Ten Wonders (of This Year)

Since before I emerged yesterday morning from our winter cocoon of fluffy white duvet and pink knit blanket, the snow fell steadily. Our bedroom blinds obscured the windows’ view and much of the morning light, but it’s almost always possible to tell when it has snowed. The snow has a brightness all its own.

The first big snow is certainly a wonder. It softens the edges of everything, quiets our world, and if we’re lucky enough not to have to go anywhere—gives us time to simply be.

If you had a chance to read Custodians of Wonder, then you’ve traveled the world via Eliot Stein’s words, from sturdy Incan bridges made of q’oya grass and giant hand-painted movie posters in Taiwan, to readers in Cuban cigar factories and a German oak tree doubling as a mailbox for those looking for love. Of all the ten engaging tales, it was the movie posters I loved the most.

It’s a shame the book doesn’t include any pictures, but you can see the work of the artist Yan Jhen-fa on the website of Stein’s BBC series Custom Made. “The last film poster painter of Taiwan” has photos, a video, and some of the related text in the Custodians book. This is the sixth section in the book and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for it because of a character who painted movie posters in the Korean series When Life Gives You Tangerines*—I loved the idea of that job. I’d sign up to apprentice, if that was at all a reasonable thing to do and there wasn’t the threat of eye damage from the oil paint fumes. It kills me that the posters so often have to be painted over. I wonder how my neighbors would feel about some new backyard art…

These giant posters feel so much more alive than the standard printouts. Is it because we can sense the human on the other side of the images? The eye and hand, the mind that made choices in color and brush stroke, the person that knew someday we would be looking? It’s part of the magic of every wonder in Stein’s book—each wonder offers a taste, a listen, an art that is only possible because of another human being’s skills and dedicated time.

If you could have a giant movie poster of your very own, which movie would it be? What did you enjoy reading about the most in Custodians of Wonder?

* When Life Gives You Tangerines is a beautiful short series available on Netflix. Also, any links you see here to movies and Kdramas will now go to letterboxd, rather than IMDB. If you’d like somewhere to keep track of your favorite (and not so favorite, so you don’t accidentally rewatch them) movies, you can learn more about letterboxd here. If you join, let’s be friends!

Wonders of My Own

Though Stein shares wonders on the edge of extinction, reading Custodians made me consider the new (and newly remembered) wonders that I’ve experienced this last year. Below are my ten (just like the book).

What wonders did you encounter this year? Are there any from years past that you’ve made a tradition?

ONE: Our Backyard
Full of plants that were mostly planted last year, our yard exploded with growth this summer. I thought half of them would die and we would feel like fools since we planted them in the hard-packed and crappy-looking soil in front of our shed. But these native plants thrived and have stood throughout the fall, feeding the birds. Now they are dark brown silhouettes against the snow, providing a different beauty in this cold season.

TWO: Art Fairs & Makers Market
We encountered so many talented Wisconsin artists at the Art Fair on (and off) the Square and another art fair in Milwaukee, not to mention the fun of a traveling poet! Yesterday we stopped at the Madison Makers Market and bought a catnip toy that I think may save my relationship with our cat (along with the Trader Joe’s Cat Advent Calendar a dear friend gifted our fussy feline—this cat rarely trusts treats, but these are apparently irresistible). (Annie has held a grudge over some meds, but only against me of course. I am the better fall guy, being less warm and less accommodating of her fiendish whims.)

THREE: Our Public Library
I love a good graphic novel series. The problem is they are (understandably) expensive and take up a lot of space. Enter the public library. I read #1 of Knight of the Ice, enjoyed it, and now have the rest of the series coming through inter-library loan. It’s going to feel like Christmas when I go pick them up.

FOUR: Puzzles
I would have sworn this was the world’s most boring pastime until I actually tried it. We brought a puzzle with us on a trip with family this year because we knew another family member liked them. Oh boy, were we hooked. It’s so hard to tear yourself away. Forget TV and social media. Do a puzzle. I dare you.

FIVE: Partner Projects
Back in our school days, partner projects were a nightmare waiting to happen (worse were group projects, cue dramatic shudder)—most likely twice the work while having to play nice. But not so these days. We changed up our main basement room from a dust-covered ping pong table to an inviting living space with a coffee table for puzzles and board games. The biggest wall was dark gray and is very long, only broken up by two windows at unequal distances, so we painted half the wall blue and the other half green, split from the ceiling to the floor trim on a diagonal. Is it perfect? No, please do not look too closely. Is it still fun and makes me smile every time I go down there? Heck yeah!

I love working on projects like this with Lucas, because even when things are going wrong, there’s something to be said for making a thing happen together. And so far we’ve managed without too many injuries, barring that time Lucas stabbed himself in the hand trying to pull the blade out of a boxcutter immediately before we put rubber flooring in the workout room…

SIX: Second Chances
First impressions can be jarring sometimes, and I did not enjoy my first experience years ago at Madison Chocolate Co. However, because of walks with another lovely friend, I tried it again and not only did I love the coconut latte, but I went back several times with Lucas for a cozy afternoon with a book, a mug of something, and a piece of chocolate. An easy walk from our house, this place could be my downfall.

SEVEN: Mini Writing Retreats
Some friends humored me and joined a discord I set up to chat about writing, and then we added a couple of online writing retreats to the mix. We played a writing game where we pretended to be agriculture barons in contrast with a solarpunk mindset, watched an author being tormented by a fan in Misery together (from the comfort of our own houses), and this morning I mailed “enchanted maps” to each of them for the next writing game, the foundation for some creative chaos and hopefully good fun. Remember playing make-believe with your friends as a kid? It’s kind of like that, only for tired adults.

EIGHT: Cloud Watching
This has become more of a habit thanks to the poetic descriptions in Becoming Earth. I think about how heavy clouds are every time I see one. I love being reminded that the world is so much more than our human societies, and has such an immensity.

NINE: Rishi’s Cranberry Yuzu Tea
Technically I first tried this last year, but it’s a seasonal tea and by the time I was ready for another bag of loose leaf, it was gone. This year, I stocked up. This is an herbal tea, but it has a wake-you-up flavor and a yes-you-are-oh-so-alive taste that brightens the often gray days of this season. If you’d like to try it, it’s available in tea bags or loose leaf, and it’s on sale for 20% off today.

TEN: Movies with Strangers
We went to see Back to the Future for its 40th anniversary and there were only two other people in the theater. We had purchased our seats first and the other two people (who weren’t together) chose to sit within just a few seats of us. At first I wondered why, but as the movie went on I was so grateful they did. What a pleasure it is to share a genuine laugh with a stranger. (And that movie was full of them.) Next we had a packed theater for Serenity, the film conclusion to the TV series Firefly, and basked in the nostalgia with our fellow scifi fans. Then there was Rental Family, a new movie with Brendan Fraser portraying an actor in Japan who is hired for an unusual job. There was something special about the fact that it was so new, none of us saw the delightful little surprise moments coming.

Upcoming Books

December’s Book

We’ll be reading (and delighting in the gorgeous illustrations of) The Lost Spells, written by Robert Macfarlane and illustrated by Jackie Morris, for December. Inspired by my mom, who gifted me this beautiful little book.