AIIEEEEEEEEEE I AM FREE
We say escapism sometimes in the same way you might describe a mediocre sandwich — like it’s this half-thing, something that’s, ennh, fine, but not really recommended. We have better things to consume, after all, than escapist fiction. Deeper into that is the connotation that we should not endeavor to escape. Rather, we should stare our world and our problems right in the face, hawk up a hard loogey, and spit our gnarly phlegm right in reality’s eye. HRRRK. PTOO.
Yeah, no, fuck that.
Escapism has never been more necessary. I am staring at the news daily (hourly, minutely, secondly) and each time it’s like finding Sauron’s gaze fixed directly upon you — as such, I am looking for any opportunity at all to wince away for a time, just to be reminded that other things exist beyond that UNBLINKING SATANIC STARE. That’s not to say you should remain staring in the other direction, or that you cannot also read fiction or embrace material that is more serious and complicated. But at the same time, man, whoo. We gotta find the equivalent of emotional comfort food in a room full of happy goddamn pillows.
The other night, I posted a list on Twitter (which you can find here) of things that were essentially keeping me sane in this decidedly cuckoopants timeline.
So, I’m opening the comments here for you to do exactly the same thing.
Drop into the comments at least one (but not limited to one!) thing you’ve been using as an outlet for escape. Books, movies, games, comics, foods, people, something, anything, whatever.
K R Green says:
Twitter, books, comedy shows & disney movies… back to back.
February 1, 2017 — 9:36 AM
Brittany Constable says:
Lego video games are stellar. Well constructed, funny, and local multiplayer so I can play with my husband! Right now we’re mainly playing Dimensions, but we might get back to Lego Avengers at some point.
Also, I introduced him to Leverage so we’ve been watching that whenever we can scare up the time.
At the end of the month we’re doing another costume party/game night. Theme for this one is Clue. We’ve got the VCR game! We did this before with Arkham Horror, and it was a blast.
February 1, 2017 — 9:37 AM
boundbeautifunk says:
Fiction writing has been really hard for me since the election, which was my usual post-barn escapism. Much of my time has been taken up by research, letter writing, phone calls, and sign holding.
That said, I’m taking an extra ten minutes every morning to just stay in bed with my husband, feel warm and safe, and appreciate what I have. I’m also making sure to go home and spend some time with my parents every week, make sure they are doing well, and feeling like a family.
February 1, 2017 — 9:40 AM
Michael Patrick Hicks says:
Books all the way! I’ve been trying to work through a backlog of ARCs and audiobooks, and got through 11 titles in January.
Also, my one year old boy. The kid is a frenetic bundle of energy and pure joy. It’s amazing to see him take such simple, carefree delight in things (unless it’s something he’s delighted by and can’t reach, like cookies or the vacuum cleaner. This boy is freaking *obsessed* with vacuum cleaners. He knows which closet we keep it in and stares longingly at the door, banging on it, yelling “bacoom!” We took him swimming on Saturday, and he broke away to chase down a janitor pushing a vacuum down the hallway.) My son presents the kind of craziness I need in my life, and certainly far more often than the Trump Wrecking Show and Disasterthon.
February 1, 2017 — 9:42 AM
mlhe says:
World, watch out for that boy! My son, when he was a toddler 30 years ago, turned a plastic toy Snuffalupagus character into a “wac-yooom.” He turned out to have such a successful life that he is now in Perth, Australia kind of saying the equivalent of “nah nah nah nah nah naaaa” to those of us now suffering a different kind of democracy. (Oh, and he worked–for pay–on both of the former presidential campaigns and someone in the Florida HQ office during the last campaign took a photo of him dressed in a blue blazer, holding five cups of ramen in one hand while also vacuuming the floor.)
February 1, 2017 — 10:18 AM
Jemima Pett says:
Going down my Facebook page yesterday I stopped and posted ‘Thank you for a break from the insanity’ to the Federation International Ski (I think that’s what FIS stands for) and the ski jumpers. I find that pictures of guinea pigs also help. 🙂
February 1, 2017 — 9:42 AM
Rebecca Douglass says:
Yeah, I have found an appreciation I never expected for those FB friends who post pictures of cute animals, or cute kids (same thing, really). And little personal triumphs. Keep sharing those, folks, because we need some hope in this sea of shit!
February 1, 2017 — 11:06 AM
furyious says:
Sometimes, a lot of the time, it feels like there is no escape. But I find a good book and devour it from front to back. It shuts down the world, and takes me somewhere else, even if only for a little while.
February 1, 2017 — 9:43 AM
Sarah W says:
Yesterday, I went to the zoo. Kept my phone in my pocket, took the camera, and tried to take photos of as many animals as possible before I got bored and school release time started. I took 1500. 🙂
Also, I’ve been playing a silly restaurant sim game. It’s… it’s goofy, I don’t know why I’m playing it, but it’s entertaining.
February 1, 2017 — 9:46 AM
mlhe says:
A fun real-life card game related to food is Sushi-Go. Just sayin’.
February 1, 2017 — 10:12 AM
The Urban Spaceman says:
The ultimate escapism—writing!
February 1, 2017 — 9:47 AM
Rosanna Leo says:
Escapism is precisely the reason I write and read romance. For me, it has always been the ultimate escape. A lot of people denigrate this genre but it has everything I want in my literature: great heroes, horrible villians, entanglements, seductions, misery and ultimately hope. I’m finding I need a lot of hope these days so I love reading something that guarantees me a “happily ever after.” Let’s face it, life doesn’t guarantee one.
February 1, 2017 — 9:47 AM
Aura Eadon says:
1. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.
2. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.
3. Any decent fantasy and sci-fi book with kick-ass leading women.
4. Lesbian romance.
5. Writing for myself and losing myself in it and the worlds I make.
6. Selection of yuri visual novels.
7. RPG games.
8. Daydreaming about my open projects’ storylines.
9. Ripe mango.
10. Smoothies.
11. Long walks.
February 1, 2017 — 9:49 AM
authorialfuries says:
Have you read Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulhurst yet? I read it recently and have been basically throwing at everyone I know. Endearing characters! Lesbian romance! Elemental magic!
February 1, 2017 — 10:07 PM
Aura Eadon says:
Oooh, no I haven’t, thank you so much for that recommendation! Can’t find a kindle version so I’ll have to buy the book version. Here’s one from me: one amazing book I read last year was Ascension: A Tangled Axon Novel by Jacqueline Koyanagi. 😀
February 2, 2017 — 12:15 PM
Greg Levin says:
Writing. Whiskey. Meditation. Throwing myself down staircases Tyler Durden-style.
February 1, 2017 — 9:56 AM
Jennifer Gracen says:
1. Writing. I’m a romance writer, currently with a WIP and a deadline. Writing this book has been saving me on the reg.
2. My kids. Unplugging from the world at times, turning to them and focusing on them, saves me.
3. Music. Been digging out my old CDs and listening to favorite music from better times. Helps.
4. Long walks outside. Harder lately with the cold, but I do it anyway. Because necessary.
February 1, 2017 — 10:04 AM
Kay Camden says:
This is interesting. I broke out my old CDs too, but I went straight for the ones recorded after 9/11. The vibe in the music of that time is so fitting. Thursday’s “War All the Time” really hits home right now…
February 1, 2017 — 11:23 AM
Bex says:
Bought a box of “thinking of you” cards and some stamps. Going through my contacts and sending handwritten notes via snail mail to friends with words of positivity. Practicing hand lettering while doing this. Two birds, one stone. Reading, lots of reading.
February 1, 2017 — 10:06 AM
Valarie Kinney says:
Books. Writing. Yarn.
February 1, 2017 — 10:06 AM
Alyc M Helms says:
Kdramas. They are tropey, cracktastic id-fests. And the format is such that each one tells a complete, contained story in 16-20 episodes. Unlike Western TV, there’s no maintaining status quo or x-filesian plot wormholes. Shit happens, and shit gets resolved.
Also, they have been a fantastic way to retrain myself to monotask. No more doing three other things while I half-watch a show.
My two current “everyone should see these” are Healer (Korean) and Nirvana in Fire (Chinese). Both are free to watch on Viki.com (which has the best translations, imo.)
February 1, 2017 — 10:07 AM
T Mallow says:
I’m boring – books always books, bourbon, and writing very dark short fiction BUT my friend, Jill, has a embraced a great (and supposedly therapeutic) escape: archery! Target photos optional.
Take care, my American friends.
February 1, 2017 — 10:08 AM
mocando says:
Work. Writing. Reading. Ranting (but the blood pressure…)
February 1, 2017 — 10:09 AM
Harry Brautt says:
Food has helped. New oatmeal cookie recipe last week, and new pot roast recipe last night. Also, stepping away from the keyboard and seeing what life is like in the parks and gardens near my home. The calming effects of feline therapy are key and can not be discounted..
February 1, 2017 — 10:09 AM
mlhe says:
So…for my 60th birthday (January 23–same day as Stendahl, who’d turn 234 in 2017), someone sent me a book titled “To: You…Love, God.” Every day there is a new memo to me from God. Even the gift tag said, “Happy birthday, Mary! Love, God.” So my escape is to the place in my mind where I say, “To where do I address the thank you note?” and then, “When I get beyond ‘thanks for the book, God,’ what else do I have to say that will fit on the card?”)
February 1, 2017 — 10:10 AM
mlhe says:
Since I put in this post, God told me that I spelled Stendhal wrong.
February 1, 2017 — 12:44 PM
Li Qiao Er says:
Books, writing, and escaping into the woods whenever possible for as long as possible
February 1, 2017 — 10:17 AM
ToadieOdie says:
Anything from Peir Anthony’s Xanth series. The puns… need I say more?! It is good to have something to smile and laugh about.
I’ve revisited the Resident Evil games and took my middle son to see the last movie. He has Autism so he doesn’t say much, but it was a joy to see him get verbal over this. I think he liked the movie as much as I did.
Hanging out on Scribophile and just reading – so much reading! It’s been nice to be in a community where they are talking about anything except the politics. It’s mostly about writing but still it’s a nice break.
February 1, 2017 — 10:18 AM
Rachel Ambrose says:
I’ve been deepening my practice of witchcraft, learning to make gluten free yeasted breads (I’m getting good at pizza dough!), and making new friends who feel like safety.
February 1, 2017 — 10:18 AM
thegrimdragons says:
Books. Always books. Also rewatching Firefly. Again.
February 1, 2017 — 10:18 AM
mannixk says:
That Firefly re-watch plan is solid!
February 1, 2017 — 10:43 AM
Lynn Charles (@LynnCharlesNet) says:
Writing has been difficult, but I know once I dive in it will be a welcome escape. In the meantime, I took my first yoga class Monday. I’ve been studying some mindfulness techniques, and been intentional about unplugging and ending each evening watching brainless television with my husband instead of scouring social media like some sort of fiend.
February 1, 2017 — 10:19 AM
Kelly Jensen says:
More TV than ever before (The Expanse starts again tonight, woohoo! Also watching The Killing, which is really good so far) and many more hours in front of the X-Box and PlayStation and PC (I have a game going on all three, okay?).
I also get out some. 😉 Do stuff with real humans.
February 1, 2017 — 10:29 AM
KWPech says:
Beer Busters.
2oz Vodka. Juice of one lime. 8-10 dashes green Tabasco. Salt (to taste) then pour over one Corona.
Wait for fizz-foam to subside, then wander house drinking and asking the Family, pets, walls, lamps, and any other random furniture that gives you the eye, “What-up BUSTA?”
February 1, 2017 — 10:30 AM
terribleminds says:
Some of you are like BOOKS —
Yes! But WHAT books! Make suggestions, goddamnit. We’re here to share the escapist love, which requires specifics. 🙂
February 1, 2017 — 10:30 AM
Tracy Krimmer says:
A lot of coffee and chocolate!
February 1, 2017 — 10:32 AM
KWPech says:
I’ve been plowing through Old Man’s War this week. This one always makes me happy to immerse in.
So does Ready Player One.
February 1, 2017 — 10:32 AM
Connie says:
Longs walks in the woods with ickle the Wonder Whippet
February 1, 2017 — 10:36 AM
carolyn says:
All this mess has actually spurred my writing mojo into action and I’ve had the best month of writing in ages. I feel on fire. Other things – getting into zen mode with the huskies on the back porch – there is something so darn soothing about brushing the pounds of blowing fur off the dogs, listening to my calming, bubbling fountain, and music playing in the background.
February 1, 2017 — 10:42 AM
Berin Kinsman says:
Getting outside. Trees and sky. No electronics, no people.
February 1, 2017 — 10:42 AM
mariner2mother says:
Music and my camera. If the TV is on, it’s on a music channel. If the weather isn’t horrible, I get outside with a camera. Great escapes.
February 1, 2017 — 10:47 AM
deborahleighwrites says:
It ends where it begins, so, reading fiction, like I did as a kid, has been my purest escape and the one that I would call the most comforting. I also:
1. Rant like hell with dear friends at work. Venting with like-minded people is great.
2. Write nonsense. It’s fun when it doesn’t matter *at all*.
3. End each night with an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show on Netflix. Every night, y’all. I’m also a pretty steady viewer of that one hour of The Andy Griffith Show that comes on MeTV in the early evening.
4. Watch a lot of Turner Classic Movies and the Encore/Starz Westerns Channel.
5. Blog about classic films. Draws you way in to do a deep dive on a 70-year-old film.
6. Blog about classic books that were made into classic films in a “book vs. film war” kind of way. That’s a blast. [5 and 6 are my best forays into another world while still being “active”. Very engaging and distracting.]
7. Listen to music. Listen to music. Listen to music.
8. Other random filler stuff that’s not about current events.
Thanks Chuck and everybody for sharing.
February 1, 2017 — 10:48 AM
mannixk says:
Cooking and then eating sinful things (ie: last week it was gooey cinnamon buns; lemon meringue pie); Netflix (right now it’s Bates Motel and The Break); Paul Tremblay’s short fiction collection In The Mean Time; dance parties with my kids…yesterday we really got our Lady Gaga on. Also seriously limiting Twitter time and trying to write instead.
February 1, 2017 — 10:48 AM
Metalkween says:
I run and bicycle and turn off social media and clean my home while listening to thrash metal or punk. It deafens the other noises.
February 1, 2017 — 10:49 AM
Nina Dreyer says:
For me, it’s switching off the internet and focusing on just one thing for long stretches of time – like reading a good book without checking my phone or the news every five minutes. I tend to skip from one news outlet to the other all through the day, round and round like a merry-go-round of doom and ugliness, and it always, always makes me feel overwhelmed and depleted in the end. Also, listening to 1940s jazz and knitting. And staying the hell away from every comments section except this one!
February 1, 2017 — 10:50 AM
sewcraftyme says:
Books: The very first Charlie “Birdman” Parker book All The Dead Things which is being released anew. Its just as fabulous as it was the first time. ‘The Way of Wyrd’ by Brian Bates ‘
Life on Earth’ by Mike Dooley’ Reading my way through Dean Koontz’s Odd series for the first time. On Audio I’m listening to a Jonathan Kellerman ‘Obsession’ and just downloaded a David Baldacci ‘The Whole Truth’. I have parrots and they help tremendously. Oh I’m also working my way through Birdology by Sy Montgomery though I have to stop and go hug the birds a lot when I’m reading this as I get all wrapped in love and need to share it. Since I’m single and happy to be so, the birds benefit, they do love hugs and skritches. Pets give unconditional love and can get us through anything I’ve found. And lots of coffee. Internet friends. And I read this wonderful book by someone you might know: Invasive and recommended to a lot of my friends on Goodreads and other social media sites – after I caught up on the sleep I lost while reading it. Its been quite a long time, I think The Stand actually, was the last time I had to, and wanted to stay awake to keep reading a book to find out what was going to happen next.
February 1, 2017 — 10:51 AM
DS Ullery says:
I couldn’t agree more, Chuck. I just posted about this on my FB page yesterday. I struggle with degrees of mental illness every day and will for as long as I’m kicking around the mortal coil. Consequently, it can be difficult to make it through any substantial length of time without experiencing a very deep depression, paranoia and debilitating apprehension. It’s exponentially worse in a climate such as the one we now find ourselves immersed in, and the non stop news cycle of one atrocity after another can quickly become toxic.
So I’m striking a balance. I’ll keep up and post about things I feel are important. I’ll speak out, remain part of the vocal opposition and continue to defy and resist the Orange Golem and his cronies.
But I will also allow for avenues of escape. I will kick back with the occasional six pack of light beer and watch a movie or two. I will escape into my writing (I always feel one hundred percent better when I pull out of the zone after a solid session). I will post nonsense and the occasional ridiculous meme just for the sake of spreading some laughter. I will spend time with family and discuss everything but Captain Hairdo and The Hatemongers and their Ruin the World tour.
In short, I will survive this. I will not be victim to it.
February 1, 2017 — 10:51 AM
amys223 says:
Pinterest. I go spelunking for amaaaaazing dream spa bathrooms and funky bohemian bedrooms. Or I find thoughtful memes and NSFW inappropriate humor because both make me feel hopeful it’s not all terrible.
Netflix, for comedians with comedian thoughts and observations about this insane country of insanity.
Naps.
Hugs from my girl and our kitten (who doesn’t really hug as much as she just sadly lets us squish her til we feel better).
But also to be very direct and brutally honest? Beer. A loooooot of beer, Chuck. So….much…..beer.
February 1, 2017 — 11:05 AM
W. L. Bolm says:
I’ve been using the Sirens Conference reading list. I’d really love to go to the conference this year, but it’s looking like I won’t have the funds, based on my expenses so far this year. But, I can read all of the amazing books in their reading challenge.
https://www.sirensconference.org/connect/readingchallenge.html
I’ve also been cooking a lot more; I’ll go to the library and grab a cookbook and experiment in the kitchen. I just checked out a local farm that has a winter CSA, so Thursday I’ll be bringing home a giant box of produce with some cool local veggies I’ve never tried, like Hen of the Woods mushrooms.
February 1, 2017 — 11:05 AM
Rebecca Douglass says:
My real escapes are…escapist literature. Light murder mysteries (reading them or writing them), kids’ books (some are kind of heavy, though, gotta watch that!), fantasy. I just went on a binge of re-reading Charlotte MacLeod’s absurd mysteries, which can always make me laugh.
Science fiction can be dicey in these times, since so much of it is distopian or post-apocalyptic, and that’s hitting too close to home. OTOH: I can go for the ones where the baddies get thoroughly trounced. Maybe it’s time to watch the Death Star getting blown up again.
And then I go for long bike rides, until I’m too tired to think at all. That helps.
February 1, 2017 — 11:11 AM
eporter70 says:
I think I’ll go retro and rewatch Farscape, my favorite sci fi TV show, along with a good dose of Seinfeld and some Grey’s Anatomy (heck, that’s pretty escapist!)
February 1, 2017 — 11:13 AM
Kay Camden says:
Yessss!! Farscape! That sounds like a great idea, actually…
February 1, 2017 — 11:33 AM
Caroline Clemens says:
Escapism … or my to do list! I have a stack of books (John Grisham, Chuck Wendig, Dan Brown, Nora Roberts, Harper Lee, and others) which I will read as soon as I finish escaping into the Thriller I’m writing. I tell myself ‘keep the heat prickling throughout the body with a sweat just about coming to the surface like you’re scared’ otherwise, I have no idea how-to write a thriller. I won’t know if I’m successful until it’s done and I re read it. On another note, I’m talking via phone w the hubby and I don’t have to tell him to look at me or stay in the room while I’m talking. Hey, that might even be romantic. Married too many years. Haha!
February 1, 2017 — 11:18 AM
Carla Lee Suson, Novelist says:
Lego building. Working on my own personal brick universe.
February 1, 2017 — 11:18 AM
Kay Camden says:
Parkway Drive’s IRE. “Let’s get this straight, while you’re listening. In my world, you count for nothing!” That’s Bottom Feeder, and the video is very healing too. Lots of pyro. Believe it or not, it calms me down.
Also Gunship. Anyone here familiar with Gunship? OMG GUNSHIP.
Books: The River Witch. It’s a deep dive into southern-ness, a river culture in alligator country. Also The Raven Boys, which so far is just good magicky fun.
February 1, 2017 — 11:19 AM
Wendy Christopher says:
My son, belting out the lyrics to popular songs and getting them unintentionally, hilariously wrong. Best examples to date:
“I came in like a RUG-BY BALL!” (‘Wrecking Ball,’ Miley Cyrus.)
“”Place your hands on my bearded heart!” (‘Thinking Out Loud,’ Ed Sheeran.)
“I know rock’n’roll, colour-pinny-tied and DANCIN’ FLEA!” (‘I Love Rock’n’Roll,’ Joan Jett.)
“…it won’t be long ’til I – HIT THE DUMPSTER! HIT THE DUMPSTER..” (‘Cheap Thrills,’ Sia.)
“All-a buy a man, buy a nutty customer kneeling on a bed!” (‘Walk Like an Eygyptian,’ The Bangles.)
February 1, 2017 — 11:23 AM
Nicole Sharp Writes says:
Arrested Development! Arrested Development! Arrested Development!
And singing at the top of my lungs in the car with my daughter. Those two seem to be helping.
February 1, 2017 — 11:31 AM
Nerdacles says:
Nintendo 3DS XL games, chocolate and other treats in health hampering amounts, cheap wine, Netflix, Hulu, Binti Home (a novella and part two of a series that’s a lovely escape – just released yesterday), hugging my kids a ton and laughing at silly nonsense (like fart jokes), watching tiny green things grow in our new Aerogarden, Erutan – A Bard’s Side Quest via Spotify, collecting digital nerdy nerd things via Quidd, riding roller coasters and wielding a magic wand with my iPhone and cheapy VR glasses, aaaaaand rewatching shows like Parks and Recreation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and 30 Rock.
February 1, 2017 — 11:32 AM
Nikki says:
I haven’t been able to find the mojo to write since the election. I’ve been burying my sorrows in re-runs of RuPaul’s Drag Race on Hulu.
February 1, 2017 — 11:32 AM