I talk about the weather a lot. Maybe you’d disagree. But I feel wary and conscious of it every time I do so. I talk about the seasons, which are inextricably linked to the weather. But I am British and it is an affliction we all share. When there are wind gusts of over 50mph in London and it’s raining sideways the real feel is -5 degrees celsius not talking about it is like trying to suppress a secret when you have a penchant for gossip. God it feels good to relinquish.
This week, I stayed true to my planned alternations of fiction to non-fiction (sort of, I did squeeze in Claire Keegan’s So Late in the Day but it’s short and I finished in one sitting so it doesn’t really count). I started and finished reading The Courage to Be Happy by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi. The book is a follow-up to their first, The Courage to Be Disliked and continues to centre of Adlerian psychology as a framework for living a fulfilled life. I enjoyed the format of both books, written as a dialogue between a philosopher and a youth mirroring ideas from Ancient Greece. I’ve now moved on to The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. I’ve recently read some articles about how he came to write the book and his creative process so it was nice to time reading the book the back of that.
Other things I’ve read:
Hot girls have IBS
The best smeared make-up moments in arthouse cinema
How to stay positive while single
My Dad is dying of cancer - can I still crack jokes?
Living in a lucid dream
Straight onto my ‘to be read’ pile of books this week was Laura Bates’ The New Age of Sexism which is due to be released in May next year. An exploration in how AI is reinventing the mechanics of misogyny, I can’t wait to get my hands on it and have bought tickets to her talk at the Southbank ahead of the launch.
Buying your first CD is not a purchase you forget. It’s etched on your little capitalist brain as one of the first purchases you make that carries weight and value. We didn’t have Sky growing up, so I used to switch between E4 Music and TMF to get my music fixes, following up with downloads of my favourites on MP3 Rocket later. One birthday, I got a red CD player/ tape player/ radio boombox that I cherished. The CD collection began with a very solid entry of P!nk’s album Missundaztood. If it were 20 years ago, Get the Party Started would be top of my Spotify wrapped.
Last week I started watching The Day of The Jackal. I’m unsure why I didn’t entertain the idea of watching it when the first episode dropped. I suppose I’d disregarded it a little as being a show about a sniper. I find sniper/ war/ army shows a little dull sometimes. It’s not my bag. Fuck I was wrong and now I am gripped and the final episode comes out next Thursday and I am beside myself with the wait. I don’t remember the last time I was so vocal and animated watching a TV show. It is a tense, action-packed thriller featuring some of Eddie Redmayne’s best acting. Highly recommend.
Mulled over whether to even bother giving this the air time it does not deserve but a few weeks ago on the highly acclaimed (I am obviously joking but feel the need to it reiterate loudly) The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the guest was Elon Musk. He said that animals don't contribute to climate change. Both host and guest dismissed the idea that eating less meat would help the climate as in their eyes the science behind it was "irrelevant". There isn’t time to delve into this further (nor do I want to waste my breath) but the continued denial of climate change and the factors that contribute to it from people in powerful and influential decisions remains. And I fear may only get worse once after January’s inauguration in the USA.
This week I mused about adulthood. Thinking about what defines coming-of-age and how the socio-cultural markers of growing up continue to evolve and change. I thought this little quote from American writer and activist, Betty Friedan would be fitting to share.
“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength”.
