ICYMI: award-winning journalist & novelist Wallace Stroby joined me this week on THE SOCIALIZED RECLUSE to discuss his latest novel, the unforgettable HEAVEN’S A LIE, as well as suitcases of money, the void after - and the false starts that follow - “The End,” and more.
The battle was long and neither prevailed.
Honkaku: a century of the Japanese whodunnits keeping readers guessing, via The Guardian.
Download and 3D-Print 18,000 Artifacts from Art History through Scan the World, via Colossal.
Altercation between train otaku leaves one with fractured skull, other in custody, via SoraNews24.
“The Mark of the Beast”: Victorian Britain’s Anti-Vaxxer Movement, via The Public Domain Review.
Underwater Photos Taken During Blackwater Dives Frame the Atlantic Ocean’s Stunning Diversity, via Colossal.
Writing this (and these) in the midst of indoor, post-breakfast puppy play time, before morning reading block. Barking, growling, and blankets swirl; if ENOUGH shows up in these posts, now you know why. Presently flanked by a Kirby and a The Jorkie.
Last pod of the month is launched - two SOCIALIZED RECLUSE episodes a week apart (while both were fantastic and illuminating conversations, I’ll (try to) stick to my efforts at once-a-month prep/interview/assembly moving forward) - and two GROUND LOOP episodes (launchings); next week begins the more weekly effort with TGL - if TGL is where I practice talking, TSL is where I practice listening.
The pods - and these Informalities - are helping me to write like myself, and be comfortable sharing that self with… whoever reads these… and to, if not shake off the influence of my influences, then at the very least synthesize their influence into something - else?
(Also) reading:
A new puppy, two Ground Loop episodes (plus its launch), two Socialized Recluse episodes, the return of Daily Informalities, a newsletter, and progress on The Third Book: April, while you have been far from a restful month, you have certainly been a productive one.
NEW: Novelist and award-winning journalist Wallace Stroby joins me on THE SOCIALIZED RECLUSE to discuss his latest, the spellbinding HEAVEN’S A LIE - as well as grief, the process of processing, reading, and what, to him, constitutes a good writing day.
The Stairmaster is vexed.
In other news, Kirby just got frustrated enough with his new puzzle toy that he picked it up and flipped it over to get to the bits of kibble. (Mem: bolt puzzle toy to floor.)
When I’ve re-organized things so well that I can’t find what I’m looking for.
Spot-a-Kirby.
The temporal disturbance caused by not knowing if the barking dog is in your headphones from last week’s recording or from some form of present-day attention-seeking.
Took almost two months - not a knock on the quality at all, but on my time - but I finished Antonioni’s RED DESERT last night and, while my Criterion Channel- infused Antonioni devotion is nowhere near Bergman levels, I do love his work. Think I prefer LA NOTTE to RED DESERT (both featuring superb performances from Monica Vitti), but I can’t help but admire the artistry of the latter, Antonioni’s use of color in his first color film reminding me of Fritz Lang’s use of sound in his first talkie, M.
New and beloved Lamy CP1 performed admirably in its first morning of full-tilt use. Nib-switch working like a dream. Hand still has to get used to the thinner size of the pen, but the weight and balance are perfect.
Timeblocking modifications continue: recognizing that writing these Informalities is writing - just as my journal writing is before the Main Work: bookends to the writing morning. Begin by hand, end in type.
No Informality tomorrow as the fourth episode of THE SOCIALIZED RECLUSE, featuring my conversation with HEAVEN’S A LIE author Wallace Stroby, arrives. THE GROUND LOOP returns next Wednesday. Time to read.
A New Timelapse Tool Reveals How Much Humans Have Altered Earth’s Landscape Since 1984, via Colossal.
Aichi man who stole and replaced women’s shoes set free, victims too “disgusted” to press charges, via Sora News 24.
LEGO Ideas LEGO DNA Double Helix Discovery Achieves 10,000 Supporters, via The Brick Fan.
A Construction Crew Working at the Uffizi in Florence Accidentally Uncovered Two Long-Lost Renaissance-Era Frescoes, via Artnet.
Hokusai record covers, via {feuilleton}.
My baby bear is growing up quickly.
If my obituary doesn’t contain the sentence “His last words were, ‘Good dog,’ as he clicked the clicker again and again and again until he slowed and clicked his last click” I will consider my life a failure.
Side note: while Kirby’s intelligence is remarkable and slightly terrifying, he cannot understand that standing directly behind an opening door is not conducive to a painless or simple exit.
Hello, Lamy CP1. I think I love you already.
Update: I’ve swapped out the nib that came with the CP1 for my black fine nib on my Safari, thereby concocting a mutant Lamy Safari / Lamy 2000 / Papermate Flair hybrid that is 15,034 kinds of wonderful.
Finally decided it was time to say goodbye to the denizens of DEADWOOD, nearly six months after finishing season three. Aside from the lamentable absences of Richardson and Cy (thanks, Death), of Jack Langrishe and his troupe, and of Silas Adams (thanks, BOSCH); the ten in-story years since we last saw Bullock, et. al, being - according to the aging makeup - nothing if not rough; and the lack of resolute, on-screen justice against George Hearst’s evil - DEADWOOD: THE MOVIE made for a worthwhile and perfectly serviceable return and farewell, a fitting - if occasionally frustrating - coda to a symphony stopped too soon.
Was it as revelatory as the series itself, particularly the first two seasons? Not in the slightest. Were the right chords struck, the right callbacks called? Save for a noteable lack of “cocksucker” (the last line would have been a perfect place to include it) and the lack of Richardson’s antlers (see above), certainly. Did the injustice of the show’s early cancellation impact not only the storytelling - the pace, the threads left hanging - of the film, saddling it with an undue burden, but of its legacy as a whole? Undoubtedly.
Will I nevertheless miss the world and its inhabitants terribly? Most definitely.
I can’t help but admire Kirby’s sisters’ strategy: get him to chase them upstairs, then run back downstairs - stranding him on the landing - so they can have a nap.
A sneeze, captured.
Cue surge of relief that my neighbor’s riding lawnmower didn’t ruin the last 15 minutes of this week’s Socialized Recluse interview.
I am inordinately excited about the impending arrival of a new fountain pen.