A drawing of Koupenchan (whose name translates roughly to ‘positive/affirming baby penguin’), and his friend Yokoshimaenaga (‘evil long-tailed tit’). Koupenchan is offering a yellow sweet, and saying: “When you don’t feel very good, take 1 of these!… — A drawing of Koupenchan (whose name translates roughly to ‘positive/affirming baby penguin’),
and his friend Yokoshimaenaga (‘evil long-tailed tit’).
Koupenchan is offering a yellow sweet, and saying: “When you don’t feel very good, take 1 of these!”
Yokoshimaenaga is saying: ”Lemon sweets!”
© rurutea

gentle things for awful times.

March 17, 2020 by josie sparrow

Things to read.

A little collection of things I find interesting/soothing/distracting. (There is also my blog, and my other writing!)

Dōgen Zenji—The Time-Being. (Philosophy, Zen.)
Shanna Baker—Coastal Oakscapes. (Photo-essay, ecologies.)
Krista Langlois—When Whales and Humans Talk. (Longread, ecologies, philosophy, Indigenous thought.)
Peter Godfrey-Smith—On Being an Octopus. (Longread, philosophy, ecologies.)
A Twitter thread of “work by trans writers available for download by sliding scale”.
Larne Abse Gogarty & Hannah Proctor—Communist Feelings. (Longread, politics, affect/emotions, literature.)
Robin Wall Kimmerer—Corn Tastes Better on the Honour System. (Longread, ecologies, Indigenous thought.)
Marcos Gonsalez—The Body in Theory. (Philosophy, embodiment, illness.)
Kathleen Jamie—Darkness and Light. (Ecologies, literary ‘nature’ writing, longread.)
Sean Kelly—Smile, Mingle, Inherit. (Longread, literary criticism, Vigdis Hjorth.)
Jules Gleeson—How Do Gender Transitions Happen? (Longread, trans politics, gender phenomenology.)
Jennifer Kingsley—Frozen Ocean. (Photo-essay, ecologies.)
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick—Paranoid Reading and Reparative Reading. (Book chapter, philosophy, queer theory, affect/emotions).
Kassia St Clair—Embarrassment of obscurities: women, weaving and history. (Longread, feminist social history, textiles, fashion, labour.)
Sophie Lewis—Amniotechnics. (Longread, theory, water, kinship, solidarity, politics.)
Harry Josephine Giles—Wages for Transition. (Art writing, trans embodiment, labour, care.)
Classical Chinese poems translated by David Hinton: Li Po, Wang An-Shih, Wang Wei, Meng Hao-Jan.

Things to hear.

The oldest surviving recorded melody—the Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal, goddess of the orchards. c.1400BCE. (YouTube.)
An improvisation on a reconstructed Sumerian silver lyre. (YouTube.)
Debussy—Deux Arabesques, performed by harpist Héloïse de Jenlis. (YouTube.)
Colleen—Summer Water. (YouTube.)
Ai Aso—Lavender Edition. (Album, YouTube.)
‘1 Hour of Relaxing Rainy Day Animal Crossing music + rain sounds’. (YouTube.)
Mother Tongue—Just for a Little While. (Soundcloud.)
Lullatone—Wake Up Wake Up. (YouTube.)
Lullatone—Leaves Falling. (YouTube.)
Tenniscoats—To Do First. (YouTube.)
Nagisa ni te—Hope. (YouTube.)
naola—cocktail. (Soundcloud.)
Yuichiro Fujimoto—Joy. (YouTube.)
Masayoshi Fujita—Snow Storm. (YouTube.)
Vashti Bunyan—Just Another Diamond Day. (Album, Youtube playlist.)
The Microphones—Antlers. (YouTube.)
Anne Briggs—Go Your Way. (YouTube.)
Saint Etienne—Nothing Can Stop Us Now. (YouTube.)
Hafís Huld—Sumri Hallar. (YouTube.)
Perfume—575. (YouTube.)
All My Relations. (Podcast.
On Being: Robin Wall Kimmerer. (Podcast.)
On Being: Layli Long Soldier. (Podcast.)

A drawing of Koupenchan (whose name translates roughly to ‘positive/affirming baby penguin’). Koupenchan is holding a magic wand and saying: “A spell to boost immunity!” © rurutea — A drawing of Koupenchan (whose name translates roughly to ‘positive/affirming baby penguin’).
Koupenchan is holding a magic wand and saying: “A spell to boost immunity!”
© rurutea

Things to watch (YouTube).

Things to watch (Netflix/The Hated Amazon).

Rilakkuma and Kaoru. (Netflix.)
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung. (Netflix.)
In Between Mountains And Oceans. (The Hated Amazon.)
My Neighbour Totoro. (Netflix.)
Sunshine Sento-Sake. (The Hated Amazon.)

An illustration from Richard Scarry’s The Country Mouse and the City Mouse. Three mice sit around a table together wearing dresses, bonnets, and aprons. They are having tea and biscuits, and in the background, a fire is blazing. The text reads: “Th… — An illustration from Richard Scarry’s The Country Mouse and the City Mouse.
Three mice sit around a table together wearing dresses, bonnets, and aprons. They are having tea and biscuits, and in the background, a fire is blazing. The text reads: “That night she told her gentle friends, ‘I would rather lead a simple life than dine on riches, and live in fear.’”.
© Richard Scarry