Things I'm Loving (v. 9)

Korean spas, algorithmic music and ancient architecture...

Feb 09, 2024

Happy Friday everyone!

I’ve just spent a day at a local Korean spa and boy, am I relaxed. The spa runs regular Groupons, and I think it’ll be something I do again. It was a new thing for me — I’d purchased a Groupon back in 2013(!) and never used it. In November, a friend mentioned they were going and I impulsively purchased a day pass via Groupon. They’re good Monday-Thursday, 90 days from purchase. Yesterday was the final day I could use it before it expired (again).

I was nervous about going— Korean spas have a nudity policy in the gender-specific pool areas— but had found out that if I wanted to I could wear my swimsuit. This seemed encouraging so I took it along with me. Dear readers, in fact, I did not use the suit. Perhaps my anti-nudity agita is because I’m US American or maybe it’s my Catholic upbringing. Regardless, after spending several hours in the poultice rooms (which were kinda like dry saunas), I went ahead and took the plunge. Literally.

And my takeaway?

Bodies are so interesting and they’re all very different. There were a couple folks wearing swimsuits, but for the most part, it was a bunch of nude / naked women and nobody cared about anyone else. It was like being in a bath at home, but with multiple jet options and temperature choices (for the water) and a bunch of other women. 😂

That’s my report from the trenches of something new that I’m loving. I will be back for sure.

Now on to the regularly scheduled TIL.

Something for play

soleoado

A post shared by @soleoado

Soleoado is a Puerto Rican trans artist whose work sparks so much playfulness for me.

His images are full of color and texture and they inspire me to want to create more on my own.

Take a dive through his Instagram to see more of his work!

Something to read

This Washington Post article (gift link that’ll work for 1 month from June 6th, 2024!) is lengthy, but excellent.

I think I saw it shared originally on Facebook, but I forgot to document who or where it came from.

The article looks at ancient cooling techniques in architecture and explores how we could incorporate some of those approaches into current-day housing and buildings as one way to help address climate change.

A screenshot of the top of the article with an italic serif font title that reads "Ancient Elements of Cool" in the CLIMATE SOLUTIONS section of Washington Post. There's 2 images diagonally placed of some stone buildings with shadows of palms and geometric masonry holes in the walls for ventilation. There’s also a caption on the white background by the author which reads “I traveled in the hottest months to the hottest places, looking for ways to stay cool.” The doors in the images are both a bright turquoise blue. — Screenshot of Washington Post article

The author is thorough and does a great job of mixing anecdote with information.

I really enjoyed how the article was interactive — it points out, for example, different aspects of a building’s architecture that help with cooling, as you slide through the choices.

A photo of some dark brown buildings, made of brick, stone and wood. Where the ‘windows’ of the one facing the camera have a grid like trellis in front of them to create ventilation. There’s a white arrow pointing to this structure on one of the windows. At the bottom of the image in a white box there is a short caption that says “The events on this malqaf, or wind catcher, have been partially closed off. But it still brings a faint draft into the interior, far below. — Image via Washington Post

Something to help you relax

Brother Insight’s Qigong Meditation channel on YouTube is one of my favorites.

His voice is relaxing, and there’s an abundance of videos to choose from, whether you’re looking for a teaching or movement, long videos or short videos.

I absolutely love the 13-week Coming Home Playlist. Sometimes I’ll do part of a video, other times the whole thing.

This 15-minute Qigong massage video is another one of my favorites:

During my day, I’ll sometimes randomly start doing one or two of the massages. They do seem to help!

There are many more I could share, but I don’t want to overwhelm you all!

If you check out the channel and find something you really love, please share!

Something to watch

A movie poster of the 2014 film Elsa & Fred. It has been cropped to a horizontal format so only the head & shoulders are visible of the main two characters, a man and a woman embrace in a waltz pose hand in hand. The actor names, Shirley Maclaine and Christopher Plummer are in block capital purple font in the top right and left corners. — *Elsa & Fred* (2014)

I’m not quite sure how I stumbled onto this film, but Elsa & Fred is a delightful treasure from 2014 starring Christopher Plummer and Shirley MacLaine.

It tells the story of a cranky, self-isolating widower (Plummer) whose daughter moves him into an apartment against his will. MacLaine happens to be the flighty, romantic, sometimes-lying neighbor. And, of course, they fall in love. Eventually. It’s a (mostly) lighthearted film, and I’ll let you give it a go, rather than spoil what unfolds!

Something to listen to

A screenshot of the Flowful website. On a pastel purple background, the tagline of "Never lose focus again with functional music for deep work" is in large simple black font with a subtitle of "Infinite-length ambient music soundscapes to get you into Flow State on demand". There is a sample media player graphic to the right with some abstract watercolour style brustrokes as album art and a track listing of "Eons" with a blue and white play button beneath and a start listening free button beneath the text.

The Flowful app isn’t quite something fun or educational to listen to, but it is a cool tool I found.

Flowful offers focus music for while you’re working (or in their own words “Infinite-length ambient music soundscapes”

A screenshot of Flowful website copy that reads: "Flowful creates simple but pleasant algorithmic focus music that lasts as long as you need it to. It’s ambient by design, meaning it fades into the background and keeps your mind focused.”

The app has a paid option and a free option— the free offers 2 hours of music per day and a smaller selection of tracks to listen to.

Personally, I find that the 2 hours is enough, especially since I don’t use it every day.

The nice thing about the Premium version, though, is it’s a one-time purchase, rather than an ongoing subscription.

That’s all from me for this week!

What are y’all finding and loving these days? Share in the comments below!

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