Inventing words for unnamed emotions
And my favorite unnecessary purchase as of late
Writing Prompt:
Inspired by John Koenig’s Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a dreamy collection of made-up words for previously unnamed experiences, I invented this term for TAOMO: “tempusur,” meaning nostalgia for the present. Come up with a word and definition for an emotion that currently has no name, and write a few sentences about a time when you experienced it.
Ticket sales for my Big Magical Cult Shows in Chicago & Minneapolis are officially live!
Watch the video above for a tiny preview of this not-your-mother’s-book-tour show, and get your tickets now below!! I would LOVE to see you midwesterners in July :)
July 12: Chicago, IL — The Big Magical Cult Show at Park West (buy tickets here!)
July 13: Minneapolis, MN — The Big Magical Cult Show at Cedar Cultural Center (buy tickets here!)
At long last, Sounds Like A Cult is covering Jam Bands.
WE TRIED OUR BEST not to get too roasty in this long overdue episode, where special guest, music journalist and host of the Songs My Ex Ruined podcast Melissa Locker, examines the cult of jam bands from Phish to the Grateful Dead with me. Where freewheeling guitar solos, acid trips, tape-trading, endless noodling, and oodles of exclusive lingo reign supreme, this world of die-hard fans who dedicate their whole life and personality to following their faves around the country is nothing short of a musical religion. Jam bands are definitely, ahem, a culty vibe to say the least... the real question is how destructive are they?? Tune in at 2am tomorrow as we try and figure that out!
Doug Fabrizio at RadioWest had some of the best interview questions I’ve encountered along book tour thus far.
TAOMO has been a tricky book interview-wise, because the questions can sometimes make the whole conversation feel like a pop quiz about cognitive biases. I have such respect for interviewers who figure out how to make these discussions more personal and narrative, and that’s exactly what this RadioWest interview was! Taking notes for my own purposes.
BOOK: Love Is A Burning Thing
Nina St. Pierre worked for 13 years on this gorgeous memoir about her mother’s chaotic quest for the divine through wild and sometimes violent New Age practices. I saw her speak on tour this week and was so taken with her sincerity and generosity of spirit. I’m only a few pages in and already engrossed.
MUSIC: Hayley Gene Penner
I saw this singer-songwriter perform with the artist Charlotte Lawrence at a Library Science event this past week and was extremely impressed, particularly by this unreleased song the two sang called “Simply,” which asked what if you could come back as your mother’s mother? Ugh, so beautiful, crossing my fingers that song comes out soon.
UNNECESSARY PURCHASE: Lisa Says Gah Archie Throw Blanket
I just bought this picnic-printed quilt, which sends me back to Sicily in the early spring. No regrets!!!
NECESSARY PURCHASE: Magical Overthinkers Hat
The thought spiralers uniform :) From my new merch line!
Loved the interview! I feel like I need to keep hearing real life examples of all the cognitive biases to understand them all🙌🏻