Lisa Starling

Writer, poet, photographer, artist, mom of three boys, and 1 poodle, not necessarily in that order. A dash of Earth activist thrown in...Love to read!!

[Time Capsule Tales @timecaptales]

The Beatles "Hey Jude" had it's world premiere on David Frost's "Frost On Sunday" show on September 8th, 1968.

[cinesthetic. @TheCinesthetic]

Amy Adams served as the real-life reference for the animated sequences in Enchanted.

[Harry Potter World @PotterWorldUK]

Sometimes, all you need is a Harry Potter marathon.

YES

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

MIT students got bored on a Saturday night and turned an entire building into a playable game of Tetris, rigging every window with LEDs at midnight.

These kids are going to run the world and we should let them.

[Ginger @GingerBriq]

…now he was middle-aged and in love, as hopelessly … as he'd been at nineteen.
His older self had chosen to be cautious where he should have been bold; in recognising too late what he wanted and perhaps even needed, he'd jettisoned what he was increasingly feeling was his one chance of real happiness.
——
Tonight he'd finally, and perhaps too late, found something he wanted more than solitude and safety, and he supposed all he could do now was wait to find out whether Robin Ellacott decided whether she wanted it, too.
#TheHallmarkedMan

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Paris has removed the paving from its city hall square and transformed it into an urban forest.

[Athenaeum Book Club @athenaeumbc]

C. S. Lewis’s advice to a young schoolgirl on how to become a better writer:

[pier luigi pinna @pierpi13]

C’è stato un tempo in cui il mio volto era ovunque. Cartelloni, riviste, interviste. Ero l’eroe d’avventura di The Mummy. Il ragazzo che saltava tra le liane in George of the Jungle. Guadagnavo milioni. Vivevo in una grande casa. E pensavo che sarebbe durato per sempre.
Nessuno ti prepara alla rapidità con cui tutto può finire.
Quando ho denunciato l’abuso che avevo subito, il silenzio è stato assordante. Le porte si sono chiuse. Il telefono ha smesso di squillare. Il mio agente mi ha lasciato. Gli “amici” sono spariti. Da “star del momento” sono diventato “quello problematico”, “quello difficile”, “quello che non porta più incassi”.
Nel frattempo il mio corpo cedeva. Sette interventi chirurgici per le ferite accumulate nei film: schiena, ginocchia, corde vocali. Dolore cronico. Mi sono ritrovato in una depressione così profonda che alcuni giorni non riuscivo nemmeno ad alzarmi dal letto. Il peso saliva e scendeva. L’autostima scendeva e basta.
I miei figli mi chiedevano:
«Papà, perché non fai più film?»
E io mentivo:
«Sto scegliendo bene i progetti.»
La verità era che nessuno mi chiamava.
Ho iniziato a pensare di aver fatto qualcosa di sbagliato. Di meritare l’oblio. Che forse era meglio sparire.
Un giorno, mentre sistemavo il garage, trovai una scatola di vecchie fotografie. In una c’ero io sul set di George of the Jungle. Tenevo in braccio mio figlio Griffin, che aveva due anni. Ridevamo entrambi. Dietro di me c’erano luci, troupe, movimento.
E ho ricordato perché avevo iniziato.
Non per la fama.
Non per i soldi.
Ma perché amavo recitare. Perché quando facevo ridere qualcuno, mi sentivo vivo.
Quel giorno mi sono fatto una promessa: sarei tornato. Non importava quanto tempo ci volesse. Anche con un film piccolo, indipendente, senza budget. Sarei tornato.
Dieci anni dopo, il telefono ha squillato.
Era Darren Aronofsky. Voleva che facessi un provino per The Whale. La storia di un uomo obeso, isolato, depresso, che cerca di riconnettersi con sua figlia. Ho letto la sceneggiatura e ho pianto. Quell’uomo ero io.
Abbiamo girato in venti giorni. Budget minimo. Solo io, una tuta protesica e una macchina da presa.
Alla prima a Venezia, il pubblico si è alzato in piedi. Ho visto persone piangere. E per la prima volta dopo anni, ho sentito che il mondo mi stava guardando di nuovo.
Poi è arrivato l’Oscar.
Nel 2023 ho stretto tra le mani quella statuetta dorata. Ma la cosa più importante non è stata il premio. È stato vedere i miei figli lì, in sala. E quella sera, tornando a casa, mio figlio mi ha abbracciato e mi ha detto:
«Papà, non ho mai dubitato di te.»
Non racconto questa storia per essere applaudito. La racconto per chi oggi è seduto in un parcheggio, a mangiare da solo, sentendosi invisibile. Per chi pensa che la propria storia sia finita. Per chi aspetta da anni una chiamata che non arriva.
Il mondo può dimenticarti. Può ignorarti. Può cancellarti.
Ma finché tu non dimentichi te stesso, c’è sempre tempo per un ritorno.
Non importa quante volte cadi.
Importa se sei disposto ad alzarti ancora una volta.
Brendan Fraser

[Science girl @sciencegirl]

A creative way to turn nature’s shadows into art

[Science girl @sciencegirl]

Ceramic art using nature
https://t.co/A9LIBMvmsZ

[Infinite Books @infinitebooks]

John Steinbeck,
Six Rules for the Aspiring Writer

[Andrew Weil, M.D. @DrWeil]

I’m often asked whether green tea is a better choice than coffee — and the answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. Both beverages offer beneficial compounds: coffee delivers more caffeine and antioxidants, while green tea contains unique polyphenols like EGCG that support cellular health. Your choice can depend on your goals, tolerance, and how your body responds. The key is quality and moderation, not strict rules. Link in bio to read more. #GreenTea #CoffeeVsTea

[Impakt CEO (Winston) - Get paid while getting fit. @winstonzin]

This woman is 94.

But has the body of a 60 year old.

She holds a Guinness World Record for the longest modeling career in history. And she did it with no strict diets or expensive biohacking protocols.

Let's break down her 9 anti-aging habits:

1. Wearing sunscreen every day

[David Perell @david_perell]

Lee Child is the man behind the Jack Reacher series. He's sold more than 200 million books, and two of his books were adapted into movies starring Tom Cruise.

How popular are his books? In the UK, his series has sold more copies than J.K Rowling did with Harry Potter on Amazon. So at this point, you basically can't talk about contemporary crime and thriller books without talking about Lee Child.

This interview is all about how he wrote that Jack Reacher series. To the best of my knowledge, it's the deepest interview he's ever done about his writing process.

Timestamps:
0:30 Writing stories in America
7:26 You don't need an outline
12:50 Writing one book per year
17:57 Why the 60s were so creative
18:56 The business of writing
23:05 The key to page-turner books
38:25 How to write good dialogue
43:15 Where to start / end a book
52:18 Writing a violent scene
56:56 Using clothes to reveal character
1:00:43 Why the UK has so many good writers

I've shared the full conversation below. If you'd rather watch on YouTube, or listen on Apple / Spotify, check out the links in the first reply tweet.

Enjoy!

[A Soldier's Whisper @SoldiersWhisper]

I locked the classroom door and turned to twenty five high school seniors, the Class of 2026. They were supposed to be the digital generation, confident and plugged in. Instead, staring back at me under the glow of hidden phones, they just looked tired.

I asked them to turn their phones off. Not silent. Off.

On my desk sat an old olive green military rucksack that belonged to my father. For weeks they ignored it, assuming it was just junk. They didn’t know it was the heaviest thing in the building.

I dragged it to the center of the room. Thud.

I told them we weren’t doing the Constitution that day. I handed out blank index cards with three rules. No names. Total honesty. Write down the heaviest thing you are carrying.

At first, no one moved. Then Sarah, straight A student, perfect everything, started writing. Then Marcus, the football captain, hunched over his card and wrote just three words.

One by one, they folded their cards and dropped them into the bag.

I zipped it shut and told them this bag was who they really were. Then I began to read.

A father pretending to go to work after losing his job. A student carrying Narcan for their mom. A kid mapping exits everywhere. A teen trapped between parents screaming about politics. A girl with thousands of followers crying alone at night.

Then the last card.

I don’t want to be here anymore. I’m just waiting for a sign to stay.

Marcus was crying openly. Sarah was holding the hand of a boy who usually sat alone. The cliques were gone. They were just kids carrying too much.

I told them the bag would stay in the room so they wouldn’t have to carry it alone anymore.

When the bell rang, no one rushed out. Every student stopped and touched the rucksack on the way out. I see you.

That night, a parent emailed me. Their son hugged them for the first time in years and asked for help.

Everyone you pass is carrying something you can’t see. Be kind. Be curious. Ask the people you love what they’re carrying. You might save a life.

[Science girl @sciencegirl]

This is called Tarpaulin Knot, it allows you to grab corners.

https://t.co/i9121ZGWjw

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

In 2008, evolutionary anthropologist Katie Hinde began studying breast milk from rhesus macaque mothers. What started as a routine study turned into a groundbreaking discovery. She found that mothers raising sons produced milk richer in fat and protein, while those raising daughters had different nutrient balances. This led Katie to a radical conclusion: milk is not just nutrition—it’s information.

Her research revealed that milk shapes behavior, not just growth. For instance, first-time mothers produced milk with higher levels of cortisol, influencing their babies to grow faster but also become more anxious. Katie also discovered that milk changes based on the baby’s immune needs. When a baby is sick, the mother’s milk quickly adapts by producing more white blood cells and targeted antibodies.

Katie’s work, which challenged the scientific consensus, was largely ignored. She launched a blog, Mammals Suck Milk, to spark discussions, and her findings, including that every mother’s milk is unique, gained widespread attention. In 2017, she took her research to a TED stage, and in 2020, her work was featured in Netflix’s Babies. Today, as a professor at Arizona State University, Katie continues to revolutionize our understanding of infant development and lactation.

Katie Hinde didn’t just study milk—she uncovered a living, responsive communication system, revealing that nourishment is intelligence. Her discovery shows that sometimes the biggest revolutions begin by listening to what others ignore.

[Lisa Starling @lisastar808]

@CrazyVibes_1 Beautiful! 🤩😍

[Cian McCarthy @arealmofwonder]

A round of applause for the French is in order! 👏👏👏

[Morgan Wright 💎 @byMorganWright]

Some encouragement for all my fellow writers out there…❤️✨