Welcome to the first weekly roundup on Ink in the Archives! Every week I will share what I’ve been up to and interested in and ask you to fill me in on your week too.

Eventful Events and Happening Happenings

My husband was notified that he will be working from home *in our tiny studio apartment* until at least the New Year. These past 4 months or so have been the first he’s ever experienced working from home and he doesn’t feel very productive. I’ve been working from home for years…so I understand. Welcome to my life, dude!

I started my first ever sourdough starter! I’ve been wanting to do this for years, but I was always worried we’d go on a trip and I wouldn’t be able to keep it alive. But now…we’re not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. It was time. At first, I was really not sure if the starter was going to make it–it was putting off all this liquid. After some research, I learned that it was eating through its food too quickly and was putting off alcohol, the byproduct of the fermentation process. That’s probably because, for the Bay area, it’s been quite warm recently. So I’ve started feeding it twice a day and now it’s very happy and grows so much. I’ve been trying to make things with the discard, like the muffins pictured above (we ate them all–they were so delicious).

I’m learning to read tarot cards. I will do a post on that later, when I’ve learned more than 3 cards.

We’re doing a minimalism challenge. Every day we get rid of the number of things that correspond to the day. For example, today on the 11, we each have to get rid of 11 things. I don’t think we’ll make it through the whole month as we honestly don’t have that much stuff. But my goal is to make it to the 15th and go through everything.

Books Read

Sourdough by Robin Sloan : Midway through reading this book, it became very obvious that I needed to make sourdough bread. Now. The book is sort of a love letter to San Francisco, and if you’re familiar with the area, the places the book mentions will instantly bring up different pictures. Magical realism and the power of baking plus robot arms. I really don’t know what better book you can read to escape right now…

Well Met by Jen DeLuca : Romance at the Renaissance Faire! Another great escape right now, since none of us are going to be attending renn faires anytime soon. A fun, steamy romance. Emily, the protagonist, is often frustratingly dense about her own life. But aren’t we all? I loved the atmosphere of this book.

Movies Watched

I have a lot of free time this summer. So I thought I’d use it to work down my ever-growing movie backlog. This is what happens when you’re a film student–you’re so busy reading philosophy and criticism there’s no time to watch the movies everyone is referencing. I’ve challenged myself to watch one movie from this list a day.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Starring Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor. I have a lot to say about this film. It’s going to be a separate post at some point soon.

The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) This is a western my husband remembers from his childhood with Don Knotts as a bumbling, would-be outlaw. It’s streaming on Disney+ and it’s silly and light-hearted. And as you might expect of a 70s western, there’s outdated depictions of women, Chinese Americans, and Native Americans.

Love Affair (1939) If you think you don’t know this film, you might be more familiar with the 50’s remake An Affair to Remember. Honestly, besides vivid color in the 50s version, there is very little difference between the two films. I do love Irene Dunne in this version though. She’s so funny and sincere, and she gives the very dramatic plot a lift.

The Major and the Minor (1942) This Billy Wilder stretches disbelief a little as Ginger Rogers plays a gorgeous woman who is fed up with how men treat her like an object and decides to go home to Indiana. The train fare, which she’d saved, has gone up and she doesn’t have enough, so she decides to pretend she’s 12 and get the half fare price. On the train she meets a US officer with an eyesight problem and antics ensue.

Paris–When it Sizzles (1964) You ever get that feeling of film déjà vu, where you’re not quite certain if you’ve seen the movie before but it all feels very familiar? That’s what I felt with this Audrey Hepburn film. Let me preface by saying this is not one of her best films (though I did enjoy all the little references to them). It’s a movie about screenwriting and an almost washed up writer who needs to come up with his next script. It’s pretty funny and even charming in places. But it’s a role that doesn’t really call for an actress of Hepburn’s caliber.

Young Goethe in Love (2010) This German period film left me wanting something. Maybe it’s because I’m not that familiar with Goethe’s work, but this film left me feeling deeply meh. Some parts of it were sweet and earnest feeling, but other parts were over the top or too slow (at least for my mood). It didn’t help that the audio quality of the film depreciated a lot after the first 20 minutes and felt tinny and grating. It reminded me a lot of Bright Star, if you’re into that, this will be up your alley.

What Price Hollywood? (1932) This is the movie that all of the A Star is Born films are based on. And this one is undoubtedly one of the most watchable because it’s one of the shortest and the costumes are the best out of any of them. Plus this pre-code movie has a little innuendo to keep it interesting.

Two for the Road (1967) Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney’s marriage is falling apart, but the film shows that their relationship has always been a series of ups and downs. This movie actually captures the complexities of many relationships and uses a series of elegant flashbacks to tell the couple’s story through the road trips they’ve taken together. This is a great summer movie.

Gaslight (1944) I’ve seen this film before, but my husband had not even though he has often used the term gaslighting. I thought he should know where that idea comes from. Ingrid Bergman is brilliant in this, but I really love Angela Lansbury as the snarky maid. A great old psychological thriller.

The Seventh Seal (1958) Ingmar Bergman’s art house film about a returning crusader and his chess match with death is often listed in the top 100 movies of all time. And I can see why because some of the shots in this film are so layered and nuanced… Plus the exploration of life and death, faith, violence, and fear is so masterful.

3 Things I Learned This Week

There’s a gorgeous library in China where it looks like there are thousands and thousands of books lining the hive like structured walls, but most of them are stickers. So disappointing.

I’m listening to lectures from The Great Courses available on Kanopy (more on Kanopy next week in my post on digital resources your library may offer). This week I’m listening to a medieval scholar talk about King Arthur in history and legend. I’ve learned that there was likely an Arthur-type figure in the 5th century in Britain, although he would not have had a stone castle, a magician, or a loyal Sir Lancelot.

If your sourdough starter has a lot of liquid on top, it needs to be fed.

Links/Articles

Please know that I’m not paid for my opinions about anything. I just like to share things that strike me as interesting, useful, or engaging.

I supported this Kickstarter game this week. I am a huge fan of Kickstarter for tabletop games, and have supported quite a few. This game is called Oversiege, and it’s a card game for 2 players (although you can buy more decks and play with more people even remotely!). You basically have to siege your opponent’s castle. I love this game’s artwork and how small it is. It seems like it’ll be a great game to travel with (at some point).

This article was a good one– Tear Them Down: Siri Hustvedt on Old Statues, Bad Science, and Ideas that Just Won’t Die.

Poll of the Week

How was your week? Did you read or watch anything you enjoyed? Let me know in the comments!