The Weekend Readers

As I read more and more I found myself thinking of the authors, and the classics. From an anthropology perspective, how these stories have touched so many people collectively and found a life of their own that withstood time. However, you can only read so much before you go cross-eyed, and you can only listen to the same story for so many hours in a day, so some evenings I find myself giving into the TV. I refuse to watch ‘trash’ but I have found that there are actually a few of the classics that have translated incredibly well to the screen!

1. Ophelia
   We all know the painting, but you absolutely must know the movie! Screenwriter Semi Chellas has officially rewritten Shakespeare, and killed it! This is the version that will live in my head forever, but did inspire the rewatching of Mel Gibson’s Hamlet. I’m not normally one for retakes but Chellas’s references are so on point while creating an entirely new viewpoint and making it that much more relevant to a modern audience. Fun fact found while exploring the rabbit hole, the posing muse in the painting, Ophelia, (according to a 2023 Article), nearly died of pneumonia while posing, and was actually an artist herself.
   
2. Much Ado About Nothing
   Speaking of classics brought to the screen, another I must recommend is this one, the story itself second only to its cast! The actors were all so baby-faced at the time, you can hardly recognize them but the number of names in this movie is insane. Whoever was in charge of casting, absolutely had an eye for talent. Add to it that this skit is actually hilarious, the humor of the time shines through!

3. Believe in Yourself- Codie Sanchez
Moving onto Youtube, this short with Codie Sanchez highlights the importance of believing in yourself as well as the impact in surrounding yourself with people who believe in you too! She references the Rosenthal and Jacobs, 1968 study, which indicated that a teacher’s believe in a students success can directly impact their realized potential. Another study from 2006 also indicated that people who believe intelligence can grow actually learn more from their mistakes and those who were more focused on learning (as opposed to proving knowledge) were less rattled by mistakes and showed stronger and more sustained brain engagement when processing those mistakes. These just support those age old truths, learn from your mistakes & believe in yourself! Bonus link: Codie’s short on stocks & investing vs earning potential, love!

4. I Tried AI as a Life Coach- Ali Abdaal
So I saw this video and thought, hey I like, really, need some direction in my life right now, maybe this could help streamline my journaling and processing? I hoped it would give me the same level of insight, but I didn’t realize I’d be crying at the end of it. I’ve done therapy before & seriously adored my therapist (a serious shout out to Sue!), but this seemed way more intimate. I think maybe because I uploaded a journal I’d been keeping since 2021 so everything was laid bare. Back of mind, there is always the privacy concerns of data you upload to AI but genuinely… I really feel like this was worth it personally and is a conversation I will be referencing frequently moving forward. And because I’m a learned skeptic and overthinker I opened another chat and asked Chat GPT for a honest critique and analysis of the previous conversation as well as steps I was considering moving forward, which lead to another round resulting in even more constructive feedback. Highly, highly recommend.

5. Es Devlin on Masterclass
This class is absolutely amazing. Just the first video had me scrambling for a pen & paper to start taking notes. It read more like a TED Talk on life than an orientation for the translation of music and light into physical art. Her opening line:

“How do you give physical form to something that is abstract. How do you give physical, concrete form to something as abstract and nebulous as music? Or an idea, thought?”

“Do you find yourself circling but not gaining escape velocity from your own repeated train of thought?… This class is for those who meet the fork in the road and don’t know which path to take. I’m here to tell you to take both, and then take both again.“

6. Bonus: Magic Erasers
This might not be news to some, but using magic erase markers to clean your shoes, particularly your white leather tennis shoes. So easy and it made such a difference that I had to go back and actually wash the laces because the contrast was so crazy after the leather itself was clean!

-Anna Roberts