[something inconvenient]
but i'm being so brave about it
this week’s Thought (singular)
philia is no less than eros. platonic relationships are as lovely, deep, and gut-wrenchingly painful.
hi
i recently came across this post on tumblr.
that’s it, there’s nothing else i can say about it. platitudes like keep on keeping on and just keep swimming are a special type of effective. what other choice is there? it’s not about holding on or giving up; it’s that even if you stop, what would you do?
ps: we’ve officially reached the last quarter of the year. just realised that 2022 started, like, last week. happy october!
English Recitation Competition
Let Me Put It This Way, Simon Armitage
Let me put it this way: if you came to lay your sleeping head against my arm or sleeve, and if my arm went dead, or if I had to take my leave at midnight, I should rather cleave it from the joint or seam than make a scene or bring you round. There, how does that sound?
Everyone is Afraid of Something, Dannye Romine Powell
Perhaps I should begin today stringing her a necklace of bees. When they sting and welts quilt her face, when her lips whiten and swell, I'll take her by the shoulders. Child, listen to me. One day, you'll see. These stings Are nothing. Nothing at all.Little Girl Études, Marilyn Chin
To everything there is a season A time to be born, a time to die A time to kill, a time to heal A time to grieve, a time to dance A time to throw stones, a time to gather them A time for little girls in heaven
A Poll!
Middle School Book Review
The Burning Kingdoms series by Tasha Suri
anything i say about this will be too little. incredibly fleshed-out characters that you can’t help but get attached to, a plot that doesn’t compromise detail for pace, super fun action and twists, multiple points of view that coalesce seamlessly (denouement!!), beautiful romance subplot that’s crucial but not obnoxious, magic powers and evil emperors and ancient beings - i could go on. one of my favourite fantasy fiction reads.
ps: it’s set in ancient india. there’s just something about reading a character’s name in a fantasy novel and knowing you’re pronouncing it right. malini, priya, rao, and so on.
A Picture!
The Good Side of the Internet
The End of Social Media and the Rise of Recommendation Media
Why friend graphs can‘t compete in an algorithmic world.
If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (list)
In July of 1778, soon after being released from the dungeon of a mountaintop fortress in Asperg1, German composer, poet and journalist Christian Schubart published this superb list in his own newspaper, the Vaterlandische Chronik. The list, which was written whilst locked up, poetically describes each of the musical keys and their characteristics.
The Latest Social Media Trend Is…Poetry?
Can't say we saw it coming, but like many art forms poetry is finding a new life on TikTok and Instagram — and taking on the complexities of modern life.
Casey Lewis on her favorite teen magazine and its embrace of nepotism babies, before Gen Z made the term a thing.
Do Facebook and Instagram even know what they want to be anymore?
Instagram has begun massively changing the experience for its users, the kinds of content they’re served and where that content can come from. In the coming months Meta’s other advertising giant, Facebook, will do the same. It’s the biggest change to our biggest social media platforms since they were founded, and it doesn’t feel like we’re talking about it anywhere near enough.
this week’s Song
City Looks Pretty by Courtney Barnett
thank you for reading, and see you next week <3
agree? disagree? feel pretty ambivalent about the whole thing? let me know!