arts as anti-venom
Howdy, curious internet eyeballs! I’m still here.
This outlet has been on something we could give a euphemistic label such as a horror hiatus or painful pause.
This labour of love or traumatic coping mechanism is coming to you via an obtuse, inefficient typing style courtesy of a hand splint and a swollen guts situation we’ll choose to describe as cute, courtesy of an emergency surgery.
These things are not the focus, more ridiculous side details to add a little je ne sais quois to your reading experience.
As shit has well and truly been getting real, the value of accessing creative work to make life bearable has been brought forth with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
And definitely not in a highbrow sense, although I do love that if it tickles your brain nicely. I mean TV that you devour (or wish to, because satire is dead and we’re in a drip-fed-via-streaming-services era), artists you froth on the gram, unexpectedly great books picked up from the street library, movies you comfort watch alone, albums saved for particular types of stress— all of that.
These are the things that make being human bearable in moments that feel distinctly unbearable. Behold, some of mine that have kept me hovering somewhere between waving and drowning (see below). None of them are hot off the press. Consider me out of sync.
immersive, enjoyable outputs
big book NRG
Big time - Jordan Prosser’s debut is set in the 2030s, when the eastern Australian states have become an autocracy that hates science, pop music and loves indefinite detention for ‘indecency’. Follows Julian Ferryman, a member of state approved pop band the Acceptables, and his entanglement with new designer drug F. Made time elastic, I wanted to re-read the second I finished.
Content notes: drugs, state violence, death
All that’s left unsaid - Tracey Lien’s debut novel came out in 2022, and came into my little paws via a community library. Follows young Vietnamese-Australian journalist Ky in the wake of her brother’s murder in western Sydney in the '90s, a razor sharp view on the impact of the refugee experience for individual, family and community.
Content notes: drugs, homicide, GV, racism
We’ll prescribe you a cat - as endearing as it sounds, Syou Ishida’s novel follows the patients of a mysterious Kyoto clinic that does exactly what you think. A sweet look at how animals can ease all kinds of invisible ailments of the spirit that humans carry.
Content notes: mental illness
A bonus would be the substack Blackbird Spyplane (american dynamic duo Jonah Weiner and Erin Wylie) who focus on excellence in garments, travel and culture. It’s got such a unique writing style it’s practically its own dialect. I inhale it.
Found via Bri Lee’s News and Reviews - a perfect news and literature roundup.
tasty television
Lupin - this French mystery is a heist show is a modern re-telling of the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin’s high jinks via Assane Diop (Omar Sy), who could be classed as a superfan as he’s moulded his life on the guy. Revenge, class warfare, exquisite jewellery, clever theatrics and decent revision for my antique French. On Netflix.
Content notes: violence, homicide
Running point - a sports comedy which I’d describe as sporty froth (non-derogatory) which finds Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) in charge of her family’s professional basketball team. She’s the chaotic middle child in a wealthy family, an easily digestible piece of brain candy. A nice balance of team and family based dramas. On Netflix.
Content notes: drugs
Fargo - season 5 of this dark comedy follows Dot (Juno Temple) and the rupture of her polite, quiet family life in Minnesota with her difficult past in North Dakota centred around Roy (John Hamm). I eat up anything Juno Temple related, and she brings all the complex facets of Dot to life sensitively, without falling into tropes. Find it on Stan.
Content notes: gun violence, GV
attractive audio
Honesty - Pink Sweat$ would’ve been gifted to me by an algorithm, and that’s honestly fine with me, I’m too tired to be organically sourcing. This came from an album called PINK PLANET, I don’t know anything else.
If you call - Angie McMahon’s featuring Lief Vollebekk came out on Piano Salt EP in 2020, a vinyl I gave to my brother that I wish I owned. Good for if you’ve ever experienced the complexity of being human.
Not waving, but drowning - Loyle Carner’s 2019 sophomore album was reviewed by the Guardian as a piece that “verges on the sickly” which is probably why I return to it. It sells me the idea that not all rappers are mean. Still, Loose Ends and Krispy are my repeated tracks.
enough about me, HBU
These are things I’ve enjoyed putting into my brain, now I’d invite you to follow suit and spill something you’ve been enjoying, if you’re feeling bold.
From the sophisticated flex to the polar opposite, any and all are valued. My best treasures are found through recs, and we all need nice things to put into our brains.