Things I'm Loving (v.21)
Fridge magnet word play, Grave of the Fireflies, beautiful animated short film about animals and the night sky, plus fall leaf art.
Now that you've received last week's Post-Election Edition of Things I'm Loving, I can share with y’all the items I'd originally picked to go out the Friday after the election.
This is a softer collection of Things I'm Loving — but that was how I was feeling when I'd originally selected them back in mid-October(!)
Something for play
If you loved fridge word magnets and you like Cards Against Humanity or Apples To Apples, you might want to check out this cool game:
I haven't played it with others yet, but I have used it to get my own creative juices going in the morning.
Thanks to Maggie Piper for putting it on my radar!
Something that might make you cry
I stumbled onto Grave of the Fireflies accidentally and watched it because it was a Studio Ghibli film.
Early on in the movie, I was distracted for a moment, which left me surprised and devastated by the ending (as I missed a key reveal).
The film is based on the short story written by Akiyuki Nosaka; it's a semi-autobiographical story about his experience during the bombing of Kobe in 1945. During that time, his adoptive father, an adoptive sister, and another sister all died.
Although the film was sad, it also was beautiful and tender. It brought into (even sharper) relief the experience of children in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Libya, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
I don't have answers, but I do know that sometime have personalized examples of the impact (anecdotal) are more tangible than words like 100,000 or 2 million or "casualties” versus "dead children, mothers, grandmothers, fathers,” etc.
Something beautiful to watch
About a month ago I saw the Northern Lights FROM MY BACKYARD in Maryland (USA). Experiencing that magic reminded me of this beautiful short film shared with me by Sami Storyteller, Stina Fagertun about 18 months ago.
The film is silent, the animation enchanting, and the story engaging.
Give yourself the gift of 6 minutes to watch and let it fill you up. It tells of the creation of the night sky, the constellations, and the gifts of the animals.
Wildcard: Something to prompt delight
I have no idea where I learned of this site, but maybe it was on Facebook?
The site is in Japanese, but the images need no words. The craftsmanship and skill that must go into creating these works of art is incredible.
Their Instagram account has an abundance of pieces. Here are some of my favorites.
Because this is only coming out a week apart from the previous TIL, I've kept this issue on the shorter side.
I hope that as we head into the end of the year madness, you're able to find things and people who can keep you grounded and energized.
˜Monica