CRITERION, PIC A FLIC VIDEO, ART INSPO, YOUR VERY OWN BOOK CONCIERGE AND A CURRY IN A HURRY
Howdy, people of the blogosphere. How are you? I hope you are getting along okay.
I have been thinking about social media platforms and their modus operandi of bombarding us with algorithms that appeal to the lowest common denominator, our basest selves. It is a clever gambit as the more time we spend staring at screens and filling our heads with garbage, the more likely it is that we will purchase consumer goods to fill the gnawing chasm of loneliness and boredom. It is a viscous cycle. I hope that one day, some intrepid content creator will create a non-profit social media platform we can engage in, devoid of advertising and immune to the spread of harmful misinformation. I am not holding my breath that will happen any day soon but, hey, a girl can dream, right?
I have decided, in an informal resolution, that in surfing the net, I will prioritize only the content that nourishes me creatively and intellectually. I have decided to become my own ad hoc personal cultural curator. I renewed my online subscriptions to The New Yorker and The New York Times. I continue to hold my membership to Criterion.com, so that I may watch new, exciting movies from all over the world. I will do deep dives on my favourite actors and directors, exploring the breadth of their work.
If you wish, you can explore Criterion's website here.
If you reside in Victoria, you can access all sorts of hard to find movies at Pic A Flic Video. Browse the aisles. They have over 25,000 titles. You can always ask a staff member for a recommendation for whatever suits your mood.
This year I intend to read more discriminately. For the majority of 2021, I devoured genre mysteries and rote thrillers. The emotional duress wrought by the pandemic made it difficult to concentrate on anything substantial. While I shall continue to enjoy my Louise Penny mysteries and Stephen King books (everything in moderation!) I am going to seek out literary fiction as seriously great writing tends to stay with me for the long haul.
Below I have listed couple of websites that I have stumbled upon that I found edifying. Perhaps others might agree.
I was bemoaning the dwindling of film criticism after the demise of Roger Ebert and the subsequent shuttering of Film Comment Magazine. I stumbled upon Bright Wall Dark Room which contains impassioned writing on the subject of cinema. There essays extrapolate on contemporary and past works. The quality of the writing is excellent and I think it is worth it to subscribe and support these guys if you are able.
https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/
I have been critical of Canada Reads ever since it turned into a sort of literary cage match, pitting one author against another. After all, ALL the books in the competition are skillfully written, all involved many months, usually years, in their creation. I haven't changed my opinion. I wish CBC would go back to doing Canada Reads the original, more convivial way, but, quibbles about the methodology aside, this competition does get people READING, and I believe, ultimately, it helps authors. You may read along, offer your opinions and vote on your favourite book.
I am posting the longlist in the event your wish to participate or maybe you just want to read one or all of these intriguing titles:
https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/here-is-the-canada-reads-2022-longlist-1.6310422
Another invaluable resource for finding great reads comes from the folks at NPR, who I like to think of as the Yankee equivalent of CBC. Book Concierge is almost exclusively where I find new authors. The categories make searching fun, the blurbs are succinct, and the choices are varied.
https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view=covers&year=2021
A year or so ago, I began to teach myself to draw and paint. I derive much inspiration from Jennifer Orkin Lewis's playful illustrations. I have been working through her book "100 Days of Drawing - Sketch, Paint and Doodle Towards One Creative Goal" and I have learned much from Orkin's loose, approachable, improvisational approach to creating. You can check out her IG page here (she goes by the moniker August Wren).
https://www.instagram.com/augustwren/
Finally, I promised that once a week I would share a recipe. This week, I am deferring to the expertise of the folks at Milk Street as their print magazine, cookbooks, and their website are one of my go tos for weekly meal plan inspiration. Chris Kimball's, (creator of M.S. and co-creator/alumnus of Cook's Illustrated Magazine) mantra is to create unfussy dishes packed with interesting flavours. Each recipe is developed and tested meticulously, so the execution works well for the home cook. The dishes span from around the globe so if you are looking to expand your dinner repertoire, it is a great resource.
In our household, we eat some variation of a curry every week. Full of vegetables, heart-healthy legumes, (occasionally meat) and spices rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, curries are indulgent, yet nourishing. As a bonus, a curry is often simple to prepare and leftovers are usually amenable to portioning and freezing for those exhausted work nights when have no energy to do anything other than tun on the stove.
Below is link to a recipe we cooked recently that delighted us, a yellow split pea curry, its sunny hue an agreeable antidote to the sombre winter skies. This is a vegan dish. I implore to you make the accompanying lime pickle (see recipe headnote) as the tart-sweet crunchy condiment provides pleasing textural contrast to the luxuriant curry. Steamed rice or flatbread make this a complete meal. If you hit the paywall when attempting to access the recipe, PM me. I can sneak you a copy, though I encourage you to subscribe if you can afford to and you like cooking.
The recipe makes a large batch of curry. Leftovers freeze well. You could make this on on a worknight as there is not a lot of prep and cooking time is minimal. If you are heating up leftovers, you may need to add a bit of liquid to the pot. Bon Appetit! Let me know if you enjoy this dish as much as we did.
https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/yellow-split-pea-curry
I hope you are finding solace in activities and content that nourish and sustain you. Works that, in the words of artist/writer Danny Gregory "feed the bubbling cauldron of creativity".
Until next time. Take care! xoxo
Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered if a viable social media platform without advertising, propaganda, and insidious algorithms could be created and sustained. People seem happy to pay for streaming platforms that cut out the adds and give you freedom of choice. I would be willing to pay $10 a month for a social media platform, even if I rarely used it, if the worst elements of were stripped away. Facebook makes an average of about $3.50 Canadian a month per user. I wonder if people would pay this for a platform that served their needs instead of those of corporations and politicians. I'd gladly pay it just to watch Zuckerberg fall.
I agree, Steve.
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