Too sweaty to think of a good title
Jumping straight to fun links, recommendations, and more.
No story or essay at the top this month because my office/studio is 29 degrees and I feel like my brain is melting. All I want to do is sip a wasabi-ginger-yuzu-matcha-tonic from Nemesis and sit in the park with pals; however, I unfortunately abide by a deeply ingrained “no fun until the work is done” policy so I’ll probably work a few more hours and deep-clean my home instead 🫠. Same same right?
Thanks for your understanding and enjoy the updates, links and recommendations!
TBH, not a lot of sketching this month between work projects and Tombolo. The only bits of non-work-related drawing was this page I scribbled while waiting in my sister’s car for her to finish her chiro appointment. It was nice to be able to draw from life without the subject (the man) realizing I was looking at him so maybe I just need to go incognito in a vehicle- in a non creepy way- more often.
It’s a good month when I have time to read more than one book! This month’s list included:
All Fours by Miranda July: What a wild ride! The best word I can use to describe this book is “unhinged.”
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls: A friend recently recommended a slew of kid lit classics and I’m making my way through the list. While I’m not sure I cried as much as I thought I would, I did make the mistake of “just reading a few chapters” when I found myself awake at 3AM and didn’t end up going back to bed until 5AM. Let that be my testimonial.
The Grammar of Fantasy by Gianni Rodari: I’m about 3/4 of the way through and I love the mix of gorgeous illustrations and fun, practical advice for sparking imaginative play. Great for anyone who works with kids, or creatives who need a bit of inspiration. 🙋🏻♀️
To birds chirps, seagull squawks, bees buzzing and the hum of the fan. There hasn’t been a lot on deck this month BUT my partner and I started a Music Listening Club (No Skips) so I’ll undoubtedly be playing our July album for the next few weeks. If you’re always listening to the same 3 Spotify playlists and want to break out of your music rut, join us (virtually or IRL)!
I’m one episode shy of finishing Mo on Netflix and it’s been really good! Very down to earth showcasing some real complex and tough situations, coupled with heart-warming moments and jokes that made me guffaw by myself in my living room.
And for anyone else who is a fan of Ear Hustle, this short documentary was a really tender look into the quilts being made, for foster children, in prison:
Lastly, one thing to know about me is I love anything Jurassic Park & King Kong (tropical backdrop 🫱🏼🫲🏽 oversized animals) so you bet I got my bum into a theatre to watch Jonathan Bailey and his slutty little glasses:
This is the absolute BEST time in the garden 🥹. All the annuals are coming into bloom and everything is so lush and green. I finally got to live out my dream of matcha mornings in the garden (a few spills woops)! Also, despite my fears of starting them too late, the sweetpeas are climbing higher than they ever have before so maybe it was actually the perfect time?? Once again, another meaningful life lesson from the garden.
I know this isn’t a cute photo but I made the decision this year to try and cover this fence with honeysuckles. So far so good considering they were just potted up three weeks ago! The one on the right has been blooming and the scent wafts into my office window which is absolutely divine.
Lasty, my sister and I have launched our annual flower summer subscription which is our favourite way to spread the love of locally-grown cut flowers with our community. This year we have some new colour varieties we’re excited to share! If anyone is in the Vancouver/ Lower Mainland area, there are still a few spots to join in ❤️
Some delightful links from around the internet:
This was hopeful 🥹: A visual essay (and fun scrollytelling experience!) depicting how talking to strangers can leave us feeling happier and more connected— even if the stranger doesn’t align with us politically (!!)
The magic of puppetry— aka how the Muppets moved and talked when they were outside. I found this breakdown on the various illusions and techniques used in a world pre-CGI so fascinating!
And another one from the team at Pudding— Why Bears will be Boys aka why and how we gender animals in children’s books. 🧸
I loved how this designer had a hypothesis about her relationship (going to bed at different times from her partner led to more arguments) and turned the tension into tenderness.
By default, every LLM chat is 1-on-1, so you can’t correlate suspicious activity. Conversation has no concrete format to put a “Sponsored” tag on. LLMs are wrong all the time already - if you get a recommendation that’s factually inaccurate, how can you distinguish hallucination from payola?”
I’m not often stumbling on static-post IG content anymore so I was grateful to discover this hilariously dark comic page:
Lastly, just tooting my own horn over here- your gal was featured in Sad Magazine! This photo doesn’t do it justice so be sure to pick up a copy of the new “Play” edition to see it IRL (as well as read some of the beautiful essays inside)!
In case you missed it!
Here are some other substack posts from this month:
