LOVE Joe Hill, the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree at all. 😃
I get it, as far as the lack of professional experience. I'm looking into taking some sort of creative writing course in the fall, and maybe next year going to a writer's retreat or something.
The past 3 years have been shit for *waves hands around* everyone, I think we're all at the point now of trying to find the new normal.
Haven't read enough of Joe Hill (big King fan, of course). Read Heart Shaped Box and thought it was a good debut but wasn't overly into it. I did enjoy the first few volumes of Locke and Key graphic novel. But anyway, this is a nice reminder to check out some more of his work, so thanks.
I've just started reading The Woman in the Dunes by Kobe Abe. Suitably weird and strange, as I hoped. Quite simple prose, but that adds to the tale, I think.
I've also suffered from not reading enough of late. Hoping to rectify that in coming weeks.
Keep at it Shaina, you're doing great and that quote by Kurt is on point 🤗
Heart Shaped Box was my first read as well, and I had the same reaction. NOS4A2 was wonderful. Really imaginative and decently nerve racking. The Fireman was also really well written and had a ton of Easter eggs for King fans.
I’ve never heard of Kobe Abe but just read a summary of The Woman in the Dunes and it sounds fascinating. It’s on my TBR list.
A great little piece from a substack called The Companion this morning. It had me thinking on the ever-changing nature of the friendships, and how our friendships are not these static fixtures in our lives that we often imagine them to be.
A great episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast. This one was an interview with David Eagleman - a famous neuroscientist. It was a fascinating talk, exploring how our minds are far more malleable and adaptable than we ever really give them credit for. As an example, they spoke about the idea that dreams may be a way for our minds to prevent our visual processing centers from being invaded by other parts of our brains.
* What I Watched*
I just watched the movie Birdman for the first time last night. I had no idea how exceptional and ambitious a film it was, and how beautifully it explored concepts of meaning, purpose, and the struggles of contending with our inner critics.
*What I Wrote*
I also wrote a short piece that may prove valuable to some. It highlights the ways that our efforts to contend with the less desirable effusions of our thinking mind can do more harm than good, and how subtle shifts in our approach can make all the difference in the world.
Anyhow, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to your next post.
Caught this so late! Thanks for the response! I love Tim Ferris’s podcast but haven’t listened for a while. What does that mean, keeping our vision centers from being invaded by other parts of the brain…it sounds horrifying 😂 I’ve never even heard of the Birdman but I’m looking for a Good Friday night watch so this might be it!
I hope you enjoy Birdman. It's a really great movie!
I guess it DOES sound a bit terrifying without context! The general gist is that our minds don't have these completely inflexible lines of demarcation separating one region from the other that we might imagine. The researcher in this interview had discovered that if the region of our brain dedicated to eyesight is not being used (ex. Someone born with cataracts that are never operated on), then the brain will utilize that real estate for something else... And that this process of reclamation begins far quicker than we might imagine.
Essentially he said, the reason our dreams are so visual in nature, is because our brains utilize that bit of pink matter every night to keep it from being subsumed by other parts of the brain!
That's actually quite a lot of reading for the time, given all your other responsibilities, Shaina. I enjioyed your story in the Storyletter celebration, do keep it up!
My week in reading was as usual, all over the place- a bit of medieval history but more modern psychology, holography and the future of AI, as well as classic Irish lit, as I was putting together my entry for the Lunar Awards today and there were some historical and scienc-y facts needed (even if it is fiction). I was just happy to edit two typos, even if after the thing gets sent out.
I didn’t know you wrote fiction! Looking forward to reading it! I fell in love with Ray Bradbury as a kid and always wanted to write science fiction. Unfortunately I didn’t pay much attention in my science classes and realized late that to write fiction, it’s helpful to actually know something about the topic.
Read and loved this piece as well! Groups have come to terrify me more and more as I’ve gotten older. I left Christian fundamentalism over a decade ago, and moved right into politics in the years after. Looking back, I think it was a familiar place of group think for me, knowing exactly what’s right without having to think about it. At this point I’m just trying to live my life without having to categorize all the time. It’s happier on this side of things.
LOVE Joe Hill, the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree at all. 😃
I get it, as far as the lack of professional experience. I'm looking into taking some sort of creative writing course in the fall, and maybe next year going to a writer's retreat or something.
The past 3 years have been shit for *waves hands around* everyone, I think we're all at the point now of trying to find the new normal.
Haven't read enough of Joe Hill (big King fan, of course). Read Heart Shaped Box and thought it was a good debut but wasn't overly into it. I did enjoy the first few volumes of Locke and Key graphic novel. But anyway, this is a nice reminder to check out some more of his work, so thanks.
I've just started reading The Woman in the Dunes by Kobe Abe. Suitably weird and strange, as I hoped. Quite simple prose, but that adds to the tale, I think.
I've also suffered from not reading enough of late. Hoping to rectify that in coming weeks.
Keep at it Shaina, you're doing great and that quote by Kurt is on point 🤗
Heart Shaped Box was my first read as well, and I had the same reaction. NOS4A2 was wonderful. Really imaginative and decently nerve racking. The Fireman was also really well written and had a ton of Easter eggs for King fans.
I’ve never heard of Kobe Abe but just read a summary of The Woman in the Dunes and it sounds fascinating. It’s on my TBR list.
Adding NOS4A2 to my list, thanks!
*What I Read*
A great little piece from a substack called The Companion this morning. It had me thinking on the ever-changing nature of the friendships, and how our friendships are not these static fixtures in our lives that we often imagine them to be.
https://open.substack.com/pub/charliebrinkhurstcuff/p/the-companion-005-when-your-best?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android
*What I Listened to*
A great episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast. This one was an interview with David Eagleman - a famous neuroscientist. It was a fascinating talk, exploring how our minds are far more malleable and adaptable than we ever really give them credit for. As an example, they spoke about the idea that dreams may be a way for our minds to prevent our visual processing centers from being invaded by other parts of our brains.
* What I Watched*
I just watched the movie Birdman for the first time last night. I had no idea how exceptional and ambitious a film it was, and how beautifully it explored concepts of meaning, purpose, and the struggles of contending with our inner critics.
*What I Wrote*
I also wrote a short piece that may prove valuable to some. It highlights the ways that our efforts to contend with the less desirable effusions of our thinking mind can do more harm than good, and how subtle shifts in our approach can make all the difference in the world.
Anyhow, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to your next post.
Caught this so late! Thanks for the response! I love Tim Ferris’s podcast but haven’t listened for a while. What does that mean, keeping our vision centers from being invaded by other parts of the brain…it sounds horrifying 😂 I’ve never even heard of the Birdman but I’m looking for a Good Friday night watch so this might be it!
I hope you enjoy Birdman. It's a really great movie!
I guess it DOES sound a bit terrifying without context! The general gist is that our minds don't have these completely inflexible lines of demarcation separating one region from the other that we might imagine. The researcher in this interview had discovered that if the region of our brain dedicated to eyesight is not being used (ex. Someone born with cataracts that are never operated on), then the brain will utilize that real estate for something else... And that this process of reclamation begins far quicker than we might imagine.
Essentially he said, the reason our dreams are so visual in nature, is because our brains utilize that bit of pink matter every night to keep it from being subsumed by other parts of the brain!
I’d say your doing great. Just keep being authentic in what you write and your voice will shine through.
I like Joe Hill too. I’ve been sitting on Full Throttle - maybe now's the time to start reading it.
That's actually quite a lot of reading for the time, given all your other responsibilities, Shaina. I enjioyed your story in the Storyletter celebration, do keep it up!
My week in reading was as usual, all over the place- a bit of medieval history but more modern psychology, holography and the future of AI, as well as classic Irish lit, as I was putting together my entry for the Lunar Awards today and there were some historical and scienc-y facts needed (even if it is fiction). I was just happy to edit two typos, even if after the thing gets sent out.
I didn’t know you wrote fiction! Looking forward to reading it! I fell in love with Ray Bradbury as a kid and always wanted to write science fiction. Unfortunately I didn’t pay much attention in my science classes and realized late that to write fiction, it’s helpful to actually know something about the topic.
Loved the Sherman Alexie piece. Dead right. Spot on. I’ve written about the woke/extreme left often. There’s so much infighting amongst the ‘groups.’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/the-poison-of-identity
Read and loved this piece as well! Groups have come to terrify me more and more as I’ve gotten older. I left Christian fundamentalism over a decade ago, and moved right into politics in the years after. Looking back, I think it was a familiar place of group think for me, knowing exactly what’s right without having to think about it. At this point I’m just trying to live my life without having to categorize all the time. It’s happier on this side of things.