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A list of things for June 2023

By Jen Myers —
Lake horizon with clear blue sky above and calm turquoise water below

Last month I sat down to put together a list of things for May and I discovered that my newsletter had inexplicably broken. I did many things to try to fix it and yet I only managed to melt everything down to a digital lump. Of course my backups failed. So I rebuilt it all from scratch. My apologies for the interruption in service. I have a new backup system in place, so I don't expect this sort of thing to happen again. However, building from scratch also includes my subscriber list. If by chance you enjoy this, I would appreciate you spreading the word to others. 🖤

  1. On my website, I posted two round-ups of recommended links, books, movies, television shows and such: Recently 13 June and Recently 25 June.
  2. My horror film podcast Quiet Little Horrors released two episodes in May about twisted sisters: one on the 1972 Brian De Palma film Sisters and one on a particular favorite of mine, The Mafu Cage.
  3. We also released the first episode of June, in which I make the argument that Hatching is the Finnish horror version of Turning Red. It makes sense, I promise. The next episode goes out this weekend and it's a banger. If you like large mysterious rock formations in Australia (hint, hint), I recommend tuning in, or whatever podcast equivalent of tuning in that you prefer.
  4. “Art is a divine and mysterious force that runs through all of us. It is a thing of supreme spiritual potential that only comes into its true and full being if we abandon all those cherished ideas about who we think we are or are not.” Nick Cave.
  5. I read the book The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World, by Lewis Hyde. A sadly timely passage: “As those who must worry about the livelihood of artists are fond of saying, ‘You cannot play “The Minute Waltz” in less than a minute.’ Worse (or perhaps better) you cannot write “The Minute Waltz” in less than … what? A day, a week, a year?—however long it takes. There is no technology, no time-saving device that can alter the rhythms of creative labor. When the worth of labor is expressed in terms of exchange value, therefore, creativity is automatically devalued every time there is an advance in the technology of work.”
  6. I went to Milwaukee and took some photos at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Specifically photos of a T-rex disemboweling a triceratops, a weird taxidermy bird, two mannequin children of the damned, and a butterfly.

8. I also found the Bronze Fonz.

A white woman with long dark reddish-brown hair wearing blue jeans, striped t-shirt and black Converse stands next to a bronze statue of the Fonz, a man wearing a leather jacket and holding thumbs up, in front of the river in downtown Milwaukee

9. “When one knows that the outer world has dragons—a couple, perhaps, at every corner—it is easier to contemplate the ones within oneself.” — P.L. Travers, What the Bee Knows: Reflections on Myth, Symbol and Story

10. Summer weather has come to Chicago. Here’s my surefire lemonade recipe: Dissolve 1 cup of sugar into 1 cup of water over the stove. Combine resulting simple syrup with 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Add 2-3 cups of water (I usually find 2 1/2 cups to be just right.) Serve over ice. Remember all the summers past. Revel in the present one. Perhaps slip loose from responsibility, obligation and time itself for a brief moment. Or just drink some nice lemonade. You do you.

I have some exciting new projects on the horizon and I hope I'll be able to announce them next time around. Please wait in eager anticipation.

I am fully back on Twitter, because that's where my people are, but you can also reach me by email at [email protected].

Thank you for reading! I'm grateful for you.