What does “home” mean to you?
Sunny Side Updates with TBIN 🧠🍜 // Week 27
Welcome to double-digits April!
Is it raining where you are yet? (Because) it’s super rainy here. It reminds me of those days when I used to study with this website called “rainymood”, which imitated calming ambient noises, including that of a rainy day. (Sorry to southern hemisphere folks who are in the depth of winter I’m guessing? Or fall???)
These April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, right? And flowers bring us joy, right? (Or sneezes).
Shortform Theme of the Week
This week’s shortform theme is: What does “home” mean to you?
Truthfully, this was inspired by bestdressed’ old video on how she customized her rental in LA. For me, I just moved in with my mismatching stuff (red table to match my green counters? hell yeah!) and lived with it. I’m so inspired by how she creatively thrifts and upcycles things to make her home cozy and livable.
Feel free to take this prompt in any direction you’d like! “Home” could mean so many things at different scales. What does this word remind you of immediately?
Submit your shortform piece (<150 words) now to share your thoughts!
This is just a guideline for inspiration! You may submit shortforms related to other concepts if other ideas come to you! :)
✍ April Essay/Creative Non-Fiction Prompt
We will now accept essay submissions that are fewer than 2500 words that fit with the monthly prompt!
As an avid podcast listener (and someone in the midst of launching one — what, wait, no, shh, you didn’t read that, it’s a secret!), I’m really interested in your creative non-fiction pieces on the topic of: podcasts!
Some questions to mull over:
- What kinds of podcasts are your favourite?
- Is there some commonality among all the podcasts you listen to?
- How has listening to podcasts changed your life?
This prompt is active from now (yes, now! ) until April 30th, 2021, 3pm EST.
The Brain is a Noodle*
*This is factually incorrect. Please absolutely do not go out and eat brains.
🍜 Piping Hot New(dle) Pieces of the Week
Challenge: *highlight* the ones you bookmarked/ read and make sure everyone gets highlighted at least once! ❤
🧠🍜 [1] A Lone Wolf by Courtenay S. Gray ‘To be a woman who has no desire to bring forth a child is to be an outcast who is hemmed in by brick walls. With no maternal instinct, my organs indulge in the fact that they shall remain in place.’
🧠🍜 [2] The Long Sleep by Spirit ‘The night was too taken with the stars to encourage her to mimic the sun’
🧠🍜 [3] Half-Hearted by Kasun Ranasinghe ‘ I want to write a love poem to share with my beloved, to pour my heart out on to pieces of paper, stain the white in crimson ink, Barely able to bear the beating drum’
🧠🍜 [4] ✍✍ Are You There, Moriarty? by Courtenay S. Gray ‘If you are ever feeling lonely or at a hitch in the road, turn on a podcast and let the crooning warm your ears. You will meet new friends and learn more than you could have possibly imagined.’
🧠🍜 [5] Golden Anniversary Of My Work Life by Dr. Preeti Singh ‘I have always enjoyed my work wherever I have been and never regretted doing anything in life. Most women of my time did not work in India as it was not acceptable to family and society. I faced many challenges and am happy to say that I survived.’
🧠🍜 [6] What is a recent milestone that you’ve hit? What would you like to celebrate this week? by Sahil Patel ‘I have celebrated one year anniversary on Medium on 1 St April. I was so glad that I survived on Medium for 1 year. I never imagined that I will stay for such long time on this platform when I started writing on Medium. However, it was day filled with joy and excitement.’
🧠🍜 [7] Dollar Eighty-Five by Jen ‘In March, I created an experiment for my Medium account. I had a list of goals I wanted to achieve. One of those goals was to publish 50% (or more) of my stories in a publication.’
🧠🍜 [8] Keep Your Chocolate Eggs, Mr. Bunny by Will Hull ‘I have defeated chocolate. Okay, okay, it’s only been two days, but that’s two days in a row so I declare victory! ‘
🧠🍜 [9] Oh But First, F#@k You! by Michael Burg, MD (AKA Medium Michael Burg) ‘I’ve dodged your willful ignorance bullets; and I’ve lived long enough to receive my 2nd vaccine dose. That momentous occasion happened a week ago. In one more week, I’ll be as bulletproof as one can be these days, at least as far as COVID-19 danger is concerned.’
🧠🍜 [10] To My Grandmother by Paola Perez ‘She is no longer worried about what others may say All that she thinks about are new games to play The children are always active, and she has to plan ahead Tiring them is the goal, so they will easily go to bed.’
🧠🍜 [11] My Superpower by Shivangi Patel ‘I am deep I dig deeper’
🧠🍜 [12] Gifts Beyond That of Mortal People by Adam Deitsch ‘these are the things I’m about to be tested on but I was gifted with extraordinary abilities’
🧠🍜 [13] Elephants by Courtenay S. Gray ‘The nature of memory is to remember. Dormant visions lay beneath the sinewy jellied brain.’
🧠🍜 [14] No Más Té by Carlos Garbiras ‘[ a haiku: ^You’ll have to click through to enjoy it! ]’
🧠🍜 [15] Clumsiness by Shaista Malik ‘[ haiku response to “clumsiness!”] ‘
🧠🍜 [16] This Can Go So Many Ways… by Adam Deitsch ‘Several Prompted Poems on Spikey’
🧠🍜 [17] Missing missing you by Jac Gautreau ‘There are many things I miss But most of all, I miss missing you’
🧠🍜 [18] A Pill a Day Keeps Crankiness Away by Shaista Malik ‘Crankiness was slowly becoming my constant attitude. My hair was falling at an alarming rate. It was everywhere, my bed, the bathroom floor, and even the food (yuck)!’
🧠🍜 [19] A Book — “Incognito: The Secret Lives Of The Brain” by Brajendra ‘We all take interest in the secret of our friends, family members even in professional life and are always surprised to know about it and find stunning, amazing, dramatic, and even sometimes unexpected aspects of our life.’
🧠🍜 [20] Gourmet Improvisation by Rachel Ramkaran (she/her) ‘Mom spun pure gold out of limp carrots and puckered peppers that shielded us from the reality of tight budgets, hard days and the sacrifices she made to help us thrive’
🧠🍜 [21] AM On The Love Song by Courtenay S. Gray ‘A nymphet sits on a bullet train — on her way to the electric city. Listening to the distressed calls of a baby on the compartment across from her — its eyes raw from the salted drops of eggy substance leaking from the corners. Poor baby.’
🧠🍜 [22] Where Are You? by Adam Deitsch ‘I’ve spent the last few days typing with a mouse. My old phone won’t respond to my touch. I chose you, my replacement, to be shipped to my house.’
🧠🍜 [23] Twittles are My Superpower by Carolyn Hastings ‘Twittles are my superpower I can pull one out real quick’
🧠🍜 [24] The Everyday Monsters by Pretheesh Presannan ‘tomorrow never dies but only at the expense of killing today.’
🧠🍜 [25] Where We Were Destined To Be by JF ‘“Whatever will be, will be” is more than just the lyrics of a song we once heard. “Que sera, sera” is like the unknown destination of an adventurous bird.’
🧠🍜 [26] Poetry 101 by Alan Henley ‘Rule #1: Speak your truth creatively Rule #2: There are no other rules’
🧠🍜 [27] Three Twittles and a Haiku by R. Rangan PhD ‘Thanks to Medium learning about poem types haiku, limerick, acrostic n more And now this — a twittle*’
🧠🍜 [28] Hooded Bones by Courtenay S. Gray ‘The second stage is anger — the sheer fury which leaves an acrid taste in your mouth. Saliva pooling like a blueberry slush. The stench burns like rotting garlic — black as ink.’
🧠🍜 [29] Ode to the Berries by Mark Tulin ‘My breakfast is full of berries, freshly picked from Trader Joe’s’
🧠🍜 [30] Sea Yoga by James G Brennan ‘Azure sea enticing me to swim’
🧠🍜 [31] On A Day Like This by Giulia ‘On a day like this I hope you know there were no fights.’
🧠🍜 [32] My Love Song In A Twittle by Dr. Preeti Singh ‘Melodious and deep, Soulful, mysterious, enchanting,’
🧠🍜 [33] Camp by Spirit ‘I walk a world
of fortune-tellers and thieves and trading narratives
like affection.’
🧠🍜 [34] Play 3 Photos by Will Hull ‘And art is art but, we all know that in art, sometimes the image in our head doesn’t match what ends up on paper (or screen).’
🧠🍜 [35] Encephalon by Courtenay S. Gray ‘Papers are scattered across the creaky wooden floor. Letters swirl around in the air like toxic particles. I am slimy and congealed.’
🧠🍜 [36] Three Photo Comparisons — Twins Separated at Birth? by Michael Burg, MD (AKA Medium Michael Burg) ‘It’s like you’re looking in the mirror :-) (A Will Hull inspired prompt response)’
🧠🍜 [37] My Crippling Metrophobia* — Cleaning Out My Poetry Closet by Michael Burg, MD (AKA Medium Michael Burg) ‘There once was a poem-averse doc Friends told him, it’s all just a crock’
🧠🍜 [38] Reclaiming Our Land by Adam Deitsch ‘ripped from our home, they move earth to get rid of us
we exist’
🧠🍜 [39] X Rated by Courtenay S. Gray ‘Vertigo — dizziness borne out of a violet haze. The strobe lights of the nightclub are dead to the world. Bathrooms with women selling perfume, and the girls blackening their eyelashes.’
🧠🍜 [40] What Did Your Mother Give You? by Adam Deitsch ‘there’s no power here in this tiny envelope no houses either’
🧠🍜 [41] I Drive On By by Humaira Iqbal ‘I drive on by with freedom in my heart and happiness on my mind’
🧠🍜 [42] A Poet’s Daily Workout by Keegan Roembke ‘Thirty or forty push-ups daydreaming of neglecting fame’
🧠🍜 [43] Delicatessen by Courtenay S. Gray ‘On the first day, we had scrambled eggs with fine salt crystals rubbed in gently. On the second day, you brought me some authentic daifuku, the strawberry shortcake kind.’
🧠🍜 [44] Photographic Memes by Adam Deitsch ‘I came across this incredible shortform that challenged the reader to find royalty-free photos that had similar but different qualities of their own, and compare them.’
🧠🍜 [45] Genocide In the Horn of Africa by Imad ‘An evil persists in the horn of Africa, countrymen are killing each other, not tribal war but organized genocide ordered by the government. Ethnic cleansing, a better term.’
🧠🍜 [46] Ambivert by Spirit ‘I don’t belong here I’m sober and everyone’s gone here everything feels wrong here I can’t even vibe to the songs here’
🧠🍜 [47] Hen’s Night Leftovers Killed My Mojo by Will Hull ‘With naked men times three Standing and leering over me, What once was my studio Now not à propos I’m left to drinking whiskey’
The Eggcademic Corner
🥓 Quick brEGGfast Bites
What I’m watching: bestdressed’s ultimate apartment makeover
What I’m reading: Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama
What I’m listening to: lost child, IU
S🍳mething to chew over
Be conscious of what you label as “lack of organization” for someone else. Depression, ADHD, anxiety, idk, dealing with political unrest as our home country falls apart, dealing with constant racism — could all look like “not being organized or prepared”.
🎊 Top 3 articles of the week
Celebrate with me!
😭 Flop 3 articles of the week
Give these a little love, will ya?
🧠🍜 Thank you to the Noodle Team!
challenge: pick 3 writers you haven’t met yet and get acquainted with their pieces!
New writers: Josie Elbiry | Keegan Roembke | Noorain Hassan, BMS | Humaira Iqbal | Zachary Burg
Bob Pepe | Will Hull | Jason | Courtenay S. Gray | Sahil Patel | Meenal Gupta | Amy Lee Kite | Evan Wildstein | Hilda Carroll | Chloe Hill | Paola Perez | Matt Ray | Wolfie Bain | Dena Ogden | Tasneem Kagalwalla | Yan Huang | Tree Langdon | Stuart Englander | Jennifer McDougall | Aaron Kemp | Rachel Ramkaran (she/her) | LS | Lori Welch Brown | Nicole Jiang | Crystalclearcandace | Em Unravelling | Jupiter Grant | Elle Beau ❇︎ | Suman Sandhu | Adam Deitsch | Mia Z. Edwards | David Majister | JF | Zach Neuman | Chris Mooney-Singh | Toya Qualls-Barnette | Karen Lappa Haas | Alan Henley | Michelle Bonfils | Zach Klebaner | Anna | Deepshikha Bhagat | Carlos Garbiras | Katrina Bos | Lisa Bolin | Sohaib Roomi | The Dozen | Malik Bellamy | Olivia Th | Shaista Malik | Emily Wilcox | Brajendra | Eva Rotolo | Bhavna Narula | Shannon Hugman | Ryan DeJonghe | Ryan DeJonghe | Dennett | Haider Jamal Abbasi | Swagat Choudhury | Vivian | Mark Tulin | Arslan Mirza | Amber Carlson | Dawn | Whatsinanaim | Amy Pierovich | Pooja Rane | Carolyn Riker | Tally | Shivangi Patel | Giulia | ScienceDuuude | Rachael Ann Sand | Divina Grey | Sri Devi Om | Sarah Paris | DISHA GARG | Jen Kleinknecht | janny’s heart | Penofgold | Blank Voice | Kele Mogotsi | Jessie London | Indubala Kachhawa | Radhika Ghose | Mil H. | Zeno Faber | Maziar Ghaderi | Julia Appa | Campbell Christensen | Allison Gaines | Lori Lamothe | Tima Loku | Kim McKinney | Baye Amina | SOULutionMan, aka Yohanan Gregorius | Tom Fenske | Johannes Mudi | Kasun Ranasinghe | Just a Slytherin hissing | Dr. Fatima Imam | Ntathu Allen | Somsubhra Banerjee | Veronica Georgieva | Life is Amazing with Books and Writers | Dandy Lioness | Bola Kwame | Haider Jamal Abbasi | Michael Ranjitsingh | Telling You Something | Krupesh Raikar | Muda El Masry | Rusty Alderson | Jennifer S. | Dr. Preeti Singh | Punch Drunk Cola | Melissa Speed | Ntathu Allen | Denise G | Carolyn Hastings | Tej | Vijini Mallawaarachchi | Amy Marley | Jac Gautreau | Caroline de Braganza | Roz Warren | Melissa Bee | Pretheesh Presannan | Erivaldo Ricardo | Daniel A. Teo | Anuradha Wickramarachchi | Niru | Priyanka Mane | Em Hoccane | Synthia Satkuna, MA Candidate | Alexandra Forsyth | R. Rangan PhD | Sruthi Korlakunta | Connie Song | Fathiyah Zb | Not quite Steve Fisher | Amna Asif | Jacobo the First | Aimée Gramblin | A Fresh Pot of Coffee | Rebecca Stevens A. | Imad | James G Brennan | Mary Keating | Jay Avery | h.a wadi | Pablo Pereyra | Isaac | Jenine Bsharah Baines | Rochelle Silva | Jade-Ceres Violet D. Munoz | Ruchi Thalwal | Clare Almand | Dana Sanford | Naomi Leilani Acosta | Dr. Jackie Greenwood | Fathiyah Zb | Amna Asif | Not quite Steve Fisher
Ps, if any of these links are outdated, please leave a note to let me know!
🧠🍜 Join us at The Brain is a Noodle! 🧠🍜
Last but probably most important
Hop on the jumbo thread!