I've decided to start a new monthly section on here, where I essentially share my recommendations for movies, books, songs, and more.
But I'm ONLY sharing recommendations for stuff I am genuinely obsessed with. Stuff that I spend day and night thinking and dreaming about. Things that keep my eyeballs wide and keep me ready for life. That sorta stuff.
So here goes... things I am currently OBSESSED WITH.
HUMAN SADNESS by The Voidz
This is a song I have developed a committed relationship with. I listen to it whenever I want to renew my perspective on life, which means at least ten times a day. I saw a Youtube comment that described this song as "sadness, reversed": that describes this perfectly. Expect to be thrown into a pit of cavernous grief and shame, only to be pulled out of it and faced with the scope of all the beauty of humanity staring back at you. The Voidz, fronted by The Strokes singer Julian Casablancas (the coolest human being on the planet) have created an incredible TEN AND A HALF MINUTE SONG that I somehow never get tired of listening to. To the left is a prestigious drawing I created in my journal to signify my complete adoration for the song. Please give a listen to the entire thing below.
READING GRAPHIC NOVELS WITH OVERDRIVE
Yes. It is time for me to tell you an incredible hack. Get yourself a library card, go to overdrive.com, find your library, enter your library card information, and get ready for a buncha free audiobooks and ebooks. This is how I read most of my books, especially because Overdrive automatically syncs to my Kobo which makes for even easier access. Typically I use Overdrive to read graphic novels or poetry, because I find that these types of books are usually priced quite high in bookstores (and take the quickest amount of time to read).
My Graphic Novel Recommendations....
DANCING AT THE PITY PARTY by Tyler Feder --> this book is truly a blessing. In fact, I would describe it as the best book on death and grief that I've ever read.
THE SAGA SERIES --> true bizarro sci-fi masterpieces. A little graphic and filled with so many unforgettable characters.
WENDY, MASTER OF ART --> a satirical and insightful look on art school. Humorous and very weird.
SNOW GLASS APPLES by Neil Gaiman --> a dark gothic retelling of Snow White. I liked the "what the hell" aspect of it. Plus the artwork was stunning.
DISCZ
TINDER FOR SPOTIFY. Yes, you heard me. For all the Spotify users out there who are
obsessed with discovering new songs: this is the IDEAL app for you. Essentially you
download this app, allow it access to your Spotify, and then you get to swipe left/right on a bunch of different tunes. Every song you swipe right on automatically gets added to a designated playlist within Spotify. You can also add varying "filters" on the recommendations (e.g. selecting songs you want the recommendations to be based off, selecting whether you want high energy/low energy, mood, etc.) The easiest way to find new music. I can't stop swiping.
LEGEND OF ZELDA SKYWARD SWORD HD
I was sick for a week and spent the entire time playing this game in an obsessive rush. It really brought back memories of my childhood. I was so afraid of the Silent Trials back then, and for what? This game is a lot easier than I remembered, but it is still excellent, featuring some of the most creative dungeon designs ever (my favourites being the Lanayru Sandship and the Ancient Cistern). I am now almost complete it (just before the final boss). If you want a highly addictive and rewarding game that is at once peaceful and soothing and also filled with some stressful challenges, this is the ideal game. Also features great characters including Groose, my love (see photo above) and Ghirahim, who I had the hugest crush on as a kid (and still kinda do).
ALL ABOUT LOVE by Bell Hooks
I am a hippie at heart, but never was able to truly put my beliefs into words. I frequently ask people, "why can't the whole world just get along? Why do we value our own needs before others? Why is the world so focused on money and power?" And I was told that this was just the system; this was how our world was built. There wasn't anything we could do about it I was told. There were truly no answers.
This book is the answer. I think that if everyone on this planet were to read this book and abide by the simple principle within it -- to commit to the act of choosing love and make it a priority to love the ones surrounding you and your community -- everything would be healed.
I am not a romantic, and I wouldn't describe myself as sappy, but this isn't what this book is about. This book redefines love into something we choose, something we have control over. It rejects the idea that love can exist simultaneously with abuse, and establishes the idea that to love is a means to which we heal our corrupted world and empty greed for money and power.
This book is, to me both a bible, and a guide. Not only does it provide values on which one should personally live their life by, it very realistically gives the steps to how the world can real.
Love truly is everything.
So those are my current obsessions. I originally also listed "dill pickles" but figured there wasn't too much I could say about them other than they are the best thing in the world and I accidentally destroyed my phone with pickle juice because my love for pickle juice is just too strong for this world. But love cannot coexist with abuse, and the pickle juice abused my phone, so is it really love? In conclusion, pickles do not love me back. But I love pickles.
I will create another article similar to this once these obsessions get replaced with new obsessions. But will I ever let go of Human Sadness? I don't think that will ever end. Just saying.
Wow that is deep