Zoom Archives - The Six Fifty

It’s reading cats and dogs: How Peninsula shelters are improving literacy on the Peninsula

Kittens, cockatoos and lizards are stepping into virtual learning (and they’re available for adoption too — see our local list of shelters) (Image via Pets In Need) One topic weighing on many Bay Area parents’ minds has been engaging squirrely kids through, often monotonous, online learning sessions. But what if the next time they checked in on little Timmy, they found him reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a bearded dragon? This whimsical circumstance is ...

130 solos: For youth choirs on the Peninsula, Zoom keeps the music alive

Experimental video tech and a lot of stay-at-home practice is resonating with these young singers Members of Ragazzi Boys Chorus singing “We Are the Day.” (Image courtesy Ragazzi Boys Chorus) Story by Janet Silver Ghent Like tiny images on a sheet of postage stamps, 130-plus boys in navy shirts join voices in the upbeat “We Are the Day.” To the untrained eye, the boys in Ragazzi, an award-winning Redwood City-based choral group, look and sound ...

Peninsula-based Paint the Town introduces a new kind of party — Bob Ross style

Local artist and teacher Celia Ma thought outside the box while stuck indoors, and the result is cause for celebration Landscapes… because can you ever really tire of a gorgeous view? (Image via Paint the Town’s FB page) Sure. The first virtual wine night or two were great. But how many “Zinfandel and Zoom” sessions can we stomach? When COVID-19 hit, Celia Ma, San Mateo resident and owner of Paint the Town (a paint ...

Virtual pizza making? Insta cocktail hour? During COVID-19, local businesses turn to online classes

Virtual pizza making? Instagram live cocktail hour? During COVID-19, local businesses turn to online classes For local bars, bakers and breweries, virtual classes provide connection — and maybe even survival. Tian Mayimin of Little Sky Bakery in Menlo Park demonstrates how to make pizza at home during a free Zoom class on Friday, April 10. I’ve never met Tian Mayimin of Little Sky Bakery, but on a recent afternoon I watched her make pizza from scratch in ...

Too much Zoom? Take time to revisit the slow art of letter writing

While in quarantine, embark on a “mail mission” for cancer patients, meet a new pen pal or just craft sincere artifacts with ink & paper Pick up that pen and get writing! (Image via Johanna Hickle) In a world of overnight shipping and instant emails, we deliver both information and physical items with swift efficiency. Yet in spite of our many technological innovations, the craft of letter writing still hasn’t gone the way of ...