The Joy of Social Anxiety
Plus, stuff to do when you're mad
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Now let’s get into this week’s (other) recommendations.
Recommendations
How to Fight by Thich Nhat Hanh - I read this over breakfast instead of dog-walking some asswoman back to Hell where she belongs, and it really healed me for five to ten minutes over my mushroom omelette. I also enjoyed the sumi-ink illustrations by Jason DeAntonis.
Taking the garbage out - Now this is a fun activity if you can’t actually drag some Orc to the pits of Mordor, but still need to feel like you’re physically doing something about your rage.
Doing a plank - Remember when planking was a thing? Me neither, but it was. I forget why and when. I asked the people on Blue Sky Social (follow me there at sarajbenincasa if you have an account there) and Cates Holderness of Tumblr dot com told me that it was around 2011-12, and probably had something to do with the simultaneous rise of Buzzfeed/Upworthy at the time combined with the Facebook algo of the era.
However, neither she nor I can recall why the hell anybody got into it in the first place. I am going to do a plank for as long as I can right now. I will report back to you in a moment about how that goes…
Okay, reporting back: I did it for 60 seconds, which surprised me, but I got shaky and bored and pushed back into downward facing dog after that.
Again, why was that a thing? I felt good afterwards, but why did we do that as a trend? I’ll admit I never actually did it, because I was confused by it then, too. Was it for the photos of us doing it in odd places? Where were we at as a culture at that point? Please report your thoughts in the comments.
Brian Cox and Emily Blunt: Actors on Actors - I watched this in the bath and it motivated me to finish this newsletter, so there’s clearly magic in these two foreign people. Apparently, this was their first time meeting (thanks, Variety dot com!) I hope it is not their last.
There are a few artists working today whose storytelling about their own art always makes me want to make more art. Brian Cox is one of them. Emily Blunt is lovely and thoughtful and clearly deeply respectful of his six decades (!) of experience here while still confident and proud of her own work, as well she should be - she’s brilliant.
I think she’s one of the naturally funniest hot people currently on our planet (I keep a running tally of how the hot people are doing when it comes to being funny.) She’s often lively and hilarious when doing press, but this conversation brought out such a gentle, sweet quality.
If I see Brian Cox on the streets of Brooklyn, I will be very polite and deferential and will very likely not say one word to the man. I’m socially anxious enough at times without needing to invade anyone else’s space. But internally I shall simply pass away.
If I see Emily Blunt, it will be the same, except I will not die inside.
Brian Cox Books a Bikini Wax - I wrote this essay about work and Brian Cox several months ago and haven’t read it since. I hope it’s decent. Anyway, I love his most recent memoir (it’s actually his second memoir!) very much.
Doing things with tiny hand weights - Using them for their intended purpose, dammit, not to put in an odd orifice or something. Okay, those little free weights do make a decent doorstop, not that I’ve definitely used them for said purpose in the past.
Anyway, I have used them three mornings in a row and assume I will soon be able to crush heads in some new and innovative way.
Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers - I’ve linked to a place where one of the girls did us a solid and put it on the YouTube for free. You can watch the old video series, or you can listen to the audiobook. I think there may be a printed book version out there too.
There is criticism of Campbell’s work out there, but I haven’t read enough of it to recommend any of it to you. That said, I am aware his is just one way into exploring mythology. And as far as the six-part documentary series goes, I love Bill Moyers and I love the old-school graphics and music.
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I hope you have a wonderful week. Remember that on Patreon you can listen to four exclusive, patrons-only podcast episodes of THE AUDIO LETTER per month; that you can subscribe to Social Anxiety Variety Hour on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and other places; and that you can always upgrade here to become a paid subscriber. All of it helps me pay the bills, and I am grateful to you.
I considered going to two separate concerts in two separate cities this weekend, but instead I think I shall wash my floor and work on a novel. Take good care.
Best wishes,
Sara Benincasa