Hi there,

Thanks for stopping by! It’s the late of night here, the air-conditioning is running, and the house is cool as a fridge. Much better than the 80-something fahrenheit this afternoon. I hope wherever you are reading this, the day is relaxing and if it’s not, maybe it can wind its way there in time. Maybe a book or warm drink is in order. Welcome to my researcher’s rest journal.

This week seemed to be an indulgence week. I usually don’t watch movies, period, but this week, I had Pirates of the Caribbean playing in the background as I went about my daily tasks. It actually was my first time watching the franchise—I know, I know, don’t come for my soul—and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m not an expert in the history of 17-19th century pirates, and I’m sure they leaned into some stereotypes, but overall, the settings and lingo look very convincing, and got me pretty immersed. The first trilogy also went full circle and tied up a lot of its storylines (I didn’t watch much more beyond that).

And then when it got too bleeding hot to concentrate yesterday, I closed my laptop for an hour, laid down on my bed, and tried Rango. Oh my gosh. RANGO.

Who knew this 2011 animated movie would be so enthralling? Such a simple premise, very straightforward conflict, immersive setting (meaning the animation team paid so much attention to the fine details), and the characters had depth and colorful distinct personalities. It’s a project clearly made with love and care and sincerity.

Oh, and a fun little bonus is that Gore Verbinski directed both the Pirates of the Caribbean and Rango, and he brought back Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow) and Bill Nighy (Davy Jones) for Rango, and they each played the protagonist and antagonist too, respectively.

I feel like I had more fire for my own projects after that.

So I guess the lesson here is to occasionally have fun and watch a couple movies if it won’t distract you too much! If you are a writer or storyteller, I feel like that time would be productive anyhow.

Another side of indulgence I had this week is that I bought more books. Notes From a Deserter by C.W.Towarnicki, Dread Nation and Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland (a duology), How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle (the premise of which made me laugh)

So much spending, my wallet is in tears. It’s all worth it though. Call it… research 😉

It’s always worth it whenever I buy more books. I actually read Dread Nation before, but not its sequel. So I figured why not get both? It’s about time, right?

I didn’t touch any writing all week. Oh ha. Who knows, maybe that’s next week’s rest.

Journal question: How do you writers indulge yourselves?

See you again next week,
Ian Tan, intern
History Through Fiction