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joe's avatar

So I actually went to a reading at Black Spring Books in NYC by the person who wrote that article. I remember the name Thirst and it was a fun event where people got up and told saucy stories completely unrehearsed. I feel a bit haughty reading about TikTok poets. I can't say I'd want to be in their position, though flying to France on someone else's dime will never not be enticing.

You know me, the poems I love most are usually the ones I'll never fully understand. Mystery's got a hold on me.

Thanks again for being my editor Oleg <3 #novella #mentor #thecrater #idontwannabeatiktokpoet

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Oleg Kagan's avatar

I have no hate for the TikTok poets -- if it works, it works. I'm mostly confused by the physiological reactions of their fans. How do they make it through, let's say, an emotional movie without shitting themselves?

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Dan's avatar

Who says we do make it through...?

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Oleg Kagan's avatar

#Ded

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Faith Current's avatar

Basil is really sensitive to overwatering. Put it in some hot 90 degree sun and ignore it for a bit. That might help.

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Oleg Kagan's avatar

That's helpful but the challenge for me is that I have no sense of what normal watering or over watering means. It's like cooking a recipe that says "Put in some flour, but not too much." I need more specific directions. Like, how long should I ignore it? Two days?

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Faith Current's avatar

Right, that's a valid point. I'm not a "plant person" anymore, but I used to be. Now I have three plants, two of which were here when I bought the house and had survived six months of completely neglect, so I felt they'd earned their status as roomates. And another that was a gift... I did not want any of them, mind you, but now I"m quite fond. So I get the attachment and sense of guardianship.

Think of a sponge after you've wet it and wrung it out really really well. it's not bone dry, but it's not "wet" either. Just pleasantly Not Dry. (The works for most plants, btw.)

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Oleg Kagan's avatar

Wow, I've been overwatering everything!

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Faith Current's avatar

Most people do.

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Faith Current's avatar

Okay, I just thought of a better answer for you.

To know how much to water a plant, determine what it's native climate is. And then think about how much rain that climate got, pre-climate change. That's how much you water.

So a plant native to the Mediterranean, which basil is, would be watered approximately the same amount of time as It rains in the region it comes from.

Perhaps a little bit more only because containers dry out more quickly.

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Oleg Kagan's avatar

That sounds like a lot of work to grow a few measly plants!

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Oleg Kagan's avatar

I prefer that sponge thing.

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Oleg Kagan's avatar

Also, why did you stop being a plant person? I didn't know that was a vanishing quality.

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Faith Current's avatar

I mean, I am still fond of plants, of course. I bought six acres of plants of varying sizes of which I am now the caretaker/guardian. I just stopped being interested in being responsible for the domestic variety that requires my attention.

It was a phase. A time when I was in extreme distress and needed the archetypal elemental healing of working with the soil and with the literal metaphor of new growth and such. Once I passed through that, I lost interest in growing literal things and moved on to wanting to grow other things, like ideas.

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Dan's avatar

Frozen yogurt topped with movable type... Mmm...

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