Early December

12/07/2024

Early December

In theory, my favorite thing is to get up early and go for a run, but in reality I've been waiting until the late afternoon, when the light is similarly beautiful.

According to the internet, Ronald Reagan's 1984 political ad 'Morning in America' is considered by many to be the 'most successful presidential ad campaign in history.'

But 'Sunset in America' feels like a better metaphor for what's happening around the world right now. (It also would have been a better metaphor in 1984.)

Sometimes I wonder if I exaggerate my fears. After all, this perfect path has existed for as long as I've lived in Washington Heights. What more evidence do I need?

But I also understand how much work it takes to maintain the park, and how -- in any garden, no matter how healthy -- there are always warning signs. What will this park look like in two or twenty or forty years?

Have I been too fixated on the warning signs?

I sometimes feel like my past is littered with wreckage: failed ventures, broken relationships, financial precarity, uncounted hours wasted on the subway. It's like that Weyes Blood line from their latest album: 'We tend to live long, that's why so many things go wrong.' But I can also look at my life now and say that not all of the things have gone wrong. So what's the answer?

Something tells me that we're about to find out.

Posted at 09:13 AM in Expression, Science Projects | Permalink

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#gods

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A RADICAL NEW MYTH ABOUT SEX, FAITH, AND THOSE OF US WHO WILL NEVER DIE

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.

In this colossal new novel from the author of The Metropolis Case, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice collides with a new religion founded by three corporate office workers, creating something beautiful, illogical, and overwhelming. Part sex manifesto, part religious text, part Manhattan noir—with a dose of deadly serious, internet inspired satire—#gods is a sprawling inquest into the nature of faith and resistance in the modern world. With each turn of the page, #gods will leave you increasingly reborn.

Praise for #gods

“#gods is a mystery, an excavation of myths, an index of modern life, a gay coming-of-age story, an office satire, a lyrical fever dream, a conspiracy. One of the most ambitious novels in recent memory—and a wild, possibly transformative addition to the canon of gay literature—it contains multitudes, and seethes with brilliance.” —Mark Doten, author of The Infernal

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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

12/07/2024

Early December

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