actually be onto something. Granted, even the Marvel movies can feel like a cutscene straight out of a console, there are very specific elements to the flow of the Wick films that closely resemble progressing through a video game.

As u/mantaraypreviouslife notes, Wick plows through mostly generic non-player characters (NPCs) before progressing to an “end stage boss who is usually more difficult.” While that’s not entirely uncommon for action films, there is very little dialogue spoken during the gun battles, and generally conversations take place either before or after the fights, not unlike a video game cutscene. The plot thickens even further when you realize that as John Wick does his “John Wicking,” his injuries barely even register.

“It is as if he is picking up health packs along the way,” the Redditor wrote, suggesting a common video game tool might be at play here. “He shouldn’t be walking, let alone fighting after getting stabbed, cut, sliced and shot.”

Again, these could just be action movie tropes taken to extremes, but the video game theory gains even more traction when it comes to the gold coins used by The High Table, the assassin’s guild that Wick has been systematically shoot-punching his way through for three films and counting. Not only are the coins a potential reference to Super Mario Bros., but they’re used exactly like in-game currency to purchase health, upgrades, and essentially save points for Wick at The Continental, which acts as a “shop/game admin area.”

As for why the filmmakers would secretly set the story inside a video game, u/mantaraypreviouslife takes his theory to the next level by speculating that it won’t stay secret for long, specifically to Wick himself:

Future John Wick films will progress the story plot of John Wick realising he is a person controlled character in a video game and him trying to fight/shoot his way out of it to take revenge on the game creator(s) who created his wife and her death.

If that sounds like a Matrix-y twist, u/mantaraypreviouslife admits that he’d love it if the John Wick world was one of the numerous simulations designed by the Architect and the Merovingian. While that scenario is probably not happening, the video game theory still tracks, so it’ll be very interesting to see if John Wick 4 will offer up more clues to support it.

(Via Reddit)

There isn’t much in the way of sports happening right now as the COVID-19 outbreak has put a halt to most all sports leagues as they attempt to prevent of people both for the protection of fans and the athletes themselves. Right now, the only things really happening are virtual NASCAR racing (which has been surprisingly thrilling to watch) and horse racing, as some tracks continue to insist on holding races in front of empty stands.

The reason for that is, simply, money, as there is still a large amount of revenue brought in from off-track betting on horse racing and, with nothing else happening in the gambling world, there’s surely an even greater spotlight right now on the ponies. Fox Sports 1 has even taken to showing the live feed of races around the country still going on and on Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs viewers were treated to a rogue horse on the loose.

The 4 horse in Race 2 of the day at Tampa was the overwhelming 3-5 favorite (the one horse was 7-2 as having the second best odds), but she decided she was not trying to run on Sunday and bucked off her jockey and broke free, twice, in a rather incredible scene.

They tried to wrangle her back in but she bucked away from the handler again and took off away from the starting gate. I must say, good on the 4 horse for challenging authority and freeing itself from being forced to race. Maybe if more star horses refuse to race they too will have to consider shutting down horse racing amid the pandemic.

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The disappearing act that is Frank Ocean has been a bit more active in recent months, leading optimistic fans to believe that an album is on the way. It began when Frank shared “DHL” in October, a track that served as his first release in two years. A few weeks later, he returned again with another new song, “In My Room.” Anticipation for a new album increased once again when Frank was announced as a headliner for Coachella’s 2020 Festival alongside Travis Scott and Rage The Machine.

Now Ocean is releasing new music again. Sharing two new songs with fans, Frank continues his recent generosity with fans thanks to “Dear April” and “Cayendo.”

According to Complex, “Dear April” and “Cayendo” were originally played at his debut PReP+ queer dance party back in October along with mixes from Justice and Sango respectively. After excitement about the songs ensued, Frank Ocean decided to make the songs available to fans, allowing them to receive the individual tracks as a vinyl release when they pre-ordered his Arca remix of “Little Demon” with Skepta.

After numerous shipping delays, fans over the past couple of days began to receive confirmation emails that the records were on the way. Split up as two separate vinyls, “Dear April” appears on one vinyl with A-side being the studio version and the B-side holding Justice’s remix. The same goes for “Cayendo” as the A-side is also the studio version while the B-side bears Sango’s remix. Fans who purchased the vinyls were also given a redemption code to access a digital download of the songs. Whether or not the songs will be added to streaming services, however, remains to be seen.

Snippets of the Justice and Sango’s remixes can be heard here. Press play on the videos above to hear the acoustic version of “Dear April” and “Cayendo.”

Taking a break from her recent coronavirus PSAs, Cardi B has now joined many of her fans in their extreme interest in Netflix’s Tiger King, a docuseries that captured the feud between big cat enthusiast Joe Exotic and conservationist Carole Baskin. Cardi has shared her reactions with fans on Twitter as she watches, seeming a bit lost in the beginning due to extracurricular activities but soon showed fans where her allegiances lay with the show’s cast of characters.

After a few episodes, Cardi declared her support for Joe Exotic (spoilers incoming). The Tiger King is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence on two counts of murder-for-hire for planning to have Baskin killed as well as 17 wildlife-related charges. Cardi, however, feels that Exotic was not treated fairly, tweeting, “They did Joe so dirty over and over again.”

Making her support for Exotic even more clear, Cardi announced she plans to create a GoFundMe in support of his release from prison. Cardi pushed her support for Joe further in retweeting a fan’s meme in response to her tweet calling Baskin a “slick b*tch.” With the retweet, she appeared to agree with a belief shared by some on the show that Baskin not only killed her late husband but fed him to the tigers she keeps her Florida sanctuary.

NASCAR, like every other major sports league, is currently on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but unlike other leagues, they have the unique opportunity to continue putting on events virtually thanks to iRacing.

Many drivers have an iRacing setup at their house to practice on, because it allows you to test various packages and get a feel for tracks thanks to the realistic mapping done on each track on the NASCAR circuit. With races on hold, NASCAR recognized an opportunity to put on virtual races, with Fox Sports 1 broadcasting them as they would a normal event with Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon, and their crew broadcasting from a Charlotte studio — safely apart and practicing social distancing. The races bring stars like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and more out, but also present an opportunity for drivers on smaller teams and in smaller series to compete on a level playing field with the best.

On Sunday, we saw Timmy Hill take full advantage of that as he raced his way to a win at Texas Motor Speedway in the second virtual race of the season, edging out Ryan Preece on the final lap in a thrilling green-white-checker finish to get the win.

Through two weeks, the iRacing events have been a hit with fans, as they have provided great entertainment and, in all honesty, have been arguably as fun if not more fun to watch on TV than most normal events. That all the cars run the same equipment helps keep the fields together (without needing restrictor plates) and as such there’s tension and battling throughout the field. The 125 lap races keep things moving and races tend to last about 90 minutes, which can be preferable to some of the marathon races on the regular NASCAR calendar for TV viewing.

Beyond that, the racing itself is more entertaining because the drivers, while treating it seriously, also take far more chances because they aren’t worried if they wreck. They aren’t worried about their safety, the cost of wrecking a car, or losing critical points from a season-long perspective and the result is an awful lot of rubbin’ and racin’.

There was even a black flag late in the race for Daniel Suarez after he tried (and failed spectacularly) to intentionally wreck Ty Dillon on the back stretch.

If this happened in real life, we’d have to have serious discussions about the danger this could have caused both drivers, but instead we can just laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Wrecks are always part of the allure of NASCAR, because it’s part of what raises the stakes in races, but in virtual racing they are pure entertainment rather than cringe-worthy moments where you feel dirty for being entertained because there’s an actual person in that car that could suffer serious injury.

They even have in-car cameras in the virtual racing that let you go along for the ride when the cars start spinning.

Sunday’s race was, once again, an awful lot of fun to watch and if you’re looking for something to watch on Sundays, it’s hard not to enjoy the iRacing broadcasts FS1 is putting on each week. Next week, they’ll be short track racing at Bristol, which ought to be even wilder.