Welcome to The Weekly Hyperfixation!
Exploring my current obsessions in life, the universe and everything – one word at a time.
On Reclaiming Joy
I’ve been writing in some capacity or another ever since I can remember. I’ve rarely felt at peace with it. I’ve often been frustrated with it. I never know exactly what I’m doing with it – and over the years, I’ve tried to do a lot. I’ve written in private diaries. I’ve written plays no one ever saw and one a couple people did. I’ve written silly screenplays for fun.
Professionally, I’ve written books to sell online. Advice columns on topics I knew very little about and pulled almost entirely out of my ass. B2B (that’s business to business for those blessed enough NOT to know the acronym) blog posts that were so boring they made me want to nail my tongue to a table. Mind-numbing ad copy, articles about wine, about books, about music, about theatre, food and travel. I’ve written academic articles and theses and short stories. Op-eds and manifestos. Bad song lyrics and worse poetry. I’ve written interviews with musicians, actors, scientists and chefs. I’ve written enough corporate copy to last a lifetime.
Somewhere along the line, I made a mistake. I turned something I loved to do into a livelihood. And I’ve never been able to feel the same way about it since. It turned something I loved to do into something I had to do. And frankly? I’ve had enough of that.
This Substack is an attempt to reclaim the joy of exploring the universe and my favourite things in it – books, music, ideas, art, the inexplicable magic hiding just beneath the surface of daily life. In it, I’ll spend each week (for now) doing something I truly love – sharing things I’m passionate about with people who understand.
If you’re reading this – that’s you! Thank you for your support and for indulging me.
So. Let’s start as we mean to go on.
Listening to: The Conflict Photography of Lynsey Addario
This week, I’ve been listening to Lynsey Addario’s audiobook, It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War, about her life and work as a conflict photographer, covering regions including, but not limited to Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and most recently, Ukraine. There are so many things I could say about this incredible woman and her excellent memoir (which I highly recommend!). But in this instance, I’ll let some of her photos speak for her and the incredible work she does, risking her life to ensure that people like you and I can have a full and comprehensive understanding of what’s happening in the world beyond our borders.
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c13c1e2-b043-4113-b83a-24ae42afdb32_750x500.jpeg)
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F418d49b6-b646-4ed4-9f27-4522a525ba36_2500x1571.jpeg)
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F74243c1a-bff4-48ea-95fc-081d985df459_2500x1660.jpeg)
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2271afa-e9a8-4b6b-a34d-884f69c3ad8d_1600x1065.jpeg)
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa184f76-c637-4f17-9f29-6a5abf5d4ec1_2500x1668.jpeg)
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9859238-98b9-4a48-acc0-ddd2fe9da5f5_2500x1666.jpeg)
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdba362f0-c97b-42bb-962e-5fd815cd7c79_1920x1277.jpeg)
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F39b9fa97-ce07-443f-a150-a4ba22c5b2d1_1920x1280.jpeg)
![Nine images from conflict photographer Lynsey Addario including trans sex workers in NYC, women in Afghanistan, American troops in Afghanistan, girls in a classroom in Afghanistan, Gambian refugees in a boat, a COVID patient in Britain, a heroin addict in Glasgow, a woman wading through floodwater in Sudan and a firefighter fighting the California wildfires.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21035f43-ddfd-44e7-bfc9-df53fca1f98d_1920x1280.jpeg)
Reading: Cleve Jones and His Life in the Gay Rights Movement
I’ve also been reading Cleve Jones’ memoir, When We Rise: My Life in the Movement, this week, which I’ve loved. Cleve Jones was a prominent and early gay rights activist in the 1970s in San Francisco who worked under Harvey Milk, co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and created the world’s largest community arts project, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, memorialising the lives of over 85,000 Americans killed by AIDS. The book is beautifully written and simultaneously joyous and devastating. But it’s also vital reading for anyone who identifies with the queer community, either as a member or an ally. It’s easy to forget, especially living somewhere like Sydney, which just hosted World Pride this past summer, how much we owe to people like Cleve Jones and Harvey Milk who spent their lives (and in Milk’s case, gave his life) so that people all across the queer spectrum could live and love in peace.
“We are survivors. We shall survive again and we shall be the strongest, most gentle people on this earth.” – Cleve Jones
Listening to: “The Bear” Soundtrack
The show is exceptional, the writing is beautiful, the soundtrack is immaculate. I’ve been obsessed with it since the first season. REM, The Budos Band, Wilco, Andrew Bird, KIRBY, Sufjan Stephens, Pearl Jam, David Byrne. Ugh, it’s so good. UGH. Get amongst it!
That’s all for this week, lovely humans. If you’ve read and/or enjoyed any of this, thank you kindly. If you like what you read, feel free to forward on to your friends/loved ones if you think they might like it too! And if you haven’t subscribed… Do it for the memes, music and love!
Until next time!
Siri
PS I will obviously be making this prettier as weeks go on with coding etc. This is a bb test run.