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wildeoaths · 4 years

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LGBTQ Book & Film Recommendations

Hello! As someone who tries to read widely, it can sometimes be frustrating to find good (well-written, well-made) LGBTQ+ works of literature and film, and mainstream recommendations only go so far. This is my shortlist.

Some caveats: 1) I have only watched/seen some of these, though they have all been well-received.

2) The literature list is primarily focused on adult literary and genre fiction, since that is what I mostly read, and I feel like it’s easier to find queer YA fiction. Cece over at ProblemsOfABookNerd (YT) covers a lot of newer releases and has a YA focus, so you can check her out for more recommendations.

3) There are a ton of good films and good books that either reference or discuss queer theory, LGBTQ history and literary theory. These tend to be more esoteric and academic, and I’m not too familiar with queer theory, so they’ve largely been left off the list. I do agree that they’re important, and reading into LGBTQ-coding is a major practice, but they’re less accessible and I don’t want to make the list too intimidating.

4) I linked to Goodreads and Letterboxd because that’s what I use and I happen to really enjoy the reviews.

Any works that are bolded are popular, or they’re acclaimed and I think they deserve some attention. I’ve done my best to flag potential objections and triggers, but you should definitely do a search of the reviews. DoesTheDogDie is also a good resource. Not all of these will be suitable for younger teenagers; please use your common sense and judgement.

Please feel free to chime in in the replies (not the reblogs) with your recommendations, and I’ll eventually do a reblog with the additions!

BOOKS

> YOUNG ADULT

Don’t @ me asking why your favourite YA novel isn’t on this list. These just happen to be the picks I felt might also appeal to older teens/twentysomethings.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo - poetry.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender - trans male teen protagonist.

Red, White & Royal Blue

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue

The Raven Boys (and Raven Cycle)

> LITERATURE: GENERAL

This list does skew M/M; more NB, trans and WLW recommendations are welcomed!

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. One of the most acclaimed contemporary LGBTQ novels and you’ve probably heard of it. Will probably make you cry.

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. Portrait of a middle-aged gay man.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. M/M affair, British student high society; definitely nostalgic for the aristocracy so be aware of the context.

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman. It’s somewhat controversial, it’s gay, everyone knows the film at least.

Cronus’ Children / Le Jardin d'Acclimation by Yves Navarre. Winner of the Goncourt prize.

Dancer From The Dance by Andrew Holleran. A young man in the 1970s NYC gay scene. Warning for drugs and sexual references.

Dorian, An Imitation by Will Self. Adaptation of Orscar Wilde’s novel. Warning for sexual content.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. Two wlw in the 1980s. Also made into a film; see below.

Gemini by Michel Tournier. The link will tell you more; seems like a very complex read. TW for troubling twin dynamics.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. Another iconic M/M work.

Lost Boi by Sassafras Lowrey. A queer punk reimagining of Peter Pan. Probably one of the more accessible works on this list!

Lie With Me by Philippe Besson. Two teenage boys in 1980s France.

Maurice by E. M. Forster. Landmark work written in 1914. Also made into a film; see below.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. An expansive (and long) novel about the story of Cal, a hermaphrodite, by the author of The Virgin Suicides.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Plays with gender, time and space. Virginia Woolf’s ode to her lover Vita Sackville-West. What more do you want? (also a great film; see below).

Oscar Wilde’s works - The Picture of Dorian Gray would be the place to start. Another member of the classical literary canon.

Saga, vol.1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. Graphic novel; warning for sexual content.

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinburg. An acclaimed work looking at working-class lesbian life and gender identity in pre-Stonewall America.

The Holy Innocents by Gilbert Adair. The basis for Bertolucci’s The Dreamers (2003). I am hesitant to recommend this because I have not read this, though I have watched the film; the M/M dynamic and LGBTQ themes do not seem to be the primary focus. Warning for sexual content and incestuous dynamics between the twins.

The Animals At Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey. Plays with gothic elements, set during WW2, F/F elements.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham. References Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway. Probably a good idea to read Virginia Woolf first.

The Immoralist by André Gide. Translated from French.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline MIller. Drawing from the Iliad, focusing on Achilles and Patroclus. Contemporary fantasy that would be a good pick for younger readers.

The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst. Gay life pre-AIDS crisis. Apparently contains a fair amount of sexual content.

What Belongs To You by Garth Greenwell. A gay man’s coming of age in the American South.

> LITERATURE: WORLD LITERATURE

American and Western experiences are more prominent in LGBTQ works, just due to the way history and the community have developed, and the difficulties of translation. These are English and translated works that specifically foreground the experiences of non-White people living in (often) non-Western societies. I’m not white or American myself and recommendations in this area are especially welcomed.

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. The memoirs and essays of a queer black activist, exploring themes of black LGBTQ experiences and masculinity.

A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian. Female communities and queer female characters in a Bangalore slum. A very new release but already very well received.

Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima. Coming-of-age in post-WW1 Japan. This one’s interesting, because it’s definitely at least somewhat autobiographical. Mishima can be a tough writer, and you should definitely look into his personality and his life when reading his work.

Disoriental by Négar Djavadi. A family saga told against the backdrop of Iranian history by a queer Iranian woman. Would recommend going into this knowing at least some of the political and historical context.

How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones. A coming-of-age story and memoir from a gay, black man in the American South.

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. Another acclaimed contemporary work about the dynamics of abuse in LGBTQ relationships. Memoir.

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. Contemporary black British experience, told from the perspectives of 12 diverse narrators.

> POETRY

Crush by Richard Siken. Tumblr loves Richard Siken, worth a read.

Diving Into The Wreck by Adrienne Rich.

He’s So Masc by Chris Tse.

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho, trans. Anne Carson. The best presentation of Sappho we’re likely to get.

Lord Byron’s works - Selected Poems may be a good starting point. One of the Romantics and part of the classical literary canon.

Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire. The explicitly lesbian poems are apparently in the les fleurs du mal section.

> MEMOIR & NONFICTION

And The Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts. An expansive, comprehensive history and exposure of the failures of media and the Reagan administration, written by an investigative journalist. Will probably make you rightfully angry.

How to Survive A Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France. A reminder of the power of community and everyday activism, written by a gay reporter living in NYC during the epidemic.

Indecent Advances: The Hidden History of Murder and Masculinity Before Stonewall by James Polchin. True crime fans, this one’s for you. Sociocultural history constructed from readings of the news and media.

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker. It’s illustrated, it’s written by an academic, it’s an easier introduction to queer theory. I still need to pick up a copy, but it seems like a great jumping-off point with an overview of the academic context.

Real Queer America by Samantha Allen. The stories of LGBTQ people and LGBTQ narratives in the conservative parts of America. A very well received contemporary read.

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson. Gender, pregnancy and queer partnership. I’m not familiar with this but it is quite popular.

When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan. LGBTQ history of Brooklyn from the nineteenth century to pre-Stonewall.

FILMS

With films it’s difficult because characters are often queercoded and we’re only now seeing films with better rep. This is a shortlist of better-rated films with fairly explicit LGBTQ coding, LGBTQ characters, or made by LGBTQ persons. Bolded films are ones that I think are likely to be more accessible or with wider appeal.

A Single Man (2009) - Colin Firth plays a middle-aged widower.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013) - A controversial one. Sexual content.

Booksmart (2019) - A pretty well made film about female friendship and being an LGBTQ teen.

Boy Erased (2018) - Warning for conversion therapy.

BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017) - Young AIDS activists in France.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Cowboy gays. This film is pretty famous, do you need more summary? Might make a good triple bill with Idaho and God’s Own Country.

Cabaret (1972) - Liza Minelli. Obvious plug to also look into Vincent Minelli.

Calamity Jane (1953) - There’s a lot that could be said about queer coding in Hollywood golden era studio films, but this is apparently a fun wlw-cowboy westerns-vibes watch. Read the reviews on this one!

Call Me By Your Name (2017) - Please don't debate this film in the notes.

Caravaggio (1986) - Sean Bean and Tilda Swinton are in it. Rather explicit.

Carol (2015) - Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are lesbians in 1950s America.

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) - Hard to summarise, but one review calls it “lesbian birdman” and it has both Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart in it, so consider watching it.

Colette (2018) - About the bi/queer female writer Colette during the belle epoque era. This had Keira Knightley so by all rights Tumblr should love it.

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) - Lesbian love in 1920s/80s? America.

God’s Own Country (2017) - Gay and British.

Happy Together (1997) - By Wong Kar Wai. No further explanation needed.

Heartbeats (2010) - Bi comedy.

Heartstone (2016) - It’s a story about rural Icelandic teenagers.

Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party (2015) - Queer teens and religious themes.

Je, Tu, Il, Elle (1974) - Early Chantal Akerman. Warning for sexual scenes.

Kill Your Darlings (2013) - Ginsberg, Kerouac and the Beat poets.

Love, Simon (2018)

Lovesong (2016) - Lesbian and very soft. Korean-American characters.

Love Songs (2007) - French trio relationship. Louis Garrel continues to give off non-straight vibes.

Mädchen In Uniform (1931) - One of the earliest narrative films to explicitly portray homosexuality. A piece of LGBTQ cinematic history.

Maurice (1987) - Adaptation of the novel.

Midnight Cowboy (1969) - Heavy gay coding.

Milk (2008) - Biopic of Harvey Milk, openly gay politician. By the same director who made My Own Private Idaho.

Moonlight (2016) - It won the awards for a reason.

My Own Private Idaho (1991) - Another iconic LGBTQ film. River Phoenix.

Mysterious Skin (2004) - Go into this film aware, please. Young actors, themes of prostitution, child ab*se, r***, and a lot of trauma.

Orlando (1992) - An excellent adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, and in my opinion far more accessible. Watch it for the queer sensibilities and fantastic period pieces.

Pariah (2011) - Excellent coming-of-age film about a black lesbian girl in Brooklyn.

Paris is Burning (1990) - LANDMARK DOCUMENTARY piece of LGBTQ history, documenting the African-American and Latine drag and ballroom roots of the NYC queer community.

Persona (1966) - It’s an Ingmar Bergman film so I would recommend knowing what you’re about to get into, but also I can’t describe it because it’s an Ingmar Bergman film.

Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975) - Cult classic queercoded boarding school girls.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) - By Celine Sciamma, who’s rapidly establishing herself in the mainstream as a LGBTQ film director. This is a wlw relationship and the queer themes are reflected in the cinematic techniques used. A crowd pleaser.

Pride (2014) - Pride parades with a British sensibility.

Rebel Without A Cause (1955) - Crowd-pleaser with bi coding and James Dean. The OG version of “you’re tearing me apart!”.

Rocketman (2019) - It’s Elton John.

Rent (2005) - Adaptation of the stage musical. Not the best film from a technical standpoint. I recommend the professionally recorded 2008 closing night performance instead.

Rope (1948) - Hitchcock film.

Sorry Angel (2018) - Loving portraits of gay French men.

Talk To Her (2002) - By Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar.

Tangerine (2015) - About trans sex workers. The actors apparently had a lot of input in the film, which was somehow shot on an iPhone by the same guy who went on to do The Florida Project.

The Duke of Burgundy (2014) - Lesbians in an S&M relationship that’s going stale, sexual content obviously.

The Gay Deceivers (1969) - The reviews are better than me explaining.

The Handmaiden (2016) - Park Chan-wook makes a film about Korean lesbians and is criminally snubbed at the Oscars. Warning for sexual themes and kink.

The Favourite (2018) - Period movie, and lesbian.

Thelma And Louise (1991) - An iconic part of LGBTQ cinematic history. That is all.

The Celluloid Closet (1995) - A look into LGBTQ cinematic history, and the historical contexts we operated in when we’ve snuck our narratives into film.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018) - Adaptation of the YA novel.

The Neon Demon (2016) - Apparently based on Elizabeth Bathory, the blood-drinking countess. Very polarising film and rated R.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012) - Book adaptation. It has Ezra Miller in it I guess.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - No explanation needed, queer and transgressive vibes all the way.

They (2017) - Gender identity, teenagers.

Those People (2015) - They’re gay and they’re artists in New York.

Tomboy (2011) - One of the few films I’ve seen dealing with gender identity in children (10 y/o). Celine Sciamma developing her directorial voice.

Tropical Malady (2004) - By Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul. His is a very particular style so don’t sweat it if you don’t enjoy it.

Vita and Virginia (2018) - Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West biopic

Water Lilies (2007) - Celine Sciamma again! Teenage lesbian coming-of-age.

When Marnie Was There (2014) - A Studio Ghibli film exploring youth, gender and sexuality.

Weekend (2011) - An indie film about young gay love.

Wilde (1997) - It’s a film about Oscar Wilde.

XXY (2007) - About an intersex teenager. Reviews on this are mixed.

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) - Wonder what Diego Luna was doing before Rogue One? This is one of the things. Warning for sexual content.

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mccoys-killer-queen · 4 years

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This week’s playlist (2/28)

This week is underappreciated songs from some artists. After this week I’m gonna take a break from this to come across different songs and see which ones I’ll shove in your faces some other time

1.) If I’d Been the One- 38 Special (1983)

This is the lead song off the 1983 album Tour De Force (and every song on there is DIVINE if I do say so myself). It’s the classic “put yourself in my shoes” song- “can you read my mind? Take a good look at my face” it’s just all catchy hooks galore. 38 Special needs a hell of a lot more appreciation from the Classic Rock Fandom on here. They’re like Lynyrd Skynyrd but less country and and more rock/pop. I almost put “In Your Eyes Tonight” on this list instead of this song, so I’d recommend that from this album too if you liked this one enough.

2.) Sing to Me- REO Speedwagon (1978)

Put on your long silk robe and stand on your balcony because it’s time for a POWERFULLY PASSIONATE song. It’s roughly two and a half minutes of wOw. I love Gary Richrath so much and this song hurts even more whenever I remind myself that it was written by him. When you start a song with “sundown, summer is fading” you get that nostalgia straight away. You’ll feel the wind in your hair as you gaze upon a sunset, you’ll feel the anticipation when that guitar solo hits, and you’ll feel like nothing will ever be the same. Would also highly recommend this album as well.

3.) Comin Under Fire- Def Leppard (1983)

By far the most underappreciated song off of Pyromania. The most appreciation they ever gave this song was putting it on the b side of Foolin (for some releases). They’ve played every song off of Pyromania live before EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE. It pisses me off! I think this song is the precise moment that Def Leppard came out of their fetus era and started molding into the superstars they were destined to become. This song is a combination of their early 80s style/sound plus their new found style that can heard on the rest of Pyromania. All in all, it’s BADASS. I hope they perform it live someday (specifically when I see them later this year...)

4.) Learn How to Live- Billy Squier (1982)

Holy mother of internal crisis part 2. I always like to think of the speaker in this song as someone who’s talking to himself and trying to reason with himself. “You’ve got a lot to learn, you play in the fire, you might get burned”, it just sounds like he’s trying to give advice to someone, but he gets to desperate as the song goes on that it sounds like he’s becoming more frantic at himself and trying to sell his convincing even more. The lyrics here are really the selling point of this song. The chorus is just pure poetry to me- “Learn how to give, learn how to take, learn how to live before it’s too late. Learn how to bend, learn how to break, learn how to mend broken heartaches. Learn to forgive, learn how to wait, learn how to live before it’s too late.”

5.) Gonna Raise Hell- Cheap Trick (1979)

If you like a funky, sexy, groovy bass line, here you go. The Dream Police album is legendary in so many ways, but this song is what really sells it for me. This is definitely a stripper song for me. 9 minutes of pure badass grooving. Cheap Trick also deserves more appreciation on here. Dream Police is totally an album to listen to if you’re looking to get into them. Just make yourself bop to that bass line and that’s all you need to be sold for the entire song.

6.) The Long Run- Eagles (1979)

My favorite Eagles song. Chill, but in a bright and happy way. Gives you summer afternoon vibes. A bright look to the future with some killer but simple guitar riffs. You want some good 70s vibes? Look no further. This song is just sunshine all around, baby. Slow but groovy in the way that only the Eagles can convey. What more do I need to say in order to sell it?

7.) Mississippi Kid- Lynyrd Skynyrd (1973)

I don’t really have many words for this song, because there’s not much too it! Just listen to it and you’ll see what I mean. It’s definitely an earworm. Prepared to be blown away- but definitely not in the way you expected. This is definitely a minimalistic song- it’s so simple, but it’s just flat out awesome.

8.) Sweet Jane- Mott the Hoople (1972)

These guys also need more appreciation on here. Joe Elliott can’t do all the work when it comes to spreading the word of Mott! This album is also a wonderful album to listen to if you’re trying to get into Mott. This is the lead song off All the Young Dudes, and it- like The Long Run- is sunshine and good 70s vibes all around. It was also written by Bowie...

9.) Dreamers Ball- Queen (1978)

Where’s the Jazz appreciation on this site?? Apart from Fat Bottomed Girls, this song is my favorite song off the album. It’s mellow and is kinda slow swingy-jazzy-waltzy, just classy slow dance material in general. And yes, it’s another Brian May baby. “Take me, hold me, remember what you told me” it’s also so sad! The speaker’s down in the dumps because his lover/dancing partner left him, but he knows that he can go to the “dreamers ball” and dream of them instead.

10.) Take Me to the Pilot- Elton John (1970)

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) You all know this as the sex scene song from Rocketman, but push that aside and focus on the song itself for a moment. It’s kinda like My Kinda Lover but for the 70s, in my opinion. The lyrics don’t really make any sense, but I feel like it’s kinda along the lines of “I’m truly yours, so take me straight to your soul” but then again, who knows? It’s a bop no matter what.

(Spotify playlist)

#i wrote 80% of this while tipsy ngl #it was easier to write #38 special #reo speedwagon #def Leppard #billy squier #cheap trick #eagles #lynyrd skynyrd #mott the hoople #Queen #Elton John #Rocketman

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lucajpeg · 5 years

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Aperol Spritz with Starry Night

I arrive for the interview early. I’m feeling kind of nervous, I’ve only been working for this art publication a couple of months and this guy I’m interviewing is pretty famous. I kill time outside MOMA: watch a pigeon, buy a hot dog, feel sick, throw it away, light a cigarette.

I head up to the MOMA coffee shop and buy a $9 ice tea that makes me kinda depressed. I pick a table near the middle of the room, then change my mind and move to a table by the window. He’s 10 minutes late. I open the Words With Friends app then close it again without playing any words. 20 minutes late. I take out my notebook and run through my questions, they seem okay. I hope the one about the mental asylum doesn’t piss him off. I’m sure he’s sick of ear questions, so I’ve tried to frame it differently.

45 minutes late, he swaggers into the room with the energy of someone walking into a surprise party they already knew about: “wow guys! Oh gee! For me?”. I recognize him straight away. He’s tall, with dirty blond impasto hair and a broad grin. He kind of reminds me of Mr. Peanut Butter. He’s wearing Timberlands, and a lime green LiveStrong bangle.

I wave shyly and he bounds over. I reach for a handshake but he deflects it, grabbing my waste and kissing my cheek with a “hi angel!”. I bristle. “I’m Starry, Starry Night”.

He swings his chair around and straddles it, like this:

For a second I’m knocked speechless by this wildly bold/ obnoxious gesture in a coffee shop. I take in his face. He’s strikingly handsome in an Australian-in-Bali kind of way. He looks like Thor, but not 2019 Thor like 2011 Thor. For 130 years old, he looks fresh.

Despite myself, I’m kind of affected by his blond magnetism. I drop my pen and as we both reach for it our fingers brush. My ears start burning. We glance up and lock eyes for a moment and I get a boner. His eyes are midnight blue, with swirls of pale green and flecks of bright yellow. I’m flooded with mingled lust and shame – I wish I was more put off by his wanky demeanor.

He cracks his knuckles and raises his eyebrows at me. Awkwardly, I fumble through some small talk before clearing my throat and bringing up my notebook to begin the interview. He raises a finger to shush me, then clicks his other hand at the waiter to come over.

“Do you guys have Monster?”

“No…”

“Any energy drinks?”

“No”

He looks at me and shakes his head in a “what’s with these people” way. I shrug in tepid agreement.

“I’ll have a matcha green tea”

He pulls out a fidget spinner like it’s 2017, and tells he about his ADHD (“you know Terry Bradshaw has ADHD?”).

With grim persistence I return to my questions but he seems uninterested. I ask about his permanent residency at MOMA, and the New York art scene.

“Bunch of idiots” he says dismissively, “I’m done with the whole art scene it’s just a whole lot of guys pulling on each others dicks”.

When I bring up the move from Holland to New York he sighs dramatically and tells me he’s bored.

“What I’m really keen to talk about is my acting career. Every journalist I talk to wants to ask me about art, but really I consider myself more of an actor these days”

“Yeah?” I ask, giving up on my questions and closing my book. I glance at the page: how did Van Gogh’s suicide affect how you were received in the art market?

“I’ve been acting since the 80s and still people want to bracket me as a fine artist. It’s bullshit.”

“Tell me about the movies you’ve been in”

His face lights up, and he goes off telling me in detail about all his movie appearances. He needs no input from me, and I lean back, responding with a “wow” or “oh yeah?” every couple of minutes.

��In 1972 Don McClean wrote a song about me, and that put me on the entertainment map. Then in 1999 Starry Night the movie came out. Imagine a movie named after you! It only got 4,3/10 on IMDB but they don’t know shit. Transformers got like 5/10.”

He clicks at the waiter again and orders 2 Aperol Spritz’ without asking if I want one.

“Now that I’ve worked in cinema for a long time I’m itching to move to stage. It’s more visceral, you know? But most of the shit you see on Broadway is so crumby. I’ve actually been working on my own script; I’m hoping it gets picked up soon. Not to boast, but its gold. People act like writing’s so hard but this is the first thing I’ve written and it’s fucking genius. I guess you know that, you’re a writer”

“Yeah, it’s really easy?”

“I’ve written the play with myself in mind for the lead, and I have some ideas for the rest of the cast. I’m keen to get film actors rather than stage actors. I’ve partied with a few stage actors, they’re too serious. I’d hate to work with them. I take my craft seriously, but I’m also having a good time with it, you know? Life’s short, you need to milk the now”

I smile to myself and write that line down.

“What’s your play about?”

“It’s not like anything you’ve ever seen on stage before. It’s like sci-fi meets action meets romance. It’ll be a massive production.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s set in New York in the future. The protagonist is this shy guy who works in an art gallery, but at night he’s a genius hacker working under a secret alias, Hunter X. Such a sick name. Anyway so Hunter X starts getting these weird messages on his computer, and then one day this mysterious guy shows up at his door and tells him he has to follow him. They go for a walk and the guy says something like ‘have you ever felt like you’re part of something bigger, like there’s something else going on? Well you are, and there is – you’re part of something huge’. Doesn’t that line give you shivers?!”

He grins at my excitedly and I nod.

“The guy asks if he wants to know more, and Hunter X says yes. So this dude plugs him into this weird machine and swoosh! The scene changes to this huge room full of robots. There are pods all over the walls with people in each one, plugged into the wall. It’s all really creepy. ‘What is this place?’ Hunter X asks. ‘This is reality. What you see every day is a virtual reality. The world you know, the house you live in, the job you work, it’s all a simulation’. So Hunter’s mind is fucking exploding at this point. The dude explains that the robots are using people as organic batteries, and then simulating reality to them in their pods.”

I start frowning, and am about to interject when the waiter appears.

She sits down our drinks and he picks his up. Holding a finger at the waiter not to leave he downs his drink in one, then slams down the glass and tells her to bring another one.

“Bring me a panini. Something with meat on it” He looks at me, “You hungry? Bring her one too”.

I shrug, realizing increasingly how ineffectual my responses are on this person.

“So after this totally mind-blowing opening, the play is all about them coming after the robots who run this whole system. Hunter X learns how to fight in the virtual reality world, and gets super buff. Then he meets one of the evil robot chicks and falls in love, it’s a whole thing. The wardrobe is going to be fucking future. You’ll see when it comes out, I’m sure it’ll get picked up soon. It’s gold”.

“Not to be rude, but this sounds exactly like The Matrix…”

“The what?”

“The Matrix? That Keanu Reeves movie.”

He shrugs, “Never heard of it”

“You’ve never heard of the Matrix?”

“Nah”

“It’s pretty famous”

“Whatever, this is better. You’ll see. This is gold”

Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh

Oil on canvas

74 x 92 cm

In the Museum of Modern Art permanent collection

#mitchellstut

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stimuliandthelike · 4 years

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words i liked from “Letters of Note”

In which I spent 2 hours compiling my favorite quotes from the books “Letters of Note” - a collection of letters sent from famous, regular, and famous-but-only-in-select-groups people. This is mostly just so I have a place where they’re saved but also because this blog is basically “stuff i like” so. yes. anyway. if you like old things and are interested in people you’ll probably like this.

As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate - E.B. White in response to Mr Nadeau’s letter about the future seaming bleak and hopeless to him (1973). pretty standard stuff really but in context it is better

I must write a special letter and thankyou for the dream in the bottle [...]. Tonight I shall go down to the village and blow it through the bedroom window of some sleeping child and see if it works - Roald Dahl to Amy Corcoran in response to her letter about her love for the book, 'The BFG', and a bottle she sent inside which she put a painting of one of her dreams (1989)

Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me - from Jourdan Anderson to Patrick Henry Anderson when the latter asked him to return and become his slave again, trying to tempt him by offering him ‘more freedom’, despite the fact that after Jourdan fled from him he had a much better life and a happier family (1865). Jourdan refused to go back unless a list of his demands were met - they were not.

*The entire letter Hunter S. Thompson sent to Hume Logan in response to the latter's request for some life advice which is too big to put here*

Dear sirs, I see that you are going to make all sorts of excuses to keep my child out of public schools. Dear sirs, will you please to tell me! Is it a disgrace to be born a chinese? Didn't God make us all!! - a rightfully enraged Mary Tape to the San Francisco board of education when they would not let her daughter attend school because of her Chinese descent (1885)

It is only adults who ever feel threatened - Ursula Nordstrom to a school librarian after hearing that the latter banned and later burned Maurice Sendrak's (her client) children's book, “In the Night Kitchen”. (1972)

A motion picture projector is a non humanoid robot which repeats truths we inject into it. Is it inhuman? Yes. Does it project human truths to humanize us more often that not? Yes. The excuse could be made that we should burn all books because some books are dreadful. We should mash all cars because some cars get in accidents because of the people driving them. We should burn down all theaters in the world because some films are trash.. drivel. So it is finally with the robots you say you fear. Why fear something? Why not create with it? - Ray Bradbury to Brian Sibley in response to the latter's letter about his fear of robots (1974)

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! - from the editor of the Sun to 8 year old Virginia O'Hanlon, in response to her question about Santa Claus being real. It's a nice letter (1897)

Sir, I have just written you a long letter. On reading it over, I have thrown it into the waste paper basket. Hoping this will meet with your approval - a Big Mood presented in a short letter from Alfred d. Wintle to the editor of The Times (1946)

Dear president Eisenhower, my girlfriends and I are writing all the way from Montana. We think it's bad enough to send Elvis Presley in the army, but if you cut his side burns off we will just about die! - in which the President of the US is enrolling Elvis in the army, and three fans are distressed (1958)

*God you should also really read Stewart Sterns letter to the Winslows about James deans death. It’s also a nice letter that’s too big to put here*

Now farewell Susie, and Vinnie sends her love, and mother hers, and I add a kiss, slyly, lest there is somebody there! Don't let them see, will you Susie? - in which Emily Dickinson is yearning for Susan Gilbert, lesbianly. You know that one Sonic meme? Good for them. (1852)

I respectfully remind you sir, that we have been the most patient of all people. When you said we must have self respect, I wondered how we could have self respect and remain patient considering the treatment accorded to us throughout the years. 17 million Negroes cannot do as you suggest and wait for the hearts of men to change - Jackie Robinson to. President Eisenhower in response to his call for patience from the African Americans fighting for civil rights (1958).

NEED SMALL BOAT - a distress call carved into a coconut shell by John F. Kennedy to the allied forces when stranded on the Solomon islands during ww2 (1943)

There are lots of one liners in the book, but when the German army are throwing bloody great lumps of hot iron at you, one only has time for one liners, in fact, the book should really consist of the following: ‘oh fuck’ ‘look out’ ‘christ here's another’ ‘where did that fall?’ ‘my lorrys on fire’ and ‘oh christ the cook is dead' - an amusingly but I suppose rightfully annoyed Spike Mulligan to Stephen Gard in response to the latter's unending questions about his comedy material (1977)

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind - the presidential speechwriter’s 'just in case' speech in case the moon landing failed (1969)

After I have said all this, I am sure you are still ready to respond, in effect, ''yes, yes... But it still remains our right and our responsibility to decide what books our children are going to be made to read in our community.'' That is surely so. But it is also true that if you exercise that right and responsibility in an ignorant, harsh, un-American manner, then people are entitled to call you bad citizens and fools. Even your own children are entitled to call you that - Kurt Vonnegut’s (relevant-to-this-day) letter to principal Charles McCarthy’s decision to burn the banned books of the area in his school (1973)

Thankyou for your gorgeous and charming letter. You brighten up my dim life. [...] ‘perforation problems’ by the way, means to me also that the holes that will always exist in any story we try to make of our lives. So hang on my love, and grow big and strong and take your hits and keep going - Iggy Pop’s response to Laurence’s 20 fucking page long (her words not mine) fan letter. Also, she got this the day she was being evicted so like. Cool. (1995)

my love for you is deathless - Sullivan Ballou to Sarah Ballou - his wife - during the Civil War as he explained how he might not return home (1861). It's just. it’s nice

Dear ''Dr'' Fields, my response to your letter of February 19, 1976, is: kiss my ass - Bill Baxley to Edward R. Fields - a member of the klu Klux Klan - when the latter told him not to reopen the case of the 16 Street Church Bombing - which was a 'racially motivated act of terrorism that resulted in the deaths of four African American girls' (1976)

How happy shall I be if I can still be helpful to you in my grave. And Also My misfortune is doubly painful to me because I am bound to be misunderstood; for me there can be no relaxation with my fellow men, no refined conversations, no mutual exchange of ideas. I must live almost alone, like one who has been banished. I can mix with specify only as much as true necessity demands. If I approach to people, a hot terror seizes upon me and I fear of being exposed to the danger my condition might be noticed - beethoven to his brothers, on death and his hearing disability (1802). this one just made me incredibly sad really.

During the next few days I shall either put a bullet through my head or commit something more shattering to myself than death. At any rate I shall be quite a different person. I refuse to be cheated out of my deathbed scene - Rebecca west to HG Wells, her ex lover (1913). the last line though

*The entire letter that Jermain Loguen wrote to Sarah Logue (1860). It is also very good but to giant to put here*

I have not a thing to say. Nothing is of more importance than the other. I am flatter than a denial or a pancake; emptier than Judge Parke’s wig when the head is in it; duller than a country stage when the actors are off it; a cipher, an o! I acknowledge life at all, but only by an occasional convulsional cough, and a permanent phlegmatic pain in the chest. I am weary of the world and life is weary of me. My day is gone into twilight and I don't think it worth the expense of candles. My wick hath a thief in it but I can't muster the courage to snuff it. I inhale suffocation - poet Charles lamb to his friend Bernard Barton on the subject of having the flu. Melodramatic goals. (1824)

#HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH #letters #letters of note #im pretty sure theres a website that has these letters too so go check it out if you dont have the book tis v good #quotes #save #me #a loooooooooooooooooooonnng post

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bharatiyamedia-blog · 5 years

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Girish Karnad, a Renaissance spirit: Sunil Shanbag remembers artiste who roused thespian in him

http://tinyurl.com/y33arqbp Theatre director Sunil Shanbag was solely 17 when he first watched a play written by Girish Karnad — Hayevadana — come alive on stage. By the tip of the efficiency, he knew the place he needed to belong. “It was 1972. I used to be nonetheless in my final yr of faculty, and that specific manufacturing of Hayevadana satisfied me that that is what I want to do for the remainder of my life,” the Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee recollects, on studying in regards to the legendary playwright-actor’s passing away on Monday at his Bengaluru residence. Karnad was 81 and lengthy affected by an ailment. Surprisingly for Shanbag, it was solely as late as March this yr that he directed a Girish Karnad play for the primary time. “By means of all these years, I’ve seen his performs and I’ve learn what he has written. It is such an irony. I all the time needed to direct Hayevadana myself, as a tribute to him, however by no means bought round to doing it. I directed Taledanda — which is the unique in Kannada — in Hindi, Rakta Kalyan, as a college students’ manufacturing for the Drama College Mumbai,” the thespian says. Written in 1989 and set within the 12th century, Taledanda tells the story of poet-saint Basavanna, who unites individuals in his neighborhood to denounce the caste system with the help of the king of Kalyan. Quickly after, killings are ordered in the neighborhood when a Brahmin lady is engaged to be married to a boy from a decrease caste. The story is nearly typical of Karnad’s temperament as an inventive genius, rebellious and delicate at his core. “It actually resonates with what is going on as we speak…I’ve all the time felt very deeply related to his performs proper from the early days. He had the flexibility to make use of historic and cultural materials to say crucial issues. He employed this ability in Tughlaq and even Rakt Kalyan — to contemporise historical past and have a look at your world at current. His performs are so highly effective as a result of they epitomise this very thought,” Shanbag says. He final met Karnad solely two months in the past in Bengaluru, whereas staging Rakt Kalyan within the metropolis. Sunil believes that the author was strongly rooted in society, and “felt extraordinarily accountable as an artist”. He continues to attract inspiration from this side of Karnad, in an age when “artwork has change into extra private and subjective”. Veteran actor-playwright, Girish Karnad, handed away on Monday morning at his Bangalore residence. Picture credit score: Wikimedia commons Whereas lots of his contemporaries — who, together with Karnad, had shouldered the parallel or ‘artwork movie’ wave in Indian cinema — usually shied away from performing in industrial potboilers, the seminal artiste expectedly traversed the extra shocking route. His filmography boasts of unapologetic mass entertainers like Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Shivaay (2016) in Hindi, and 24 (2016) in Tamil, amongst a number of others. Shanbag reveals Karnad’s motivation behind partaking in such initiatives. “There’s an auditorium in Dharward, his hometown in Karnataka, which he was eager on making accessible to everybody there. It was a proper auditorium so there have been some bills concerned in utilizing it. He advised me {that a} honest proportion of what he made by performing in such Hindi movies and mainstream cinema went in to subsidising that stage for younger individuals,” he says, shedding mild on how the Padma Shri awardee upheld his perception in creating artwork for society. “He was extremely fearless and all the time took a really principal place in essential issues regardless of assembly with hostility, even demise threats, which is frequent data now. So it undoubtedly is a giant loss,” Shanbag rues. Certainly, the actor-writer was no stranger to such ultimatums, which got here his means in 2015 as he spoke in favour of celebrating Tipu Sultan’s delivery anniversary in Karnataka, eliciting fierce backlash from varied right-wing and Hindutva outfits. Girish Karnad sought to problem and query oppressive state equipment in order to mobilise crucial pondering, even in his remaining months. In September final yr, he held a placard studying “Me Too City Naxal” at an occasion organised in Bengaluru, to mark journalist Gauri Lankesh’s first demise anniversary. Quickly, an FIR was lodged in opposition to him, however Karnad was utterly unperturbed. “He was that type of a man. He would simply do it, simply problem authority, and thank god for it. He got here from a technology of people that had been that profound. Any work at any time, which raises questions, will elicit such responses, like what occurred with Galileo. Dissent is part of historical past, of human civilisation and expertise. And for those who’re cursed with a questioning thoughts then…” Shanbag trails off. Sunil Shanbag. Fb/sunil.shanbag The theatre director’s Akademi award fell within the eye of a political storm final yr. RSS and BJP leaders wished for his identify to be struck off the distinguished record owing to his participation within the 2015 ‘award wapsi’ marketing campaign launched by intellectuals and artists in India, protesting the alleged progress in intolerance in the direction of dissent beneath the BJP regime. Karnad later wrote to the SNA chairman, urging him to not act upon such “ludicrous” calls for, and chorus from withdrawing Shanbag’s identify. “The duty of the Akademi is to recognise and honour inventive benefit. The artist’s political opinions are his proper. Shanbag has been working for over 40 years on the Indian stage and the standard of his work has been persistently modern and excellent. That’s all that ought to matter,” Karnad wrote. For this gesture, Shanbag can solely categorical unbridled gratitude. “After all it was fearless, however I believed it was extraordinarily beneficiant and gracious of him to make that public assertion. And to remind folks that on the finish of the day, it’s not your private like or dislike that may decide the worth of anybody’s work. That is going to be a continuing battle that we’ll face — simply since you don’t agree, doesn’t imply it has no worth.” Shanbag believes Karnad had sensed the clock ticking, following which he had set himself some remaining targets to pursue. “After I final met him, he mentioned his proudest second was when he was capable of write one other play, his final, on the Vijaynagar kingdom. He mentioned that that is what happy him essentially the most: with the ability to end writing the play in Kannada, after which transcribing it for individuals who didn’t know Kannada. He knew what was coming and he did obtain his targets,” he says. Girish Karnad remembered by Indian art and culture fraternity: ‘His strong, unwavering voice will be missed’ Shanbag was endlessly fascinated by the artiste’s potential to carry a dialog on any topic, whereas holding his viewers hooked. “His breadth of data was astounding. He was all the time glad to share his understanding of issues. He was in a position to attract connections between belongings you didn’t suppose had been related. He was equally snug speaking about artwork, historical past, and the rest. One aspires to have that type of breadth of data and depth in life,” the veteran thespian says. Whereas the difficulty of caste persistently chases Indian society, artists proceed to impress the ire of varied sections on broaching it sometimes. Shanbag believes the hassle and questions must be relentless, as was demonstrated by Girish Karnad by his legacy. “One of many questions I used to be requested after I directed Rakta Kalyan with a bunch of scholars was if I used to be choosing a challenge that was too intellectually bold. Listed below are a bunch of children of their twenties, and right here’s a play loaded with discussions and questions on caste, its relation to faith and state,” he says. “I did give it some thought and it was certainly a bit dangerous. However then I mentioned, no, for those who’re in your mid-twenties and usually are not uncovered to among the finest mental traditions, you’re by no means going to do it. And I have to say, as soon as the scholars understood what the author was making an attempt to say by this play, they responded fantastically to it.” Shanbag admits to feeling “daunted within the present ‘anti-intellectual’ ambiance, reducing throughout all types of ideologies”. Maybe it’s now, greater than ever, {that a} “Renaissance spirit” like Girish Karnad calls for widespread commemoration, past mourning. The artiste reminds us of “our duty to rejoice this type of mental legacy increasingly more”, leaving us to mull over the haunting query: “What else do we’ve left?” Your information to the newest cricket World Cup tales, evaluation, studies, opinions, dwell updates and scores on https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/series/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019.html. Comply with us on Twitter and Instagram or like our Facebook web page for updates all through the continued occasion in England and Wales. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function() {n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)} ; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '259288058299626'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=1117108234997285"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); window.fbAsyncInit = function () { FB.init({appId: '1117108234997285', version: 2.4, xfbml: true}); // *** here is my code *** if (typeof facebookInit == 'function') { facebookInit(); } }; (function () { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; e.async = true; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); function facebookInit() { console.log('Found FB: Loading comments.'); FB.XFBML.parse(); } Source link

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aestitiks-blog · 7 years

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Blooming in Solitude

Sometimes in our lives We all have pain, we all have sorrow. But if we are wise, We know that there's always tomorrow. Lean on me when you're not strong I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on For it won't be long 'Til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on.

--- Lean On Me, Bill Withers (1972)

This song by Bill Withers is a well-written and a perfectly amazing song. This song reminds me of a person who used to be my go-to friend back in high school. That friend of mine was one of my study buddies and my life coach as well. I considered him as my BFFL (Best Friend For Life). We shared lives together. We talked about the most random and weirdest things about the universe. In short, we have shared a lotta things with each other.

But sadly, he suddenly left me. He unfriended me on Facebook and blocked me on all of his social media accounts without knowing the main reason why he did those.

Since he left, I started to deal with things alone.

Back in my junior high school years, I used to be the class’ clown. Cracking jokes about everything under the sun, mimicking the gestures and mannerisms of our teachers. Throwing insensitive punchlines to my classmates (but they did not find it offensive). I am always present to cheer others up in times of their downfalls, battles, and struggles.

I always keep everything light so it was not that difficult for me to make friends.

But one of my classmates randomly asked me:

“Sean, bakit wala kang circle of friends?”

(Why don’t you have your own circle of friends?)

That was one of the remarkable questions that I still cannot answer up until now. That question continuously bothers me. It haunted me for so long. Questions, curiosity, and uncertainty constantly bothered me. Then, I still haven’t found the answer to that Miss Universe-worthy question.

Moving to Manila to pursue my senior high school degree, as expected, it wasn’t really hard for me to make friends. In spite of cultural, spiritual, and lingual differences, I easily found my groove and set everything in its cozy state. I guess I already met all types of people here in Manila: the quiet, the nerdy, the drinker, the chill-but-still-managed-to-achieve-high-grades friend, the jock, the good friends, and so on.

With all humility, I somehow excel academically and it was the key for me to expand my companionship to others as well through one-on-one tutorials.

By that time, our professors dismisses us early during Thursdays and we have no classes the next day. After class, everybody is flocking with their companions except for me---waiting and fixing my stuff. Most of my classmates will go home immediately to achieve that ‘much needed’ 8-hour rest. However, there’s this group of friends whom I used to be with for a semester. They were asking me to join them on their ‘inuman sesh’ (drinking session, popularly known as Happy Thursday!) at Taft Avenue.

“Tara, Sean! Sama ka sa amin. Ako na bahala sa orange juice mo,”

(Join us, Sean. I will pay for your orange juice.)

“Okay lang. Next time na lang. Bawal ako gabihin,”

(I’m fine. I will try to join you next time. I can’t go home late.)

Rejecting the offer, I knew that there was a feeling of guilt in me. It was actually my first time to receive that kind of invitation and I honestly don’t know how to deal with that call.

I am not being distant nor outlying. I am not being selective nor judgmental. I am not being critical nor discerning. I just don’t feel like committing myself onto a certain group of people because it requires time, effort, and fidelity. I did not commit myself to a certain group of people because I want to extend my warmth and benevolence to others.

I have no certain circle of friends because I care for everyone. I want to hear their stories. I want to know their stories. I want to feel their stories. I want to live with their stories.

With these, I realized that it is completely fine if I constantly am in that case. I found out why being ‘separated’ to a group of friends aren’t really bad as it may seem. From that case, I have learned that having no circle of friends gives you the opportunity to:

Learn the best lessons in life all alone. When you have a group of friends, of course, you have people to share your stories with. It will be much easier for them to deal with their circumstances. In my case, it’s not that hard. If you want to be strong, learn to fight alone. In reality, when problems, struggles, and obstacles pile up, there will only be one person to deal with those---and that’s you. You can’t deny that. When you learned to cope with these, you will surely harvest the best lessons in life.

Get to know yourself more. When you have no group of friends, you get to know yourself more. You will be able to see your strengths and weak points. Some people find it offensive and shameful if someone corrected them. On my case, the only person that can correct me is myself. It gives you an opportunity to be wiser. You roughly make decisions based on the mistakes and lapses you have done before and learn from it. Being set apart enables you to strengthen your mind, body, and spirit.

Be more natural than being rehearsed. When you have no circle of friends, you tend to be more natural than being rehearsed. When one person acted naturally, people would see you as a transparent, honest, and real person. I actually don’t mind if I commit some mistakes because I have no audience except for me. I don’t make nice impressions nor depictions. I want showcase my authenticity through my actions and deeds. With that, you will be able to know yourself more and it will also enable you to grow as a person.

Know who your real friends are. When you have no group of friends, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you actually do not have a single friend. When you have no circle of friends, you can distinguish who your real friends are. Real friends are people who knows you from your head up to your dead cells. Real friends are those who really care for you. Real friends are those who accept you as you are. Real friends are those who make you feel that you are not alone even if they are away. Real friends make you feel that a circle of friend is not necessarily needed because you value the relationship more than the entitlement of your companionship.

Be more rational and sensitive. When you have no circle of friends, you are not committed nor tied to a certain group. You are being sensible and empathetic at the same time. You tend to make decisions based on your practicality and emotions. You weigh in everything deliberately. You do not let your emotions overshadow your decisions and you do not let your straight-forwardness overtake your sensitivity.

A famous line once said, “The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all”. Being apart from a group does not necessarily mean that you are being distant and meticulous---it just means that you are ready to face your life battles alone equipped with great prowess in living the life of a champion.

Truly, I say to you, there can be a man in an island.

#no circle of friends #friends #friendship #life #life blog #blog #lean on me #alone #friend #best friend

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thebiggamehunter · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter's Blog

New Post has been published on http://blog.thebiggamehunter.us/it-starts-with-courage/

It Starts With Courage

With appreciation to Lance Secretan

I remember my first day of kindergarten many years ago at PS 90 in The

Bronx, NY. My mother was an immigrant who spoke accented English, taking me to class two blocks from our apartment on The Grand Concourse. She and my teacher walked me to my desk and offered me the loveliest look that I could imagine. My mother told me that she would be back a little later to pick me up and that my teacher would be looking out for me.

After a while, I learned another lesson. The lesson was that if I were to succeed in school, my job was to shit up, do what I was told, regurgitate a bunch of things when I was told to do it . . . OR ELSE I wouldn’t get into a good college.

Some years later, I attended CCNY in Harlem. I attended my classes and lectures but quickly learned that the lesson of college I was being given was, “Shut up. Do what you are told. Regurgitate a bunch of stuff when we tell you OR ELSE,” I won’t get a good job.

And when I found my job in recruiting upon graduation, I learned a similar lesson– “Shut up. Do what you are told. Regurgitate a bunch of

stuff when we tell you OR ELSE . . . “We’ll fire you! Is it any wonder that we live in times where people seem puzzled when they dedicate themselves to their employer, do their best and eventually are brought into a conference room and laid off. I have listened to many executives and staff alike lament about having done a great job and feeling betrayed.

“I did a great job!”

“My reviews were uniformly exceptional”

I keep hearing my own voice complaining about getting an B in a class when I thought I deserved an A. There was nothing I could say that would get the grade changed but I was seeking approval from an instructor who disagreed with my view of my work.

Yes, we all have bosses and teachers who evaluate our work. As a headhunter, I reported to the clients who paid me (and job hunters who didn’t pay me thought I reported to them), as well as to a business owner who demanded perfection from my work that was never achievable.

But the truth was I forgot the most important person who was part of my org structure.

Me.

You see, I fell prey to all the industrial conditioning I had received growing up wanting me to be “cooperative” or “a team player.” I lost track of myself with the push to be selfish in order to achieve sales goals (actual sales goals and, before that, grades). I succumbed to the motivation (the external pressure to comply with institutions and systems that were making sausage) of the systems I lived and worked in and lost my inspiration (the internal desire, independent of external pressure for conformity).

I became a high achiever who really didn’t care but did great work. I became someone who kept looking for unique ways to do what I did differently than others yet still meet my performance goals.

I hated it because all I was doing was making “artisanal sausage” and not doing what I really wanted. Maybe that willingness to sacrifice is part of being adult. I just never really found the correct percentage of sacrifice vs. self-satisfaction.

I hope you have.

I was introduced to Lance Secretan and a model he has called, “The CASTLE® Principles”

Courage

Authenticity

Service

Truthfulness

Love

Effectiveness.

Castle.

For a while, I wrestled with the idea of authenticity and truthfulness being redundant terms until I grew to see that authenticity was internal truthfulness or being genuine whereas truthfulness was how I might relate with the world at large.

However, as in the word, “Castle,” It truly does start with courage. It takes courage to face oneself and change. It’s why I now coach instead of headhunt.

As a headhunter, I found too many instances where my truthfulness was encouraged to be compromised and, thus, my truthfulness disappear. It was hard to watch a large check evaporate into thin air after doing so much work.

I found not caring about the people I represented or my clients. The love was lost in what I did and in the people I was hired to serve.

As a result, my effectiveness started to wane, all because I lacked the courage to change.

It started with courage and the desire to live life on my terms according to these principles. I can help you, too.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for

what seems like one hundred years. His work involves executive job search coaching, business life coaching for self-employed people who have a lunatic for a boss and leadership coaching. He is the host of “Job Search Radio” and “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” both available through iTunes and Stitcher.

Are you interested in coaching from me? Email me [email protected] and put the word, “Coaching” in the subject line.

Do you have a question you would like me to answer? Pay $25 via PayPal to [email protected]

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com offers great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

#affecting change #Change #changing #Lance Secretan #The Castle Principles (TM)

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