greetings!

This has been a productive week. How has yours been?

I continue to see the miracles of the alarm clock, and in the past week I have more often than not experienced rising before the clock even goes off. It has been rather incredible to see the progress I have made in such a short time, and I want to keep riding this momentum.

Think Small

This week’s journey in particular has led me to the practice of:
Think Small

During my Artist Date that I took earlier in the week, I began reading the book Ikigai from the book stack I showed off last week. For those unfamiliar with this Japanese word, it means to have a sense of purpose or meaning to live. The hope is that by having a purpose it will give you strength to keep going and remain active in your golden years.

I am more than halfway through reading this book, and have really found it insightful. Something I have taken away from it is the act of performing rituals over goals.

Often I become stunted by my task list, objectives, or dreams. Take for example something that occurred this week: I scribbled on to my weekly task list for a Tuesday: CRYPT SCRIPT - meaning essentially that I want to write a teleplay for my podcast, Cinematic Crypt. The conclusion: I think way too big.

This causes a problem that I have been plagued with for quite some time… Each and everyday I Inevitably will accomplish a lot of notable tasks and meaningful activities. However, frequently a main objective (that is often a personal objective, such as Cinematic Crypt) that I had set out to do on a particular day will not be completed. The issue I have uncovered is: I am overwhelmed. The pink bean gets overwhelmed by a such a LARGE endeavor or ask that the juices overflow and drown the bean… it can’t breath, which inevitably causes me to become crippled.

The idea of writing an entire teleplay is far too much for the bean to handle, which is cause for me to then do absolutely nothing to work towards that goal. It is daunting and way too BIG of a task to handle in one sitting. Without it broken down, how am I even supposed to dig in? In reading Ikigai, I have been awakened from my slumber. A more appropriate way of going about this teleplay project is to write it out step by step. One piece of the puzzle, or one page at a time. Having a BIG goal such as writing a novel or a screenplay or podcast program requires to be broken out into SMALL steps. Getting started is always the hardest part, but once I get going it is hard for me to stop. No journey is completed with one large step, it is comprised of many many tiny ones.

what’s the latest scoop?

Entering The Cinematic Crypt

This week I am happy to report that, under the advisement to THINK SMALL, I was able to create a working template for my podcast, Cinematic Crypt. This document essentially outlines the format of my show. For those unfamiliar, Cinematic Crypt is a podcast that I started in 2019. Until 2025, I recorded forty-three episodes in which I travelled six feet under to pry open a coffin of one of my favorite Hollywood corpses. During the episode I would perform a post watch examination of one of their forgotten films. As mentioned above, it is hard to get started - especially on an abandoned project.

As part of the revamping of my show, I have decided to remove all the previously recorded episodes that I have made and archive them. I want to start fresh, in new dirt so to speak.

The first part of creating the new format was to determine the focus of the show and how exactly I want to structure each episode. Here’s what I came up with:

• Objectives: 

  • Keep the dead alive

  • Expose movie pals to buried and forgotten films 

  • Have fun learning about things I deeply care about: the Tinseltown dead and old motion pictures from the past

• Format: 

  • Run time: at least 30 minutes, no longer than 60 minutes

  • Release an episode once a month

  • Occasionally there may be a themed series in which several episodes fit together

  • I, Rosalie, am the host with Tommy Udo as a co-host, guests will visit the crypt on occasion

  • This will be a video/audio show

I have decided that my first episode will feature 1940’s The Devil Bat. This was the first motion picture I featured on Cinematic Crypt back in 2019, and over time I felt that I never did the film justice, given that I was learning how to pod at the time. Therefore, I thought it was ripe for a revisit. Keep your eyes peeled and ears ready, crypt dwellers.

Teaser drops: September 4

First episode airs: September 18

this week i am proud of…

a slew of things

The Morning Pages
I have successfully completed the morning pages since beginning The Artist’s Way, and have found it to be something I look forward to when I wake up in the morning. What are the morning pages? Find out here 

Cinematic Crypt
I am really happy that I was able to document the new format of my podcast. I got started and now can’t wait to continue the progress.

The Artist Date
On Tuesday I went on my first Artist Date (what is this? find out here) at Parc restaurant and had a lovely breakfast. I spent about an hour and a half afterwards in Rittenhouse Park reading the Ikigai and having much reflection. It was lovely.

I finished a book and started another
As mentioned, I am presently reading Ikigai. However, I also read another book from the stack: Making Art and Making a Living by Mason Currey. I did not really get much out of reading this one except for this little nugget: every artist forges their own path forward. No path is straight and many have to utilize a combination of strategies to succeed. This gave me a lot of hope that I am indeed on the right path… my path.

this week i recommend…

Two weird and unusual motion pictures

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)

What’s it about? 
At the request of Sir Alfred De Carter (Rex Harrison), his brother-in-law, August (Rudy Vallee) was asked to keep an eye on Alfred’s wife, Daphne (Linda Darnell) while he was on tour with his symphony in Europe. Upon Alfred’s return from his trip, he learns that August hired a private detective that may have seen Daphne step out on Alfred. This sends Alfred on a tizzy and leads him to imagining all sorts of wild scenarios of revenge.

Why I recommend: I caught this at Ambler Theater on Wednesday with Benjamin and after sitting with the film for several days came to the realization that I loved it. My three favorite things: the fantasy sequences, Rex Harrison’s manic behavior, and the witty dialogue courtesy of Preston Sturges.

Popeye (1980)

What’s it about? 
Based on the cartoon Popeye created by E. C. Segar (who died on October 13, 1938. I was born on October 13, 1983 eek!), the live action film from Robert Altman tells the tale of Popeye the Sailor Man (Robin Williams) searching for his father. When Popeye’s ship washes ashore at a small sea town, he bunks up with the Oyl household and meets the love of his life Olive (Shelley Duvall). However, before they can live happily ever after, he first has to face her fiancé, Bluto (Paul L. Smith)… and oh yea, contend with a baby that he found in a basket. 

Why I recommend: I loved this movie. It is so strange and bizarre. Why are they singing? I don’t know! Yet I kinda sorta liked it. It is not a muscial in the slightest but then suddenly the character just break out into a song. Songs with lyrics that are extremely odd. The way in which the actors embody the cartoon characters is astounding and something to behold. If you are up for a zany watch, I can’t recommend this one enough.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy you are here. xx.
goodbye.