It's Time For A Perspective Shift

“Time is tricky. You have whole months, even years, when nothing changes a speck, when you don’t go anywhere or do anything or think one new thought. And then you can get hit with a day, or an hour, or a half a second when so much happens it’s almost like you got born all over again into some brand-new person you for damn sure never expected to meet.”
--E.R. Frank, Life Is Funny

“You see the beauty inside everything. It doesn’t last long—it’s either gone in a minute, you just caught it, or else maybe it’s something so big that you normally can’t get your head around it. Like the fog in your head clears out. The world stops being a puppet show and you see the real thing. It’s probably like that all the time, but you just can’t see it, except for those little glimpses.”
--Janet Fitch, Paint It Black

“I’m grateful for anything that reminds me of what’s possible in this life. Books can do that. Films can do that. Music can do that. School can do that. It’s so easy to allow one day to simply follow into the next, but every once in a while we encounter something that shows us that anything is possible, that dramatic change is possible, that something new can be made, that laughter can be shared.”
--Jonathan Safran Foer

"Thumbs Up" by The Howl & The Hum

Here's another wonderful, touching song that addresses the problem of young men and depression and suicide, all stemming from a stifling, damaging, traditional masculinity (please do take a few minutes to hear and see Sam Fender's devastating song "Dead Boys" previously here.)

Singer-songwriter Sam Griffiths spoke about the song:

"'Thumbs Up' is the confession that us men don’t know how to talk to other men about important stuff...This song was written in the silence after suicides of friends, during depressive episodes, and over non-existent conversations about how we communicate our feelings: our highs, our lows, our loves and losses. It also references 80s movie icons Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, a brief admittance of vulnerability in the face of what we call masculinity...It’s an odd one, isn’t it? But then I went to an all-boys school, where there’s so much silence and you only talk about objective truths, football, but not the emotional flow of feelings...It’s that masculinity; that thing of pride. But now we’re in age where masculinity can take a different guise and suffering is a huge part of that, and it feels such a shame that we can’t talk about it...Looking back, we may see our friends as being like superheroes at school, like my best mate at school, who killed himself a month after leaving. No-one, No-one had taught us how to talk to each other."

Lay by my side
We’ll watch all the films that you like
Silent all, silent all night
If that’s what you want

TV screen blue
We’ll sit and watch Predator 2
Cos it makes you feel silent & strong
Silent and strong

I think we should talk
I think we should talk

You give me a thumbs up
Just like the terminator did
When drowning in lava
Is it any wonder
Is it any wonder
I worry about you kid?

Open your mouth
The darkness can finally come out
As Bruce Willis cries
You realise
You could be alright

I think we should talk
I think we should talk

You give me a thumbs up
Just like the terminator did
When drowning in lava
Is it any wonder
Is it any wonder
I worry about you kid?

There’s a hole in my home town
All my friends seem to fall down
But never will float out
But you’re not alone now
You’re not alone now

Watching films with my brother
Wondering our place on this rock
And wondering what it’ll take now
To ever just stop

https://www.thehowlandthehum.com/

How Much Heart

“The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.”
--Ted Hughes, from LETTERS OF TED HUGHES

"Limbic"

A short film written and directed by Jordan Findlay.

"Limbic is an experimental short film that examines the quantum physics phenomena of quantum entanglement. Quantum entanglement occurs when particles become linked together in such a way so that a change in the physical state of one particle will be felt in another...regardless of the space between them.

Through exploring this occurrence, Limbic considers how we might share a connection with one another in a way that is fundamental to our being yet still only beginning to be understood. Felt often in moments of striking emotion, shared in reverberations that cascade between our souls before finally delivering a solace. The feeling that we aren’t alone.

Limbic explores the intersection of science and spirituality, finding comfort and meaning as the two intertwine."

https://vimeo.com/582221913
https://vimeo.com/jordanfindlay

Don't Complicate Life

Art Is Important Because Life Is Important

“You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discover that it happened 100 years ago to Dostoyevsky. This is a very great liberation for the suffering, struggling person, who always thinks that he is alone. This is why art is important. Art would not be important if life were not important, and life is important.”
--James Baldwin, "An interview with James Baldwin" (1961)

Oh, if only it worked this way...

Right, Judy?


Art by David Curtis.
http://davidcurtisstudio.tumblr.com/