#would recommend reading the Insomnia poem

[anon-apple]

Hot Soup and Soft Bread 9

Table of Contents and Synopsis <- Chapter 8 Read on WordPress here

Chapter 9: Instant Noodles with an Egg III

On the hot days, the inside of the bus smelled of mingling odors, especially during the morning and nighttime rush. The 188 bus passed by Moonlake Park and a few parents with their kids got on. There was already no more space. Zhong Qiuyan pressed the broadcast button and asked everyone to stand closer to the side to allow more passengers to get on.

Every morning around 7 or 8 o’clock, the bus would be filled to the brim with people. That day was the first time Qiuyan overheard a passenger talk about Zhou Cunqu. Perhaps this wasn’t actually the first time, but he just didn’t pay any attention before. There was a lot of gossip to listen to on buses, especially for folks in a small city like theirs. Whenever someone bumped into anyone they knew, even if one sat near the front of the bus and the other near the rear, they would for sure still chat a few rounds. 

Anyway, on that day, two of the parents started talking about how apparently there was someone who had stayed in his room for over two years. He didn't take a step outside, didn’t really do anything for that matter. The mom held her kid’s hand and said, “Then wasn’t raising him a waste? This kind of kid.”

Qiuyan honked his horn a few times. He turned to look at them and said: “Move to the side a bit, more people are getting on.”

After midnight, Qiuyan went to see “this kid.” Cunqu was already capable of heading down earlier and waiting for him outside the building. Qiuyan lowered his car window and whistled towards him. Cunqu came back to his senses. When he got in the car, he handed Qiuyan a little card. He had copied a few verses with a pen to give to Qiuyan. They were from Elizabeth Bishop’s ‘Insomnia.’

Qiuyan started up his car and chatted with Cunqu as he slowly drove in circles around the late-night streets. Cunqu appeared normal and healthy. As if he was one of the many who would show up at some coffee shop in the daytime to buy an Americano before work.

But the following day after midnight, the young couple living on the fourth floor were loudly moving out. Cunqu stood at the fifth-floor landing of the staircase and didn’t dare to go down. When ‘Smart Assistant’ called him, Cunqu said: “I won’t go down today.”

Qiuyan headed up to find him. Cunqu was already hidden back in his room, reading a children’s book by the nightlight. He was still afraid of the thought of seeing or interacting with someone other than his grandma or Qiuyan. But for his grandma’s 80th birthday, she wouldn’t be the only one there. All of their relatives would be there, including Zhou Ming and Qi Lanxiang. Cunqu almost wanted to give up just from thinking about it. (T/N: Zhou Ming and Qi Lanxiang are Cunqu's dad and mom)

Qiuyan asked him over the phone: “Why don’t we start slowly by meeting some people you trust? Good friends and the like?”

Cunqu leaned against the bed and thought about it. He was the type of person that had friends specific to the stages of his life. He’d lost contact with his middle school friends right after graduation. His high school friends he also no longer spoke to. He had always been busy with his own affairs and didn’t have the free time to socialize. These past two years, he read in a book that time flew when one was in their teens. Yet in one’s 20s, every year was a struggle to cross. This was indeed the case for him.

Cunqu didn’t reply; Qiuyan thought the signal was interrupted and repeated “hey” a few times. Cunqu lightly hummed in reply.

Qiuyan suddenly asked: “Ge, do you want to meet my friends? Those two come with an all-natural and environmentally friendly guarantee. No preservatives.

That night, Qiuyan vividly described Da Yu and A’Shan to Cunqu over the phone. He said that Da Yu had always been small, even after puberty he was still small. A’Shan on the other hand was especially bulky, truly built like a mountain. The three of them became sworn brothers when they were seven years old right in the mulberry garden owned by Qiuyan’s family. They took the “Oath of the Mulberry Garden."[1] The day after they took this oath, Qiuyan and Da Yu brawled over a bag of gummies.

The story made Cunqu laugh. Qiuyan continued speaking: “Da Yu is currently an apprentice at a hair salon. His hobby is doing cross-stitch embroidery. The peony piece that I gifted to Liu Xiaoying was embroidered by Da Yu. A’Shan is a car mechanic. But when he has free time he likes to write. He doesn’t show us his writings, probably because he knows we won’t be able to get it.”

After Qiuyan brought up this topic, Cunqu didn’t immediately agree. Nowadays he gets tired whenever there are a couple more things he needs to do. Sometimes he felt like it was just right only when it was just him and Zhong Qiuyan, 

When July reached its midpoint, Qiuyan mentioned that the three of them were planning on gathering to celebrate Da Yu’s birthday and asked if Cunqu would like to join them. Then, the setting of the celebration was decided to be Liu Xiaoying’s place. 

That night, Xiaoying belatedly realized it had been a long time since her place had been this lively. Da Yu was indeed quite small in stature, but he was especially quick-witted. He carried his own birthday cake and complimented Xiaoying’s calligraphy on the walls as soon as he entered the condo. A’Shan was a bit shy and helped Qiuyan busy around setting the dining table. 

Qiuyan held Cunqu’s hand beneath the table and introduced the others: “This is Zhong Da Yu, this is Zhong A’Shan. Of course, not their real names. These are nicknames.”

Da Yu joined in and gestured at Qiuyan and introduced: “This is Zhong Dudu. Dudu[3] is his nickname.” 

Qiuyan went ‘Ah?’ and immediately stood up and yelled: “Ahhh, don’t mention that. Don’t mention that!!”

A’Shan shrugged and said: “He already said it.”

Qiuyan acted like he was hurt. He sat back down and covered Cunqu’s ears with his hands and said: “Ge, don’t listen to them anymore. Don’t listen.”

Cunqu forced out a smile. He wasn't actually able to comprehend much of what was going on. Before they sang Happy Birthday, Qiuyan lowered his voice and asked him: “Are you tired? If you’re tired, you can go back to your room.”

Cunqu nodded and returned to his bedroom. The others at the dining table quieted down. Cunqu flopped down on his bed and started breathing heavily like a fish that just returned to its tank. His mind flashed white with static. Even when Qiuyan later entered the room and lay down next to him, Cunqu still hadn’t recovered.

After that day, Da Yu and A’Shan would come over to Xiaoying’s place alongside Qiuyan from time to time. The three of them sat with Xiaoying on her couch and ate watermelon. When Cunqu came out to get a glass of water, he saw four heads, each lower than the other, lined up in a row, rising and falling in succession as they ate their watermelon. Qiuyan turned to ask him: “You want some watermelon? It’s really sweet.”

Cunqu shook his head.

After Da Yu and A’Shan left, Qiuyan cut up some watermelon and brought them into Cunqu’s room and ate some more with him. Cunqu said he didn’t want any; the book pages would get dirty. So Qiuyan picked up a piece with a fork and brought it to Cunqu’s mouth. “Open up, ah.” He said. 

Cunqu had no choice but to eat it. Qiuyan reached out and ruffled his hair, saying: “Good job.”

Cunqu looked at him and smiled as he said: “Thanks, Dudu.”

Qiuyan held the bowl of watermelon and abruptly stood up. He wanted to curse but didn’t know who he could curse at. He angrily ate a piece of watermelon and grumbled: “Tomorrow I’ll make Da Yu into chopped chili fish head [4]”

--

Cunqu eventually grew accustomed to Da Yu and A’Shan’s presence. Gradually, he was able to come out of his room and converse a bit with them. One night, the three Mulberry Garden sworn brothers accompanied Xiaoying to play a few rounds of mahjong. They got hungry and ordered a bunch of late-night takeout. Cunqu walked by them as he headed to the fridge to grab some juice. Qiuyan hooked his finger with his and asked: “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat some?”

He thought that Cunqu would refuse. But unprecedentedly, he sat down.

 They were talking about how A’Shan and his girlfriend were going to marry soon. Da Yu bit his skewer and said: “Me, on the other hand, just broke up. Zhong Qiuyan has been forever single.”

Qiuyan stood up with a swish, grasped Da Yu’s neck, and threatened: “Today is the day I chop you up.”

A’Shan stopped them from fighting and Cunqu lowered his head and laughed. After Da Yu was released, he turned to ask Cunqu. “Ge, what about you? You’ve been in a relationship right?”

Cunqu drank a sip of the juice he was holding and nodded.

Qiuyan put down his can of beer. He stared blankly at Cunqu. After the latter returned to his room, he still stared at his closed door. Da Yu waved his hand in front of his eyes and asked: “What’s wrong with you, Zhong Dudu?”

Qiuyan tilted his head back and gulped down the rest of the beer. He didn’t know why, but when Cunqu nodded his head, he felt his heart sink. It sank all the way to the ground level of Building No.3 and was pushed around on the ‘Double Yolk Egg’ Grandpas’ Go board. He dragged his heavy heart, weighed down by the beer he gulped down, entered Cunqu’s room, and flopped onto him. Cunqu sighed and said: “My shower went to waste.” Qiuyan hugged him and refused to let go. With red-rimmed eyes, he said: “Ge…I’ve been thinking about this for some days now. I get happy whenever I see you. Very happy just from seeing you. Every day from waking up to falling asleep there’s a little person in my head yelling ‘Zhou Cunqu,’ ‘Zhou Cunqu.’ What’s wrong with me?”

Cunqu tried to push him off. He didn’t budge. As if he’s been wronged, Qiuyan aggrievedly asked Cunqu with lowered eyes: “Who were you in a relationship with?”

Cunqu thought for a moment and replied: “During college…”

But Qiuyan didn’t let him finish. He suddenly leaned in and shut his mouth with a kiss. Cunqu felt the scent of alcohol spread in his mouth. Qiuyan’s kisses were rash and clumsy. He didn’t know what he was doing, and it felt like he was trying to fight him. Cunqu almost couldn’t catch his breath from his antics. Finally, he successfully shoved Qiuyan away. 

Qiuyan sat on the bed and looked at him with his eyes at a loss. “I’m sorry…” he said.

-> Chapter 10

Footnotes

[1] This is a parody of the Oath of the Peach Garden (wikipedia) which was an event in the Chinese literary classic Romance of the There Kingdoms where three of the main characters (Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei)  took an oath of brotherhood. [2] Specifically, the Wangzai brand QQ candy (旺仔QQ糖). Google it for images. Should be familiar sight to those who’s shopped at a Chinese supermarket [3] The characters are 嘟嘟. (dū dū)  This is an extremely cutesy nickname commonly used for little kids or pets [4] 剁椒鱼头 (chopped chili fish head), a famous spicy dish from the Hunan cuisine.  It’s a steamed fish head topped with a lot of chopped chlii peppers and various aromatics and then activated with some hot oil. And in case you forgot, Da Yu literally means big fish lol. Baidu page with images: link

[pirate-poet]

salt & honey masterpost

JANUARY – 1888

salt & honey is a crossover fic that puts characters from the Master and Commander media into the Sunless Sea/Fallen London universe. The Surprise is a steamship, the sea is the zee, Stephen is imprisoned at the Isle of Cats instead of Mahon...well. Please heed the warnings on this one, it's angst-heavy!

LINK and the fic is COMPLETE!

bonus content below the cut(currently the map, twenty title poems, mentioned music, more to be added including full poem list and calendar)

(edited sunless sea map)

A note on the poetry: some of these are very topically relevant to the fic to the point that I was yelling to my alpha readers about how perfect they were! Some are very not topically relevant but still good poems. I highly recommend them all! I took great pains to make sure that each poem was written before the time of the fic so the characters could, theoretically, have read them. Also I'm going by Ao3 chapter numbers, not how they would be numbered without the introduction and interlude.

Ch 2 title: Edward Lear's "The Jumblies Ch 3 title: Emily Dickinson's "A little bread - A crust - A crumb" Ch 4 title: Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Jenny" Ch 5 title: Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam A. H. H. Canto 11" Ch 6 title: Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Pains of Sleep" Ch 7 title: William Blake's "The Garden of Love" Ch 8 title: Adam Lindsay Gordon's "The Swimmer" Ch 9 title: William Butler Yeats' "Byzantium" Ch 10 title: Robert Browning's "Prospice" Ch 11 title: Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Insomnia" Ch 12 title: Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam A. H. H. Canto 24" Ch 13 title: Gerard Manley Hopkins' "I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day" Ch 14 title: Christina Rosetti's "Promises like Pie-crust" Ch 15 title: George Barlow's "The Immortal and The Mortal" Ch 16 title: John Keats' "Ode on Indolence" Ch 17 title: Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Jenny" Ch 18 title: Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam A. H. H. Canto 3" Ch 19 title: William Blake's "Holy Thursday" Ch 20 title: Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam A. H. H. Canto 4" (for some reason this one is hard to find just as a poem so have a shmoop link) Ch 21 title: John Clare's "A Vision"

Music I mentioned: Surprisingly I didn't mention a lot, which is strange because I am a classical musician(hobbyist). The issue I have with mentioning music, though, is I have NO idea what was popular at the time and finding out is harder than finding out when a poem was published. Oh well, maybe I should be more chill about historical accuracy in the alternate history fiction universe.

Ch 26: Dvorak's Humoresque (i stand by Jack's pun. it's fiddly) Ch 29: Paganini's duet

[danpuff-ao3]

Hello there!

Let's keep talking about fruit. You said you like to bake, right? Favourite fruity thing to bake? Opinions on pineapple on pizza?

Are you a summer person, or are you normal? Vampires or werewolfs? Do you wear a wristwatch? Do you have tattoos? DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? IF YES I DEMAND PICS!

You get a message from JKR saying she's done with the hp universe, you own all the rights to it. Lawyers clear the deal, it's legit. What do you do with your new toy?

You get to be any mythical creature, what do you turn into?

The devil offers you a deal. You can learn any new hobby in one day and do it excellently for the rest of your life, but you can never pet a dog again. Do you take the deal?

What was the last book you finished? Grapes or wine? You can lick Snape anywhere you want for five minutes, but you can never read snarry fics again (other ships are OK). Where do you lick him? 😂

Hello again!!

Omg...there are many fruity things I love to EAT but as for the act of baking, it has to be banana bread! I think I can make banana bread in my sleep at this point! It's fun to make, yummy to eat, and attached to fond memories. You see, I was the only one in my family who really liked bananas growing up, and my mom can't stand even the smell or feel of them. But she used to make banana bread just for me, because I loved it so much. So banana bread on the whole feels like love, so I always share it with people I care about. Those who like bananas, anyway, lol!

Also: YES PLEASE pineapple on pizza!!!! Actually my favorite pizza order is getting a pineapple and jalapeño pizza from Dominos. I highly recommend it. Spicy and sweet!! It's perfect!! (Oh wow, I think I know what I'm having for dinner tonight!)

Funnily enough, I AM a summer person! Which is extra funny because I live in Louisiana, which is basically Satan's oven. But I can't STAND to be cold, so I much prefer the heat. I love the sunshine and the flowers and the color! I also love all of the cute dresses I get to wear!

Werewolves 100% (even if I was a Team Edward fan back in the day.) (Funnily enough my partner's name is Edward, so that was probably fated.) (Generally, though, I don't care for vampires.) Also, yes! I wear an Apple watch everyday! I never wore a watch before it, though. Now I can't imagine not having one! I sleep with it so it tracks my sleep, because I have chronic insomnia so it helps to have an idea about how I'm sleeping!

I do have tattoos! I have 3! I have the Taurus glyph on my pelvis, the Deathly Hallows symbol on my back, and the word Invictus on my left arm, just below the elbow. The word is an ambigram, so it can be read upside down and rightside up. Invictus is the name of my favorite poem (but it's also the name of a Snarry fic I really love, and I discovered said poem from said fic.)

Sadly, I have no pets rn! :( My living space is not very pet friendly. My partner and I hope to move within the next few years and when we do, we plan to get a pet! We both love big dogs so I wanna get a puppy that will grow into a giant pupper-oo. But we shall see! I used to have 3 cats, though, and when I lived with my roommates they all had a ton of animals. At our most chaotic there were 10 animals in that house: 5 cats, 4 pitbulls, and a chihuahua! And yes, it was Heaven.

If JKR forked over the HP universe to me there is only one right answer: make Snarry canon. That is like the only thing I care about. Though I guess I'd also be getting money and could visit the theme parks a lot. And I could get a house with a dedicated HP room. And I could endlessly commission Lu Endland for Snarry art. But my # 1 priority would just be to make it Snarry. Is that silly? Maybe, but idc. I know where my heart belongs.

ANY mythical creature??? Oh no, choices! My first thought was unicorn. But then I thought about it more and figured I wanna be a fairy. I just wanna be pretty and magical, that's it. But then I figured realistically I would be a dragon. Just a dragon hoarding my treasure and going about my dragonly business, only for all hell to break loose if you even look at my books/candles/mugs/crystals sideways.

Why are you asking so many hard questions?? You are quite cruel, methinks. Never pet a dog again?? But if I could learn art super easy and quickly then I could create Snarry art!! And the world is in dire need of more Snarry art, right???? Okay I think I'd take the deal. I can cuddle a dog without petting it, right?? Right????

The last book I finished was....I have no idea, I've not read anything besides fanfiction in so long!! I'm pretty sure it was an astrology book. Grapes 100%. I don't care for alcohol! And I would NOT lick Snape, are you out of your mind?? 1.) I'm pretty sure he would kill me and 2.) that's Harry's job. I will instead find a Snarry fic where Harry licks Snape from head to toe, as is appropriate.

Yeah, this is a lot of fun! Expect more soon! :D

[antigonick]

Hello and thank you for all that you do. I love your blog. I don't know if you're taking requests currently but do you happen to have any poems on visions/hallucinations/dreams? I'm reading Oliver Sacks' book Hallucinations and would love to accompany it with some poetry. Thank you.

Aw, that’s very sweet of you to say. I haven’t read Oliver Sacks’ Hallucinations so I’m drawing on my own definition of dream-like and vision-like, but I’d say exploring surrealist and magic realism-adjacent poetry might be a good bet, in general. It’s all about substance morphing, isn’t it? Think absolutely Arthur Rimbaud’s Illuminations (trans. by John Ashbery or Louise Varese), Paul Éluard’s Capital of Pain (trans. by Mary Ann Caws, Patricia Terry and Nancy Kline) and Fertile Eyes (can’t find a translation on this one—the poem, yes, but not the book); and my favourite, Mallarmé, especially The Afternoon of a Faun (trans. here by A. S. Kline).

Personally, I’d recommend Alice Notley’s The Descent of Alette, Angela Carter’s The Unicorn, H. D.’s Sea Garden, Rainer Maria Rilke’s Traumgekrönt/Dream-Crowned (trans. by Lorne Mook). Oh, and there’s Alice Oswald’s beautiful Nobody: A Hymn to the Sea and A Sleepwalk on the Severn. 

Not necessarily about dreams or visions, though they do come up, but hallucinatory in their own ways, Ilya Kaminsky’s Dancing in Odessa, Odysseus Elytis’ The Sovereign Sun (trans. by Kimon Friar), and Maggie Nelson’s Jane: A Murder.

In terms of single poems, I’m thinking Elizabeth Bishop’s Insomnia, Sylvia Plath’s Fever 103°, William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43, Christina Rossetti’s Dreamland and Echo, Emily Dickinson’s We Dream—, Anne Carson’s The Glass Essay and of course Emily Brontë’s The Prisoner. And I know it’s not strictly poetry, but Maurice Maeterlinck’s Pelleas and Melisande (trans. by Charles Alfred Byrne) and of course, William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream are wonderful. 

[chouxsardine]

The Love Song of H.E.Styles

word count: 797

Pairing: Harry Styles x female reader

author’s note: Hi! This is my first time ever writing and posting here, I’m so nervous kausdujshhdv. (please feel free to point out any grammar mistakes, I apologize in advance)

I obviously take many details and depictions into my own hands but I want to dedicate this piece to lindsey @harryysstyless (sorry this is so abrupt...I’m 📜 and this is supposed to be a Christmas present but tumblr somehow never shows my post in tags......tired rants are nothing to be ashamed of and I really hope you have a good rest and take care!!)

this is a super short but fluffy one that involves overthinking, sleeping, poem and lots of love! It’s hard time for all of us, we can all use some love <3

The poem is The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, one of my favorite.

Recommended reading with:

Y/N has always remembered a post she saw online. It talks about something like, “when you are home alone, the last thing you would want to do is to take a nap; because when you wake up, you will be greeted by the gloomy afternoon and the overwhelming loneliness that came along with it.”

Y/N has always found this incredibly relatable. She has always had a love-hate relationship with sleeping. Although it’s nothing serious like insomnia, it alway takes her longer to fall asleep. she recalls being scolded in kindergarten while turning and tossing in the bed during nap times; she remembers the frown between her mom’s brows as her eyes remained wide and owlish after the alleged “last story then you are going to bed”. Y/N has also hoped she can just fall asleep as soon as her head touches the pillow, but she simply can’t: events and encounters which seem so random and frivolous during daytime resurface and replay as if they had grown furry tentacles that wrap around her consciousness. As time passes, y/n begins to find sleeping stressful and punitive: why does she has to think so hard? Is it a punishment for not workin hard enough today? Does she even deserve to sleep? Every night before sleep, there’s a moment that the little voice eagerly digs for answers to these questions.

“Got a movie theatre in ya mind, love.”

That’s what Harry calls it after she describes that feeling to him for the first time. And gosh he looks so domestic and cuddly, with one arm bending and supporting his head, the other extending over the comforter, tracing patterns on the small patch of skin behind y/n’s ear -- a move that always calms her . There’s a curve around the corner of his lips, bracketed by the dimples. The light radiates from the light embraces him in a gosling-yellow glow. One of his curls spirals down, projecting a bending shade above his eyebrow. Y/n couldn't help but gently wraps her index finger around it, just to see the ever so slight bounce when she releases it.

“What movie is coming out in your little theatre tonight?” He teases, “wondering how I can sneak in my own snacks...hmmmm, will some kisses do the trick?”

Then he will nuzzle up to her and drop feathery kisses all over her face. She would always laugh at the tickling, but meanwhile, there’s a contended sigh at the bottom of her heart. The abundant satiating feeling verifies that she is loved.

Harry has made sleeping easier for her by simply being there. Sometimes it’s his voice, deep and grainy, sometimes it’s his smell, of fresh laundry mixed with the faint lavender smell of the new fabric softener. Harry and y/n both love to read before bed. It is not very often that they both have time to actually pick up a tome, but when they do, it’s the most wonderful and peaceful kind of intimacy.

Sometimes y/n likes to lie down earlier and lets Harry read to her. She will watch him tapping around on his phone, knowing that he is sending himself an email as the reminder and to-do list for tomorrow. Then he flips down his own book, one arm reaching toward the bedstand for the thick poem collection. The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock is one of the first poems he has read to her, and since then, it has always been a come-back.

“Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky”

It is toward the sixth or seventh verse that Y/N begins to drift off. That’s when she feels Harry’s hand brushing away the loose strands of hair on her fore head and presses down a gentle kiss.

“Love you.”

Sometimes, she is sure that she heard it; the other times, she ends up falling asleep knowing that those two words are coming along the way. She nuzzles her cheeks deeper into the pillow and lets out a contended sigh. It feels like his kiss is the hand that untangles the mooring rope from the pole, so she can safely drift away to a good night’s sleep.

Little did she know after that Harry will set the book aside and sends anther email, this time to her. It will be very simple, with simply a subject line (Harry would like to call it his own way of “cheat the system": getting around the “this email has no subject, are you sure you want to send” trifles.

“Love you’

Yours truly,

H”

That will be the the first thing she sees on her phone in the morning.

Y/N knows this is the love song from H.E. Styles. Like an orbiting star, his love bracketing her day and night.

[kindcstguardian]

MISC.

Name. (   山田太郎  )  Yamada Taro. Alias. Senpai, dummy. Date of birth. April 1st, 2xxx   ( Star sign: Aries  ). Sexual orientation. Bisexual demiromantic. Languages. Japanese &&. English. Blood type. A + Height. 170cm. Weight. ? kg. Voice: 1.

VERSES.

Main verse. TAG. 「 V ❥ 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 ; Yamada Taro ／ ᵂᵉ ʳᵉᵃᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷᵉ'ʳᵉ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵃˡᵒⁿᵉ」

   No one’s week.    Taro is a quiet student trying to live his highschool days to the fullest in his very own way—getting good grades for different university options and mostly ignoring, not on purpose he might add, people.    The ravenette enjoys being alone, but not feeling lonely. He can always be spotted near the fountain with a different book in hand every time. If anyone were to approach him, he’d place his book down and engage into the conversation for he is a kind soul.

Second main verse. TAG.  「 V ❥ 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 ; Yamada Taro ／ 」 

   Something had taken place which made him be dependable of someone, it was too strange for him to become like this—but it wasn’t bad, the company was highly appreciated and it made him contemplate how lonely he truly was but never realized until a certain event happened.

Lowest atmosphere verse. TAG.  「 V ❥ 𝐋𝐨𝐰 ; Yamada Taro ／ ᵐᵒⁿˢᵗᵉʳˢ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᶜʳᵃʷˡᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉⁱʳ ʷᵃʸ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ⁿᵒᵛᵉˡˢ」 

   Tba.

Twin verse. TAG.  「 V ❥ 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐧 ; Yamada Taro ／ ᵉⁿᵒᵘᵍʰ ᵗᵒ ᵏᵉᵉᵖ ᵐᵉ ᵍᵘᵉˢˢⁱⁿᵍ 」

   Ah, to have a sibling was a blessing, wasn’t it?  Now, from a rather normal family, having a pair of twins was an amusing but well-received surprise: Yamada Taro and Tashirou  ( the latter being called ‘Taro’ from time to time as well ).   Tashirou was a quiet kid with a reserved nature but, by no means, that didn’t mean his curiosity hadn’t got the best of him at times. People often confused him with his twin due to how painfuly similar they were in personality, it didn’t really help they appeared to have similar superficial likes     it was a common mistake, truly.  The moment Tashirou considered a person a friend, it was over for them: his actual personality would surface, a rather energetic, eternally curious and reckless guy who could be daring and bold at times This, however, was a hard achievement on itself.    Such personality was known by his siblings alone.

With merakicd. TAG. 「 V ❥ 𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐? ; Yamada Taro ／ ʷⁱˢᵉ ᵐᵉⁿ ˢᵃʸ ᵒⁿˡʸ ᶠᵒᵒˡˢ ʳᵘˢʰ ⁱⁿ」 

   At last, after many events took place—too much of a rollercoaster for the young man, a girl he had met before a couple of times confessed to him. Taro was, like any other student of his age, still exploring the concept of relationships and falling in love. Thus, he accepted her confession as he already liked her but it would take time for him to reciprocate her feelings as strong as she did.

Self-conscious verse. TAG.「 V •  ; Yamada Taro ／ 」  

  What if.. one day you wake up to learn the truth about who you really are and how all your struggles... everything so far had been nothing but a lie? Yamada Taro discovered that his entire world was made up. Nothing was real therefore he, himself, wasn’t either.  Based  on.  Note. In this verse, Taro will be suffering from severe depression and self-mutilating habits that he does not realize  ( such as getting hurt and bleeding yet overlooking it, not sleeping, not eating. Generally ignoring his body and will be dizzy frequently due anemia and low in basically in everything ).

Swapped roles verse. TAG.「 V • 𝘠𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘱𝘢𝘪 ; Yamada Taro ／ 」  

   What if it was the opposite?  Yamada Taro was a quiet boy who kept distance from everyone not due being shy, it was a total different subject that was beyond his aparent introvert nature — he wasn’t normal like his family that followed a traditional pattern that he was supposed to follow, finding this out through his tastes: crushing on a junior of his, following them home and memorizing their schedule to appear as a kind senpai.    It made him sick that he couldn’t love properly, no such thing as a normal love. His was possesive, obsessive, jealously drowning him — he wanted to be the only one to monopolize the one he loved, to the point Taro would have difficulties telling appart from family and plain friend of his crush and see them as menaces.

Suspect verse. TAG.「 V • 𝙎𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 ; Yamada Taro ／ ᶠᵒʳᵗᵘⁿᵉ ᶜᵒᵐᵉˢ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ʷⁱᵗʰⁱⁿ 」  

If too many girls die or go missing immediately after meeting Senpai, rumors may spread that he is a serial killer  +  If rivals show up dead shortly after they talk to him, Senpai will wonder if he is cursed.    Yamada Taro was blissfully ignorant about how girls would approach him and then never interacting with him ever again, it wasn’t unusual for juniors to approach their seriors and ask questions only to never come back to them again — but he was  wrong.    Suddenly, the police was knocking at his door with an order of arrest due requiring his testimony, his parents were crying and Taro could only hear the loud sirens outside his house as he was handcuffed and dragged within the car, disappointed stares or even angry ones.    Then, everyone explained the highschooler that all girls who came in contact with him had gone missing, disappearing from Earth itself or their bodies had been found death and given the link was him, it wasn’t far-fetched to assume Taro could be the culprit — after he confessed all he knew and that he wasn’t his fault and without actual solid evidence, they couldn’t keep him locked but some items were retrieved from him, there were pictures taken from his house. Overall, a traumatic experience for a guy like him.    It didn’t end there, though, since his reputation was ruined and no one wanted to get closer to him... no one but those who had been there, acussed of things and mistreated, pushed towards their lowest point with intrusive thoughts — the delinquents were there for Taro alongside Osoro Shidesu. NOTE. It’s safe to say that in this particular verse, Taro’s personality will change. Not kind and polite as always, he’d be distrustful, paranoid and, this time around, will display a colder behavior. Because he is also surrounded by delinquents and Osoro is worried about his well-being, Taro now carries in his pocket a taser gun.

Revengeful verse. TAG.  「 V ❥  ; Yamada Taro ／ 」

  Truth be told, Taro witnessed something he shouldn’t have     his mother had been brutally murdered right before his eyes, however, his life had been spared. To this day the image of that woman was always stuck on his mind and refuses to let him sleep in peace at night suffering from insomnia: a tall lady with grey hues and long hair tied in a pony tail, delicate hands tightly ripping a kitchen knife. Locking gazes with her made his whole body shake with fear. Why was his mother killed? Why wasn’t he?   His father mostly attempted to work and not fill his head with thoughts, neglecting his son and only truly embracing him when he needed to cry, the ravenette would only wrap his arms around his father’s figure and attempt to sooth him down. His father was driven to commit suicide as soon as he turned eighteen, Taro pondered whether he was forced by the same woman or if his mental state was that poor. Nevertheless, the health insurance and the money he had saved up for Taro’s college was intact, plus the teen started to work as well  ( questionable compensating dating and for a man who hid in an alley ).   Taro had done a research on who this woman was and befriended a quite particular redhead female who promised he’d get his revenge if she could have fun along the way.    on his own, he had learnt the woman was named Ryoba Aishi and she, alongisde her entire family, had quite the peculiar history. With his friend’s help, he learnt she had  a daughter.   His objective was clear, he’d gain this girl’s affection for her to lower her defenses and then murder her, her entire family and Ryoba would be last.

DDLC. TAG. 「 V ❥ DDLC ; Yamada Taro ／ ᴬ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ ˡⁱᵛᵉˢ ᵃ ᵗʰᵒᵘˢᵃⁿᵈ ˡⁱᵛᵉˢ ᵇᵉᶠᵒʳᵉ ʰᵉ ᵈⁱᵉˢ」 

   For the security of their son whose entity was in danger, his parents had to travel far away from the school he basically grew up into which made him lose many connections but keep a few ones. A fresh start wasn’t always bad, he prayed.    Then he heard about a Literature Club and was first day already knocking the door to ask if he could join having regrets of not considering joining the gardening club back at Akademi High; he loved to read and knowing that other people did too was a joyful sensation. They could recommend each other books, it’d be the first time for him to do so! Ah but, writing poems wasn’t his forte but nevertheless, he’s willing to try.

Kiss him, not me! TAG.「 V •  ; Yamada Taro ／ ᵗᵒ ᵉᵃᶜʰ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ ᵗʰᵉⁱʳ ᵇᵒᵒᵏ ?」  

   He was living a peaceful life until being unexpectedly transferred to another school—and he didn’t have any problems sitting next to the one girl who kept reading questionable mangas in class. But because he was her seat partner, he came across many strange individuals.

? ./ ?. TAG.「 V • ; Yamada Taro ／ 」    TBA.

RELATIONSHIPS.

These will be based on canon until someone requests to be main or exclusive!

Yamada Taeko./ TAG. Tba.

Yamada Hanako./ TAG.  Tba.

TAGS.

「 Yamada Taro ／ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐂 」

「 Yamada Taro ／ INQUIRY 」

「 Yamada Taro ／ MUSINGS 」

「 Yamada Taro ／ VISAGE 」

「 Yamada Taro ／ MANNERISMS 」

「 Yamada Taro ／ ROMANCE 」

「 Yamada Taro ／ CRACK 」

✘ Aishi Ayano · ᵐᵉʳᵃᵏⁱᶜᵈ ♡（ ᴵ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʸᵒᵘ ᵇᵘᵗ ᴵ ⁿᵉᵉᵈ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ· ᴾʳᵒᵐⁱˢᵉ ᵐᵉ ʸᵒᵘ'ˡˡ ᵇᵉ ᵐⁱⁿᵉ ）

[whilereadingandwalking]

Thank you for the tag, Crooked Reads!

What are you reading right now?  I’m currently reading Isabel Allende’s In the Midst of Winter, which came out last year. I actually got to see her speak in person, which was wonderful—the book itself is less spectacular so far, although it’s not going anywhere as it’s a signed Allende novel.

What’s your book wheelhouse, the thing that will make you automatically pick up a book? Generally promises of twisty surrealism and a women-centered narrative will pull me straight in. Intergenerational women-centered twisty surrealism and it’s even more of a given that I’ll pick it up. What was your favorite book of 2018? Just one? Three of my favorite books that came out in 2018 were Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik; The Battle for Paradise by Naomi Klein; and How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin. What book are you most looking forward to in 2019? That’s a tough one. Some of my most anticipated are (bless!) already on their way to me or on my shelf in form of ARCs, such as Middle-Game by Seanan McGuire and The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders. Others include 1919: Poems by Eve Ewing and a new novel from Taylor Jenkins Reid. What’s a genre you never/rarely read? Horror/thriller. It hikes up my heart rate, and I’m anxious and full of insomnia enough as it is. But if it’s good enough, you can convince me to read one no and then. What book are you embarrassed to have not yet read?  I recently became embarrassed when I realized that I have not yet read Como agua para chocolate by Laura Esquivel despite having read full chapters of it in multiple Spanish classes, and that I also haven’t read Mexican-American and Chicago classic The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Do you listen to audiobooks? What’s your favorite? I do not listen to audiobooks. Are you participating in any reading challenges this year? Not really. I did get my book tracker off a template though, and it has two reading challenges programmed in; a reading women challenge and Book Riot’s Read Harder challenge. So I’m doing those just to see, and maybe near the end of the year if I’m doing well, I’ll keep at them. What’s a book you like to reread? I reread many of my favorites, particularly Harry Potter and Neil Gaiman’s books. For now I’ll highlight one I would like to reread, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. How many books do you read at a time? One. Only time I read more than one book at a time is if I have to pause a very long or annotation-heavy tome for a day or two of travel, or if I’m reading graphic novels, as generally I’ll read those at home but walk with a book. What’s your Swiss-army book recommendation? Right now, it’s Salt Houses by Hala Alyan for literary fiction. It’s poetic, intergeneration, about a displaced family from Palestine, and I was scandalized to discover how few people have read and celebrated it. For SFF, my current Swiss-army rec is The Calculating Stars, a book about an anxious Jewish pilot and calculator trying to get the space program to accept female astronauts, in an alt history where a meteor hit the US in the 1950s, speeding the need to explore and colonize space.

[flemingtech]

EQUALIZER, TURN UP THE BASS

The fact that sound travels best through solids is the main reason why wireless headsets are yet to dethrone their wired counterparts. There is still a big room for improvement since both headsets still try their level best to deliver the best bass and clarity. Music players in our devices such as Spotify, iTunes, Groove Music for Windows 10, Winamp for Windows, Musixmatch, and Google Play Music (in some devices), have decided to incorporate an equalizer in their settings. Equalizers offer a way to manipulate the bass, voice clarity and treble delivered to the headsets manually, and in preset settings by manipulating sound frequencies. Most times, the preset settings may disappoint; hence learning how to manipulate it manually comes in pretty handy. If used right, it smooths the audio with a fine touch.

 As I was writing this article, I was faced with a conundrum. There were two ways to write it. The first way was to explain the technical bit of an equalizer and how it can manipulate the delivery of sound wave frequencies, and turn the article into a physics lecture. As an engineering student, I know how boring physics lectures can be. Ten minutes into the lectures, my notebook would be filled with a writing system that cannot be decoded as I drool due to the euphoria offered by sleep. I would then recommend to my readers suffering from insomnia to read it late at night, and I'm sure they wouldn't be able to escape from the charms of sleep. My ingenious method would have found the elusive cure for insomnia without the use of drugs. That big win for the human race would place me in the direct line of winning the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for Medicine.

 The second way was to explain it without the physics bit. That way, most of my readers will understand. It may help some to be sound engineers or better yet masters when they are handed the aux cords. I went for the latter method because to be a successful writer, one must place the needs of their readers first. Therefore, let's dive into the topic.

A comprehensive equalizer comes with 10 bars, as shown above. Some may come with fewer bars, so the first step is to split the bars into three equal parts from left to right irrespective of the number of bars of the equalizer. My equalizer has 10 bars, so I'll use a 3-4-3 formation. The first 3 bars on the left are responsible for the bass, the second 4 bars are responsible for voice clarity, and the final 3 bars are for controlling the treble.

 1. THE BASS BARS (THE FIRST 3 BARS)

1.1 THE SUB BASS (labeled with values between 20Hz-50Hz on the equalizer)

This is the first bar in the equalizer from the left. Moving the bar up adds bass when you are using a subwoofer or a headset. If you are using a laptop or phone speakers, one won't hear the increase of bass when toggling the bar.

 1.2 BASS (labeled with values between 50Hz to 200Hz)

They are the next two bars in the equalizer. Moving those bars up adds the general bass in the audio, independent of the output(speakers), unlike the Sub Bass.

*Fun fact: Human males speak in that frequency range hence the bass in their voice.

 2. THE VOICE CLARITY BARS (THE NEXT 4 BARS)

This is the region responsible for voice clarity. It is normally moved up in Jazz and Country music and moved down in Rock music.

2.1 LOW MIDS (200Hz-600Hz)

They are the first two bars from the left in my voice clarity zone. This is where bass and vocals intermingle. Moving those two bars up adds both bass and vocal clarity in your audio.

 2.2 MIDS (600Hz-3kHz)

They are the final 2 bars in the voice clarity zone. A human ear perceives most sounds in this frequency range. Moving the bars up in this region increases the vocals of the audio track.

 3. TREBLE BARS (FINAL 3 BARS)

This is the region responsible for high tones such as soprano voices and flute tones. They are normally moved up in Jazz, Rock, and Country music. However, it is moved down in Heavy Metal music or audio-demanding bass.

*Fun fact: The more you age, the less treble your ears can perceive. (It's funny how my girlfriend keeps complaining I'm not a good listener. Cheryl, science proves I can't hear what you are saying.)

3.1 UPPER MIDS(3kHz-8kHz)

They are the first 2 bars in the treble zone. Moving those two bars up increases aggression and in the clarity of audio vocals.

 3.2 HIGHS(8kHz-20kHz)

This is the final bar in the treble region and the equalizer. Moving it up increases the treble. To understand this statement better, it increases the sound *ss in the word kiss.

 With this knowledge in mind, the ability to use an equalizer with surgical precision depends on your ear. You have to listen closely and determine what the audio lacks. You can also use this knowledge to adjust the preset equalizer modes to the satisfaction of your ears since now you know the effect of moving each bar.

 From personal experience, this settings work best when using a subwoofer or headset. Those trashy earphones with 100% treble aren't so trashy after all. I have sacrificed my 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for Medicine in a selfless act so that you, the reader, become a master of the aux cord. I will conclude this article with a short poem to my Nobel Peace Prize (fate shall cross our paths again). Till we meet next time, keep it fleming.

 (Please read it in French accent)

"You are near even if you don't see me,

You are with me even if you are far away.

We are forever bound together,

There will be no L's in our lives,

Thus you shall become Nobe Peace Prize."

[madamecolette]

Sick book tag

The brilliant owner, bartender and entire staff of my favorite café, also known as @cafeleningrad tagged me in this meme. It was so fun! Thank you!

1. Diabetes - a very sweet book:  Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.  Peter Pan, as a novel, is many things. It is sweet, it is disturbing, it is enlightening and it is melancholic. It’s sweet in the tiniest, warmest details: the kiss in the right-hand corner of the mocking mouth of Mrs. Darling (the melancholy is always behind the corner, though: it’s the same kiss Wendy could never get), the night-lights being the eyes a mother leaves behind to guard her children, fairies being so small that only an emotion at a time can fill them up, children’s first laughters being the way fairies are born, even the mere fact that we all once met Peter Pan, that feeling of an adventure that was just waiting for us and the joyful recklessness of it, and we still remember him, even if we’re meant to never meet him again, as it should be.

2. Chickenpox - a book that you read once and will not read again:   The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace It was quite a pleasing reading, but not one I would have again. One simply exhausted all my need of it. Probably because it was mostly just stylistically pleasing, while it lacked a truly satisfying content. It was good like only a virtuosity can be and  it was empty like only a virtuosity can be. An end in itself.

3. Influenza - a contagious book that spreads like a virus:   This is funny. My first contact with Dostoyevsky was with his White Nights, when I was fourteen and we were about to see a movie adaptation of it at school and a teacher (who wasn’t even my teacher)’s head popped into the classroom and said “you should definitely read the book”. Three of us took the hint from the unknown teacher’s floating head. I liked it and I even liked the movie, but the virus was destined to stay silent for two more years. At sixteen, another teacher - my teacher this time - who was a singular kind of person (extremely cultured, unmatchable in her knowledge of latin and ancient greek linguistics, strictly well mannered, shy to the point of covering her mouth when laughing, frowning her forehead out of worry way too often for every small concern her students might have had) said the book of her life was The Brothers Karamazov. I passionately loved it but I think I was too young and unprepared and many things and themes slipped away undisturbed while reading. It’s not a case she warned me about how I should have read it again later in my life, when I would be ready. I had met a very contagious host, though, and at that point, the virus’ path was clear: I read everything else Dostoyevsky wrote, including the short stories, which I highly recommend. I still have to re-read The Brothers Karamazov. I wonder what undiscovered treasures it’ll open for me this time. 

4. The Cycle - a book that you read every month, every year, or very often:   Apart from the Harry Potter books, I realize now I have three poem collections I often read: - Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarca - Shakespeare’s Sonnets - Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire  It’s the musicality of the rhymes, apart from the themes, that makes me keep going back to them. 

5. Insomnia - a book that kept you up all night:  84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff. It’s a collection of letters and it’s a very short reading but OH, I COULDN’T SLEEP AT ALL AFTER IT. I just lied listlessly in bed in a state of deep melancholy wondering WHY.

6. Amnesia - a book that’s been forgotten and failed to leave an impression on you:   Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe that is said to be “a comedy” and “a spy story” and it’s neither one nor the other. It’s sterile, badly built, extremely simple and a total waste of paper and ink.

7. Asthma - a book that took your breath away: The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso The most creative, captivating, enthusiastic, passioned guide to the classical roman and greek myths you can imagine, structured like an infinite tale of things that “never happened but always are”. 

8. Malnutrition - a book that lacked food for thought:   Be my knife by David Grossman Absolutely ridiculous. Not just the “love story”, but also the somehow celebrated style is nonsense. Forced and faking a deep, sexy intellectualism that has no point of being there, because it’s very very very far from the letters of Kafka to Milena, that are clearly his inspiration. The comparison is actually offensive.

9. Motion Sickness - a book that took you on a journey through time and space: A collection of short stories by Nabokov that includes his short stories from Nabokov’s Dozen, A Russian Beauty, Details of a Sunset and Tyrants Destroyed. Now, Nabokov was a synesthete and this is very clear from his vivid, confused, exceptionally impressive way of describing events and, even more, of interpreting and uncovering memories. Somehow, the fact that he associated specific sensory stimulations to experiences of another sense not only results in something that you, when reading, while not experiencing the same thing, kind of recognize as legitimate, but it also gives you a new, memorable perception of the scenes he’s writing and leads you on a dynamic, picturesque and rich journey through time, space and physical sensations.

[furiouslyinsensible]

bragi/frigg/nut? (hi i hope summer is treating u well!)

bragi - do u like poetry/have a favourite poem?yes!!!!! as this year has gone on I’ve realised just how much i love literature n i do lov me a poem even though i really haven’t read very many! favourites r something i’m pretty crap at but one of my favourite poems is woods etc. by alice oswald; the whole collection is incredible as is absolutely all of oswald’s writing tbh (would highly highly recommend memorial too.) can’t remember the whole poem but i do remember the last verse -

no clearing in that quiet, no change at all. / in my throat the little mercury line / that regulates my speech began to fall / rapidly the endless length of my spine

frigg - would u like to be married sometime down the road or would u rather stay unmarried?aaa too early for this q! personally i’m not too keen on marriage like big weddings are a nah, and as a concept idk. monogamy is weird and also saying ur gonna be w someone forever is a bit terrifying and (warnin warnin i am a cynical fool and luv is a beautiful thing) maybe unrealistic? like the probability of getting it right is small i think, but also u can work to make it work and that is admirable and also can be v fun! at this moment i’m pretty happy on my own; i’m most comfortable in my own company and don’t really miss other people? like that sounds awful but it’s not like i don’t enjoy others’ company it’s just like i don’t need it. is nice to chat to people but it’s also nice to come back to just myself! also i’m horrified by all romantic prospects rn idk what’s going on w me but every time someone’s asked me out i’ve wanted to run away to peru. short answer: would rather stay unmarried but in terms o legal rights marriage can help so if i found me a person then it could be useful. also if they wanted to get married i wouldn’t be opposed!

nut - do u like to stargaze?lauren u sure know the way to a lad’s heart, yE BOI do i like to stargaze,, i feel like the god’s name for this q is appropriate haha. space is p cool and stars are the easiest way to appreciate that bc they’re there for us to see every night! a couple of days ago i was in yosemite nd there was nothing around so there was so little light pollution it was incredible!! went out by myself at 1 on the birthday morn and sat outside (was a little cloudy so not great visibility) but it’s honestly the most relaxing thing! would recommend to anyone with insomnia bc it can be soothing and make u sleepy but it also distorts all sense of time so even if u don’t fall asleep the night passes faster than it otherwise would and u don’t exert urself too much!

thank u lauren same to u!!! hope ur getting a good rest n eating good food :–)

[erraticfairy]

If You Don’t Use It, You’ll Lose It: 4 Tips for Aging Well

My grandfather was a true Yankee farmer. Taciturn and dignified, he rarely said a paragraph when a few words would do.

Once, when I was in my mid-twenties and totally clueless about what it means to be dealing with old age, I found him sitting at the kitchen table translating poetry from German to English. Then in his late 70s, it had been over 50 years since he took basic German at the agricultural college he attended. I didn’t have any idea he knew even one German phrase. Yet there he was, diligently working out the poem, word by word by word.

“Why don’t you just get an English translation?” I asked.

He looked up briefly and growled, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”

“Oh,” was all I could think to say.

Later my grandmother explained that he was fearful he was losing some of his memory. Characteristically, he decided to do something about it. He was using the task of translating the poem and the pleasure of conquering it to exercise his brain. Fast forward 50 years. Now in my 70s, I have a new appreciation for my grandfather’s concerns.

Like many in my age group, I’ve watched a number of my friends slip into dementia. It starts with simple problems with memory and word-finding that we all have. (I know I’m not the only one to run through all my kids’ names before hitting on the right one.) But the symptoms of Alzheimers and the other dementias aren’t funny or brief. They result in increasing frustration and confusion for the patient and increasing frustration and sadness for those who love them.

Put simply, dementia is a decline of the mental faculties we so take for granted when we are young. According to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, to be diagnosed, a person must show decline or adverse changes in two of the following: Memory, Language, Thinking, Judgment and/or Behavior. The Merck Manual states that approximately 5 percent of people aged 65 to 74 years and 40 percent of people older than 85 have some form of dementia. It’s a frightening possibility for most of us as we age.

Some medications seem to slow it down, but science has yet to find a cure. Although it sometimes feels like fending off dementia is just dumb luck and genetics, there is now some good research that shows that we may be able to at least slow down the mental decline of advancing age by taking care of our whole self. Those who care for their bodies as well as their minds, who continue to do things that give life meaning and, yes, those who continue to enjoy life, may in fact be protecting their brains in ways that science has yet to understand.

4 Ways to Slow Down the Effects of Aging:

1. Take care of the basics: The basics don’t get any less important as we age. Sleep, diet and exercise are the building blocks for good health and for slowing down the effects of aging.

Getting enough sleep matters. Most adults require 7 to 9 hours of sleep, even if they don’t think so. It may become more difficult (44  percent of seniors experience insomnia and certain heart conditions and medications do intrude on sleep) but those are problems to solve, not a reason to give up on sleep.

Continuing to eat well is equally important. Nutritional requirements don’t really change although some people find that they eat less. A 2015 article in the Healthspan Campaign Newsletter quotes Simin Nikbin Meydani, D.V.M., Ph.D., the director of the USDA Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, as saying that “malnutrition, both under-nutrition and over-nutrition are prevalent among older adults.” So don’t give in to the temptation to skip meals or to limit your diet to a few favorite foods. Your body and your mind need to be fed.

And then there’s the question of exercise: We don’t need to become marathon runners to stay mentally sharp. A 2015 study conducted by scientists at the University of Kansas Alzheimer Disease Center and other institutions found that although participants who exercised 225 minutes a week scored higher in cognitive tests than those who exercised less, the difference was not markedly significant. Yes, those who exercised more became more physically fit. But it seems that just walking briskly for 20 to 25 minutes several times a week may help keep your memory sharp. Working in your garden, energetically doing the housework, and even keeping up with the grandkids counts.

2. Take care of the mind: Grandpa may have been right about the importance of exercising his brain but the jury is still out on the success of computer based brain exercise programs. A report by the National Institute on Aging states that there is no evidence that computer brain games are significantly effective. But the results of some studies, though not conclusive, are encouraging. In 2013, the Canadian Medical Association published a review of 32 studies of strategies to slow down the mental decline in aging, including 3 that looked at the success of mental exercise. All three reported significant improvement in brain function. So translate poetry, join a book club, do challenging puzzles or engage in good conversation that stretches your mind.

3. Continue to do things that give life meaning: Even as he aged, my grandfather did volunteer work with his church and with his men’s club. He wasn’t doing it to protect his brain, but it’s likely that it did exactly that. Dr. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, has been called the father of positive psychology. He states “well-being cannot exist just in your own head: Well-being is a combination of feeling good as well as actually having meaning, good relationships and accomplishment.” Continuing to be involved with others in doing things that matter contributes to happiness and, probably, to aging well.

4. Have Fun: Imagine my surprise when my grandpa started taking mandolin lessons in his mid 70s. He had inherited his grandfather’s instrument but had never played it. “Now or never,” he said. Little did he know he was doing his mind a favor. A study done at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine states that “leisure activities such as reading, playing board games, playing musical instruments and dancing were all associated with a reduced risk of developing dementia.” If you’ve been waiting until you “have time” to start oil painting, to learn to play the piano, join a chess club or learn to dance — make the time and go for it!

My grandfather moved into old age with a sharp mind and an open heart, feeling useful and loved. There are no guarantees that doing any of the above recommendations held off dementia for him — or will for me. But they certainly will keep me healthier and happier. It’s comforting to know that there is a developing body of evidence that doing these things may also have important protective factors for our aging brains.

from World of Psychology https://ift.tt/2IKEEB0 via theshiningmind.com

[edgysocial]

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12 Refreshing Tips On How To Live A Stress-Free Life in 2017

You’re reading 12 Refreshing Tips On How To Live A Stress-Free Life in 2017, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

The Internet is full of resources on time management, tips for a stress-free life, and finding work-life balance.  Since we are unique creatures with varying personalities and goals, it’s nearly impossible to come up with a formula to a better lifestyle. The most we can do is to search, test, and share techniques that worked for us. In the bestselling self-help book Nine Things Successful People Do Differently, Heidi Grant Halvorson noted the science-based strategies on stress management. The principles, including having self-compassion and remembering the “big picture,” are recommended both for business and personal productivity. One of the most important tactics Halvorson shares is looking at your shortcomings with kindness and understanding. A study published in the Journal of Research of Personality suggests that self-compassion has significant positive association with happiness, optimism, and personal initiative. People with self-compassion are less depressed and more successful. For 2017, I vowed to make changes in my life. I refuse to waste away my energy worrying and devote my time on those that truly matter. Here are 12 techniques that helped me glide through the last year that might help you as well. #1: (Really) know yourself more

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How do you know yourself? Do you fully understand what triggers your anxiety, or what calms you down? In 1921, renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s Psychological Types introduced two major personalities, the introverted and the extroverted types. Generally, an introvert draws energy from spending time in solitude while an extrovert functions better when surrounded by other people. Two years after Jung’s publication, the mother-daughter tandem of Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers began their study on the various personality types. They later came up with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) with the main purpose of making Jung’s theory of psychological types “understandable and useful in people’s lives.” By taking the MBTI, you’d have a deeper understanding on your perception, strengths and weaknesses, emotions, and how you deal with others. Your personality can also explain your workplace habits, guiding you on how to plan your next career moves. #2: Understand your mental condition

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For some people, following a set of recommended steps to a stress-free life is not as easy as it seems. There may be an underlying medical condition that hinders you from calming your nerves. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, roughly 18% of US adults are suffering from an anxiety disorder. This mental condition is characterized by restlessness or irritability, feeling tense and jumpy, pounding of heart and shortness of breath, upset stomach, fatigue, and insomnia. The treatments available include psychotherapy, anti-anxiety, and antidepressant drugs, and alternative medicine such as yoga and meditation. Anxiety can make other conditions such as depression and sleeping problems worse. If your anxiety is interfering with your daily activities, see a doctor immediately. #3: Be kinder to yourself

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Our mistakes and failures help define us. If your relationship didn’t work out, there’s a reason for that. For many years, I also beat myself up for a relationship that ended bitterly. There were nights when I would replay our last days together to analyze what I did wrong and how I could’ve made the situation better. I only benefitted from these painful reminiscing when I finally decided to move on and learn from these mistakes. The same goes with my business decisions. Whenever I make a wrong turn, I briefly identify the problems, draft a solution, and move on to my next course of action. As Louise L. Hay wrote in You Can Heal Your Life, “Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving yourself and see what happens.” #4: Aspire for quality sleep

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One key to a better life is adequate sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults aged 18 to 64 should get seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. Working as a manager in a real estate company is not an easy undertaking. Meetings can last for hours, leaving me too exhausted to doze off at bedtime. Sleep deprivation has a serious impact on your well-being. It can increase your risk to diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, and weaken your immunity. According to the Harvard Medical School, insufficient sleep affect mental performance. “Concentration, working memory, mathematical capacity, and logical reasoning are all aspects of cognitive function compromised by sleep deprivation,” it warns. How do I manage to get right amount of sleep each night? I regulate my caffeine consumption. I skip coffee after 5 p.m. I also set a rule to disconnect from any electronic device (cellphone, laptop, and TV) at least an hour before bedtime. Finally, I decluttered my bedroom to free my mind from distractions. #5: Push yourself to exercise

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Like many people, I had my love-hate relationship with my rubber shoes. I could come up with the lamest excuses just to avoid going to the gym. Then about two years ago, I noticed that I could barely keep up with my older sisters when we go  malling on weekends. They called my attention. I was breathing hard and sweating profusely after only 15 minutes of walking. I weighed 20 kilos above my normal weight and I got tired easily. Getting into a fitness program is like climbing a mountain. The hardest part is the beginning. Once you get the hang of it, your body will demand it. I didn’t place any pressure on myself. First, I set an achievable goal—to log an hour of moderate exercise per day, three times a week. Then, I increased it to two hours, including 30 minutes of vigorous exercise. I also took note of my diet. I only eat the amount of calories I can burn in the gym. I lost 10 kilos in six months. More than losing weight and being able to move more freely, my perspective in life changed. I learned to listen to my body and prioritize its needs. #6: Less salt and fast food treats

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I only realized that I’ve been consuming too much sodium when I stopped eating in fast food restaurants for a month. Why did I do it? It was more of an experiment I placed upon myself after watching the Academy Award nominated documentary Super Size Me. In the 2004 documentary, American independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate only  McDonald’s food for 30 days. The result? Spurlock gained 11 kilos, and increased his body mass by 13% and his cholesterol to 230 mg/dL. Scary! My schedule was jampacked, juggling work, writing, and pursuing other endeavors. I usually had working brunches in fast food restaurants. The only time I cooked my food, which were not exactly healthy, were on weekends. Super Size Me gave me a new perspective. I came up with a challenge—to stop eating out for a month. The changes were amazing. I couldn’t stand too much salt anymore and preferred to prepare my food. Most importantly, I recognized a drastic change in my mood. I was less stressed and irritable. #7: Declutter your life

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Your unkempt kitchen, messy work desk, and pile of clothes in your bedroom are stressors. Professor Joseph Ferrari of DePaul University in Chicago said: “It’s the danger of clutter, the totality of one’s possessions being so overwhelming that it chips away at your well-being, relationships, and more, drowning in a sea of stuff.” He noted that a chaotic and disorderly living space can disturb your “sense of home and ability to bond with others.”

Organizing consultant and author Marie Kondo shares some tips on how to declutter your space. Keep only the items that make you happy or those that “spark joy.” Clean by category, not by location. You can start with your closet. Place your pile of clothes in a corner and decide on every item. You’d realize how much stuff you’ve accumulated. This also applies with your work area. The cleaner your desk, the clearer your mind!

#8: Use technology to make jobs easier, not more complicated

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We have an app for nearly every type of activities, from tracking a project to monitoring our heartbeat. Use these to help you finish tasks faster. How do you choose the right app for you? You can choose those with good reviews from fellow users. Try them and decide whether they work for you or not. If you run your own firm or manage some areas of company’s operations, take advantage of outsourcing. You can’t run a stress-free business if you try to do things on your own. One area you can outsource is your social media management. Explore bots that can help handle the influx of queries or a third-party firm that can aid in your social media marketing strategies. Discover Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems that can help your sales team monitor accounts and activities, and generate reports.

#9: Revisit a hobby you’ve been neglecting

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Do you have a passion that you keep on putting off? This may be a cause of your high stress levels. Before I joined the workforce, I have been a film enthusiast and a prolific reader. I also submitted poems and short stories to several publications in and out of campus. I was convinced that working in the corporate somehow drained my creative juice. Organizing my schedule to allow time for film watching, reading, and writing not only reduced my stress. It also boosted my energy in the office and kept my moods high even on the toughest of days. #10: Disconnect as you see fit

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Is it the fact that you’re online, or that you know you can get summoned for work anytime, that’s causing you stress? According to a new study, “Exhausted But Unable To Disconnect,” the anticipatory stress and expectation of answering after-office-hours emails are adding pressure to employees. “If an organization perpetuates the ‘always-on’ culture, it may prevent employees from fully disengaging from work, eventually leading to chronic stress,” said study author Liuba Belkin of Lahigh University.

As a manager in a real estate company, I was guilty of putting my team on edge 24/7. I didn’t care if they’re resting at home or spending the holiday with their family. I sent them text messages or emails regarding their prospecting and sales activities. Later on, I noticed that we’re all stressed and agitated about work. Sales is an ongoing process, making it tough for us to impose a rule on disconnecting at certain hours. However, our team came up with an idea—I’d ask for their reports before we go off to holidays. If a sales agent is closing a sale on a holiday, he/she would let me know the approximate time I can expect his call for assistance or updates. When the business is done, we’d disconnect.

#11: Walk as often as you can

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Walking has therapeutic effects. Do you know that a 10-minute walk can be as good to your mind and body as a 45-minute workout? Whenever my many activities leave me burnt out, I grab my trainers and walk around our neighborhood. Walking has a strong symbolism for me—I leave the worries behind me with every step I take.  Then, I enjoy a hot cup of tea and listen to soothing music. These I do before going back to a strenuous work. #12: Live in the present

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“The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking this very moment. That’s all there ever is,” says Eckhart Tolle. For many years, I struggled with anxiety. I didn’t understand where my illogical fears were coming from until I talked to a professional. I was encouraged to do therapy, one of which is meditation. Meditation is not easy for first timers. I couldn’t shut out my mental discourses and usually ended up frustrated after a meditation session. Eckhart Tolle’s Power of Now was my answer. It involved a mindset: being conscious about the present moment. I started by paying close attention to the sensations of my skin, the rhythm of my breathing and my surroundings. Whenever a difficult situation hits me, I stop and ask myself, “Do I have problem at this very minute?” The answer is usually no. According to Tolle, unless it’s quite rare to encounter a problem in the present moment. Most of our worries are in the past and future, which are inexistent. It is said that stress is the norm of our modern society. It is the norm because we make it so. Dare to change your lifestyle. At the end of the day, you’re the captain of your ship.  

You’ve read 12 Refreshing Tips On How To Live A Stress-Free Life in 2017, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement

[mrkanz]

A Stumble Toward Oblivion

Metanoia (2017) - Nate Perkins

“The auditory equivalent of drinking a bottle of Scotch alone, or a 12-pack worth of cheap beer in a bar full of strangers. Would black out to again, probably.”

About the artist: Nate Perkins is a developing artist from the depths of southern Ohio who’s somehow survived multiple forays into the entertainment business without becoming completely insufferable. He’s got at least one degree, if you can believe it; I’d argue he’s earned an honorary half-bachelor’s on top of that from the school of hard liquor. He’s also got a background in music production, prose work, poetry, and play-writing. (Seriously, the man cannot stop pouring out his feelings for the benefit of strangers.) This is his sophomore album.

First glance: To say that Metanoia initially resists recommendation is putting it lightly. From the cover image of animated corpse leering triumphantly at the thought of his heart fermenting in a jar of cheap alcohol (see the attached image, courtesy of the lovely and talented Brenna Jenny) to the laundry list of things I wouldn’t wish on my least-favorite people that serves as its table of contents, the album seems to promise a bleary-eyed slog through the worst Saturday night bender—and accompanying Sunday afternoon hangover— you ever had.

Play-by-Play

1. Insomnia (5 stars)

Amid a vivid combination of synthetic and organic sound that neatly parallels the mix of sincere and utterly pre-supposed lines being delivered, Perkins’ opening track sets the audience up for what a fall from grace looks like when you’re already starting from a place of mutually-agreed-upon bitterness, masochism, and contradiction. The conversation being illustrated here isn’t a conversation at all, as neither of the participants is taking it seriously… That tells you everything you need to know about the level of sympathy and compassion available to this story’s (anti)hero.

2. Arrhythmia (3 stars)

The action picks up right away—if “Insomnia” offered up the artistically-polished, Ginsbergian representation of what a doomed relationship looks like, then “Arrhythmia” peels back that thin veneer to expose the way brokenness has settled into every corner of the protagonist’s daily grind. Two songs in and he already sounds exhausted (and not just on account of the strained-through-gravel vocals that make their first appearance). I’ll admit, I think the chorus is weak… but I dare you to find me a better depiction of clinical depression.

3. Blacklung (4 stars)

In case you needed it, “Blacklung” provides an even clearer and pared-down explanation of our hero’s wretchedness—delivered, perhaps necessarily, in a backhanded brag. (“Why yes, I am hopelessly empty inside. That’s why I drink.”) Its instrumental undercurrents ominously toe the line between defiant swagger and pitiable stumble, making this one of the best bar songs the album has hidden up its ragged sleeve. I imagine the music video for this one would feature a lot of tracking shots in the pouring rain. I also want to hear the slowed-down, acoustic version pretty damn bad.

4. Cirrhosis (5 stars)

Finally, something you could (possibly) dance to (if you really wanted). The presence of a co-writer explains a lot on this one, I think: the narrative coherence especially, along with the appearance of additional named characters where once there were only blurred, inconstant reminders of life outside the protagonist’s head. You know that Modest Mouse song “We’ve Got Everything?” This feels a lot like that. “Cirrhosis” is also the first song on the album to display Perkins’ full vocal range, if only momentarily.

5. Fracture (5 stars)

Another manifesto/slice-of-life representation, this time in what almost feels more like a poem set to music than a song. (Which isn’t to say I’m ragging on the musical structure of the piece. Even in pre-development, it used to stick in mine--which is what won it the additional star I handed out.)

...I think this is an excellent place to remind the reader that we are already halfway through a scathingly honest ode to depression and loneliness, and Perkins has somehow avoided repeating himself. Turns out there are as many ways to talk about being sad as there are to get drunk, my friends—and we are going to hear about them all before the protagonist makes it out...

6. Malignant (3.5 stars)

There is a lot going on here—a lot of sounds in the background, a lot of work being put into the vocals. The deep-throated snarl that carried us thus is set aside in favor of a much reedier (read: more vulnerable) side of Perkins’ range. This is the voice of a man struggling to make sense of things, projecting his feelings of utter abandonment onto anything and everything in his line of sight so indiscriminately it’d be funny if it wasn’t so miserable. (If you’re getting echoes of The Doors here, I don’t think you’re too far off.) It’s a long, slow spiral to what feels—at least at the time—like the bottom of the barrel, though the last few lines make for a gratifying crash landing.

7. Amnesia (5 stars)

Like the chaser to a shot that burnt your throat past the point of yelling any longer, “Amnesia” is (considerably) sadder than its predecessor. The track’s built-in lurch and lunge, which so often sounds as though it won’t quite make it through another repetition, uniquely captures the sensation of reaching for something you simply will never get to. The vocal layering, though, is what really drives the point home for me: for the first time the rock-bottom voice of depression, the smoke-strained voice of desperation, and the flat, often mocking speaking voice Perkins employed in the opening monologue are united in a single representation of the protagonist’s inability to connect with anything present or solid. The result is equal parts menace and pathos; a fascinating sample of self-imposed hell.

8. Comatose (4.5 stars)

The penultimate song jolts us back into our hero’s version of normal: a numbed, flattened landscape occasionally punctuated by lightning-flash moments of regret, wrath, and longing. I really like what’s going on with the vocals here, though I can only imagine how difficult it was to record such a ragged chorus (we’re talking Nirvana-level screams by the end). Perhaps in light of that, I find myself drawn to the bridge’s more hopeful musical cues…

9. Time of Death (5 stars)

...Which is probably why I’m such a fan of the final track! “Time of Death” bookends quite nicely with “Insomnia”—you get the sense that everything is culminating, meshing and melding (musically and vocally), albeit for no other reason than the hero’s recognition that fighting to go on like this is taking more than he’s got left. A kind of beautiful finality creeps into the last line of each verse; the protagonist appears to be dying by degrees, only to contradict himself at the very end. Whether it’s a transitory vision sparked by the final synaptic fires of a dying man’s head or a legitimate turnaround, the message remains remarkably forward-thinking. Surprise! We’ve made it to metanoia after all.

Overall: An evocative, complex depiction of mental illness and its effects on the daily business of being human in the modern era… or else a tongue-in-cheek character study with some decent drinking songs mixed in for good measure. Don’t be thrown off by the on-the-nose cover or the black-as-hell titling scheme: if you’re willing to take it for exactly what it is (like it wants you to), Metanoia is as legitimately entertaining as it is deeply tragic. You might not want to play it at parties, but you’ll probably put it on when you haven’t got one to attend. (4.4 stars)