Podcasts- How To Do Everything, Planet Money, WTF
TV- The Olympics, even though NBC’s coverage stinks.
Movies- Started The Man Who Would be King last night with my hubby, so far it’s fantastic.
Books- Read The Hunger Games in two days. Still taking a leisurely ramble through Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
I’ve got a lot going on in my media/culture world these days. My time is a little bit more free thanks to the summer break from dance class, skipping out on knitting nights (I blame my sick husband), not feeling so obligated to participate in things I’m not interested in, etc. This has given me some much-needed time to take in various forms of entertainment that I’ve been missing out on.
I’m not really watching much TV these days, and I don’t usually go to movies, though Arlen and I did go see Prometheus a while back, which was quite good. It really made me think about the Alien movies, and it certainly looks as though a sequel might be in the cards. Give it a look if you need a quick sci-fi/horror fix. Can’t go wrong with Ridley Scott.
I haven’t been watching much TV lately, just bad summer reruns. The PBS series In Search of Myths and Heroes has proven quite interesting, as well as Inside Nature’s Giants. I thought the dissections would be a bit gross, but they’re honestly just fascinating.
I have listened to every episode of CraftLit (about six years’ worth of weekly hour-long podcasts) in the last 6 or 8 months and am now patiently awaiting the next chapter of Gulliver’s Travels just like everyone else has to do. CraftLit is a great craft-oriented podcast in which the hostess shares about her craft projects, and then discusses and plays audio for a book (or occasional short story). As an audio book addict I really enjoy it. There is also a Just the Books version available for folks who don’t want the crafty chatter.
I have been listening to a lot of podcasts while working on my more mindless work tasks, and I picked up a new one called A Playful Day (starting from the beginning, of course) to fill the gap created by my CraftLit catch up. The hostess of APD is a knitter from London, she talks about yarn and knitting with lots of reviews, there’s also great talk about food and recipes.
In the music world I’ve been on a Corb Lund kick lately, though Fun. also seems to be a major part of my summer soundtrack. That group is catchy.
My bedtime reading these days is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novel Wyrd Sisters. I never cease being amazed at how smart this guy is. How he managed to cram all that Shakespeare into one humorous fantasy novel and still fit in references to the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, and other modern entertainment without being even a bit contrived amazes me. So sad that he is ill.
That’s about all the fandom I can fit in this Friday. What pop culture/media are you enjoying these days?
Today for the Pagan Insights Project I’m sharing some music that moves and inspires me. When I was younger and first exploring Paganism I was very inspired by Hinduism and felt a deep connection to the traditions of the Indian subcontinent. I even had two past life experiences as a teenager where I was two different men from that area. It’s something that still seems a little out there to me, but in these dreams I was saying and thinking words that felt very important to me, but which I didn’t understand. I’m so thankful I wrote it all down, because years later I went back and researched and found out it wasn’t gibberish, it was Hindi.
My dad introduced me to kirtan, the Hindu version of ecstatic chanting. It is a form of prayer through dance, music, and the repetition of simple and beautiful mantras. This was really my first spiritual experience, and the artist I’ve linked to, Jai Uttal, was the first live performer of kirtan I saw.
There are a lot of things I love about Kirtan. I love the beauty of the music, the simplicity and complexity wound together. I love the full-body experience of singing and dancing. I’ve had times where I’ve done this for hours and not noticed any time passing. I love the idea that performing any act the creator has created us to do can be turned into an act of devotion. I love the complex meaning of the mantras, and also the fact that it doesn’t really matter so much if we understand what they mean, because the divine understands, and the simple act of breathing these words infuses the practitioners with the meaning and spirit (and I’ve had a similar experience when attending my husband’s Reformed Jewish synagogue with respect to some of their songs and prayers). I love how Kirtan can invoke so many emotions. This video is joyful and energizing, something to clap and sing and dance along to.
There are so many studies out there about the impact of movement, music, and the simple act of vocalization. These things can have drastic impacts on our mood, our health, and our brain function. Do yourself a favor and just listen to this music. Of course, repeating the call-and-response mantras, clapping, and dancing along heighten the experience, but even hearing it is powerful.
Paganism and general spirituality, along with occasional forays into politics and morality, plus anything I find humorous. Go figure.
when i say peeka you say boo
peeka
