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Months seem to fly by until I get to sit down and write to you. That’s when I realize a month is a long time.
My departure from Italy was as frantic as my arrival. My least favourite thing keeps happening to me: saying goodbye. I’ve also been saying, with an increased frequency, that I am Italian. I hesitated before, but not anymore. It’s not because of the interesting couple of months Italy has been having (nice). It’s because of that stupid powerful piece of paper. In the back of my mind, I still believe that people might take a second glance at me and say No you’re not, but that’s too serious for this space. Silenzio, Bruno!
I endured yet another 10 days in quarantine at my arrival in the UK. I spent them Marie Kondo-ing our house and my social media accounts. I’m now sitting here with all this joy, not knowing what to do with it, except to share it with you!
I'll start with a quote from a podcast with Ethan Hawke on Design Matters with Debbie Millman:
“If you are in service of your art, then everything is easy. And if you want the art to be in service of you, promoting you… If everything you do has to be successful, everything you do has to be “good”, then you’re always waiting for everybody’s reaction as opposed to really just engaging with what you want to communicate, what you want to be doing.”
I need more time off of Instagram to get this inside my brain, but I’ve already noticed some changes to the way I take photos and more importantly when. In hindsight, I realized that I sometimes took unnecessary photos, just in case I would run out of something to post. If I really disliked a photo, it was still good enough for an Instagram Story. God, admitting this embarrasses me.
I’m watching Atypical on Netflix, a delightful show on a teenage boy on the autism spectrum. As an aside, what bugs me about The Big Bang Theory is that no one acknowledges Sheldon is autistic, not even the writers. All of the characters act like Sheldon is this annoying selfish person on purpose. Was that the best choice?
I stopped watching The Big Bang Theory for a different reason though. They give away too many spoilers, and I can’t afford that at the moment. Why? Because I’m on the brave journey of watching all Marvel Cinematic Universe films. I do it for the cultural references, and because I’d like to watch the new shows on Disney+. Simply, because I’m a nerd.
Greenery
Somewhere above Venice. I did not get to see it this time :(
In high school, I shared my discovery of Vivian Maier with my friend Laura. Eight years later, she gave me this book. I unknowingly took a similar photo to the cover in 2013.
The Lindt man. I eat chocolate in the morning now, it’s supposedly beneficial. It certainly tastes good.
There’s a 50% chance you’ve seen this type of photo.
The design of broad beans. Sturdy, yet soft. I could sleep in it.
My beloved OB1.
A bunch of links
Got plants? How Many Plants is a gorgeous website with plant guides, tips on how to care for your overwatered cactus and more. Forever in my bookmarks.
I love the collaborations between Jil Sanders and photographers. The last one with Joel Meyerowitz is no exception.
Tibetan woman holding a bouquet of cryptocurrency mining PSUs. Taken by Ding Gang, published in the Caixin Weekly.
7777 Days - Noah Kalina’s latest video (where he takes a photo of himself every day for 21 years) in collaboration with Michael Notter (AI processing) and Paul O’Mara (sound design - I love the cat purrs). Read more about how the video was made.
I will see you next month, a long long time from now. Remember that you can always leave a comment or send me an email, just hit reply. Here are some topics we can talk about: immigration, milk chocolate vs dark chocolate, who is the best superhero (I know for a fact it is Batman).
If you’ll excuse me, I have to go and buy a tablecloth that sparks joy.
Ciao,
Alina
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