#42: The End of September
visual intelligence, journaling practices, & things that heal when they have a name
Dear reader,
September has been one wild ride - and for the first time, I’m glad it’s over. While I’m working on a long-ish newsletter, I thought I’d pop by with a relatively relaxed one for you today. Stay tuned for the next one though, I’m pretty excited about how it’s turning out.
Building Visual Intelligence
Building visual intelligence, highlighting visual culture and creating communities that want to understand visual information has been majority of the work I’ve been honing in the past few years. While so much of it has been my day job, the Internet in all of its glory can offer brilliant resources for when you’re off the clock.
Animation Obsessive: This weekly newsletter (with more issues for paying subscribers) is a treasure trove of information re: all things animation. If you’ve ever wanted to know about different art styles, different modes of storytelling within the animation world, or just stay updated on major news headlines in the industry - this is a great publication to read. One of my favourite pieces is about Mary Blair, a pioneering artist working at Disney’s studios in the 1950s.
Film Studies 101: When my sister’s back in town, it is tradition to watch a whole lot more film than I usually do. Movies feel incomplete without our chatter between scenes, pointing out small details and trying to catch all the foreshadowing. Often, after a film we’ll nerd out about videos that help break things down and then become armchair critics of not just the film, but sometimes the analyst too. What can I say? When a film is inspiring this much work & discourse, it’s usually a great film. This summer, one of those video resources after a meaty watch was a beautiful explainer of how to read a film.
Taking Care of You
Energetic Hygiene: This was a term I heard during a discussion with some college friends - and it immediately piqued my curiosity. My yoga instructor has been absolutely changing my life with her movement practice - and the underlying information compounds my awe in each class.
Dr. Ramani & Jay Shetty: I just bought ALL of Dr. Ramani Durvasula’s books - the past is (thankfully) in the past, and I’m on a mission to make sure it never makes its way into my future. Her interview here with Jay Shetty gives you good insight into her work, and it’s a great starting point.
Are You Normal or Are You the Eldest Daughter? A newsletter issue from Faith Zapata that is simple, to the point, and scarily accurate for a lot of us eldest daughters. Read it for yourself to see what you think.
Documenting Your Life
Journaling has been central to my life as early as third grade onwards. It was then that I discovered I liked writing, and two years later that I experienced grief for the first time. Writing then changed from an interest to a lifeline. It was the first real form of meditation I committed to.
Naturally, as I just reached the final page of journal #23, I took them all out to reflect on any patterns, and good writing lines I may have missed over the years. My favourites always end up being the books where I have crammed in a million other pieces of writing I’ve enjoyed, whether they’re from Arundhati Roy or this poem I found on Tumblr as a 15 year old. Even in these most private spaces, connection is vital - and the fact that we instinctively lean on each other even while feeling alone is a kind of forever comfort.
Before I go, I’ll end with a short poem I’m working on:
my favourite word is no
and it has been for a while
some people seem to get it
others flash an angry smile
some people call me selfish and some people call me rude
i’d probably seem assertive if i happened to be a dude
when people said no to me i used to feel like it was an attack
but then one day i realised
that i could just say no back!
i practice it all day and sometimes even in the night
i practice it alone so it’s easier to say during a fight
no can be empowering and no can set you free
and it leaves you all the YESes
for the places I’d rather be!
See y’all next week!
Kaav.
I love the word no 🥹 and I love all your journals! You’re making me want to dig out my old ones!