Hey, look on the bright side

Russell Brand, Marine Corps basic training, 100s of emails, and 7 other things worth your time

I had an article idea, and I was excited about it. But then, I went down a rabbit hole and changed my mind.

The idea was to find people and businesses that have identified opportunities or advantages as a result of the coronavirus. I don’t know what I thought I was going to find, but, when I sat down to really go through my notes after doing some reporting, I decided it’s just way too soon.

All I could think of was actor/comedian Russell Brandt showing up for work at MTV on September 12, 2001 dressed as Osama bin Laden. Supposedly (I’ve never found a recording), he went on air saying something like:

“What? Oh my God, again? We literally spent all day yesterday talking about this!”

He got fired. Rightly so, although almost 19 years later it’s probably okay to chuckle.

On Tuesday however, I learned what’s going on with Marine recruits currently as basic training at the recruit depots Parris Island, SC and San Diego, CA.

By sheer timing, and yes we can say it — good fortune — they manage…