I think I’m starting to lose steam a little bit with writing these. July and August will come packaged as one, because I was late for the June one anyway and then it was already August and now it’s already September and I’m yet to write about whatever happened in July. I think this will be a short-ish and concise one.
So, what did happen?
I spent the majority of July back home in Slovenia, going back and forth between my hometown and Ljubljana, and then spent a week in the mountainside. See some nature pictures below.
I read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in 3 days and got a sunburn while doing so. I did really enjoy it—of course I did, considering I read it in near personal record time—but I read the Slovenian translation, which I think might have taken some of the magic of the writing away. I looked up some quotes and passages online, and I much prefer the poetics of the original. But nonetheless, it was a beautiful read!
I watched Arrival (2016, dir. Denis Villeneuve) and I really enjoyed it! Been meaning to watch it for quite a while, thanks to, once again, a CJ the X video essay, and it did not disappoint! I love it when things start to click as you’re watching the movie and you start to piece it together and everything falls into place. Splendid! I also just love that this is an alien movie with no real action or fighting or war (although at some point you might think it could go that way but it never does). It’s not a doomsday scenario kind of movie. I also love that, actually, it’s not even really about the aliens, but instead about language and time. And boy, do I love language.
I also went to see I Saw the TV Glow (2024, dir. Jane Schoenbrun) at the cinema, which was a pleasant surprise because I genuinely didn’t know or think it would be screened in Europe at all, but it was and I got to catch it! It is not a light movie, and all in all I saw it as a sort of existential horror of not allowing yourself to be(come) who you really are, and how nostalgia can, while being a refuge, also hold you in its grip much too tightly. The soundtrack was excellent, which is not really a surprise considering who was involved in making it (with contributions from Caroline Polachek, Sloppy Jane and Phoebe Bridgers, Sadurn, and Florist, among others, and with Alex G scoring the film). I recommend looking up some of the very personal and very touching reviews on Letterboxd.
Cassandra Jenkins – My Light, My Destroyer
I mostly listened to the new Cassandra Jenkins album (throughout both July and August) which I adore. I really love her music, and her previous album, An Overview on Phenomenal Nature, might actually be one of my favourite albums. And I think that Omakase might be one of my favourite songs of the year (so far). Overall a wonderful collection of songs.
Los Campesinos! – All Hell
Random tidbit; I first listened to this at the luggage drop-off line at the airport. What a tight album. I’m not a LC! aficionado, mostly because I haven’t even listened to all of their albums (oops) but I do really love Romance is Boring and Sick Scenes and now also All Hell. From everything I’ve heard from them, All Hell sound like the distilled essence of Los Campesinos!, the self-proclaimed UK’s first & only emo band, and it’s great.
On more personal & creative side of things, I (finally) published two project that I worked on during my time at forpeople, which you can see here and here.
I also spent some time in August drawing and painting again, which has been fun and brought me much joy.
It’s September now, as of writing this, and the air is getting somewhat crisper, and the leaves are starting to turn yellow. Summer has one foot out the door already but it’s not fully gone yet. But I’m starting to think that maybe I might actually like fall this year? I’ll probably change my mind once the rain starts, but for now, I’ll indulge. It’s also made me think of fall-related media, so I present a very short list of, in my opinion, fall viewing and also of fall-sounding albums.
- Over the Garden Wall
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Kevin Abstract – American Boyfriend
- Fleet Foxes – Shore
- Bon Iver – 22, A Million
Until next time,
Mia