Books



The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (2023)

Full disclosure: I’m only about two-thirds of the way through this book. Which isn’t really like me, to recommend something I haven’t even finished. But it’s good. It’s really good.

And maybe it’s just the places I wander to here on Substack, but there seems to be a lot of questions being asked about ways to improve one’s writing. What resources are out there? Can you point me to some books? I really want to get better.

From my point of view, 99% of the resources one can find on the topic are, well… they’re bullshit. Here’s why: if you’re a creative person—and Rubin here argues (and I tend to agree with him) that we all are creative people, primed to produce art—you are going to develop routines and processes all on your own, that only suit you.

So some writer doling out prescriptions based on their own practice just doesn’t make much sense. Chances are it won’t help you. Or, if it does, that it’ll be a one-off. Or that at some point the well will run dry, and you’ll have to dig a new one, and a new one, and a new one.

What Rubin, perhaps the greatest music producer of all time, is not a prescription. Far from it. He of course has patterns of thinking. Currents, rather, that one can drop into it and ride along. But he leaves so much wiggle room for you to insert yourself and what makes you tick, while also—most importantly—building confidence in you, the creative person that, I don’t know, it’s really refreshing.

Again, full disclosure: I’m listening to the audio version of the book. And I only listen for 10-20 minutes at a time, but after each listen I honestly feel inspired to write.

That’s what I think one needs to seek out from any sort of “guide”. It’s exactly what I’d recommend to a certain someone.





Film + TV

See by Stephen Knight / Apple TV+ (2019—2022)

Let’s start with a confession: I haven’t watched the third and final season of this show just yet. I have seen the first two seasons though, and the real recommendation I’m making here is for you to watch the first season, which I found to be really damn good. The second season, while still good, doesn’t stack up for me in the same way, though it certainly evolved the narrative.

To be honest, though, I didn’t even watch the first season until sometime in 2022. I believe it was rolled out with the actual rollout of Apple TV+, which seemed to give entitled me even more reason to chalk it up to be, well, stupid.

I watch the trailer now—knowing now, of course, that it was created by the same person who created Peaky Blinders, another show I’ve loved—and think, “Yeah, wow, I’d watch the hell out of that,” but back when I saw the trailer for the first time I was definitely more like, “Ugh. More Momoa doing more Momoa things?”

(I also thought the title to be, er, phoned in? Which seems a little harsh of me now.)

And I’m not saying that I roll my eyes at everything Jason Momoa. Nor am I going to pound the table for him to be in consideration for the fake award of “Best Actor of Their Generation.” But this show gave me a whole new respect for him. I think he was the perfect choice for the physicality of the role of Baba Voss, and he plays it really well.

The performances beyond Momoa are quite good as well, particularly that of Sylvia Hoeks, who as Queen Kane steals many, many scenes.

If you haven’t seen it yet, and you’ve enjoyed dystopian stories previously, I urge you to just give the pilot a chance. It’s beautiful. And inventive.

Not sure when I’ll have time to watch season three, but it’s definitely somewhere on my mental to-do list.





Podcasts + Music

“Eavesdropping on orcas: love, grief and family” — The Wild with Chris Morgan

^ I’ve loved this podcast since its first episode. It’s produced here in Seattle, and this fascinating episode in particular centers around orcas in Puget Sound. Quite near and quite dear to me.



“A Whale-Oiled Machine”—99% Invisible

^ one of my favorite podcasts, and one of my favorite episodes. Often what they produce gets you thinking in different ways about your surroundings, and all the “design” that floats around your day-to-day, unnoticed. But this one, in particular, burrows quite deep.



Midwest Farmers Daughter by Margo Price (2016)

^ Big fan of Margo. It’s rare these days that I put on music with lyrics and, well, actually listen to them (I’m always doing something else, it seems, or opting for instrumental so I can maintain “productivity”), but I’ll put on Margo and always catch something new. This is her first album, my favorite of hers. Spoiler to something I mayyy end up writing about in the future: after twenty-six years of outwardly despising it—including picking on my dad about his love of it—she and this album gave me the permission to enjoy country music.





Articles / Newsletters





Videos

“Redwoods Shouldn’t be So Tall. Here’s Why They Are” / PBS Terra

^ You know, I have yet to stand in front of a redwood. But I hope to soon, and I will give it the biggest damn hug I can.



“In defense of the ‘gentrification building’” / Vox

^ As someone who lives in a city that is constantly under construction, I’m definitely someone who has bitched about the existence of these buildings. That was before I took the time to understand why they’re so important. This video helped provide context (and so did some of the comments found within).





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