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I already adore Saunders’ short stories, but his recent book that delicately outlines the mechanics and flow-states of both storytelling and story-reading often leaves me in a state of deep, sublime appreciation of life itself – melodramatic, I know, but I’m serious. It’s one of those books where I’ve basically transcribed the entire thing into my notes because every page is such a crystal clear revelation.
Jul 19, 2023
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Nov 13, 2024
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Yes I realize this is far more than one book, but I read all of these stories in very close succession & I believe they shaped me into the guy I am today. These are all very sensitive-young-man-core, but what can I say? I was a sensitive young man.
I have a very complicated relationship with Mother & Father. When I was first introduced to Kafka, it was like meeting my soulmate. I don’t have it in me to go into much detail at this moment, but being condemned to death by drowning for failing an aging father who can sense a deeply felt resentment; waking up one day to find you’ve turned into a disgusting bug after sacrificing so much for a family that cares so little— these are ideas that deeply rattled & resonated with me personally at the age that I read them. I resolved to try to live differently.
Death of Ivan Ilych was simply further exhortation for me to not live my life according to convention, to pursue wealth, status, family life for their own sakes. I think every single one of us has it in us to become an Ivan Ilych without even realizing. I was totally rapt & manic upon finishing this one I still am today, to some degree.
Portrait of the Artist really spoke to me as well. When Stephen looks at his father & realizes he’s a fool, and that he wants to be nothing like him. The moment when he sees the girl in the water & he becomes so horny he decides to dedicate his life to the pursuit of beauty, to aesthetics, to being an artist. The entire ending segment written as first person journal entries filled me with a lot of hope.
Emerson is the man. Great way to shock the materialist reductionist, the comformist, the busybody, & the consistent, conventional company man out of your system. Probably made me a more annoying person when alls said & done. Oh well.
May 12, 2024
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dreamy and relatable tale of a lost middle aged man who found peace and purpose through surfing. Ironically, I followed the same journey without knowing, down to the same tree he sat under. I read the book years later and felt an overwhelming sense of validation.
Jan 14, 2025
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There’s a kind of artist I revere who is so deeply committed to expressing the singular nature of their work that it becomes almost self-destructive. For me, Wesley Kimler and Sharkula come to mind – I think of them almost every day. Kimler, in addition to being my mentor for over a decade, is a painter infamous for his cavernous warehouse studios and the theatrical ragers periodically thrown inside, alongside pet foxes and parrots, massive contorted paintings of figures blasted into abstract glowing kites and seascapes, and for publicly calling out the (shake your fist with me) corruption and nepotism of the Chicago art world. Sharkula, (aka Caviar Brian, Thigamahjigee, Sherlock Homeboy, Dirty Gilligan, among others), is a goofball genius rapper who is recognizable to anyone that frequents Chicago’s Blue Line for selling CDs of his over 40 different albums and mixtapes, named things like Martin Luther King Whopper With Cheese, and delivered wrapped in Xeroxed paper with his tags and scribbles all over them.Both of them are devoted, in the religious sense, to their work in a way that I find deeply inspiring, while being a foil to every capitulation that I give into daily.
Jul 19, 2023
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The idea of being able to fly with like 25 huge oversized bags at ~$50/bag is so wild to me. I was clued into this by a lighting designer for a number of big music acts, and while I haven’t tried it personally yet, there are enough Reddit posts about it for me to feel confident. It would be absolutely clutch if you’re touring or traveling with a lot of heavy gear. Basically you just mock up a badge in Word or MS Paint or whatever that says Media, (it’s remarkable how truly shitty it can look from what I hear), laminate it, and then go directly to the ticket counter and say you need media rates for luggage. I also just love that this kind of esoteric industry trick still exists.
Jul 19, 2023
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Dec 10, 2023