A Saturday night special, packed with an explosion of opportunity.  A call back to music, film and books that will inspire you and a list of life hacks that will move you forward.  A resolution summary, and a mystery starting to unfold.  After reading through all the news on top, spend some time toward the bottom of the newsletter thinking about music and your least favorite band that has one good song.  We read a second story about the move M3GAN, two stories in two days about this quirky indie film, means it’s on the go to the movies critical list.

First, the 2023 challenges continue, today it’s cleaning, calendars and trying to catch up.

This is the 21 Day Challenge Program.

Today included an easy challenge for an OCD, hyper-organized person who has to have a clean workspace. The write-up on getting organized is about control, improving yourself, working to control the things you can, and letting go of those you cannot. Organizing your workspace is something you can handle.

I've been doing this since I was a kid, but there is a downside. I used to clean my room before doing my homework. There are several days I re-organize stuff before writing the newsletter. This one can go both ways, but reviewing the things you can control is always a good idea.

This is the 7-day happiness challenge, focused on relationships.

Put a few social dates on your calendar for the upcoming week. This is where the rubber meets the road. You can talk about improving your relationships - the challenge is going out and doing the work.

Working with a journal allows you to slow your own thoughts, and meditate on your days. Sahil Bloom does it again, and adds to the January projects. This project will be the daily cherry on top of all the others. Here’s the write from Bloom:

In a cynical world filled with people creating drama for the sake of drama and clicks, a story was reported on by Morning Brew, who picked it up from BuzzFeed about a novelist presumed dead.  According to the BuzzFeed story, the writer Susan Meachen and people who may or may not be related to her posted on social media two years ago that Meachen had died by suicide.  Two years later, Meachen started posting again on her social media sites, explaining that she had been going through difficult times and her family did what they thought was right.  More questions than answers remain.

Today is Saturday, The Guardian puts out great content on the weekends, and this story is no exception.  A short piece on music, art, books, TV, and film that inspire us.  Or inspired several writers from The Guardian.  None of the recommendations are for new music or media – they are unique to each writer and worth a review if you love to be inspired.

Music:   Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten – is a song that reminds us that wherever or whenever your life is, there is plenty of stories left to write.         

Art:        A painting called The Dream of a Knight, by Raphael in 1504, shows a Knight between two women holding a sword, a book, and a flower.  Let your dreams begin.

Book:    Walden by Thoreau – quote from Thoreau “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately."  That sums it all up.

TV:         Enlightened on HBO starring Laura Dern – sort of like The Office, if it involved a nervous breakdown, living with your mom, and working IT in the basement of a pharmaceutical company.

Film:      Booksmart, Olivia Wilde's directorial debut, and the newest offering on the list.  A witty and humorous look at the summer before college told from the young woman's perspective.  Underrepresented a view and a good movie.

In Matt Gray’s Twitter Thread, he adds 12 tips to your 2023 life advice list.  This list is one of the best we’ve seen, and we have seen a lot of life hack lists.  The first is our favorite; get in the game!

An interesting site called YouGov.com conducts research and surveys around the world and puts out a study about annual resolutions.  The results are not surprising, focusing on personal growth, finance, fitness, and nutrition.  What's interesting is what needs to be added to this list or any list we've seen on resolutions.

Whatever we can do to reduce isolation, and the longer we can keep the resolutions involving improved relationships, the happier 2023 will be!

[Music Notes]

Past meets present in the lineup of notes today.

In the second great Twitter Thread (I guess Twitter is not dead yet), Jane Coaston asks the question:

There are a lot of terrific songs on the list.  We’ve got a thing for Firework.

Words | Music | Art | Unknown

A second chance.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

Thank you for spending a few minutes with us!

With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.