You had me at the scent of grape soda. About two years ago we moved to a new property, and I couldn't figure out what intoxicating brew I was smelling as I went about my gardening. Mountain Laurel is the official flower of the state of Connecticut and emits a delicious perfume. The smells of Spring stir the cobwebs that have accumulated in my head this winter. Soon the hyacinth, then the honeysuckle...so much to look forward to.
I'm curious about a detail in the Post Office advertisement image at the bottom of the email. The text is written on a page that says at the bottom, "The New Yorker, February 16, 2015" and "63".
Is that page the back of a day-by-day cartoon calendar? (I often use the unfunny ones as scrap paper.) Or did you cut up a New Yorker book and that's page 63? I'm a big New Yorker mag fan, so I was just wondering what product/publication that scrap paper came from.
Now I'm thinking it's clipped from a page from the magazine (each issue has the date and page number in the footer), but that must have been a rare find in the magazine: a portion of a page with blank white space.
That Galileo discovery is remarkable! I loved reading that article. I felt like I was there in the library with the scholar who discovered it. So cool!
#10: send somebody something in the mail is the perfect assignment for me rn. I'm reading The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, which is a novel told entirely through letters written and received by a 73-year-old woman named Sybil. It's hilarious and delightful and makes me want more and more analog in my life!
Wow that article about Galileo just blew me away. Thanks for that! And about mail. I subscribe to the Extravagant Hope Shiny Bits which sends a package of goodness every month chock full of postcards to send. https://theshinybits.com/
So weird to hear of spring talked about up here in Canada. Surprisingly I don't think we have a good term to describe this last bit of winter but it really drags on.
I live in Victoria BC Canada—and it’s this time of year when the rest of Canada actively hates us—spring had been happening here for a few weeks now. Sorrry! 😂😁
So much goodness in this 10 Things...well, there always is!
I especially enjoyed being introduced to Mason Curry - going to pre-order both your books. Finding time to write while also keeping the lights on seems to be a universal conundrum for most of us writers.
Also ordered Susan Sontag's reborn after reading about her notebooks. I've always loved journaling and reading the journals of writers, artists, and poets.
Thanks again, Austin! And cheers to Spring, it's almost here in the DMV as well. 🌸
You had me at the scent of grape soda. About two years ago we moved to a new property, and I couldn't figure out what intoxicating brew I was smelling as I went about my gardening. Mountain Laurel is the official flower of the state of Connecticut and emits a delicious perfume. The smells of Spring stir the cobwebs that have accumulated in my head this winter. Soon the hyacinth, then the honeysuckle...so much to look forward to.
How about Gerard Manley Hopkins in God’s Grandeur: “And for all this, Nature is never spent…There dwells the dearest, freshness deep down things…”
Thank you! After a hard week of personal sadness and public war, you have given us Méliès’ magic and Van Gogh’s yellow. And of course David Cross. 💛
I just mailed a parcel to my daughter with her birthday present and a few extras. I love going to the Post Office and wish I had more correspondents.
I'm curious about a detail in the Post Office advertisement image at the bottom of the email. The text is written on a page that says at the bottom, "The New Yorker, February 16, 2015" and "63".
Is that page the back of a day-by-day cartoon calendar? (I often use the unfunny ones as scrap paper.) Or did you cut up a New Yorker book and that's page 63? I'm a big New Yorker mag fan, so I was just wondering what product/publication that scrap paper came from.
Now I'm thinking it's clipped from a page from the magazine (each issue has the date and page number in the footer), but that must have been a rare find in the magazine: a portion of a page with blank white space.
That Galileo discovery is remarkable! I loved reading that article. I felt like I was there in the library with the scholar who discovered it. So cool!
I first read this as Spring Verb.
#10: send somebody something in the mail is the perfect assignment for me rn. I'm reading The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, which is a novel told entirely through letters written and received by a 73-year-old woman named Sybil. It's hilarious and delightful and makes me want more and more analog in my life!
Wow that article about Galileo just blew me away. Thanks for that! And about mail. I subscribe to the Extravagant Hope Shiny Bits which sends a package of goodness every month chock full of postcards to send. https://theshinybits.com/
Thanks for the mention, Austin! You started out working in a library, too, right?
So weird to hear of spring talked about up here in Canada. Surprisingly I don't think we have a good term to describe this last bit of winter but it really drags on.
Wintever
I live in Victoria BC Canada—and it’s this time of year when the rest of Canada actively hates us—spring had been happening here for a few weeks now. Sorrry! 😂😁
My son & I marvelled over George Meliés’ film, Galileo’s handwriting & guffawed over Mrs Featherbottom.
So much goodness in this 10 Things...well, there always is!
I especially enjoyed being introduced to Mason Curry - going to pre-order both your books. Finding time to write while also keeping the lights on seems to be a universal conundrum for most of us writers.
Also ordered Susan Sontag's reborn after reading about her notebooks. I've always loved journaling and reading the journals of writers, artists, and poets.
Thanks again, Austin! And cheers to Spring, it's almost here in the DMV as well. 🌸