Can’t remember the last time I took a bath
[Chorus: Ray Parker Jr.]
Bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’ makes me feel good, feel good, feel good, feel good, feel good, feel good, feel good
(Yeah yeah yeah!)
Bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’ bustin’, bustin’
(Yeah yeah yeah!)
Bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’, bustin’ makes me
(Yeah yeah yeah!)
Feel good, feel good, feel good, feel good
brb
receding hairline
I had an idea while I was high af last night. I was thinking about how it’s going to be weird/difficult to go back to in-person socializing once the people I know and I are all vaccinated.
The idea is kind of a ritual/ceremony/process for transitioning back. What you would do is, say you’re gonna go visit someone at their house, and you’ve only been Zooming with them since COVID started. When you get there, don’t just go up to the door. Take out your phone or laptop, and call them up on Zoom (this would have to be arranged ahead of time).
Connect on Zoom and do some of the usual conversation intros. Then go up to the door, continuing the conversation the whole way. Have them meet you, and consciously and intentionally, transition from looking at them on the screen, to looking at them in person. Then shut down the Zoom (and optionally throw your phone or laptop in the trash (just kidding)), and proceed as “normal.”
I don’t think I’ll actually do this, but it amused me to think about it, so I’m sharing it here.
I finally read Annihilation, jesus christ what a fucking incredible book. I really have had a hard time reading since the pandemic, but I just absolutely plowed through this in no time. I enjoyed the movie (saw it on a plane) but felt like it could have been a lot better and wow if I had read this book first I probably would have thrown a fit, this shit is just off the charts and now the movie feels like a huge piece of shit.
I’ve only heard one interview with Vandermeer (in between when I saw the movie and and when I read the book) and he seems like an incredibly interesting guy. Can’t wait to get some more of his stuff.
I agree about Annihilation, great book. In my opinion it’s the peak of the “Southern Reach Trilogy” but the other two are also worth the read.
A few months back I read Borne and thought it was great as well. Would recommend as your next VanderMeer novel.
That sounds pretty good. Never heard of the movie.
here’s the interview, btw, I think I mentioned it in the podcast thread, it’s pretty great:
It was the first couple of times. Just gotta force yourself out there. A little alcohol would help too.
Ken Parker is a luthier that builds acoustic archtop guitars (think jazz guitar) alone in his New York workshop. He’s probably best known for a line of innovative and radical-looking electric guitars from the 90s bearing his name that are no longer in production:
That project represents a brief stint in his luthiery career and is sandwiched between mostly one-of-a-kind builds of acoustic archtop guitars. The Met has one of each type pictured in its collection. His current models start at around $30,000 and look like this:
The skill and labor hours required to build these correctly is massive. I think Ken builds 5 to 6 instruments per year. Unlike other types of guitars, the construction method is closer to violins and cellos in that the top is very carefully hand-carved and tap tuned for frequency response (the string and wave physics are nothing like bowed instruments though).
In this talk, he explains (mostly from a technical side, mind you) how this peculiar American invention came to be and how it has evolved / is evolving. It’s a bit of a lost art since we aren’t exactly in the Jazz Age anymore, but you can clearly see from his work that some builders are still pushing the envelope. There’s some interesting stuff at the beginning about Gibson’s musical instruments including how they were made and marketed that I wasn’t aware of. This is sort of mad scientist meets Stradivarius but for guitars. Warning: it’s pretty dry. The history part starts at 7:00.
Yrjö Henrik Kallinen (15 June 1886, Oulu - 1 January 1976) was a Finnish railwayman, cooperative movement functionary and politician. He was imprisoned from 1918 to 1921 for having sided with the Finnish Socialist Workers’ Republic during the Finnish Civil War. From 27 March 1946 to 29 July 1948, Kallinen served as Minister of Defence of Finland.
Quotes:
I promised to myself that I will never again obey anyone or any authority, government, gods or angels in anything else than in what I accept as the right or the best possible thing to do.
I will devote one third of my essence to the cooperative movement. But two thirds belong to humanity and myself. I will always practice new things, everything between heaven and earth. But a third I’m happy to give: and the rest two thirds supports greatly everything I can give to the cooperative movement.
Quote about Kallinen:
The man receives four death sentences - yet lives nearly 90 years. He hadn’t been to schools - yet he was as well learned and wise as the best professors. A great and confident man - yet modest and humble. He had friends from near and far - yet he was an independent lone wolf. Zen buddhist - yet a member of the Lutheran Church. Socialist - yet many capitalists were friends to him.
What a man, this is a taste of his 1971 interview @ YLE (Finnish Broadcast Company). Only English dub I found was this amara-thingie which apparently just dubs over youtube. Caveat Emptor, but it’s good.
Alcohol.
