Burned Out By The News? Watch This And Feel Restored
Feeling overwhelmed? This could be the break you need.
Hey there, how you doing? I hope you’re alright, and have had a reasonably good week so far.
Refreshment is the timeout side of Together Trove, and contains an actual timeout you can do with your friends or by yourself. You’ll also get two thoughtful things to enjoy, as a mini break from the daily grind. In today’s post, I help you reset your mind, so the negative news cycle no longer gets you down.
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Thomas Wong
In Trays, we share suggestions for entertainment from beyond the norm.
I think you might agree, that many of us right now are feeling burnt out, even quite downhearted, by the negative news cycle and gloomy world events. The state of the world these days leaves much to be desired! What the heck happened to humanity? Yo, can someone press the STOP button so we can get off the misery train, please!
Well, here’s something for you that will lift your spirts immediately. That is the STOP button.
Time to switch off the news, and block all the noise, and instead fill your screens with Koyaanisqatsi. This is a film but not really; this is a documentary but also not really.
Released in 1983, Koyaanisqatsi is unlike anything you’re likely to have seen, and for that reason, its impact is hard to describe in normal terms. There’s no plot to follow, no characters to connect with, and no real narrative pulling you from one scene to the next. And yet, using just images and music, it’s engrossing and an emotional rollercoaster to boot. It will give all your emotions a good ol’ workout, and not just the negative ones.
Renowned composer Philip Glass really hits the spot, with his unearthly sounds. Meanwhile, the cinematography by Ron Fricke is almost hypnotic, in how he presents the world depicted in Koyaanisqatsi.
And what is that world, exactly? It’s our world, that of human life and modern civilisation. Without a single word uttered, Koyaanisqatsi presents humanity as a complex, striving force, capturing the beauty and wonder of our accomplishments. It stands in total contrast with the modern news cycle that’s all about war, tragedy and hate. It offers balance.
It’s easy to forget that humanity has done a lot of good things in the world, for us and for nature, when the negativity around us permeates everything, blocking out all the good in the world like a permanent solar eclipse. (Whoa, long sentence!)
Despite being released in the 1980s, Koyaanisqatsi is actually timeless. And don’t think just because it was released in the 80s, you’re gonna get a cheesy film, as is often synonymous with that time period, oh no. Koyaanisqatsi is state-of-the-art filmmaking. The film flows through slow-motion and time-lapse footage, occasionally reversing time itself. There’s no narrator guiding the way; the film rests solely on music and imagery, inviting you to come to your own conclusions.
If you don’t fancy sitting down for a full viewing, you can have it playing softly in the background while you do other things. It’s like a meditation, in that way, a haven of calmness. It can also be a nice backdrop for a dinner party, offering soothing sounds while you eat, plus topics for conversation. It will leave you all in a place of goodness afterwards, and that’s no joke.
Here’s the trailer: Koyaanisqatsi Trailer
In It’s Curtains, we say thank you and a fond farewell to the many wonders in our lives that have helped bring us together.
And today, we say goodbye to the humble slide projector, our trusty companion in classrooms, conference rooms, and living rooms across the world. For decades, this piece of equipment brought people together with the click of a button and the whir of a fan.
The slide projector wasn’t just a tool, nope. It was an experience. Who can forget the anticipation as the first slide hit the screen, spraying the room in soft light, or the satisfying click as each new image appeared? Families got to relive their vacation memories, teachers could illustrate their lessons with photos, and presenters could dazzle their audiences with carefully curated images.
The mechanics were pretty simple. By holding slides in place and shining a light through them, these machines projected crisp images onto the screen. Okay, sometimes they jammed or overheated, but let’s overlook that! We’re saying goodbye after all, no need to bring up the not-so-good stuff.
Unfortunately, as laptops took over the spotlight, and so slide projectors slowly began to fade from our lives. Nowadays, presentations are instant, images are endless, and clicks are mere keyboard taps. While the slide projector may be gone, its legacy endures in the connections it helped to create, each nostalgic memory preserved in its gentle hum.
So, farewell to the dear slide projector. May it rest with peace, in the backs of dusty storage cupboards everywhere, knowing it did a good job for all of us.
And finally, in Speechless, we address an awkward situation.
Have you been on a phone call, where suddenly all the conversation stops and in its place is awkward silence? You know the one I mean, right? Where neither person knows what to say next. Where shifting in your seat is louder than anything coming from your mouth. Where one of you might attempt to restart the chat, except not.
Well, awkwardness no more. All you need to do is to say something a bit weird, in order to break the silence and get things moving again. And to spare you from coming up with a weird thing to say, all you need to do is say the following instead, and all will be fine.
Yep, easy as that! Will you give a try the next time you’re stuck? Would love to know how it goes.
Thank you for reading today’s Together Trove. Hope it’s given you some fun thoughts.
If you haven’t already, please take a moment to tell your mates about us and have them come onboard. We all need an excuse to get together and have a good time, free of the chaos of the outside world and daily grind.
Because remember: together, the merrier.