Product Reviews: My Organics Haircare products

* I did not receive any free products or money for this review, I just like these products and they seem to work very well.

You may have read my other review of the Goji Berry Hair Treatment by My Organics. This is literally the best thing for dry, curly and afro hair that you can find out there. It calms the hair down, gives it shine and makes it look, feel and smell amazing. So I was very interested in buying up the whole range for My Organics and giving it a test run.

During Covid I had to dye my own hair which can be dicey as it can actually destroy your hair or turn you into an orangutan. I came out of it with both issues, so I went to Chemist Warehouse in Wellington to buy up on these saviour products. It seems they are only stocked in New Zealand in Chemist Warehouse!

The Organic Pro Keratin Shampoo

This is a really great shampoo if your hair is lank and a bit lifeless. It is rich in many organic and natural botanicals and it’s free of sulphates, and is cruelty free and eco-friendly – which is exactly what I want out of my hair care. It smells absolutely heavenly too and contains extracts such as:

  • Argan oil – helps to moisturise and brighten the hair.
  • Avocado oil – soothing and regenerative properties that are good for dandruff and a dry scalp.
  • Chamomile – emollient properties that calm down frizzy hair.
  • Wheat proteins – Ideal to restructure brittle hair.
  • Silk – builds a protective film to protect against breakage.

Although there is a lot of talk about how this or that ingredient helps with hair products. This product walks the talk and does deliver on what it promises – especially if you have thirsty and dry hair like I do. It makes your hair look lush and amazing without fail.

The Organic Hydrating Shampoo

This is a fabulous and gentle shampoo for dry and frazzled hair. If you use a lot of colour in your hair or it’s bleached I would recommend this shampoo. It smells divine with natural extracts of fennel, lavender and geranium essential oils. I am happy with how clean my hair and scalp feels afterwards and it stayed with that clean, feel for several days afterwards.

Key Extracts

Fennel Moisturising for the hair and scalp.

Lavender: Creates a relaxing, calming and soothing atmosphere in the shower and helps to relieve a dry or itchy scalp.

Geranium: Smooths and calms down unruly hair.

The Organic Deep Restructuring Conditioner

I was also thoroughly impressed by this conditioner. It’s a professional hairdresser quality product that many would enjoy having applied in the salon, but you’re able to get that experience at home. I would say compared to the other conditioners in their range, it’s the same level of quality and long-lasting deep moisture for the hair. As a person with hair that is always hungry for moisture this is a god send. Would definitely recommend 5*

Key Extracts

Argan oil – creates a moisture barrer in the hair to prevent moisture loss.

Silk extracts – proteins that protect the hair from breakage and enhance shine.

The Organic Apricot Matte Paste

I normally don’t use product in my hair to make it stay put. But sometimes I just have to try it and see. This is a great natural and organic paste that smells amazing (it’s made of apricot oil). It doesn’t leave an oily or gross residue on the hair and instead it keeps it tame and tampered down. I would definitely recommend.

In essence, if you have troublesome curly hair that won’t ever look good unless you properly treat it well, then these are the products for you. Designed and manufactured in Italy, I guess these products are designed for Southern European women. However they would work equally well for African women or Polynesian women or anyone with curly hair or afro/frizzy hair as well. If you fit that description, you will like it. I guarantee.

Comforting Thought: If we want to do something well, we cannot do it all

Opt out of the relentless pursuit of personal optimisation of our lives. Opt-out of picking and choosing a new partner when we get bored of the person we have been with for many years simply because we are bored. Opt out of trying to become a social media influencer with a million friends on Instagram or Twitter. The reality is, if we want to be friends with everyone, we cannot truly have a friend. If we want to do something well, we cannot do it all. ~ Svend Brinkmann

Comforting Thought: If we want to do something well, we cannot do it all
Be your own best friend

From The Joy of Missing Out by Svend Brinkmann

Svend Brinkmann

Svend Brinkmann is a Danish Professor of Psychology in the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University, Denmark. He serves as a co-director of the Centre for Qualitative Studies. He is the author of ‘The Joy of Missing Out’ and ‘Stand Firm.’ Read the review

The Joy of Missing Out by Svend Brinkmann

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #34

It’s been a long time baby. Perhaps you have been pining for this little buttery pastry of uplifting sugary goodness. I haven’t forgotten about you, I’ve been baking away in the oven for ages. So here it is…straight out of the oven for you…


Celestially divine embroidery by Ophelie Trichereau

Find her work on Patreon and on Twitter

I am Ophélie, a French artist and I live in Edinburgh, UK.
I embroider by hand more or less large embroideries, mainly about the planets that inhabit our Solar System but I also explore more natural subjects like animals and flowers. I also do original illustrations, mostly in gouache and watercolor, my subjects are very varied but my universe remains rather colorful and poetic.
I am currently working on the creation of an illustrated CD book with an author, Mirélè Rozen, which should be published this year 2021 …


Yantra De Vilder – Oceania: The Promise Of Tomorrow (1989) [Full Album]

Australian ambient composer Yantra De Vilder with a lost classic of the new age/environmental music genre, inspired by the Pacific ocean and Australian sea wildlife. A lovely album to put on as background music for working. It begins and sounds like a merry pirate voyage and ends on a reflective piano influenced note. It reminds me of the White Winds by Andreas Vollenweider.


Vegan owl cupcakes

I have no idea who made them but I found them Twitter and they are cutie patootie alright. Almost too cute to actually eat.


How a computer imagines our inner micro-worlds to look by Gael McGill…

How a computer imagines our cells to look like...
How a computer imagines our cells to look like…How a computer imagines our cells to look like…

Created for Cell Signaling Technology, Inc., and inspired by the stunning art of David Goodsell, this 3D rendering of a eukaryotic cell is modeled using X-ray, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and cryo-electron microscopy datasets for all of its molecular actors. It is an attempt to recapitulate the myriad pathways involved in signal transduction, protein synthesis, endocytosis, vesicular transport, cell-cell adhesion, apoptosis, and other processes. Although dilute in its concentration relative to a real cell, this rendering is also an attempt to visualize the great complexity and beauty of the cell’s molecular choreography. Interactive versions of parts of this landscape can be explored at http://www.digizyme.com/cst_landscapes.html.

Read more

Alalá das Mariñas by Xavi Druantia & Silvïrd

Soulful and passionate traditional Galician music from immensely talented pagan folk musicians Xavi Druantia and Silvïrd.

Every year thousands and thousands of people are forced to leave their homeland to find a better future for their families. With this traditional Galician song we want to honor our grandparents who came from Galicia as well as all those brave people who have to emigrate to new lands to prosper.

Xavi Druantia

Read more about Xavi and his music on this website:

Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Xavi Druantia

‘Xavi Druantia’s Ancient Journey’ is a personal musical odyssey inspired by nature and ancient sounds all over the world I play different traditional instruments from all over the world. My idea is to release these songs one by one, instead of all at once on a full album. How people consume music has changed a…


Will Yeung’s Vegan Singapore Noodles


The Viking, Magyar and Muslim invasions of Europe in the early Middle Ages

Via Digital Maps of the Ancient World on Twitter

The Viking, Magyar and Muslim invasions of Europe in the early Middle Ages
The Viking, Magyar and Muslim invasions of Europe in the early Middle Ages

Song of the Day: All The Gold In California by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Song of the Day is an amazing and eclectic selection of little-heard music from my blogger friend William A1000Mistakes I have to agree that this Nick Cave and Warren Ellis song, taken from the soundtrack to True Detective is a real classic.


Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu

Thanks to Eddie Two Hands for this beautiful quote, from his always insightful blog of the same name.


The quirky origins of bird words in the English language

A fascinating round-up of history of medicine non-fiction books

Here are some books to add to your TBR list from the always interesting blogger and voracious reader and reviewer Thoughts on Papyrus

  • The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris
  • The Story of the Human Body by Daniel E. Lieberman
  • Awakenings by Oliver Sacks

Read more


‘Whom’ by Jo-Jo Al-waealy

O’ speaker of my words,

we seek the wandering star.

In the twelfth night we fall

as you rise with hopeless scar.

Her world, allay, from

misunderstood passion we sought.  

For I had to fight my blood off my hands

I had no fraught when I fought.

They are neither man nor woman,

to as I felt my spirit rising with my soul.

For I want,

for I have to be,

for I shall be the one whom is whole.

Who listens when I plea,

who listens when I cry,

whom is my emotion that I want to be.

Read more amazing poetry on his website


Mommy…what’s a carbon footprint?

Asks a family of polar bears in NY’s central park. Signs and language matter. Via Twitter

Mommy...what's a carbon footprint?

Togo the Brave

In 1925, a deadly diphtheria outbreak affected the lives of 10,000 + in Nome, Alaska. With the weather to harsh to fly in the anti-toxin. Togo the Husky lead the sledge dog team that delivered the serum, traversing 674 Miles, some said he was on his last legs at age 12 years old, but he had a strong heart and persevered. He delivered the vaccines. If you are interested in Togo’s story, it was recently made into a really great movie.

Togo the Brave
Togo the Brave

Hope you enjoyed these picks. Let me know what you think below…

Book Review: Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono

Genre: Non-fiction, business, psychology.

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company.

Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

If you have ever attended a team building event, a motivational psychology course or some kind of HR mandated business workshop then you will have encountered the ideas of Six Thinking Hats. This is a classic book that came out in the 80’s and provides a framework for people to break free out of their biases and close-minded thinking and to playfully embrace other ways of tackling problems by putting on metaphorical hats to analyse the challenge and come out with creative solutions.

Book Review: Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono

Six Thinking Hats was so successful it is still a common framework used in many workplaces with which to resolve workplace problems. It gave rise to the term ‘blue sky thinking’ a (now) cliched catchphrase for an all-ecompassing and expansive mode of problem-solving.

This book (I have first edition) is sort of quaint in that it relates to various ideas of workplace dynamics and technologies of the time like filofaxes and rolodexes….what the flippin hell is that?

There are a few nuggets of wisdom to glean from it. And it’s all stuff that you may already understand simply by being a part of the western world, as these ideas are now so deeply ingrained.

Here are the various hats, which you may recognise.

Blue Hat: The Conductor’s Hat

Thinking about and managing the thinking process

The blue hat is the control hat. It is used for thinking about thinking. The blue hat sets the agenda, focus and sequence, ensures the guidelines are observed and asks for summaries, conclusions, decisions and plans action.

Green Hat: The Creative Hat

Generating ideas

The green hat is for creative thinking and generating new ideas, alternatives, possibilities and new concepts.

Red Hat: The Hat For The Heart

Intuition and feelings

The red hat is about feelings, intuitions and instincts. The red hat invites feelings without justification.

Book Review: Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono

Yellow Hat: The Optimist’s Hat

Benefits and values

The yellow hat is for a positive view of things. It looks for the benefits and values.

Black Hat: The Judge’s Hat

Caution

The black hat identifies risk. It is used for critical judgment and must give the logical reasons for concerns. It is one of the most powerful hats.

White Hat: The Factual Hat

Objective facts

The white hat is impartial, objective and fact-based. For example the laws of physics, thermodynamics, photosynthesis etc. The white hat is all about information. What information you have, what information you need and where to get it.

Read more

Edward De Bono

A Lecture Summary

Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Cult of Endless Growth and Late Stage Capitalism

I have paired some of quotes by philosopher bell hooks and psychologist Svend Brinkmann with some darkly funny photos from the Inhumans of Late Stage Capitalism page on Facebook. This has formed a disturbingly compelling and strange mashup!

Inhumans of late capitalism

“Only robots always say yes.” ~ Svend Brinkmann

Inhumans of late capitalism

“Confronting the endless desire that is at the heart of our individual over-consumption and global excess is the only intervention that can ward off the daily call to consume that bombards us on all sides.”
― bell hooks, Where We Stand: Class Matters

Inhumans of late capitalism

“Being oppressed means the absence of choices”
bell hooks

Inhumans of late capitalism

The main threats to humankind were once posed by the forces of nature. Now they are self-inflicted. We are the cause of our own problems and they can only be solved at the level of the society that created them. One help would be to collectively rediscover the ancient virtues of frugality, moderation and the art of missing out as a means of counteracting social acceleration and its damaging effects. ~ Svend Brinkmann

The hedonic treadmill is the concept or idea that we revert back to our given ‘level of happiness’ soon after a desirable event has happened. Acknowledging this allows us to protect ourselves from disappointment when it transpires that buying a particular car, or holiday home or falling in love with a new partner fails to elicit the profound and everlasting sense of happiness that we expected. ~ Svend Brinkmann

“Everywhere today, in fact, the ideology of competition gives way to a ‘philosophy’ of self-fulfillment. In a more integrated society, individuals no longer compete for the possession of goods, they actualize themselves in consumption.”
― Jean Baudrillard, The System of Objects

“Without an ethical framework, the will is random, controlled solely by the individual’s more or less fleeting desires…” ~ Svend Brinkmann

Inhumans of late capitalism
Inhumans of late capitalism

“It is claimed that self-realisation results in self-sufficient adults, but it actually creates infantile, dependent adults who think that the truth lies within them.” ~ Svend Brinkmann

From The Joy of Missing Out by Svend Brinkmann

Svend Brinkmann

Svend Brinkmann is a Danish Professor of Psychology in the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University, Denmark. He serves as a co-director of the Centre for Qualitative Studies. He is the author of ‘The Joy of Missing Out’ and ‘Stand Firm.’ Read the review

The Joy of Missing Out by Svend Brinkmann

Book Review: Animals Make Us Human: Edited by Leah Kaminsky and Meg Keneally

Genre: Non-fiction, nature, animals

Publisher: Penguin Life

Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Christmas/New Year of 2019/2020 bush fires scorched through enormous swathes of land across the whole of Australia and killed many millions of native animals. Afterwards, there was a huge outpouring of collective grief from people not only in Australia, but throughout the entire world. It was caused by climate change, and people and animals in Australia were faced with being climate refugees, at least for a few months.

Book Review: Animals Make Us Human: Edited by Leah Kaminsky and Meg Keneally

Animal charities rallied together and people donated a lot of money towards animal conservation and particularly to help homeless koalas and several species of wallabies, which have now become endangered species by the fires.

Animals Make Us Human is a beautifully produced book that features short, punchy chapters from Australian writers and thinkers. These people recall their encounters with beautiful Australian wildlife.

The sheer breadth of stunning and unique wildlife in Australia is awe-inspiring and this book showcases all of these animals with beautiful images placed alongside these short stories.

Contributors include Geraldine Brooks, Paul Kelly, Thomas Keneally, Bruce Pascoe, Shaun Tan and many others. All funds raised from the book go towards the Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Australian Wildlife Conservatory.

Yet I have to say, some of the writing is vividly evocative of time, place and the writers’ poignant encounters with these precious animals. However, I felt that some of the stories lacked passion and enthusiasm for these animal subjects. Although, I love intention of this book and the fact funds from book sales go towards helping animals, so I am reluctant to be too harsh on it.

This is a beautifully produced book that would make an excellent gift for environmentalists, animal lovers and conservationists particularly from this part of the world – Australia and New Zealand. Yet anyone who loves animals anywhere in the world will appreciate and love this beautiful book.

Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

10 Interesting Things I found on the Internet #33

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of coconut water, welcome to another dimension-coasting, mind-contorting journey into the weird and wonderful world of the internet. Featuring some guest stars and some of the same old cast you know and love. I hope you will join me…

A bee-faced mushroom shaman from 9,000 years ago on a cave wall

In the Sahara Desert there is a mysterious cave called Tassili n’Ajjer that harbours drawings that are estimated to be between 9,000 years ago and 4,000 years ago. Some are estimated to be 12,000 years old.

Ancient shaman takes mushrooms and is immortalised on a cave wall
Via Open Culture

One carving depicts a shaman with a human body and a bee-like insectoid face. He (or she) holds mushrooms while his whole body morphs and comes alive with energy and light. The theory goes that this rock art is the depiction of a psychedelic experience on mushrooms. Perhaps the shaman foresaw that he would be revered by thousands of people all over the world several millennia later?

Via Open Culture

This cosy bed view that overlooks a snowy wilderness

This cosy bed view that overlooks a snowy wilderness

Ukiyoe Small Museum of print art in Kyoto Japan

Apparently this guy opens when he wants and closes when he wants. Work life balance, Japanese Zen style.

Via Reddit

Björk in a record store in London in the 90’s

I love how she’s so into that guy in the record shop, she is such a fascinating woman with a strong energy.

This intricate and exquisite coin that has a beating heart inside of it

This masterpiece is by the enigmatic Russian artist Roman Booteen.

Based in Russia, rising star Roman Booteen (spelled Butin) maintains a mysterious level of anonymity, while producing hobo nickel creations which regularly shock the coin collecting community with both their subject matter and complexity.
His carvings include pop culture figures, and he often plays with exaggerating and softening the facial features of his characters giving them a real sense of personality.

From his website

Shape-shifting workout plan for the full moon

Via Reddit

A great deep house and progressive house mix that is really great for focus

The natural landscape visuals make the whole experience even more enjoyable, but it’s great background music too.

The Cryptonaturalist’s poetry

Insightful and amazing poet and podcaster the Cryptonaturalist who I interviewed only last week on this blog, with yet another poetic mini-masterpiece on my Twitter feed. If you haven’t yet you should follow him @CryptoNature I guarantee you will love it.

I give up wanting to be whole.

To be strong.

To be beyond criticism.

Instead, I will be creative with my empathy.

I will not curse my flaws.

I will live in the light of honest vulnerability.

I will look at a statue and understand that emptiness is what coaxes art from bare stone.

Via Twitter

Lake Baikal Zen

When the sun warms these rocks on the surface of Lake Baikal, the warmth creates a hollow dome in the ice beneath.

Lake Baikal Zen

Grimfrost Academy: Viking Age Herbs in Food, Culture and Magic

This is a fascinating and well-produced series about Viking history I really enjoyed it.

The ethereal and mystical Indigenous Australian Songlines explained in 360 degree VR

Float amongst the endless expanse of The Pleiades, behold the majestic scar trees with the origin story of Australia

Recipe for Vegan Coconut Curry Fried Rice

By the always enjoyable Youtube chef Will Yeung

Aphex Twin’s Avril 14 on the Steel Pedal

I hope you enjoyed these tidibits let me know what you think below…

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #32

Godzilla met King Kong when they were just kids!

Memento Mori by High Dependency Unit

A sweeping and melodramatic post-rock album by Kiwi band High Dependency Unit that’s filled with light and dark.

A bustling sushi city by the creative genius in miniature Tatsuya Tanaka

A Journey to the Big Cat Sanctuary with Heather Small

If you recognise the voice and face of the narrator – it’s Heather Small who was the lead singer of the 90’s band M People. Infact M People with their optimistic and positive sounding music was a reason why I survived a terrible bout of depression in my teenage years. So I have a soft spot for Heather Small forever for that. The Big Cat Sanctuary is a rescue sanctuary in England for majestic big cats in Asia. The next time I am in England, I will definitely be going there!

Remembering the Appointment with Life | Thich Nhat Hanh (short teaching video)

Buddhist master and all-round inspiration Thich Nhat Hanh. I find even the sound of his voice and looking at his face profoundly calming.

Cosy paintings by Francisco Fonseca

Find him on ETSY

The hunger for mummies in Edo period Japan

Did you know that in Edo Japan (1603 and 1868), that people were consuming the mummified remains of other people for its medicinal benefits? Thanks to the always fascinating blog about Japanese culture English Rakugo NZ

Kaibara Ekiken* (貝原益軒 1630-1714) was a very well-known Neo-Confucianist philosopher (じゅがくしゃ 儒学者) and botanist who studied the medicinal herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. Mind you, Ekiken himself opposed to the use of mummies as a medicine for ethical reasons, but researches suggest that they were widely used as all-purpose cure though they cost a fortune.”

English Rakugo NZ

According to Wikipedia – the practice was known as Mumia!

Strange otherworldly lake stones in Owen’s River California

Researchers have now counted nearly 5,000 of these pillars, which appear in groups and vary widely in shape, size and color over an area of 4000 acres, with some of the columns standing as erect as towering pylons.

Strange otherworldly lake stones in Owen's River California
Strange otherworldly lake stones in Owen’s River California

Via a purveyor of unusual and macabre natural phenomena, EMorphes.

Check out this exquisite and ornate Chinese sword!

I love the inlaid jade! This Chinese Qin Sword with gold openwork handle dates from 770–476 B.C. Although the bow and crossbow were the weapons of choice for much of China’s history, the sword played its part, especially when warriors were forced to dismount and face the enemy at close quarters. Via Archaeology and Art on Twitter

Check out this exquisite and ornate Chinese sword!
Check out this exquisite and ornate Chinese sword!

Animal rhymes to say goodbye

8. See you later, alligator

7. Fare thee well, sand gazelle

6. You take care, grizzly bear

5. Now on you jog, prairie dog

4. In the bin, pangolin

3. Step in shit, yellow tit

2. Eat a dick, lone star tick

1. Just get to fuck, bufflehead duck

Via Adam Sharp

What do you think? Have you seen anything you enjoyed this week?

Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Jarod K Anderson AKA The Cryptonaturalist

The Cryptonaturalist podcast is the creation of Jarod K Anderson. It’s a completely unique, poetic and quirky fictional podcast in the genre of a classic nature documentary. Yet that’s where its similarity with the known world ends. This is David Attenborough meets The X Files, or Jane Goodall meets Big Foot. In the lingering shadows of dusk you will discover an array of fantastical cryptids, strange animals, otherworldly locations, featured fiction and poetry from talented guest contributors, and field reports from fascinating lovers of strange nature.

The Cryptonaturalist podcast is a constant stream of odd, poetic, and sometimes philosophical observations about life, science, and the natural world. Jarod K Anderson is its creator and he delivers his stories in an Old West type of cowboy voice that is very enjoyable and almost hypnotic to listen to!

Well, I’ve always loved stories and I started writing nature poetry when I was ten…

My fifth-grade teacher Ms. Woolard would take us out into the woods and encourage each member of my class to find a peaceful spot to write about the natural world. Even before that, my mother and I would enjoy frequent nature walks in rural Ohio and she would teach me the names of trees, birds, and wildflowers. My father built me a play area out of lashed together logs in the woods behind our house and I spent much of my time there. Couple those experiences with a lifelong love of nature documentaries and my early creative influences take shape.

I used to listen to The Hobbit on well-worn cassette tapes

I’d listen to it in the dark when I was supposed to be sleeping, the spiders of Mirkwood chittering through my headphones. The feeling of listening to such stories is unforgettable and I knew I wanted to inspire that feeling in others.

The Greatest Adventure: Tolkien's The Hobbit Turns 80! | Tor.com

Creativity feels like a happy accident, like a gift from my unconscious mind

I enjoy the surprises. My brain will hand me a phrase or metaphor that sends me down the path to a complete poem or story. That said, it often strikes me that the creativity is just the catalyst, not the real force behind my work.

A view of the graveyard near where I live

When it comes to writing – the work is…work

I can sit down and come up with story ideas all day (I’ve published two books of writing prompts cowritten with Leslie Anderson), but the craft of turning those initial ideas into complete pieces is the real key to producing something. Still, the mix of craft and creativity creates a lot of opportunities for fun, teasing out the perfect image, metaphor, or plot complication.  

Marty Stouffer’s ‘Wild America’ ran from 1982 to 1994. He was a bearded man with a backwoodsy accent who waxes poetic about things ranging from muskrat dens to the dietary habits of black bears

I think I watched all 120 episodes a dozen times or so. I suppose I wanted to do what Marty Stouffer did, just without all those bothersome facts getting in my way. Tolkien meets Stouffer. The X-Files as hosted by David Attenborough. The idea seemed like such a perfect distillation of my primary interests, I had to do it.

The podcast Welcome to Nightvale really showed me the power of a single voice telling a story

As I said, I love a broad range of speculative fiction and nature documentaries, but without Nightvale, I’m not sure I would have thought I could write/perform The CryptoNaturalist solo. In terms of writers, Jeff VanderMeer blends nature and the bizarre in ways I can only dream of achieving. VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy is probably my favorite work of the last decade.

There’s an overgrown and underused path near my house that leads to a lake. When I look at the water and feel a profound sense of quiet contentment

That place brings me comfort and clarity. My house shares a fence with a huge old cemetery where I walk often. That place is full of peace and memory. I’m grateful that the pandemic didn’t take either of these places from me. Social distancing is profoundly easy at both locations. Leslie J. Anderson, my partner is certainly my biggest human inspiration.

Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Jarod K Anderson AKA The Cryptonaturalist
Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Jarod K Anderson AKA The Cryptonaturalist

My partner Leslie J Anderson is an amazing poet and storyteller. She once described a ghost as ‘bleeding churchyard rain.’

I have so many of her phrases bouncing around my skull. You should really look up her work. She is always stunning me with her imagery.

Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Jarod K Anderson AKA The Cryptonaturalist
Leslie J Anderson

Irony is a cheap shield against vulnerability. Learn to be sincere in your work

If you want to build an audience and reach people, write to communicate, not to impress. Write about things that excite you. Oh, and academics write for other academics. They have precious little to do with the living artforms of fiction and poetry in the context of modern culture.

Ancient Word of the Day: Vellichor

You should still get that MA in literature, but don’t buy it when academia calls itself the true home of the arts. It’s not

I just released a collection of poetry! Field Guide to the Haunted Forest by Jarod K. Anderson. It’s available through most online booksellers. Your local bookstore can probably order it for you too.

Follow me to read philosophical tidbits on weird nature and life. And to keep up with the Crytonaturalist podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

The latest book by Jarod K Anderson a collection of poetry

Website: www.cryptonaturalist.com

Twitter: @CryptoNature

Facebook: /CryptoNaturalist

Youtube

Instagram: @CryptoNaturalist

You can stream it on all podcasting platforms or streamed directly from CryptoNaturalist.com.

Field Guide to the Haunted Forest is available through most online booksellers