lonita

[lonita]

Give, or you won't get

I can't speak for anything other than the North American culture that's been at the centre of most of my life, but here, in Canada - and similarly in the US - we have this expectation that your dream is to get a good job, go on vacation, have some children, own a cottage, own a car, and own a home. It's no shock to anyone that those things are increasingly unaffordable and our expectations have to change.

They don't though.

The expectations don't change, and despite the fact that they don't change for anyone, and unaffordability is impacting almost everyone, we still have these expectations. Lately, they seem to be used to judge others - judge others for not meeting a metric the detractors themselves are also not meeting - as if there's something wrong with you if you don't own or do or have to whatever level satisfies the tired and lagging zeitgeist that zeitgeists no longer. We have the same expectations that can no longer be achieved or met by the culture we're expected to find them in. The expectations never change, as the culture changes by the minute, strangled in an economic choke hold. Dreams and expectations expected to be met in a culture that provides no means to achieve them. Every attempt to satisfy those dreams is eroded or obliterated outright. It's absolutely long past time for us to stop judging people for not meeting metrics so old and outmoded they've petrified, calcified, and rotted off.

Whether we like it or not, we live in a capitalist hellscape. This means we have to solve our problems with money. This means that in order to survive and thrive, we have to put dollars out to do it. People are an investment. If you don't invest in a good foundation for your house, it will fall over and sink into the swamp - as will the people. I don't know what people are expecting to occur if you don't provide sufficient food, housing, education, and opportunities to thrive. Do you think your populace will thrive? It won't. If you don't sustain it, it sure as shit won't be there for anyone's future, nevermind yours.

[lonita]

The ever-expanding potential TBR pile

I've finally decided to go through all those book videos I bookmark on TikTok and make an ever-updating list of them - and any other book I see suggested online. Some are books I know of and haven't read, and some are new to me. This is going to be an easier place to find them than dozens of saved video bookmarks.

Please feel free to make suggestions if you have them.

So far we have:

Let This Radicalize You - Kelly Hayes, Mariane Kaba

Hell No: Your Right to Dissent in 21st-Century America - Michael Ratner, Margaret Ratner Kunstler

The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World - Anthony Loewenstein

Fight Like Hell - Kim Kelly

The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon

Stokely Speaks - Stokely Carmichael

Orientalism - Edward W. Said

Border & Rule - Harsha Walia

As Long As Grass Grows - Dina Gilio-Whitaker

Undue Border - Shefali Luthra

Consumed - Aja Barber

State and Revolution - V. I. Lenin

The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine - Ricardo Nuila

Socialist Reconstruction - Party for Socialism and Liberation

A World Without Police - Geo Maher

Assata - Assata Shakur

The Uninhabitable Earth - David Wallace-Wells

Black Liberation and Socialism - Frank Chapman

A Few Rules For Predicting the Future - Octavia Butler

Everyone Who is Gone is Here - Jonathan Blitzer

Erasing History - Jason Stanley

How to Go Mad Without Losing Your Mind - La Marr Jurelle Bruce

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics - Marc Lamont Hill, Mitchell Plitnick

+ + +

2054 - Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis

A Minor Chorus - Billy-Ray Belcourt

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy - Becky Chambers

A Room of One's Own - Emma Southon

After the Flood - Kassandra Montag

Against Progress - Slavoj Zizek

All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess - Becca Rothfeld

America is in the Heart - Carlos Bulosan

American Pastoral - Philip Roth

An Unkindness of Ghosts - Rivers Solomon

Anatomical Venus - Courtney Bates-Hardy

Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer

Appleseed - Matt Bell

Are Prisons Obsolete? - Angela Davis

Babel - R. F. Kuang

Becoming Abolitionists - Derecka Purnell

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates

Black Meme - Legacy Russell

Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy

Boulder - Eva Baltasar

Boy Like Me - Simon James Green

Bullshit Jobs: A Theory - David Graeber

Bunny - Mona Awad

Carbon Democracy - Timothy Mitchell

Carol - Patricia Highsmith

Cat Call: Reclaiming the Feral Feminine - Kristen J. Sollee, Pam Grossman

Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

Children of the Wind - Kareem El-Baradie (unpublished)

Christmas at High Rising - Angela Thirkell

Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

Colonizing Palestine: The Zionist Left and the Making of the Palestinian Nakba - Areej Sabbagh-Khoury

Deadlands - Victoria Miluch

Death By A Thousand Cuts - Shashi Bhat

Decolonial Marxism - Walter Rodney

Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delaney

Disaster Nationalism: The Downfall of Liberal Civilization - Richard Seymour

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison - Michel Foucault

Disordered Attention - Claire Bishop

Do You Remember Being Born? - Sean Michaels

Dowry of Blood - S. T. Gibson

Dreamers of the Day - Mary Doria Russell

Empire of Normality - Robert Chapman

Eunoia - Christian Bok

Everything For Everyone -

Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune - M. E. O'Brien, Eman Abdelhadi

Evidence of the Affair - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Existentialism is a Humanism - Jean-Paul Sartre

Extinct: A Compendium of Obsolete Objects - edited by: Barbara Penner, Adrian Forty, Olivia Horsfall Turner, Miranda Critchley

Fear and Trembling - Soren Kierkegaard

Feed Them Silence - Lee Mandelo

Femlandia - Christina Dalcher

Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture - Kyle Chayka

Friday's at Enrico's - Don Carpenter

Ghosts - Dolly Alderton

Go Tell it On the Mountain - James Baldwin

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, & Scorpion Bombs - Adrienne Mayor

Hard Rain Falling - Don Carpenter

Here Be Dragons - Stella Gibbons

Hour of the Star - Clarice Lispector

How to Be an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi

How to Kill a City - P. E. Moskowitz

Human Acts - Han Kang

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

I Who Have Never Known Men - Jacqueline Harpman

Imagination: A Manifesto - Ruha Benjamin

Immediacy or, the Style of Too Late Capitalism - Anna Kornbluh

Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism - V. I. Lenin

In Ascension - Martin MacInnes

In the Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick

In Watermelon Sugar - Richard Brautigan

Insurrecto - Gina Apostol

Interlibrary Loan - Gene Wolfe

Intimacies - Katy Kitamura

Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality - Renee DiResta

James - Percival Everett (retell: Huckleberry Finn)

Julia - Sandra Newman (retell: 1984)

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 - Cho Nam-Joo

Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto, Megan Backus

Lakewood - Megan Giddings

Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution - Helen Zia

Laziness Does Not Exist - Devon Price

Little Weirds - Jenny Slate

Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela

Love and Terror - William Herrick

Loved Egyptian Night - Hugh Roberts

Madonna in a Fur Coat - Sabahattin Ali

Malign Velocities - Benjamin Noys

Matterhorn - Karl Marlantes

Maurice - E. M. Forster

Mercy Street - Jennifer Haigh

Messalina: Empress, Adulteress, Libertine - Honor Cargill-Martin

Moon of the Crested Snow - Waubgeshig Rice

Moon of the Turning Leaves - Waubgeshig Rice

Mother Country - Etaf Rum

Murdle, Volume 1 - G. T. Karber

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

On Tyranny - Timothy Snyder

Orlando - Virginia Woolfe

Orphans of Canland - Daniel Vitale

Our Spoons Came From Woolworths - Barbara Comyns

Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield

Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

Prisons Make Us Safer - Victoria Law

Project Hail Mary - Andy Weird

Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative - Isabella Hammad

Red Africa - Kevin Ocheng Okoth

Red Clocks - Leni Zumas

Research for People Who Think They Would Rather Create - Dirk Vis

Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering - Malcolm Gladwell

Ring Shout - P. Djèlí Clark

Scattered All Over the Earth - Yoko Tawada

Self-Help - Lorrie Moore

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

She's Always Hungry - Eliza Clark

Silent Queen - Nghi Vo

Slewfoot - Brom

Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan

Sold - Patricia McCormick

Something Happened - Joseph Heller

Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison

Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy - Jostein Gaarder

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You - Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi

State of Paradise - Laura van den Berg

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

Stoner - John Williams

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present - Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Surviving Autocracy - Masha Gessen

Tales From the Cafe - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Teaching to Transgress - bell hooks

Tennis Lessons - Susannah Dickey

The 1619 Project - Nikole Hannah-Jones

The Artificial Silk Girl - Irmagard Keun

The Birth Yard - Mallory Tater

The Blood of Others - Simone to Beauvoir

The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition: The Power of Radical Self-Love - Sonya Renee Taylor

The Book of Disquiet - Fernando Pessoa

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife - Meg Elison

The Color Purple - Alice Walker

The Common Good - Noam Chomsky

The Common Good - Robert Reich

The Concept of Anxiety - Soren Kierkegaard

The Core of the Sun - Johanna Sinisalo

The Enchanted April - Elizabeth von Arnim

The End of Men - Christina Sweeney-Baird

The Ethics of Ambiguity - Simone de Beauvoir

The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century - Joel F. Harrington

The Feed - Nick Clark Windo

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth Book 1) - N. K. Jemisin

The Garden Party - Katherine Mansfield

The Giver - Lois Lowry

The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls

The Hands of Men - Gin Sexsmith

The Hate You Give - Angie Thomas

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee - David Treuer

The History of Information - Chris Haughton

The Iraq Papers - John Ehrenberg

The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms Book 1) - Tasha Suri

The Jungle - Upton Sinclair

The Man With Compound Eyes - Wu Ming-Yi

The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus

The Origins of Totalitarianism - Hannah Arendt

The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster - Richard Brautigan

The Power - Naomi Alderman

The Pump - Sydney Hegele

The Reckoning - Robin Blackburn

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt - Toby Wilkinson

The Savage Detectives - Roberto Bolano

The Second Sex - Simone de Beauvoir

The Shapeless Unease - Samantha Harvey

The Sorrow of War - Bao Ninh

The Trial - Franz Kafka

The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead

The Wager - David Grann

The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War - Andrew Delbanco

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration - Isabel Wilkerson

The Water Cure - Sophie Mackintosh

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

The Women Could Fly - Megan Giddings

The Years - Annie Ernaux

This One Summer - Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki

Trout Fishing in America - Richard Brautigan

V. - Thomas Pynchon

Venemous Lumpsucker - Ned Beauman

Voice and Phenomenon - Jacques Derrida

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma - Stephanie Foo

When the Clock Broke - John Ganz

White Malice - Susan Williams

White Oleander - Janet Fitch

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal - Jeanette Winterson

Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America - Talia Lavin

Witches, Sluts, Feminists - Kristen J. Sollee

With and Against - Dominique Routhier

Women Race & Class - Angela Davis

Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype - Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Yellowface - R. F. Kuang

You Feel It Just Below the Ribs - Jeffrey Cranor, Janina Matthewson

Young, Gifted and Black - Jamia Wilson, Andrea Pippins

[lonita]

100 Words

Many moons ago I discovered this site and was captivated by the idea of it. I don't participate in the site directly at all any longer, but I do still use this constraint to write my own personal posts here from time to time.

The idea is to write something that is exactly 100 words - no more, and no less. Be consistent with how you do the counting though - either by your own math or using the word count function in any text editor you're using. Though some editors count things like isolated hyphens as words, so be mindful.

It's interesting the impact constraint can have on how you express yourself. It makes you much more mindful of your word choice and structure.

[lonita]

Blog notes

Well, that's all she wrote - for now.

Every creative or prompt post I had queued up has been posted and sorted - to some degree. That sort of thing is never an exact science, and will likely change over time. For now, though, you can find it all here.

I don't know how that's going to work if you view it through the app or in the dash, so going to the main page in a browser might work better.

[lonita]

Artist trading cards (ATCs)

At 2.5" x 3.5" in size, ATCs are a fun and creative way to make small, unique pieces of art. Originally intended for trade amongst creators, you can use them as convenient ways to test out creative ideas and techniques.

You will need:

watercolour papers or card stock cut into 2.5" x 3.5" cards - you can get pre-cut ATC blanks in various types of substrate

pencils, pens, markers, coloured pencils, and any other preferred drawing tools

watercolour paints, acrylic paints, or any preferred painting medium

brushes - various sizes

collage materials like - decorative papers, fabric scraps, magazine cutouts, feathers, postage stamps, etc.

adhesive - glue stick, adhesive tape, or glue

stamps, ink pads, embossing powders (optional)

stickers, washi tape, glitter, sequins, other embellishments, etc.

heat tool (for heat embossing).

scissors, craft knife, or paper trimmer

ruler, stencils, or any additional tools

Do:

Cut base into 2.5" x 3.5" rectangles. Pre-cut ATC blanks from art supply or craft stores.

Choose a theme or idea for your ATC. Anything from nature to abstract designs or portraits, or something more personal.

Decorate your card accordingly.

Draw, paint, collage, or combine different techniques, trying different techniques and styles.

Cut pieces from magazines, papers, or fabric.

Add items like stickers, washi tape, glitter, or sequins.

Sign your card with your real/artist name, contact info, and the date on the back.

Notes:

You can get protective sleeves or clear plastic trading card pockets to protect your finished ATCs.

Cards can be traded at events, art swaps, or online communities.

ATCs provide a great way to try out different creative techniques and ideas.

You can leave your completed cards in random places for strangers to find.

[lonita]

Watercolour abstracts

You will need:

watercolour paints

watercolour paper

brushes

Do:

Experiment with colours and forms to suggest different shapes and objects without actually depicting those objects.

Paint something representational, but subvert expectations by using non-traditional colours for what you paint.

Mask out a portion across the centre of a piece of watercolour paper, making sure it's not even. Paint light lines here and there, choosing random values, and allowing the layers to dry before moving on from one layer to another. Layer as you desire.

[lonita]

Lipograms

Lipogram - Write a story or poem without using a particular letter or letters. Reverse lipogram - Write a piece where every word contains a particular letter. Univocalic poetry - Write a piece using only one vowel.

[lonita]

Little sticky

You will need:

sticky notes

pens, markers

Do:

Create a mini art installation by making images, phrases, or single words on your sticky notes.

Notes:

Put them up somewhere that can bring you joy, or that can surprise someone else.

You could also make ones that you could leave in a public place for others to enjoy.

[lonita]

Book it

choose images, manipulated or not, to put in a book

arrange them to tell a story

arrange them in some other fashion - by colour, subject type, etc.

could print or glue them into a journal or scrapbook on the recto page, as inspiration or prompts for the verso page

[lonita]

Constrained biography

You will need:

a journal

pens

Do:

Write a biographical piece that uses only words that start with the letters of your name - either one letter, or only words starting with any letter.

If you're going to go with using all the letters in your name, consider keeping the words in the same order of how the letters appear in your name.

You can make it a poem.

You can write only things about yourself, or write something that has nothing to do with you at all.

[lonita]

30-day photo challenge - 11

Self-portrait.

What you wore today.

Clouds.

Something green.

From a high angle.

From a low angle.

Fruit.

A bad habit.

Someone you love.

Childhood memory.

Something blue.

Sunset.

Yourself with things.

Eyes.

Silhouette.

A good habit.

Technology.

Your shoes.

Something you want.

In your bag.

Faceless self-portrait.

Inspirational.

Patterns.

Animal.

Stranger.

Close-up.

Celebration.

Flowers.

Black and white.

Let someone else take your portrait.

[lonita]

30-day photo challenge - 10

First thing you see when you wake up.

A close-up of a flower or a leaf.

A reflection in a mirror, window, or water.

Your favourite book or bookshelf.

A moment of movement, like a person walking or a bird flying.

A texture, like a rug, a wall, or a tree trunk.

Photograph a cityscape at sunrise or sunset.

Capture a macro shot of a small object, like a coin or a button.

A meal you've cooked or a dessert you've baked.

A shadow or a silhouette.

A pattern, like a tile floor or a striped shirt.

A candid moment of a friend or family member.

Photograph a still life, like a vase of flowers, a bowl of fruit, or a pile of toys.

Take a photo of a regular or spiral staircase.

Capture something that's your favourite colour.

Photograph a sign or a mural in your neighbourhood.

Take a photo of a collection, like stamps, coins, or seashells.

Capture something playful.

Photograph a door or a gate, focusing on the details.

Take a photo of a musical instrument or a musician playing.

Capture a photo of a cloud formation or a stormy sky.

Photograph a corner of your home, showcasing your comforts.

Take a photo of a view from a window.

Capture a photo of a bridge or a tunnel.

Photograph a moment of solitude.

Take a photo of a street art or graffiti.

Capture a photo of a market or street vendor.

Photograph a moment of interaction.

Take a photo of a candle or a fireplace.

Capture a photo of a night sky, stars, or a cityscape at night.

[lonita]

30-day photo challenge - 08

Feathers or birds.

A moment of humour.

A piece of jewellery or accessory that holds sentimental value.

Take a photo of a seasonal change - leaves falling, snow melting, budding leaves.

A reflection in a unusual surface - a puddle, window glass.

A handmade item.

A childhood toy or keepsake.

A natural phenomenon, like rain or sun dog.

Something contemplative.

A vintage item.

An interesting texture - peeling paint, rusty metal, frost.

Something that evokes a sense of calm.

A bike or motorcycle.

A moment of human connection.

Natural light - sunbeam, moonlight.

A musical performance.

A water feature or natural water.

A physical activity.

Interesting architecture.

Photograph something at night.

A moment of excitement.

A market, inside or out.

Something tech-related.

A natural pattern - spider web, branch structure.

Something work-related.

Your favourite thing.

The last thing you see before you go to bed at night.

Your TBR pile.

Something creative.

A moment of peace and serenity.

[lonita]

30-day (black and white) photo challenge - 09

Urban landscape at night

Close-up of tree bark

Reflections in a puddle

Vintage objects and textures

Cloud formations

Staircase patterns

Abandoned buildings

Silhouettes of trees

Seashells on the beach

Rainy city streets

Animal portraits

Minimalist interior spaces

High-contrast street photography

Macro photography of flowers

Old cars and vehicles

Moody landscapes

Architectural details

Geometric patterns in nature

Smoke, fire, or fog

Urban geometry

High-contrast portraits

Weathered wooden doors

Abstract macro photography

Low-key still life photography

Rocks and pebbles

Dramatic cloud formations

Minimalist cityscapes

Shadows and light

Old machinery and factories

Colourful signage

[lonita]

30-day photo challenge - 07

Yes

No

Maybe

Up

Down

Inside out

Green

Blue

Purple

Red

Orange

Yellow

White

Brown

Black

Sight

Sound

Smell

Touch

Taste

Who

What

When

Where

Why

How

East

West

North

South

[lonita]

30-day photo challenge - 06

Yes

No

Maybe

Up

Down

Inside out

Green

Blue

Purple

Red

Orange

Yellow

White

Brown

Black

Sight

Sound

Smell

Touch

Taste

Who

What

When

Where

Why

How

East

West

North

South

[lonita]

30-day photo challenge - 05

Night.

Day.

A door.

A window.

The ground.

The sky.

Your favourite colour.

Sidewalk chalk art or surveyor's marks.

Shadows cast by street performers.

Find a high vantage point and capture your view.

The past.

The present.

The future.

Grace.

Hope.

Kindness.

Sound.

Vision.

Childhood.

Adulthood.

Opposites.

A want.

A need.

Generosity.

Greed.

Yesterday.

Tomorrow.

Morning.

Afternoon.

Evening.