5 Things I Consumed Last Week (crème de la crème🍦)
on first person singular, unpopular nerds, how to be perfect, Manchester and blue umbrella☂️
Hey readers!
The past week was a concoction of reading a lot, binge-watching on Netflix and Hotstar and then leveling it with some podcasts. Just the right mix!
Autumn is here and I can only dream of making pumpkin spice breads and soups. There is a hint of coolness in the air. We are inching towards the last quarter of the year, I declared this month a month of no planning for myself and I have enjoyed it (mostly) but all guns blazing for the last quarter. Are you excited too?
Note: If my emails end up in the ‘promotions’ tab, please move them to the inbox so you don’t miss out. Don’t forget to subscribe and join 430+ readers!
First Person Singular | Haruki Murakami
Your brain is made to think about difficult things. To help you get to a point where you understand something that you didn’t understand at first. And that becomes the cream of your life. The rest is boring and worthless.
I enjoyed reading the last collection of short stories ‘Men Without Women’, hence this one. This collection consists of 8 short stories, all of which - you guessed it - are told from the first person singular perspective. I enjoyed Murakami's melancholic ruminations about past events that end up shaping a character, a precise moment that made a strong emotional impact on the protagonist.
A recurring element in these stories is music, from The Beatles to Jazz to classical composers. From talking monkeys to dreamscape to baseball and what not. A classic Murakami indeed.
The first chapter in the book is called ‘Cream’ referencing a french phrase ‘crème de la crème’ which advocates to focus only on the cream of life - the highlights - everything else is just boring.
Why nerds are unpopular | Paul Graham
There is a strong correlation between being smart and being a nerd, and an even stronger inverse correlation between being a nerd and being popular.
Why don't smart kids make themselves popular? If they're so smart, why don't they figure out how popularity works and beat the system, just as they do for standardized tests?
If you have thought about a similar question or you have been declared a nerd in high school, you’ll find the answers here.
Maybe nerds play a different game, maybe they don’t want to be popular, maybe it’s an attention or a competition issue. Paul Graham never disappoints with the amount of nuances he can cover in one single essay. Check it out.
How To Be Perfect | Michael Schur on TED & PRX Podcast
If you have seen ‘The Office’ or ‘B 99’ or ‘The Good Place’ you know he is the face behind creating all of them. Remember this face?
This year he published his book titled ‘How To Be Perfect’, a thought-provoking guide to living an ethical life. It explains concepts like deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, ubuntu, and more so we can sound cool at parties and become better people.
In this podcast episode, Michael talks about why he’s gone from working on shows like SNL, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Hacks, to reading and writing about Kant, Nietzsche, and Aristotle. He shares why he uses analogies and pop culture references to engage with philosophy and why he believes caring about ethics –at any level– can actually make a difference.
You remember this episode from The Office?
The Blue Umbrella | Ruskin Bond
Building on my resolution to read more illustrated books this year. Like any other Ruskin Bond book, it was witty yet simply and elegantly written and filled with illustrations so almost felt like a comic.
It's a kid's book, but a lot of human behavior is described plainly. The story is short and simple but delicately touches the core aspect of humanity - kindness.
She walked home through the darkening glade, singing of the stars; and the trees stood still and listened to her, and the mountains were glad.
Manchester By The Sea | Movie (2016)
The truth is I don’t watch a lot of movies generally, I have not watched Marvel, neither the classics but I am trying to catch up.
Manchester by the Sea features brilliant work from director Kenneth Lonergan and all of its actors, especially Casey Affleck. It runs the gamut of human emotion to show that people often use humor to cope with tragedy. The story is told intricately and carefully, it is a fantastic meditation on the long tail of trauma, but one that doesn’t wallow needlessly: there’s such humor and humanity at work that the film manages to be cathartic.
In the hands of a lesser writer, Manchester by the Sea would grab you with sadness and never let go. Lonergan, however, wants to show the layers of grief, and he knows that the pain lets up every once in awhile.
Things I’m doing lately
I’m watching this.
I’m listening to this podcast.
I’m reading this.
More to come next week 🙆🏻♀️
Happy October!🍂
Wondering how you can support me?
If you are a friend of this newsletter, show some love here.🐼
This newsletter is almost 4 months old now and during this time I have connected with a lot of readers and writers. I am grateful to those who constantly give their feedback and suggestions.
If you enjoy reading this, maybe share it with your colleagues, friends and family; it would mean the world to me :)
You can write to me on bhumikasankhla12@gmail.com. or connect with me on IG at _i__cook or use the comment section!
With love and gratitude,
The Hummingbird🌺
You are low on the movies quota? Here's a recommendation : Everything, Everywhere, all at once. Absurd, entertaining, cathartic, multiversal, has a lot of kung fu and VFX was done by just 5 guys. It might shimmer in your eyes differently, who knows 🤔