#196: With love, from Alipore
“We can only connect the dots that we collect." -Amanda Palmer
Hello!
The Alipore dispatches always feel special because writing from the room where this newsletter began gives me a sense that life has come full circle. I’ve been at it for seven and a half years (phew) and as I was reminded recently, I’ve been mostly consistent with The Alipore Post, which is something I rarely acknowledge.
I was in Ahmedabad yesterday, giving my first talk in years to the students at MICA about the importance of play and daydreaming in the creative process. What I realized while putting together a Keynote for the talk was how much this journey has been driven by curiosity, taking chances, unlearning and pushing the envelope. I’m also just grateful for everyone who has ever believed in the idea this started with: to hold space for creativity and blossoming. Thanks for sticking around and being curious with me. :)
Having said that, I feel attacked by Aletheia Délivré’s flowchart that I discovered on Jesse J. Anderson’s ADHD-centred newsletter Extra Focus. It induced a nervous chuckle in me. Heh.
And yet, I know for sure that most of this magical meandering would not never have happened had it not been for the ‘Doing it anyway’ framework. Sure, I could be better about time, energy and life management in general. But as someone who is cognizant of the fact that my time and energy are precious, I maintain a strict no-bullshit policy in life. I plan, I prioritise, I try. That counts, right?
Maybe it is okay to do it anyway, with the inherent hope and belief that it all adds up and helps you find yourself. If nothing else, it’ll perhaps help you find the others?
Midnight poetry for the soul
1. Passage by Marilyn Donnelly
He who
took the steps
by two
now pauses
on each tread
and I
who love him so
am filled
with dread.
2. Let Me Put It This Way by Simon Armitage
Let me put it this way:
if you came to lay
your sleeping head
against my arm or sleeve,
and if my arm went dead,
or if I had to take my leave
at midnight, I should rather
cleave it from the joint or seam
than make a scene
or bring you round.
There,
how does that sound?
3. haiku by sonia sanchez
your death
a blues, i could not
drink away.
4. Everyone is Afraid of Something by Dannye Romine Powell
Once I was afraid of ghosts, of the dark,
of climbing down from the highest
limb of the backyard oak. Now I'm afraid
my son will die alone in his apartment.
I'm afraid when I break down the door,
I'll find him among the empties-bloated,
discolored, his face a stranger's face.
My granddaughter is afraid of blood
and spider webs and of messing up.
Also bees. Especially bees. Everyone,
she says, is afraid of something.
Another fear of mine: that it will fall to me
to tell this child her father is dead.
Perhaps I should begin today stringing
her a necklace of bees. When they sting
and welts quilt her face, when her lips
whiten and swell, I'll take her
by the shoulders. Child, listen to me.
One day, you'll see. These stings
Are nothing. Nothing at all.
Fun finds
The Adventure Time Storyboard Notes by storyboard supervisor Erik Fountain for new board artists and revisionists + an Adventure Time GIF Database 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
In love with Thandiwe Muriu’s work. Yum yum.
Who gives a crap? (Toilet paper that builds toilets) + How did trees inspire the ‘sustainable superstar’ of toilets?
The Unseen (This site contains uncensored content that has been deemed unsuitable for some viewers by big media.)
Type lovin’
Archive: The Academy of British Cover Design (We need this for India too!)
Learn the logic of great typography: an interactive type tutorial
One last thought before bed because it’s so satisfying to find the right words you’ve been looking for, articulated by someone else.
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.
-Choreographer Martha Graham
Keep the channel open, dear reader. Who knows what you might find :)
Singing you lullabies on a sultry Calcutta night,
Rohini
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