A weekly outpour of 5 of the things I consume every week. A coalescence of art, podcasts, articles, essays, newsletters, movies, web series and any other form of media you can imagine.
Hola curious fellas! In this information era what we digest is what we reflect. Here's a flux of information you might find interesting.
1. ‘Brown Girls’ written by Fatimah Asghar (Web Series)
After reading Fatima Asghar’s poetry, I couldn’t keep myself from not watching Brown Girls. A short series centered on the friendship between a queer Muslim woman, and a young black woman, as they explore their identities and contextualize their relationships. Brown Girls innovates in multiple ways. It centers women of color, talks about matriarchy and it performs this act of solidarity without seeming to erase the black woman involved. The soundtrack by ‘Jamila Woods’ is a treat to the ears.
2. ‘Letter to My Body’ by Joy Ladin, A Poetry Film by Elyse Kelly (Animated Film)
The On Being Project is a nonprofit media and public life initiative which explores the intersection of spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and the arts. I have been an ardent follower of its podcast and the YouTube Channel as well. “Letter to My Body” was written by Joy Ladin and is an intimate conversation between one’s true self and the body they’ve been given. I’ll let the art speak for itself when you watch the video.
3. ‘Rick and Morty’ Season 5 on Netflix (Cartoon Series)
Rick and Morty is a cartoon series on Adult Swim on Netflix. Its half-hour episodes follow drunken mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty on mad-cap adventures through time and space and family dysfunction. It is inventive, absurd, and wonderfully dark. The show relies a great deal on absurdist humor and is full of existential despair that everyone finds themselves dealing with from time to time. The latest episodes from Season 5 catches up well to the spirit of the show.
4. ‘Art is My Own Best Chance of Redemption’ by Ron Hogan (Article)
I found this newsletter called ‘Destroy Your Safe and Happy Lives’ by Ron Hogan, who talks about how to build a successful writing practice and his experience as a writer. In this article he takes reference from John Adams, an American composer and how he views art. It bewilders me every time I read about someone’s interpretation of art and how they pursue it.
5. ‘What Deadlines Do To Lifetimes’ by Rachel Syme on The New Yorker (Essay)
The essay ponders on how deadlines have become an integral part of your lives. Living under the constant conundrum of whether we are respecting time the way we should. The essay talks about Deadline Effect, how to deal with respecting deadlines and yet not feel frazzled about it interspersed with relatable anecdotes and quotes from famous authors, this essay will make you queasy and calm at the same time.