re/Discoveries #1
Starting a new segment. Let me share with you the wonderful/dreadful/beautiful things I've read, listened to, watched.
Listening to: Cloudbusting by Kate Bush
re/Discoveries are articles, podcasts, movies, songs, shows, critiques, clips, episodes, sites, blogs and accounts I wish to share with you. I have either recently/newly discovered or re-discovered or revisited some old song/show/etc. that’s suddenly resurfaced from memory. Let’s start:
The Film Sufi’s Critique on The Departures (2008) [re-discovered]
Just this week, I reread this wonderful critique of The Film Sufi on a movie that’s perhaps on my top 3 favorites list. In this review, The Film Sufi finds aspects of the movie that are not to their liking. I suppose that this film won the hearts of many peoples. Not The Film Sufi. At the end of the critique, they gave the movie a rating of only two and a half! They are one of the few who found the movie lackluster (in terms of some of the actors’ acting).
I disagree with Film Sufi’s found faults of the film. But I still enjoy their thorough analysis, well-researched and clear. Plus, this BlogSpot account is very much active with the last review posted February this year. I like scrolling the blog from time to time to check on the films they have watched. But I reread this particular review just to remind myself that there’s someone out there who don’t completely like Departures. Thank you!
Their Twitter
Sara Tatyana Bernstein’s What We Wear: A Reading List on Fashion and Our Complex Relationship to Clothes [newly discovered]
Before, I used to marvel at the fashion industry. In recent years, as I’ve learned it’s the second most Earth-polluting industry, my stance towards it and the peoples who work within it, have become somewhat of a struggle. It’s in this industry, I think, where craftsmanship and passion are most seen. But as I see millions of metric tons of secondhand clothes getting sent to developing countries everyday, out of the arrogance and sheer wastefulness of developed countries, I can’t help but feel as if we, as a species of this Earth, have long lost our right to use anymore raw materials. Hopefully, this fascinating list of essays she’s compiled will help me get an even clearer view of why, how, what we wear. I really do adore lists, it’s a door of knowledge to so many other things. Thank you, Miss!
Her Twitter and site.
Somebody Somewhere (HBO) [newly discovered]
I’m still at episode 3, but I knew the moment I watched the trailer that I was going to like it. Now, a few episodes in, I’m head-over-heels in love with it.
Several reasons why I love this HBO original series: it’s produced by comedian/writers (which I think are the most creative people); it’s indie (and indies always touch on important topics seldom not talked about in mainstream shows); it’s filled with American actors with little to no facial alterations (no actors should!); above all, it’s about being queer in a small town (my current situation and basically the essence of my blog!)
Premise: A small-town woman can’t move on due to the death of her sister. As she struggles to find some place and acceptance in Manhattan, Kansas, surrounded by people with traditional views, she finds camaraderie with a group of other wonderful “misfits.”
WUSSY Mag is absolutely insisting us to watch this. I. MUST. OBEY. And a full review of this series is a requirement for this blog. I won’t binge-watch this show, for once. Haha. I’m going to savor this bit by sumptuous bit. <3
Thank you!
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime [recommended by a friend]
I dozed off halfway through the first episode with this one. Probably because I watched this lying down. Probably because there’s too much dialogue. Because the premise is simply one of a kind. But as the title suggests, the protagonist does turn into slime in another life/world. That’s all I got so far.
But this was a suggestion from a good friend and the trailer is phenomenal. I need to require myself at least 6 episodes before I decide to continue.
Hota Katebi’s Ukraine and liberation (+ some side rants about Chicago bc why the hell not) [newly discovered]
I discovered writer/fashion blogger/critic/activist Hoda Katebi through YouTube Shorts when two anchors apparently ambushed her with surprising questions. And she completely owned them. As two funny comments perfectly put it:
I’ve since followed her writings and even discovered she has her Substack! She’s written a volume of texts that are digitally available and I’m glad I get to read a beautiful voice with an Islamic cultural/religious upbringing. For now, I think her thoughts on the Ukraine-Russian conflict is the most important to read. Fascinating. Every single sentence is a treasure trove of knowledge.
I’m so happy I found her on YouTube. Assalamu Alaikum, sister! Much love and admiration from a brother in the Philippine South. Thank you!<3
Her Instagram, Twitter and Website.
Patti Smith’s Substack [newly discovered]
Need I say more? I’m still on the free subscription plan but hopefully when I save a bit of dough I’ll get to hear more of her. I love her. I love her I love her I love her.
Her website and Instagram
Apa Agbayani’s The creepy crawlies and me [newly discovered]
What is Queer Writing? Is it queer writing when a non-binary person writes a short story totally grounded on heteronormativity? What if a lesbian writes sci-fi with only straight protagonists and characters? Would the literature be considered queer? Or do we keep writing about our LGBTQIA++ experiences, lonesome, joyful, and everything in between? I just try to read as much as I can; different stories written by different peoples from all races and countries and cultures and try to figure out the answer by my own.
As I was exploring Substack, I stumbled upon Agbayani’s No cities to love and the domain itself hit me in the heart. The last city I loved was Bangkok and my heart longs still longs for it. After that, the only city left for me to love is my own body and even that is sometimes forced.
I loved my experience when I first read The creepy crawlies and me. It’s the sort of story you read and reread and read in segments during your free time much like supplication. At points, I feel afloat; then, he zooms in on a topic and I feel myself carried away like a dry leaf on a stream I always find pouring one’s soul into writing a painful experience. But stories like this help me with molding my own writing process. Thank you!
His Twitter and Instagram
Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting [re-discovered]
This song’s played on my shuffled Spotify at just the opportune time. The springy almost militant cadence to this song uplifts my chest and tells me we all have still so much potential and chances to redeem ourselves. A friend of mine sent me a link to her A Woman’s Work, but the title ‘Cloudbusting’ was too good not to click. It’s been a romance with me and this song ever since.
Her website
Fallen Media’s Leave the trash where it belongs! | What’s Poppin with Davis! [often revisited]
I leave you with this Poppin with Davis! interview that’s become a sort of mantra. I watch it multiple times almost every morning. It’s the quintessential example that I have the capacity to love strangers from far away. Here’s a true queen if I ever saw one. I’m inclined to believe she dresses fabulously all the time. Iconic answers too that’s always floating in my mind. “I’m a centered being, darling,” “Once I say goodbye, there’s never gonna be another hello,” “We leave the trash where it belongs.” All while smoking a blunt. Such an inspiration.
Their Instagram, Tiktok, personal Instagram. Fallen Media’s Youtube, Fallen Media’s Site
xoxo~