this week’s Thought (singular)
water water everywhere, not a single inclination to drink
hi
i’m not sure why but i’ve recently started noticing noses in pictures, and how grotesque they are. how pudgy, how contorted, how fun to look at. my grandfather and i have the same ‘capsicum’ nose, how lovely is that.
i really wish i could tell you that i have a more insightful observation, or some out-of-the-world metaphor, or really just any more substance around this topic, but i’m honestly just endeared by how noses look. and thinking about how you’re preciously, comfortingly connected to your ancestors by something that’s been the source of so much self-consciousness (rhinoplasty is apparently the third most common cosmetic procedure), and how when you look at it and register it and isolate it in a picture, you stop noticing anything else. how it twitches right before a sneeze, how it sniffs out what’s being cooked in the kitchen and accordingly decides if i should come out of my room to explore. it’s fascinating stuff.
in conclusion - noses. how ugly, how lovely.
(i’m aware that this could read like a seinfeld episode. it’s fine, nobody’s here for elaborate think pieces.)
ps: happy march :D
English Recitation Competition
A Divine Image, William Blake
Cruelty has a Human Heart And Jealousy a Human Face Terror the Human Form Divine And Secrecy, the Human Dress The Human Dress, is forged Iron The Human Form, a fiery Forge. The Human Face, a Furnace seal'd The Human Heart, its hungry Gorge.
My hand, my arm, make sweeping circles. Dust climbs the ladder of light. For this infernal, endless chore, for these eternal seeds of rain: Thank you. For dust.
The Way In, Linda Hogan
Sometimes the way to milk and honey is through the body. Sometimes the way in is a song. But there are three ways in the world: dangerous, wounding, and beauty. To enter stone, be water. To rise through hard earth, be plant desiring sunlight, believing in water. To enter fire, be dry. To enter life, be food.
A Poll!
Middle School Book Review
your regularly scheduled book recommendation has been temporarily halted. watch this space over the coming weeks so you don’t miss the next one!
find all shared books here.
A Picture!
The Good Side of the Internet
Is Falling Asleep to TV Really So Bad? An Investigation.
One insomniac’s descent into the world of sleep research to understand what screens before bed are doing to our brains.
“Productivity” encapsulates a lot of things. Am I meeting my self-imposed creative deadlines? Am I eating “correctly”? Am I making sufficient time for my friends? Am I keeping up with my habits? The world is falling apart, and what am I doing about that, and is it enough? Am I doing my job as well as I promised I would when I interviewed for it? Is my writing growing at an adequate pace? Am I spending my time in ways that I feel good about? Am I producing enough content? Invariably, my brain responds to all these questions one of two ways: “NO,” and, “NO, YOU HORRIBLE PIECE OF SHIT.”
The Orca and the Spider: On Motherhood, Loss, and Community
I am thinking, our astonishment at the grieving orca reflects a terrible blind spot in our culture. No one who has lost a loved one stops mourning in one news cycle. We carry the grief for longer than anyone ever knows but it is invisible, which only multiplies our pain.
People are uncomfortable with the orca’s spectacle of grief, as though it is abnormal and unhealthy. No. We are the ones who are unhealthy. We expect and push people to get over profound sadness and loss too quickly.
Librarian finds love notes, doodles in books and shares them with a grateful public
In her 20 years as a librarian, Sharon McKellar has unearthed all kinds of left-behind personal items — from doodles to recipes to old photographs — nestled between the pages of returned library books. She carefully removes them and reads them, then she scans and uploads them to the library’s website after scrubbing any personal identifying information.
The Case Against the Twitter Apology
Our twenty-first-century culture of performed remorse has become a sorry spectacle.
this week’s Song
find all shared songs here.
thank you for reading, and see you next week <3
yes? no? maybe? let me know!