Next April (Week Fifty-Six)

04/10/2021

Next April (Week Fifty-Six)

In New York City, the fifty-sixth week of the pandemic was marked by warm, sunny weather. I went to the park, where the trees were in full bloom. As I ran past them, I found myself comparing last April to this April and tried to imagine what next April might look like. I had been considering buying tickets to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor, whose (amazing) new album I've been listening to on repeat since it came out a few days ago. But I'm not sure I believe that next April (when they're scheduled to play in New York City) will be viable for me. I'm vaccinated and cases are (sort of maybe) going down in New York City, but there are many questions: how long the vaccine will work, whether new variants will arise here or somewhere else, and how much risk I want to tolerate in any given circumstance. I love the new GY!BE record, but am I willing to die for it? Or even catch a mild case of the flu (but with potential long-term effects)?

That I don't have to tolerate much risk made me feel lucky -- and guilty. And angry that we -- as a country, even now -- are still forcing millions of people to shoulder most of the risk; that we -- as a society -- seem incapable of making changes that would reduce or spread this risk more equitably, in the same way that we can't seem to take global warming seriously or even -- to put a hyperlocal spin on it -- turn over more than the tiniest fraction of street space to bikes and buses.

I'm never angry in the park, though.

And I've been trying to bring that feeling to other parts of my life, too, by which I mean the parts I control.

Which admittedly isn't very much, and in practical terms means small adjustments and resolutions: to spend less time on Twitter, to watch less television, to read more.

And maybe to buy those tickets, even with the understanding that I might not go.

Posted at 10:37 AM in Expression, Science Projects | Permalink

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The Metropolis Case

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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

04/10/2021