#4 - A mother's love is in the small details, Indie movies and claiming back our attention
Don't miss what I found this week
Hey there! I'm glad to have you here.
If you’re new, this is The Substacker, the best of the indie side of Substack, hand-picked every week. It encompasses art, science, history, books, movies, and all other forms of inspiring ramblings common to Substack. Click the link to learn more:
Last week, we were flooded with Mother's Day articles with all the possible takes on it. But Evelyn's story is so cute and wholesome that it made me long to be with my own mom, who is thousands of kilometers away. Enjoy her lovely story and the other small gems I found laying around Substack.
On dumplings, periods cramps & moms
I may not know how to define love but surely it looks something like this.
I’m on day 1 of my period and I’m craving dumplings. It’s not exactly the sorta buttery, deep-fried indulgence that I’d usually pine after but I’m rolling with it, the hunt for unrefined sugar and junky carbs can come tomorrow.
To be clear, I’m craving a very specific kind of dumpling.
Stranger in the mirror
The summer after I graduated from high school, I worked at a Texas Roadhouse. While my friends quit their part-time jobs and packed their cars for college, I stayed behind, claiming that I was “choosing” to take a year off to live at home and save money. The reality was that we didn’t have money for college after the 2008 recession.
Dada
I've been thinking about dadas.
This is the story of my daughter’s first word.
It starts with a magazine on the kitchen table. The magazine arrived with a box of premium Canadian vinegars. And she would carry it around with her everywhere and look at the colourful, food-related images.
Is A24 the Death or Rebirth of Indie Cinema?
Does the success of the studio signify a new interest in independent filmmaking or a new face of franchise loyalty?
A week ago, independent distribution company A24 made Academy Awards history, striking gold with seven above-the-line wins for two films and breaking the record for the most nominations and the most above-the-line victories for a single company in a single year.
Is Criticism Art?
In defense of effective evisceration
Have you ever had one of those weeks in which the inspiration just isn’t there? Over the past several days, I’ve written the first few hundred words to three separate articles. The problem is that I was not enjoying what I was writing in the slightest, and I’m a strong believer that if the writer isn’t enjoying the work, then the reader certainly won’t either. I’m sure one day I’ll revisit these posts. I like the concepts, I just couldn’t manage to make the words interesting, or entertaining, or effective. Something I’m sure we all fear when we start a project.
How I Would AI Myself
A Journey to the Center of the Me
There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that I can add to the AI discourse besides for a yikes! I don’t know how all this will end, but just like when I eat six chocolate chip cookies in a row, I hope the good will outweigh the bad.
I Stared at One Painting for 3 Hours
My experience and other thoughts about attention after reading Stolen Focus, Four Thousand Weeks, and How to Do Nothing
I'm worried about my ability to pay attention.
I’ve read three books over the past several months that all seemed to touch on this anxiety, and that all complement each other.
It's Books on GIF's 7th Anniversary!
Our 7 favorite novels and 7 favorite nonfiction books from the past 7 years.
To celebrate Books on GIF’s seventh anniversary, here are some of my favorite books from the past seven years. It was tough to whittle down roughly 200 books to two lists of seven each.
If you think this edition could be of interest to others, consider sharing it.
See you next time! :)
Fantastic list of writers this week! Honoured that you’ve added me to this one. 🙏
Honored to be included here & excited to check out your other recs too! :)