The joys of “pleasantly baffled”
Let’s talk about the joys (and occasional horrors) of creativity and making stuff.
Does word count count?
When I first got the idea to write this newsletter, I was hoping I could write on the main idea for at least 300 words, maybe up to 600. I seem to be averaging well over 1,000-1,300 words.
Is that too much? Not enough? Who can tell?
You can.
At the bottom of this email, there’s a link to a brief survey. One question: How do you like the length of the newsletter?. If you could choose the choice of your choice, I would be ever so grateful. I want this newsletter to be something you enjoy reading. And something you enjoy forwarding (wink, wink)!
And now, the news.
What’s going on?
Your Parasite and You will be part of the Bleedingham Film Festival this weekend, showing as part of the Creepy Cornucopia block on Sunday afternoon 27 Oct. If you’re in the Bellingham area, go check out the festival — they have a lot of screenings and events planned. And all perfectly timed for Spooky Season!
This will be the last 2024 festival showing for YPaY. Festivals tend to run late spring to early autumn. I’m waiting to hear on the entries for the 2025 festivals, so fingers crossed.
Stop Making Sense (every once in awhile)
Everybody hates being confused. We encounter new information and situations every day, constantly. And every time we walk into a new space, real or metaphorical, we have that uncomfortable feeling that we don’t quite know what’s going on, or what to do next. So we research, we prep, we hit Wikipedia hard. We want to make up our minds before we make up our minds.
But I think if we can get comfortable with those moments of “huh?’, we can be more open to the new experiences, and ultimately understand them better.
Admittedly, sometimes you need to prep. Sometimes even a moment of confusion has consequences. Like driving. Surgery. Deep frying.
But for me, there is real value (and fun) in finding and experiencing situations where I can be safely confused. Pleasantly baffled. Or as ChatGPT said when I asked it for a word to describe the state: blisscombobulated.
Like when I spent that week as a 24-hour nurse and received strange video transmissions late at night.
Where the ring is an actual ring
Long Ago and Far Away, when my mother-in-law needed immediate round-the-clock care at home while we arranged for space in a convalescent hospital, I ended up being a 24-hour nurse in a house with no internet, only most basic of cable, and no account at the local VHS rental shop. (Remember those?)
Cabin fever set in hard and fast—until I discovered something amazing. At 11 o’clock at night. On cable access.
Sumo wrestling.
At 11 o’clock every weeknight, someone would play a tape of an ESPN-style recap of the day’s sumo tournament bouts from Japan. Three hosts would summarize the overall results, and then they would show a replay of each bout. The bouts are short, so they’d get through a lot in a half hour.
Oh, and the entire thing was in Japanese. No subtitles.
It hit me with a solid wall of incomprehension. Why were these guys so big? Didn’t that slow them down? What were the rules? Was that guy with the hat the ref? If so, why was he yelling at them? Wow, can they just slap each other?
Today, I’d make a Google search or read a Wikipedia article. Done. Back then, all I had was a poorly duped half-hour program in a language I didn’t speak. I couldn’t break things down, take notes, make an outline. I could only experience it, let it accumulate in my mind, let it be what it was. I had to—
Altering my consciousness
Letting go and just experiencing something was new for me. I’m a planner, a worrier. Don’t ask me “what’s the worst that could happen,” because I will give you an itemized list of escalating horrors.
But sitting in that Barcalounger in Ontario, California, I now had a safe space to just be there. No agenda, no schedule, no expectations. For a half hour every night, I just let Sumo wash over me. It was oddly, appropriately Zen. And it ended up being the best part of my day, after the cooking and cleaning and helping another adult get to the bathroom.
Of course I did all sorts of research when I got home. And it was enhanced by that week of just letting Sumo be Sumo. That week let the sport build its own shelves in my mind. Admittedly, they were largely empty, mostly filled with question marks. So when I was able fill the shelves with reading and internet searches, the result was much more of a collaboration.
Letting myself be confused — and letting Sumo reveal itself to me at its own pace — gave me a real relationship with the material. I began to look for other opportunities to let experiences just speak to me, without me forcing it onto my pre-made shelves.
Finding Blisscombobulation
I’m really talking about more than just Sumo here. I’m talking about relaxing around what is new and confusing, to create a new, open way to absorb information. Maybe even an altered state of consciousness.
You, too, can practice being pleasantly, safely baffled:
Don’t go to IMDB, Wikipedia, Letterboxd, or anybody before you watch a movie. Go in completely ignorant. Let it be what it is. Wait until the end before you decide if you liked it or didn’t. Compare your reaction to the critics. You’ll found a lot about your own personal tastes.
Go see some Shakespeare. The language is kind of comprehensible, but only just. And the plots and characters come from another culture, too. So Just watch and listen. Don't check the plot before you go. Don't read the program. Don’t worry about parsing each line of dialog. Just let the actors show you what they mean. The whole play might begin to bloom in your mind.
Watch a movie or TV show you have already seen, but switch the audio to that language you took in high school. Extra credit: no subtitles. Extra-extra credit: watch in a language you know nothing about. Took French way back when? Try Korean.
Take some time to listen to somebody. Just listen. Don’t think about what you’re going to say, don’t judge what they say. Just show interest and listen. Odds are, you’ll find out something you wouldn’t know otherwise.
Fun things to know and share
For the Grieving, the Global 'Wind Phone' Movement Is a Lifeline This is a lovely idea. And there’s even a map of windphones around the world. We’ve set up our own as a way of remembering departed family.
Wonderful? Sorry, George, It’s a Pitiful, Dreadful Life I was going to write an essay of why I think It’s a Wonderful Life is actually a pretty creepy folk horror movie, but here’s a more nuanced look at the dark sides of the film. If you unreservedly love this “Christmas Classic,” maybe skip this link.
Leadership From A Dancing Guy My hero is guy #3.
Walking in short bursts found to consume 20% to 60% more energy than walking continuously for same distance Good news for dogs who want to inspect every bush they pass.
And a seasonal question: what is the best movie to watch on Halloween, and why is it Van Helsing?
Over to you
To get good at something, first you need to be bad at it. Ugh. Nobody likes that. The first stage of learning anything is having no idea what is going on — of being baffled. It’s uncomfortable. And sometimes that discomfort lasts longer than we feel we can deal with, so we retreat to the familiar. We give up.
But by getting recreationally confused — by seeking blisscombobulation — I feel like I’ve built up my confusion resistance, and can experience a little more of the people and world around me.
May all your bafflements be pleasurable ones.
Until next time, I remain,
Your pal,
Jamie
P.S. Here’s the survey: