Goodbye Summer (Week Twenty-Seven)

09/19/2020

Goodbye Summer (Week Twenty-Seven)

Even though the shift has been gradual -- just a few minutes a day -- it wasn't until this week that I noticed how much later the sun has been rising in comparison to a few months ago. The prospect of getting up early and running for an hour in the dark was losing its appeal. The payoff -- to watch the sun rise over the park or the river -- was still great, and, in theory, I could just start my run a bit later, but something in me was shifting along with the seasons. I no longer craved these hours before dawn.

I knew I would miss these early mornings at the park, when nobody else was there.

I noticed the first hints of red in the leaves.

I wondered what went on here during the days, but the flowers offered no information.

Most years, the arrival of fall offers some relief and a sense of possibility, not in terms of starting new projects but in taking stock, tying up loose ends, preparing for the winter. This feeling -- grounding and motivational -- is different than what I ever feel in the summer, when I dream about escape, when I want to melt and evaporate. This September, however, any increased awareness I have about my place in the world (actual or desired) is accompanied by dread about how these next few weeks/months/years are going to unfold, and a corresponding futility to do anything about it. Is there a machine that can take us all back three or four thousand years so that, this time, we can do things differently, with more regard for each other and the planet?

I recently read a tweet that said: "At every stage people have told me I was too pessimistic and mostly I’ve been too optimistic."

Summer, it seems, is a season for denial, whereas fall is a time for reality.

Posted at 10:41 AM in Expression, Science Projects | Permalink

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A young boy wanders into the woods of Harlem and witnesses the abduction of his sister by a glowing creature. Forty years later, now working as a New York City homicide detective, Gus is assigned to a case in which he unexpectedly succumbs to a vision that Helen is still alive. To find her, he embarks on an uorthodox investigation that leads to an ancient civilization of gods and the people determined to bring them back.

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The Metropolis Case

'It’s to the credit of Matthew Gallaway’s enchanting, often funny first novel that it doesn’t require a corresponding degree of obsession from readers, but may leave them similarly transported: the book is so well written — there’s hardly a lazy sentence here — and filled with such memorable lead and supporting players that it quickly absorbs you into its worlds.'

-- The New York Times

Music: Death Culture at Sea and Saturnine

Listen or download songs and records from my indie-rock past with Saturnine here and Death Culture at Sea here.

Music Video: Remembrance of Things Past

Watch the rock opera Remembrance of Things Past written and performed by Saturnine and Frances Gibson, starring Bennett Madison and Sheila McClear.

Video: The Chaos Detective

The Chaos Detective is a series about a man searching for 'identity' as he completes assignments from a mysterious organization. Watch the first episode (five parts) on YouTube.

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Expression//Reaction//ScienceProjects

09/19/2020