RFRLFLT December, 2023
This is the first entry of RFRLFLT, a pamphlet of personal and public aesthetics. This will be the shortest of editions as I am writing it on the first day of the year as an anchor point for the future. Sections are subject to change.
Please do feedback and let me know your favourite section and if you have opinions on the aesthetic sensibilities exhibited here.
The prevailing weather:
Dark, humid, foggy.
The song(s):
- Between the Bars, Elliot Smith
- How to say Goodbye, Paul Tierney
- Pink Moon, Nick Drake
- Clay Pigeons, Blaze Foley
- Fallen Down 40% slowed version, from the videogame Undertale
The lyrics quote:
“Kyrie, eleison” - Lord, Have Mercy
Many Gregorian chants
The movie/series:
- Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, with Michael Cera and Kat Dennings.
- Fleabag, Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
The movie/series quote(s):
“Here’s to peace, and those who get in the way of it.”
“I want to take clean cups, out of the dishwasher, and put them in the cupboard at home. And the next morning I want to watch my wife drink from them. And I want to make her feel good.”
The reflection on media:
Fleabag is Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s way of telling us … everything, as long as it’s got to do with mistreating and being mistreated, with excess, instability, and love. It is her way of telling women they are not alone in their pain, always a good thing, and telling men not to worry about being forgotten.
I was struck by this piece of art and enjoyed all of it. It is good from a stylistic point and from a meta-commentary point. My favourite character was the Priest. Although I do not reach a third of his ability to earnestly engage and care—after all, he has God on his side—I have always enjoyed intently trying to understand and help people I care about. I was rooting for a Fleabag-Priest union but I see that it could not have ended that way, and the heart-breaking yet hopeful ending was perfect. Thank you Phoebe Waller-Bridge, I love you, but fear not, it will pass.
The reflection on something else:
Why do we write?
To externalise our imagined self, and thus to bare and examine it. And then there’s instruction manuals and guides and the like.
The reflection in tweet form:
There are two types of writing, self-expression and manuals.
The joke:
If your name is Ray, I would like to toast you.
Hip-hip to Ray.
The end:
Hope you enjoyed RFRLFLT December 2023.
Wishing you a 2024 full of the things you want and a generous sprinkle of the unexpected.
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