The State of Nats #20: I think I need poetry
[Everything between June 02 and June 23, Tuesday]
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Data
Movies: 9 | out of which 4 in theatre | 2 included Jake Johnson and 2 were horror
Books read: 1
Thinking
- I was trying to improve my poetry comprehension skills, and arrived at a question. Why do I need poetry? Here is what I found that captured something important: Poetry is intensely valuable to me and it always has been. It is my antidote to despair, tiredness and loneliness; a thread that runs through my life. I solve problems with its lines—not just their lexicon, but the life breathed into form by rhythm, rhyme or meter: a riddle; a moment of joy. It is my borrowed voice. It is my borrowed voice... It is my borrowed voice... It is my borrowed voice...
- I was thinking back to the first poem I fell in love with, and it was Rime of the Ancient Mariner. But in the last few years, I have remembered the poem called The Solitary Reaper as one that impacted me first. Then it was in a sense of curiosity about solitude, which has now evolved to learning.
- In poetry pursuit, here was a poetically timed piece I saw:
THIS BE THE VERSE by Philip Larkin
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.
Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf... woof.\
- I am tinkering with a notion of detachment for art. If painstakingly protecting time from others will welcome more output, creativity and dexterity in things I create, will it be a worthy pursuit? When I think of this, sometimes as a pro or a con, I think of Emily Dickinson.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -Part of a poem by Emily Dickinson
Living
- Two stray cats live indoors now for several hours a day - Penny and Rylan. Both are entitled cuties.
- Monsoon arrived two days ago. I was already leaning into my season affective disorder without the rain catching up and it was starting to look ridiculous.
- Built two products. I am high on Claude.
- Throat was getting worse. I stopped all bad stomach items. Throat is better again.... Shit. My gut is clearly talking to me. Hope it is useful in other places too.
- Got two more tattoos, all on the left as usual. The arm feels complete. I will get more here but the basic sense of fullness it needed is now looking and feeling right.
- Ri sent a poem, but my poetry muscle is so lax that I comprehended no feeling or value. Here is her collection I aim to absorb, emotionally.
- 60 Best Days Bootcamp update - I got new tattoos, so the activities in it got derailed, but I was able to do 3/4 of the daily tasks. I will reset and beging 60 day count again once the tattoos heal.
Consuming
I am writing these as dos and don'ts.
- Do watch Obsession, which is categorised as horror but lines up perfectly with all I love about feminist horror literature; Often the unknown is less horrifying than people. Don't watch it if you live in a bubble.
- Don't watch Disclosure Day. Do watch it if you want to see a movie that was waste your time or just miss Spielberg. I won't even link it.
- Do watch Backrooms with the mindset to have a vibe and not a character arc. Don't watch Backrooms if you want a feature film style narrative.
- Do watch Self Reliance to enjoy a whimsical sweet story by Jake Johnson, which feels like Nick (from New Girl) in another timeline. Do not watch it if hate Jake Johnson.
- Do watch HeMan: Masters of the Universe if you want a light and easy movie that is similar to Thor: Ragnarok, and support himbos in movies. Don't watch it if you want a life changing experience.
- Watch Sorry, Baby