My Summer of Less Content
Writing less, working more, and doing the damn thing.
Hi there. Welcome back to Something New.
I’ve been busy. Not with writing and publishing anything through this outlet, but rather with working, coaching, making food, staying inside my air conditioned bedroom, and mostly thinking about writing and publishing something through this outlet.
I’ve always been a person who likes to write. I remembered some time last week that enjoying the process isn’t quite enough for me — I need to actually work through the process. “Writers write” is what I wrote. I need to write. I’m writing.
Working halftime, which I’m currently doing, is great, because I get a lot of time to myself to explore other pursuits and also relax; it’s not great, because I live in constant fear and external pressure to earn more and spend less and not sink into debt. That’s not the place that I usually like to write from. This is me telling myself “oh well!”.
I have so many things I want to explore through writing, and reading, and consumption and conversation. This is me telling you “oh! well!”.
I originally stopped consuming any art when my new job kicked in, the mental and emotional and physical toll of the work was surprising, and left me without much capacity to absorb. I took an unplanned break from taking in music or movies. I didn’t take a break from reading, in which I’ve been on my biggest tear since the Harry Potter books were being published. I was going to “woah is me” my way through this entry, talking about how little I’ve consumed, but then I looked at my logs and, well, your boy is still cooking.
Here’s what I’ve read and watched since my last post (I don’t track my music listening very closely, something I’d love to change. If you do this and have fun with it, let me know your methods!):
May
Memory Police (Yoko Ogawa)
6th - Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023)
24th - They Live (1988)
30th - Boogie Nights (1997)
Ego is the Enemy (Ryan Holiday)
June
5th - Casino Royale (2006)
17th - I Don’t Feel At Home in this World Anymore (2017)
23rd - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
28th - Past Lives (2023)
30th - Body Double (1984)
July
King: A Life (Jonathan Eig)
2nd - Rear Window (1954)
3rd - Asteroid City (2023)
5th - California Split (1974)
7th - The Night of the Hunter (1955)
10th - After Hours (1985)
11th - Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
13th - The Color of Money (1986)
14th - Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
15th - Dunkirk (2017)
17th - Shakedown (1950)
19th - Interstellar (2014)
22nd - A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
23rd - Oppenheimer (2023)
24th - The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
25th - JFK (1991)
27th - Cape Fear (1991)
28th - Face/Off (1997)
August
1st - Penelope (2006)
2nd - 12 Angry Men (1957)
3rd - Stick It (2006)
7th - Barbie (2023)
8th - The Age of Innocence (1993)
9th - Kundun (1997)
10th - Sidney Lumet: A Life (Maura Spiegel)
That’s right, that’s me calling my shot about finishing my Sidney Lumet book tomorrow.
Having tactfully avoided the biggest discourse weekend of my life in the film world, the eponymous BARBENHEIMER, I’m ready to get back into art, current and past, whether that’s a striking Hollywood industry, a black-and-white melodrama that only your aging mother remembers, Olivia Rodrigo’s return, or even more brit-pop groups from Glasgow that you’ve known about for 20 years that I’m only just discovering. There’s nothing to it, but to do it. See you next week.
Thanks, as always, for reading. If you’ve enjoyed my absence, I apologize. If you’ve disliked my absence, I apologize. If you want to read what I write next, please consider subscribing. It’s free, it let’s me know what things people are interested in, and it makes me feel good.
$1 please