Post anything that you use to try and make yourself feel better - films, music, art - whatever

[symphony]

I have hundreds on hours on Stardew Valley. I'm starting to tire of it a bit again, but that's peak escapism for me.

 

[Julgran]

The Chocobo song!

 

[AtMostOkay]

 

[castler]

If I don't watch movies, I'll read a good mystery/thriller sometimes horror novels if I can keep my eyes open long enough to get thru several chapters.

 

[Celerity]

I've started listening the Dune series on Audible while I work out. The prose is very unusual. It is very bare and straightforward - the exact opposite of purple prose. I tend to enjoy that style of writing to a point. As many others have criticized before, I also agree that the characters are very wooden and unsympathetic. They are almost so hollow as to be archetypes for a moral allegory. William Golding made it work over the length of a very short novel, Lord of the Flies. I will be interested to see if Frank Herbert manages to do the same.

I myself have gotten interested in writing some fanfiction and have written about 10K words or so across different fics. My prose could also use a lot of work. I struggle to write poetic descriptions or engaging dialogue, and I can't keep a plot interesting for very long. One effort turned out okay. It was very simple and short, and I felt like I managed to sustain the momentum for that long at least. Hopefully giving myself more chances will bear fruit.

I have been baking a lot. I made two fruit pies for July 4th. One turned out to be a disaster. I should have followed my instincts and changed the recipe. Aside from apple pies, fruit pies should IMO be cooked on the stove with ample cornstarch or flour to ensure that the filling has structural integrity. I am dead tired of watery pies made with fresh fruit. I bought some cans of Oregon blueberries for round 2. Executing a perfect recipe is extremely satisfying, and I plan to make some new recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas.