So I’m currently going through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and everything was fine until I read this from Chapter 3 and my head exploded:
“Many artists begin a piece of work, get well along in it, and then find, as they near completion, that the work seems mysteriously drained of merit. It’s no longer worth the trouble. To therapists, this surge of sudden disinterest (…) is a routine coping device employed to deny pain and ward off vulnerability.”
That feeling… Is a real thing. I thought it was just my brain knowing my art was bad before my eyes did. I thought it was because my art wasn’t good enough. I’ve been doing this for years.
I feel hella called out rn
The Artist’s Way is like that, she takes no prisoners
In today’s episode of Battle of the Birds, two Laysan finches tweet it out over a magnificent glass fishing float. Who will win?!
Laysan finches are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Lacking substantial predators both on ground and in the skies, these birds have little to fear and readily approach other creatures, including humans! Man-made objects, such as these glass fishing floats washed ashore on Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, also attract their curiosity, but sometimes that curiosity can lead these birds to trouble. Laysan finches have been found trapped in tents, under tarps, and even in pit toilets. Help keep these birds safe by always disposing of your waste properly – trash travels!
(Photo: Koa Matsuoka)
[Image description: Two yellow birds facing each other atop a green glass sphere-like object, with other glass spheres covering the shore.]
Not to make light of the problem, but… those fishing floats look kind of pretty, are people who visit Papahanaumokuakea allowed to clean up the debris and take it home?
Great question! Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is very remote, and generally closed to the public. So there aren’t really very many visitors. (There are exceptions, generally for research purposes or Hawaiian cultural uses.)
That said, each year, several state and federal agencies and other partners team up to clean up debris in the monument. Tons (literal TONS) of debris wind up on the atolls within the monument because of various ocean currents, and cause a huge entanglement risk to marine life and damage critical habitat. (While some of the debris, like these glass floats, is really pretty, most of it is not – we’re talking bits of plastic like toothbrushes and lighters, discarded fishing nets, and so on.)
The clean-up team lifts a large bundle of nets onto a ship. This bundle weighed 25+ tons! (Photo: NOAA)
This year, the clean-up team removed over 82 tons of debris, which is the approximate weight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour or 12 T. rexes. As a general rule, the debris gets reused and repurposed. Some will go to H-Power’s “Nets to Energy Program” to create electricity for homes across the island of O‘ahu. Some will go to artists to become beautiful works of art. Some will stay as they are, in their current form, and be used to educate people about the impacts abandoned nets have on our marine ecosystems.
Do you love our Papahānaumokuākea clean-up team? We do! Photo: NOAA
(Image description: Four people stand on and near a small inflatable boat covered in debris.)
wardrobe ; padmé amidala’s wardrobe had many uses besides just to look elegant and extravagant. often underestimated for her age, amidala’s wardrobe as queen was meant to make her appear larger and more intimidating than she truly was. the large size of her attire, paired with the ceremonial face paint she wore as queen, also made it easier for her handmaidens to impersonate her in times of danger. the hoods of the handmaiden’s cloaks also served useful as it would allow amidala to remain hidden if a handmaiden was impersonating her. this practice continued past her term as queen. many times, amidala’s clothing would serve her as a disguise – whether a handmaiden, tatooine peasant, pilot, or refugee – as well as allowed her to remain inconspicuous when she needed to be – such as when visiting tatooine with anakin skywalker. at times her wardrobe was cleverly hidden armor, such as when she was packing to flee coruscant. her wardrobe also held items that would help her escape from potentially dangerous situations, which proved useful when on geonosis when she was able to escape her chains. during the later part of her term as senator, amidala used her wardrobe as a way to hide her pregnancy.
wrennette 