“In With The New, Out With The Old?”
Creative Sparks: #23
I started this year watching queen of decluttering Marie Kondo’s new Netflix series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.
Smart move of her team and Netflix to release it on 1st January where everyone is in the thick of almost religious fervor of “out with the old, in with the new!”.
Moments later, 3 more bags of stuff to give away or throw sat waiting on my floor.
New years are all about new beginnings. My news feeds and email inboxes are filled with stuff on how to start new habits, keep resolutions, lose weight.
Blah blah blah.
The list goes on.
While sifting through everything, I’ve found 7 articles around the web too good to not pass on. Enjoy!
1. Rediscovering Frank Ocean’s Endless by Henry Stennett
I was blown away by Henry Stennett’s obvious enthusiasm for music and the way he describes the many subtleties of Frank Ocean’s forgotten album in this article.
Reading his written appreciation of the album is like having a first hand (imagined) glimpse into Ocean’s artistic process, envisioning the emotions bursting forth from as he commits music to tape; with Stennett the unseen omniscient narrator, eyes closed, focusing on taking it all in.
He is definitely one to follow if you appreciate music!
2. How to Change the World by John Gorman
A new year usually sparks ambitions, epic goals and (planned) massive follow through. Whether we eventually succeed, however, is another story.
We want to be bigger and better than what we were last year.
After all, the concept of self-improvement appeals to many of us — perhaps to nurse a drive to constantly improve ourselves, plug insecurities or simply on a quest for growth. Gorman’s piece sits as a provincial reminder to us as we embark on our respective plans — you don’t need to be a special snowflake to make your own dent in the world around you.
As the year rolls on and epic plans get aborted or modified despite the best of intentions, I anticipate this piece will act as a salve for wounded egos or become a lighthouse to guide the way when we approach a new divergence in the path we walk.
3. Why You Should Read Books You Hate by The New York Times
“Here’s a reading challenge: Pick up a book you’re pretty sure you won’t like — the style is wrong, the taste not your own, the author bio unappealing. You might even take it one step further. Pick up a book you think you will hate, of a genre you’ve dismissed since high school, written by an author you’re inclined to avoid. Now read it to the last bitter page.”
At first, I thought: Why indeed? This doesn’t make sense.
It brought me back to my secondary school literature classes where we memorized mind-numbing drudgery of ‘classics’ like The English Teacher and to pass exams.
But, isn’t reading all about exploring alternate viewpoints and entertaining stances contrarian to your own? Maybe tapping on that vein of defensiveness and indignation could help you become a more informed consumer of books, movies, and culture.
4. If You Don’t Enjoy The Process Of Creating Something, It’s Unlikely Others Will Enjoy Consuming It by Josh Spector
“We’re wired to appreciate craft and true craftsmanship can only be practiced by those in love with the act of creation.”
Another timely piece advice to hit the virtual web this new year, this appeals to just about everyone working on something.
“The first step is to find something you LOVE to create.
Something whose quality MATTERS to you.
And that you’re excited to work on EVERY DAY no matter how many people consume it.
When you do those things, you give magic a chance to happen.”
Powerful stuff.
5. A 100-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor on How Books Save Lives by Maria Popova
With Amazon’s Kindle (especially that love-it-or-hate-it 1-click order button!) and a bookstore within 20 minutes, it’s easy to take our easy access to books for granted.
In this letter, Helen Fagin takes us back to the merciless, forsaken lands of the Holocaust. Books had to be read in secret and circulated through a covert underground channel. The mere possession of books forbidden by the Nazis were grounds of hard labor or worse, death.
Yet, storytelling and literature found a way to prevail. And it literally saved a life.
6. Why People Prefer Bad News by Matt Ridley
A captivating take on why psychologically, bad news appeals to us more than good news. Consider how we evaluate plane crashes, nuclear disasters and other widespread disasters versus good news.
Useful to think about when we read the news.
7. The World’s Biggest Scavenger Hunt: A Guide To Finding Stories, Transom
One of the things I want to improve in my writing is incorporating more stories in my pieces. This piece is originally targeted towards journalists but is a reminder for us that there are many stories happening out there.
All we have to do is look for ways to find them.
Books I’m Reading:
I’m currently working through Shonda Rhime’s Year Of Yes and My Brillant Friend. See my top reads of 2018 here.
PS: I’m also taking a stab at a 30-day writing challenge for the first time! Scary stuff, but so far so good. Let’s see how the momentum holds …
