Another Moon, Another Month #3 - Feb '26

here we go again: listening, watching, reading.

“The public needs to be shocked and reminded of their own feelings, which everything else in the world seeks to numb. Whatever the purpose of art is, it isn’t to be original for originality’s sake.” — Ling Ling Huang, Immaculate Conception (2025) (Dutton)

Minnesota’s annual faux spring: I took a walk and got to pet a great big husky. I sat on the porch for the first time since fall. So much interaction with others, especially dogs and kiddos saying hi — spring always seems to bring them out in droves, in the vein of pollen and birds.

There’s a lot I’ve been reading, watching, and listening to.

On Instagram and Substack, content that keeps up with state occupation by lawless agents of violence. How to feel less powerless as a working class person. Surviving under a system run by pedophilic white supremacist billionaires. Maps for being more informed and active.

As additional fodder for the mind to work over, good books, movies, and music.

Both feel necessary.

I think a lot about the balance between consumption and creation. Clearly we already fall into consumption more often because we live under the thumb of capitalism, but when new events with lasting effects are occurring every day, consuming reports and analysis feels imperative to civic responsibility. How does one continue consuming fictional or artistic content on top of all this real-time information and reaction?

My thought is a predictable one — with intention. And as always, with attention to output after input. You can only process so much at once, and creation is a natural counterbalance in pursuit of some self-regulation.

Returning to the purposeful/creative/empathetic work of artists every day is a reminder of what happens when you respond to consumption with creation. We have only seen the barest glimpse of the art that will yet arise from our current reality. That, at least, is something to look forward to.

---

Listening:

• “Who Is Jill Scott? - Words and Sounds, Vol. 1” by Jill Scott

  • “A Long Walk” is the one Jill Scott song that I’ve put on a few playlists, but recently I listened to Scott Evans speak about this album on Brandon Kyle Goodman’s podcast, Tell Me Something Messy, and felt compelled to dive in further. This was the soundtrack for my walk the other day (the same one during which I pet a great big husky). The poetic storytelling of her musical style lends itself well to spring, even a faux one. An R&B album from the year 2000 on headphones paired with a sunny February day in Minnesota…unmatched and delicious.

• “Wasteland, Baby” by Hozier (re-listen)

  • This should get more re-listens than it does, but I try not to over-consume my favorite media for fear of erasing the magic over time. Full body chills on this one. First track (“Nina Cried Power”) is such an intoxicating ode and reminds: artists surface time and time again with response to injustice. The other tracks are in turns sweet, euphoric, and painful. Yay!!

• Monthly Playlist:

I love doing these playlists (really, they’re the only playlists I make…) and I fear I will always be saying “this one’s actually kinda good, guys”. But this one’s kinda good. Move-your-hips-music from Jill Scott to Doechii to Charli xcx, then a brief female folk shift, then returning to the dance vibes with Glass Animals and Bad Bunny, then ending with a slower, enchanting Aretha tune to close out February.

Watching:

• “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999) (re-watch)

  • This movie is so quotable. Silly and fun and sweet. Great soundtrack and Letters to Cleo performs on a rooftop before the credits roll, so just all around vibes. Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger are beautiful to watch, but really, everybody is committing so hard to the bit and that’s why this is one of the most enjoyable movies ever.

    

• “1917” (2019)

  • I fully planned to walk away after 20 minutes from this movie when Jason put it on because, you know, “war movie” isn’t really a sign that I’m about to enjoy myself. But I was so sat from start to finish, despite more than one poorly timed ad in the middle of a movie that is supposed to be essentially one continuous shot. I’m sure this won all sorts of awards when I wasn’t paying attention. It was beautifully shot, acted, and directed. I felt emotions I did not expect to feel. Historical fiction when done well is such a good way to feel your own humanity reflected back at you.

    

• “The Decameron” (2024) (Netflix)

  • Also somewhat historical fiction, although more akin to shows like Hulu’s “The Great”, where the harsh and gross realities of life in the past are highlighted for comedic effect. I’m only a few episodes in, but so far it’s enjoyable and socially relevant — a group of Italian nobles escape the plague-ridden streets of Florence to embark on a carefree countryside getaway. There follows denial, privilege, selfishness, and deliberate ignorance of human suffering in favor of personal pleasure and comfort. Of course, they’re not actually safe from disease or suffering themselves, and their safe haven dissolves into bloody chaos. Consequences for the wealthiest… one can dream.

Reading:

• Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang

  

  • Creation from consumption, a literal and figurative example. I am recommending this book to everyone I know right now. I think I’m a little late on the hype, but no matter — it deserves its praises sung for an extended period of time.

    This story is about AI, creating art, consumer demand, preserving empathy, female friendships, debilitating self-comparison, artistic jealousy, and innovation at the expense of humanity. I cried, I laughed, I threw up. Okay not really but each of those emotional responses felt present and imminent. I haven’t read anything like it, or any novel so timely regarding artificial intelligence as a presence in the art space. But it goes beyond that topic to dive intensely into the relationship between two women whose attachment spans admiration, obsession, and merging of selves. Every character feels fascinating, real, and complex. There are many deeply sad and painful moments, but there is also humanity and resilience up until the very last line.

• The Museum of Future Mistakes by James R. Gapinski

  • Mundane magical realism flash fiction — just the kind of thing I’m striving to write myself, so this collection has been very inspiring. I recommend it if you’re interested in a little weird, jarringly touching fiction. Each piece is short enough to cut to the quick and keep you (morbidly) curious.

• Duino Elegies and The Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke

  • Fun fact, I’ve been reading this for something ridiculous like three years now. It’s not that I don’t love Rilke. I used some of these poems as inspiration and research for my culminative creative writing piece at college. It’s just that my ripped up copy of the book sits on my desk as a reliable option if I need something to read before bed, but I usually just pick up anything else. I love poetry, but collections don’t always entice me like a novel will. I’m hoping by recording the presence of the book here, some mechanism in my brain will click and remind me to commit myself in the next few weeks. Even better if it jump starts poetry-brain — a favorite way to return to regular writing practice and playing on the page, as poets do so freely.

Miscellaneous Up Next’s:

• Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (murder story novella)

• Pure by Linda Kay Klein (evangelical purity culture memoir)

• 1984. Believe it or not, never read it. Unsurprisingly, the bookstore down the street was sold out. Will be buddy-reading this with a friend in March. Buddy reads and book clubs are definitively in for 2026, put me in the group chat.

• “To Whom This May Concern” by Jill Scott (and others from the discography) — she just released her first new album in eleven years, so I will be taking a good look into that after my joyous time with her music this month.

• “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” by Mitski. I wasn’t super excited by the first few singles so I’m going in wary, but I’m going in nonetheless.

Let me know if you have read/seen/listened to any of these and wish to discuss. Or, if you have recommendations for artists creating good work right now. I'll link some of what I’ve seen below for your perusal. All of these folks are donating money to support immigrants — the dual power of art as aid, emotionally and fiscally.

• @baileywindendesign (stickers, patches, prints)

• @bekahworleyco (prints)

• @confluence.collective (prints, stickers, t-shirts)

• @needleandskein (crochet and knitting patterns for melt the ice hats)

• @willicarlisle (just a cool guy makin’ protest music)

• @mickeymouse.tathouse (tattoo artist)

• @rachelradiant (tattoo artist, prints, stickers)

,¹

Elena

1. sincerely, best, cheers, thanks, i love you, take care, etc.