8 November 2019
“Do not give way to useless alarm; though it is right to be prepared for the worst, there is no occasion to look on it as certain.”
This Week
Friends, it’s been a rough week. My job role and accompanying team were eliminated yesterday. I loved the role and my team, so this is a bummer, to say the least. I posted on Twitter about what kind of work I’m looking for next. Please feel free to spread the word.
If you already have spread the word or have already reached out, thank you. I truly appreciate all your support. I’m honestly a little overwhelmed by the response. I didn’t expect so much so quickly. It is heartwarming.
In other news, I, according to tradition, posted about all the books and screenplays I read in October. Since I have been reading more screenplays lately, I thought it worthwhile to note that when I list screenplays, I link them directly to the available PDF copy. So you can read along at home, if you are so inclined.
Links
“‘We occasionally get calls from people trying to figure out who they can get to come to their cemetery and deal with these floating coffins.’” How climate change is affecting cemeteries.
“The thing is, the cards would ‘represent’ entirely different things for different people going through different problems. They are universal. That’s the point. There’s nothing here that is just for me or you. That’s precisely why they’re so useful in psychology. They put a cartoon on a concept that, when it’s just floating around in your brain, can be impossible to pin down.” How tarot can be a useful therapeutic tool (which is not news to longtime readers, because this is a topic I’ve pursued for a while now, but always good to see more reporting of it).
“There are so many creative filmmakers in so many countries across the world, and I don't think it makes sense to not watch those amazing films just because they are subtitled. I hope people swim out to the vast ocean of cinema that exists in this world.” Bong Joon-ho’s Reddit AMA is insightful and entertaining.
“The world of the hard-boiled detective is a world fundamentally untrustworthy, speaking to concerns about a disintegrating social contract in which the class historically connoted by the term people—white men—are no longer guaranteed security. In transposing this figure onto someone with the embodied vulnerability of a teenage girl, Veronica Mars taps into the reality of what it is to understand by adolescence that your body is not safe; what it is to know, on an almost cellular level, way beyond analysis or ideology, that your life and your self are forever shaped by the choices of powerful men.” This essay on Veronica Mars, her noir roots, the tradition of the American hardboiled detective and the complicated, costly ways a woman’s armor is necessary in the world is incredible.
“Believing these things is a daily practice. Believing that you’re a good person — which you are, or you wouldn’t be asking such difficult questions or maintaining bonds with your friends — is part of that practice.” Ask Polly.
Never stop doodling.
Reading/Watching/Listening
I’m skipping this section this week. As always, you can check in with my media log for the complete list: jenmyers.net/log/2019/ Today I’m taking myself off to see The Irishman.
Around
I’ve opened up two virtual mentoring sessions for beginning tech speakers from underrepresented minorities on next Friday, November 15. If you or someone you know is interested in having a chat with me about what it’s like to speak at tech conferences or meetups, head over to my mentoring page to sign up: jenmyers.net/mentoring/ If you’re not in tech but would like to talk about speaking in other contexts, I’m happy to help if I can, so also feel free to jump in. Also, for what it’s worth, while I have been offering these sessions at random points when I have the time, I’m going to move to a once-a-quarter offering. This will be the last offering this year, then there will be one every three months next year, each roughly in the middle of the quarter. In case you’ve been thinking about taking advantage of a session in the future, this might help you plan.
Last week, I posted a list of my favorite offbeat horror films currently streaming on major services.
Also last week, I shipped the monthly essay for paid newsletter subscribers, which just happened to be about what it’s like to learn to love horror movies. You can sign up at the link to read it and all the other monthly essays, past and future.
Let’s move on.
Lots of love to you all,
Jen
Connections
Substack archive: https://jenmyers.substack.com/archive
TinyLetter archive: http://tinyletter.com/jenmyers/archive
Essay archive: http://modernadventuress.com/
Website: http://jenmyers.net
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jenmyers
Email: hello@jenmyers.net
Post: P.O. Box 13114 Chicago, IL 60613
This week’s quote is from Jane Austen.