what is 2026 about
Hello everyone, how is the new year going? I’m pretty delighted to see snow today.
I’ve been feeling pretty fatigued, but letting my Substack die is not an option in 2026. It brings me a lot of pride and joy upkeeping this. So though I don’t have a huge take, or much to update you on quite yet this week, I thought it could be amusing to give you a little list of resolutions, or goals, or aspirations at least…
Let’s start here: I want to finally get my Spanish language skills up to a respectable level. I have the basics, and speaking French fluently gives me a head start, so I just have to be a little more serious with it. As many reading this here will know, I am a huge fan of Spanish – and specifically Latin American – literature, and feel like I’m doing myself a true disservice by not being able to read in the original language. I came to this conclusion specifically when perusing this horrible tease of a website, and looking into this novel. https://theuntranslated.wordpress.com/2015/05/27/the-sorias-los-sorias-by-alberto-laiseca/
DOESN’T THIS SOUND FUN? And probably extremely relevant to the current insanity on the news (which I won’t speak more on as we await developments, but it goes without saying that US intervention is despicable).
I know that even practising every day won’t get me anywhere near the level necessary to enjoy this insane-seeming masterpiece of paranoid lit, but you have to start somewhere. Let’s see how far I get.
Second of all, I want to hold myself to watching a film a day. I think I vaguely set this task for myself last year and failed, although I did watch enough to feel that I’m developing a much more defined personal taste. I pride myself on my idiosyncratic taste in music and literature, and having dug deep enough to erect a truly unique podium of favourite artists and works in those fields, it felt like time to do the same in the world of the moving image. I consider myself well-enough watched when it comes to the greats; now’s time to get weird. So on that note I’m going to recommend a couple of things I’ve watched over the holiday period.
Firstly I watched Phoenix (1978) by Kon Ichikawa. It’s an adaptation of a volume of Osamu Tezuka’s generation-spanning manga, and has such a distinctive and fun tone to it. Ichakawa tends to lean into a distinctively realist tone, and I have previously loved his movie An Actor’s Revenge. Here, as he’s adapting a manga, he allows himself to get loose and wild with it. If you’re not a comic book fan, I could see the constant flip between humorous and dramatic to be jarring, but it’s the kind of off-kilter shit I adore. He even allows himself to go full Mary Poppins at times, overlaying wonderful animated sequences that adapt Tezuka’s artwork into his ancient warring world. I love it.
I also want to recommend this film Debut, or, Objects Of The Field Of Debris As Currently Catalogued by Julian Castronovo, a very young and creative director. It mostly takes place in his bedroom as he investigates the disappearance of an art forger he suspects was the previous tenant in a room he rents. It’s formally inspired – part documentary, part vlog, part collage – and truly left me feeling truly inspired. There’s so much to be said about it, but it left me thinking so much about the nature of art, and what it takes to make it. You can rent it directly from him here:
https://memory.is/debut
I do need to get away from the screen right now, but I’ll leave you with one last resolution, which is to be more proactive when it comes to collaborating with and reaching out or talking to people I admire or feel excited about. I think the past couple of years I’ve been very focused on building my own personal world, finishing this record etc. BUT THIS YEAR, I wanna pop out. I want to do verses, I want to share beats, I want to make videos and photos, and I want to read and write with people. So that’s my energy.
Speak to you soon x