Things to Say
Dear reader,
I’m a quiet person. Typically, I don’t like to talk unless I’m sure of the company I’m in. Communication for me has been deeply functional: to get a cup of coffee, or to exchange views, or to achieve something.
Unfortunately you don’t get paid for being the Zen type. It’s been nearly six months into my membership with a local public speaking club - and although it’s still not my favourite thing in the world - I’m already finding it easier to communicate my needs to the outside world.
This process is conveniently sped up when your grandmother is hard of hearing, and now every conversation is a bit of an innocent screaming match. Take, for example, this brilliant exchange we had:
“Ammamma, do you want to watch the next episode of The Crown today?” I ask, at a normal human-inside-the-house volume.
“WHAT?”
“Do you want to watch The Crown??”
“WHAT? I CAN’T HEAR YOU KAAVIE.”
“DO YOU WANT TO WATCH THE CROWN AMMAMMA”
“THERE ARE NO PRAWNS IN THE HOUSE KAAVYA”
“THE CROWN THE CROWN THE QUEEN ELIZABETH SHOW”
“Oh. No. I don’t feel like it.”
Like this, every other 30 minutes, my larynx might as well get a gym membership.
I come from a world where the voice is for use in conjunction with the mind - but human evolution lately seems to be loosening the connection between the two.
So in a world that is overwhelming on its own, and now just a nuisance to the ear, there are two solutions: listen to things that matter, or lose your hearing. If Poonam Pandey is involved, the latter option is the only option - unless you want to deep dive into the ‘retweet with our logo’ mindset of the journalism industry today.
The question that remains is: is there anything worth listening to? Thankfully, there is. You just follow the people with things to actually say. It just doesn’t make it to the front page a whole lot. With that being said, here’s what I’ve been leaning into lately:
Clarity with Cory - A crisp newsletter I found while studying Substack content. Each letter is straightforward in its pursuit of mental clarity, and it’s been a welcome treat recently.
Fiction/Non/Fiction - Whatever’s going on in the real world, it’s more than likely already been handled in literature. Or at least, that’s what podcast hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan aim to prove on the show. I just finished listening to an episode about book bans.
Tracy Chapman Grammys Performance - Because it’s Tracy Chapman! On stage at the Grammys this week, she’s being absolutely nonchalant about her own legendary status, as usual. Unfortunately this is the longest clip I could find of the performance, but the full version should show up on the interwebs soon.
Baby Can I Hold You: Bonus Tracy Chapman content - because if there’s any content to overdo, it’s always going to be music.
See you next week,
Kaav.