by gina | No. 05
Issue No. 05
My website is currently down due to an upgrade on the host server. Hopefully it will be back online by tomorrow night. In the meantime, I've disabled my online store, provided by woocommerce, in the event that was also causing issues. While the decision to pause the store might seem like a set-back, I'm seeing this as a great time to build up momentum on "building the brand" in marketing parlance. shudder
That being said, if you follow me on Instagram (that's where I tend to share much of my photography), and if you like a photo and you'd like a print of it, hit me up and we can do an exchange 💰🖼. Want a set of postcard prints? Let's do it. I'll let you know pricing, type of paper, etc., and I accept payments via venmo or paypal.
I also have a gallery on SmugMug with some select photos that I decided should definitely be printed, and can be bought there as well.
The New York Times Editorial Board came out endorsing two Democratic candidates. The best thing to come out of this is a few hours' worth of entertainment on my twitter feed. That's pretty much it. Otherwise, the weather has been keeping me on my toes. After some unseasonably glorious 60-degree days, we got blasted with sub-freezing temps. Some snow not worth writing home about (though maybe jealousy of Newfoundland's ridiculous squall is worth griping about the sad snow situation in NYC), and mostly, it's just been windy af.
Words Were Written
In addition to taking more photos, I endeavored to also participate in more writing challenges and writing prompts. I submitted my first one for the year and it was published on The Weekly Knob. It's grim but again, not all writing is happiness and rainbows. This is mostly about creative writing. The premise: every week TWK sends out a prompt -- an object -- that then has to get incorporated into a piece of writing. This week's prompt is iron. You know, the thing you use to get wrinkles out of your clothes? I have some thoughts that I've jotted down so it's just a matter of drafting something up. Take a read and let me know if you enjoyed it. (It's a short read. Like, 1 minute.)
Watched & Read
🎬 Under the Silver Lake (2018) -- a weird movie that I neither dislike nor like. It's a paranoia-induced film that follows Sam (Andrew Garfield) as he tries to solve the mystery of a missing woman, who may be tied to a conspiracy that gets people killed. ⭐⭐⭐
🎬 The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) -- a beautiful and depressing film worth watching (and totally snubbed by the Academy). One reading of it: if there's one thing that drives us, it's the belief in a certain truth and the hope that comes with it. And I'll leave it at that... ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎬 Zama (2017) -- if there ever was a way to depict purgatory, Zama does a spectacular job at that. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
All of my film ratings are out of five stars.
📚 Don Quixote -- I have a couple hundred pages left in this book but it has been an adventure in its own right. My initial reaction is that the first half of the book is written differently from the second half, and this change might rub folks the wrong way. I almost stopped reading the book myself because of this but once I thought about the book, its style, I kept going and I'm glad I did. I'm not finished yet, but I recommend this if you're looking for a long fiction to dive into.
📚 The Left Hand of Darkness -- my first Ursula Le Guin book and I am eating it up. It was a birthday gift and it is by far one of the best sci-fi novels I've come across. I now understand why Le Guin was the master of sci-fi. Again, I'm only about halfway through this book but I also recommend this if you're looking to for new sci-fi or looking to dip your toes into something different.
Strap in, folks. Tomorrow is the Iowa Caucus, and the start of a few crazy weeks.
'Til next time.
🚲✌️