It would be remiss if I do not talk about the turmoil that is going on in the world. There are multiple genocides happening. More than anything, it has made me realise how individualism and materialism has completely invaded our psyche. No matter what you want to convince yourself, you cannot buy your way, soft life your way, out of this mess, ergo there is no freedom for an individual. Community power.
I like to keep tabs on media I consume and those I liked. I keep records of books I have read, anime I have watched, I create playlists etc.
I can also tell a lot about my social life and mental well-being by the amount of media I consume. This is not about quality but mostly quantity. Exhibit A:
I am truly in my non-fiction era and the best book I read this year is Communion: The Female Search for Love by bell hooks. Actually, if there is a woman who has yet to read All About Love, I suggest they read Communion first. What a revelation. “but also the culture lets us get away with thinking we can hate our bodies and still be seen as the group most capable of teaching others about love.” A CALL OUT by Ms hooks!!
Notes were taken (spoilers ahead):
By the way, for the amount of non fiction I have read, I can see how someone can become a sanctimonious person in the delusion that they know better. But you know my philosophy on that - knowing better =/= doing better. And seeing what is happening in the world, it is obvious we aren’t doing better.
Another book that actually took me quite long to read but I had moments of “WHOA!” was “Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C Gibson PsyD”…….. “You can respect your parents for everything they’ve given you, but you don’t have to pretend they have no human frailties.”
Can I say that generally speaking, a majority of our population has issues with this based on what I have seen and heard. Just read the comments where anyone talks about their {negative} relationship with their parents. “….. parenting tended to focus on obedience as the gold standard of children’s development, rather than thinking about supporting children’s emotional security and individuality.”
I also enjoyed: Butter Honey Pig Bread, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family (ALL the Trigger Warnings apply for this one).
I think this album is not being talked about enough. I truly enjoyed it.
My most played song was “Manyo Pesa” by Coster Ojwang which I think is a super fantastic song with an excellent video and I am sad at how many YouTube views it has (not enough).
I didn’t particularly care for the Kenyan Showcase on Colors and I wrote about it here.
I watched so much anime in 2023, it is actually ridiculous and if you are into it, let me give you a few examples. I finished Hunter X Hunter 2011 version (148 episodes), Inuyasha (193 Episodes) and I am 10% through One Piece (episode 100 of an anime with over 1,000 episodes is WILD). I am on Season 3 of Bungou Stray Dogs, have watched all the Initial D episodes. Finally watched Trigun and now understand the Vash the Stampede memes. Was completely heart broken when they changed the opening song for Kaguya Sama: Love is War in Season 2 because TO ME, it is one of the best, so much so that I stream it often. (These examples are like 50% of the anime I have watched).
Have you listened to the podcast Okay Kiasi? If you have, I would like to know your thoughts. I think if ever there was needed an example of “If you don’t tell your story someone else will”, this would be it. Kudos to those ladies.
If Books Could Kill is the podcast I recommended most. It is quite stellar. “Everyone wants to feel they are having an individual experience and are not part of mass culture……….. How do you reckon with your existence? How do you fend off your perpetual existential crisis? You need to believe that you are doing something interesting”. - From The Episode on Bobos in Paradise”
Other links:
Playlist on Video Essays - Here
The TikTok Pages of two creators I enjoy - Dan McClellan and Donnell McLachlan