“This week is for believing that the world can still be made new — a feeling that isn’t exactly optimism, but something close. You don’t have to believe that everything will ‘work out,’ that things will ‘be okay,’ that it’ll be possible to return to a state of peaceful equilibrium. you don’t even have to believe that the world you want can be achieved within your own lifetime. Right now, it’ll be enough just to have a burning conviction that a long-needed change is coming, and that you have a role in it.” - My horoscope this week.
There are a lot of dark and despairing places on the internet, but I have decided this is not one of them. Maybe COVID-19 will single-handedly revive the lost art of blogging? Only time will tell. In the meantime, here are some links of levity to temper the roiling ocean of uncertainty:
The Great Pottery Throw Down. Like GBBO, but for potters. See also The Great British Sewing Bee.
Harry Styles Tiny Desk Concert. Better yet, why not binge the whole series on YouTube?
Here’s a thinker to occupy your brain for the rest of the day: apparently not everyone has an internal monologue.
What makes you swoon? I have a long list, but one of them is the word “cookie.” Whether it’s a kid or a grown-ass adult, there’s no way you can go hearing a person say “Can I have a cookie?” and not give them the whole damn box.
The miracle of moving a piano in NYC. Is it particularly useful information? No. Is it interesting in an esoteric way? Yes.
I read Kevin Wilson’s Nothing to See Here purely because of Taffy Brodessor-Akner’s review. It was a droll, quick read. The ending isn’t particularly inspired, but I don’t know how I could’ve written it better.
I wish I had a chance to meet Richard Geary.
Agnes & Muriel’s and All the Places I Have Loved You by Jessica Tilley Hodgman. “One time, I was described by a man I loved, who didn’t love me, as ‘oceanic.’ As in, ‘a little too much.’ I hung onto you, hoping we were just ‘a little too much’ enough for each other.”
This is as good a time as ever to freshen up your mending (or learn for the first time!) — how to sew a button.
Why You Should Rescue a Dog by Eric Kim. “What a huge victory a little life is.” Eric’s writing made me choke up when I was copy editor of our high school literary magazine, and continues to make me F E E L. He’s a MONSTER.
Tiny victories. Sure things can and will go wrong, but what if they go spectacularly right? Call the friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with. Try that recipe you’ve bookmarked for weeks. Reach out to your neighbor to see what you can do to help. Tip extra to the food delivery guy. We don’t have to “make the most” of a pandemic, but we can certainly find ways to make it better.
Even if it’s just a little.