Don't forget the good
Muddling along in the meh zone. I'm not feeling awesome, but I'm not feeling terrible, either. If things continue like this for a few more days, I'll be grateful.
It helps having friends and family who check in on you. Instant morale boost. A friend dropped off sushi, miso soup, some good canned soups, and the makings of a salad. I was over the moon. Miso soup is fantastic on a good day. Even better when you're under the weather. And my parents must have a crystal ball - they sent a surprise shipment of mackerel, sardines, and smoked salmon. Throw on some board shorts, open a cheap beach chair, pop a tin of sardines, and pretend I'm on a beach in Spain.
Anyone have some show recommendations? Preferably something without explosions or violence? I keep meaning to watch Ted Lasso but just haven't done it.
If you're looking for something to listen to, give Covering Creative Cuenca a shot. My friend Scott lives in Cuenca. He has a podcast in which he explores his not so new home. I've never been there, but I'd like to visit. His podcasts certainly paint a picture of a vibrant community. The episode below focuses on an organization doing cool things. Scott's a natural interviewer, and he's just getting better. (That's weird - the embed box is huge! You might have to keep scrolling to see the rest, sorry.)
I follow Craig Mod's work. He's a writer, photographer, walker, bookmaker, and filmmaker living in Japan. One of his books focused on pizza toast. I haven't read the book, but I've seen snippets of it in his newsletters. He has a wonderful little film about pizza toast here. Man I really want some pizza toast.
Chuck has updated his No Context Zine site. You won't find long rambling blog posts there, but if you like zines, photography, and poetry, check in once in a while.
I've followed Daniel Milnor's stuff for a long time. A recovering photographer. I like the way he combines video, photography, writing, and audio. His latest road adventure was fun to follow, and this one will make you want to find the nearest body of water. (There's not a single hey there youtubers, today we're in Portland, Maine!)
PS - Craig Mod mentioned that he enjoys finding independent sites. I'm wording that poorly. It was within the context of the proliferation of newsletters and a general disinterest in Substack. That grabbed my attention because I have sometimes regretted leaving Substack. Not my site there, but the platform. It's all the rage these days, and I was there a few years ago. I coulda been a contender! Kidding, that's not where I'm going. The platform makes the infrastructure really easy. But is it going to turn into another Medium? Who knows.
None of that is important. One of the sites Craig mentioned is 100 Rabbits. Their site blew my mind. I didn't understand 85% of it, but I loved reading about their life on a sailboat and their approach to food.