a few nice things
I've been putting off writing this month's tinyletter for obvious reasons. When I started the tiny narrative it was because I would spend whole weekends submerged in stories of some kind, whether through TV, books, podcasts, video games, lengthy twitter threads or my own scribbles in my journal — I wanted a space where I could think and write about them all equally and at my own pace.
As many others have pointed out this is not the time to put pressure on ourselves to be productive creatively or in our work-life. It is a time to support one another and our local community, to find ways to speak to our loved ones and take (socially distant) walks. To get through the days one at a time, however best we can.
Here's a little collection of nice things whose narratives have allowed me to quiet down my brain for a little while at least:
Animal Crossing
It's been eight long years since the last Animal Crossing game and it's timely arrival ensured that my Twitter has been ablaze with memes, cute pictures and lots of people enjoying island life. For the uninitiated — like my friend Sara, who on a group video call paused mid chat to ask, "Elizabeth...what *is* Animal Crossing?" — it's a bit like The Sims only cuter and with no set goals. You're in charge of a little island inhabited by you, some animal friends and a family of Racoons who'll loan you money to build a house. You can fish, dig up fossils, grow flowers and make things. It's played in real-time and you can visit your friend's islands to find different fruit or just attack each other with your bug net (someone even made it into a sport). It's always been a game about escapism and taking things one day at a time, so no surprise that it's the thing I need most right now. It's a joy to play with my friends and lose myself for a few minutes running around my island, catching bugs, setting up my home and designing new outfits to wear.
Bon Appetit videos
Bon Appetit's YouTube channel has saved mine and my girlfriend's collective mood about ten times over this week alone. Claire Saffitz's show Gourmet Makes remains a firm favourite in my eyes, not least because Claire (like me, she's a classic Virgo) attempts to make from scratch a gourmet version an American snack food (Pringles, Skittles, Oreos etc.) with widely varying results. Claire is a try-er and a perfectionist and gets upset when things don't work out but always comes back for one last go, buoyed up by help from the other chefs in the kitchen. Some kind of lesson there? Then there's Brad Leone's It's Alive! a show about pickling and fermenting things, which frankly I couldn't care less about, but Brad has an infectious enthusiasm/laissez-faire attitude towards everything he does making it a small (hot) pocket of joy to watch. Carla's "classic Grandma pie (pizza)" recipe video has me currently proving pizza dough in our fridge for 24hours. I haven't even talked about Molly or Sohla or Chris or Priya or Delaney or Gabby. Watch enough of them and you will be sucked into the Bon Appetit Cinematic Universe and Meme Appetit will become the greatest thing you can follow on Instagram.
actually, like, talking to people
I had a houseparty with some pals on Monday night and just seeing my friend's faces, hearing them laugh, sharing that none of us can write/think/read cheered up an endless day. If like me you're used to mostly texting/messaging your pals it makes a big difference to actually call your friends up. At the weekend we went to the "pub" with some other friends and my own brother even rang me up for a chat (and to give me his new Disney+ log in, truly a good bro). I've seen loads of screengrabs of friends and mutuals doing the same and it cheers me every time <3
The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
Someone online suggested using the time you would normally spend "commuting" to read (which is what I would be doing anyway) and I've tried to do this with varied success. Just before we went into lockdown I snuck in one last trip to the library and grabbed The Five by Hallie Rubenhold which tells the life stories of the five women murdered by Jack the Ripper. Rubenhold very actively in her introduction states her mission: she's not interested in theories about the Ripper and who he might have been. She cares about the women foremost: who they were, their lives and what their stories can tell us, working to dispel the myth that they were all prostitutes and therefore fine to be cast aside or sensationalised in the press and by "Ripperologists". Rubenhold's prose is direct, clear and informative. I'm reading it in little snippets which suits me fine and the insights into life for Victorian working-class women still sadly hold true for many today.
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