Ellen > Recent Status Updates

finally getting to the transition between 初唐 and 盛唐! wish i could retain more of this knowledge, it’s so interesting to read but details on historical figures’ names and years disappear from my brain promptly.

seems like even a world-famous actor can have insecurities about if they’re talented or hireable, and need to keep working towards the career they want!

never heard of this actor or his work before starting this audiobook, and from his reading of it i can feel his exuberant, positive energy. pretty interesting to learn about how this dyslexic, “shy” person made his way to stardom through charisma and theatrical talent!

nothing crazy but i guess self help books mostly help to distill common sense into clear frameworks to make thinking about things easier

hooked on the story! weirdly realizing how judgmental i am—getting annoyed at the main character’s lack of emotional control when close to her ex, and how she loves to clean for her roommates, among other traits that feel stereotypically “female”. also knowing it’s genuinely valid for a woman to act and feel like the character, so it’s interesting to think about where my frustration comes from.

读书进展很慢，每一页都是满满的古人生平事迹。有趣却又很难消化！我很惭愧地今天才意识到，前面读到的宋之问是武则天的武周朝（经常被列入唐朝）的时代的人，不是唐代之前的。读这本书才更能领会到自己知道的有多么的少。

very lighthearted audiobook experience so far, haven’t read a romance novel in a bit and it felt silly at first, but i’m starting to resonate with some of the themes about long distance relationships and such. excited to hear how the story pans out!

宋之问在盛唐诗文来临前已经在强烈的竞争下留下了自己的声音，让人不得不敬佩。同时也感慨，原来中国古代的人们也是在职场上想拼命升职的啊

Unfortunately a lot of Page’s complex emotions that brewed over years and countless interactions sound like they were unresolved with family and friends, still held back biting his tongue. Maybe something will change for the better later, more self acceptance and open expression. He’s really taking the narrative on a wandering path through his life.

Getting a little lost in the nonlinear events, but overall feeling some emotional whiplash. Traumatizing events like homophobic hate and sexual assault or even “lighter” bullying were described in close succession with his romantic pursuits after coming out and sexual attraction to his partners. So many things happened across Page’s family, personal, and career lives but there isn’t space for digesting them!

Even as Page grew in fame and self-awareness, he was continuously given opportunities but also thrown into situations that complicate his feelings and sense of agency, sense of self, sense kf belonging. I feel the frustration of not knowing what to do, even hearing him reflecting on those moments.

初唐四杰的相识和作品让他们名垂千古，却又都很凄惨。没有达到各自的人生目标但文采过人让他们以自己意料之外的方式名垂青史，人生无常、成功的定义也很主观。

Who knew that having Tang poems today was such a stroke of luck in history, and that for many dynasties Chinese poetry sucked despite many efforts by emperors and officials to revive literature! Such dense content explained in a digestible way, so weird that I haven't delved into Chinese history in more than a decade but excited that I'm starting again with this book.

Very interesting so far! Never seen ancient Chinese literature and history described in such a casual, contemporary way before.

I actually had no clue who Elliot Page was, until I saw the cover and remembered he starred in Juno. So interesting how back when I saw DVDs of Juno on sale in Shanghai, I as a middle-schooler had little to no awareness of the diversity and nuances of gender and sexuality. I'm already incensed by Page's accounts of insensitive media articles around the time of Juno's success.

packed full of concise, information-dense chapters, practically every chapter can become one (if not many) theme for a series of practices and artworks. very excited to continue with the book and take some of the learnings into my paintings! the explanation of gamuts blew my mind, definitely inspired me to explore my paints more thoroughly and think about changing my “primaries” to set a mood for my painting.

shocked by how much love Pamela has for the people in her life despite the traumatic experiences she had growing up. she talks about how the public image of her is mostly based on her sexiness so people would be shocked that she is well-read and has intelligent opinions. brave of her to not shy away from ways of expression that are central to her even after feeling the impacts of her public image

So much passion and so many impulses that form key moments in Pamela’s life!

didn’t know about this actress except from the references in Borat, she had such a traumatizing childhood. Her parents were both role models in being proud of her independent thinking and sexuality, but also part of that trauma.