No Kings and Clean Rivers (Beauty as Resistance)

06/14/2025

No Kings and Clean Rivers (Beauty as Resistance)

The park, as always, remained a bulwark against tyranny and dictatorship. The rain and cool temps had also made it very lush and green.

After two consecutive weeks of traveling, I was happy to be back.

I was also happy to be running. This week, I went to my first speed workout in over a year at the Riverbank State Park (on 145th) with the Front Runners. Attendance was low, because apparently many (gay) runners who live in the area make the trip to a different workout in Brooklyn (has anyone heard of 'Williamsburg'?), where the focus is on sprinting and not distance, which seems like a lot of work for a workout. (LOL) But I had fun talking to the coach, who like me is a senior citizen in terms of running. We complained about how difficult it is to get into races around the city. I mentioned that I might be interested in doing the 'Bronx 10' in September and he said that it had sold out in three hours in February. Annoying!

A symbol of democracy, one of the elm trees is barely hanging on. This week I read an article about a new beach in Chelsea where you're not allowed to go swimming because the NYC sewage system is antiquated, which means every time it rains, raw sewage pours into the river (to the tune of 20 billions gallons per year!). Why do we pay hundreds of millions of dollars for police overtime when the sewer system could be upgraded, which would allow NYC residents and visitors to go swimming? Why is it so difficult for the government to provide us with nice things? (I think about this every time I go to the public track, which was filled with people running laps, playing soccer, jumping rope, hanging out, etc.)

I was surprised to see azaleas blooming this late in the season.

The peonies were right on schedule, however.

I don't typically offer many health tips on this blog, but I will briefly make the case for toe-separated socks. I've been wearing them for about a year, and my toes are much less crunched-up than they used to be, which I think helps with balance and stability while running. Take this advice or leave it! (But if you do take it, let me know how it works out for you in the comments!)

The roses are always beautiful (but they know it).

Mostly I thought about how the world is falling apart and the park is still miraculously here.

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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.

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

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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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Matthew Gallaway

Expression//Reaction//ScienceProjects

06/14/2025