Weekend Wrap-up: First week of June

Some highlights from bloggers I’ve read this week:

• Christian Mihai’s post on not thinking, just writing.A classic “kick-in-your-pants” post about getting your ass moving and dirty. Writing is dirty, and the reason you’re not succeeding is probably because you haven’t invested enough dirt. I know I haven’t. And “I’ve been busy” is the lamest, most inexcusable excuse at all. If you don’t know Christian Mihai, look him up. He’s not afraid to get down and dirty, starting self-publishing from a grassroots, DIY level. Don’t be afraid to get proactive, lazybums!

• This highly relatable post by an English major. Because I’m an English major too and people ask me all the time what books I’ve been reading/would recommend. And it feels kinda like a test, like if I don’t say something “high-art” I’ll disappoint. But if I do say something “high art” I’ll be labelled as a douchey pretentious nerd…

• An interesting post I stumbled upon about the concept of time. Can’t say I understand the concept in this article as well as its writer, but it is food for thought. Especially since for the first time in my life I can honestly say “I have no time” because for the first time in my uni-student life I’m working a full workday and work week with a 3 hour commute every day. Suddenly having the entire day disappear in front of me is scary. But what if time was only a matter of perspective? A matter of relativity?

• A thoughtful post on why people commit suicide by someone who’s been there. Lately, I’ve been mulling over the concepts of life and no life anew, and it’s interesting to see my understanding of life and death evolve as I get older. I grew up in a household where something like safety was a topmost concern and it was drilled into me that life is precious and you must do everything to preserve it. Anyone who doesn’t take their life seriously is stupid, selfish, and careless. But isn’t it a little more complicated than that? All lives are different, and I can only speak for and determine the worth of my own life. (I think I may expand upon this in its own post.)

• The above theme continues in poetry by a beautiful poem written by a high school freshman.Proposes the question: do we live because we choose?

• Writers, BACK UP YOUR PROJECTS! Because we’ve all been through this at some point…and we all know it’s mournfully horrifying.

Elsewhere on the Internet:

• Someone is hiding cash, beer, and marijuana in my city and tweeting clues about. Good ol’ Vancouver, eh?

• Cultural appropriation (thanks to Will Pharell’s blossom of controversy this week). I’m not sure what I make of this issue. On one hand, I can see how Native Americans can be offended if someone uses a symbol equivalent to a war medal of valour as fashion. At the same time, would there have been a similar uproar if a cross was used in fashion? I agree with some of the comments that we have to be less uptight about being PC all the time and accept the reality that we live in a shared culture and cultural appropriation doesn’t have to be offensive. Perhaps sacred symbols should be out of bounds, though.

• Weird sleeping epidemic in Kazakhstan. I hope they figure out what this is! People collapsing randomly into week-long sleep comas.

Missed last weekend’s wrap-up? Click here to catch up.