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p.s. Hey. ** Misanthrope, Truth be told, I’m mostly a cafe allonge with a double espresso chaser guy. 7 hours of zzzz works. Right, you have yet another three day weekend. America loves that three-day weekend shit. And why not? Bleh, been there too, obvs, bleh. ** _Black_Acrylic, Thanks. Miraculously a few warped zines and envelopes were the only victims. And of course the wall in question has a bit more character now. That WhatsApp could come in handy, but, yeah, I’m like you. People in my building are all up in arms because a very popular UPS drop off/pick up office has opened in our public courtyard, which is now full of people most of the time, which they find irritating and I find exciting. ** James Bennett, Hi I, of course, would consider the Benning event a sufficient Paris magnet. And his new film does sound quite exciting. It’s true one needs accreditation to enter Cinéma du Réel, but my understanding is it’s pretty easy to fabricate a film world/press involvement for them, and they don’t really check closely. Thank you re: the editing. Optimistic me is here whenever you need that side of me, which honestly is most of me. Wonderful day, xo Dennis. ** Sypha, Your idea of the Batman post naturally sounds most enticing, so don’t hesitate to take it there should the desire to make it persist, which I of course very much hope it will. This blog is definitely missing some Batman. Thanks, James! ** Bill, Thank you. It’s always a crap shoot. I too can not picture that ‘face drawn by a pencil’ which of course is a big plus. The nostalgia among the young for the pre-internet world’s proposal of cuteness and the erotic cannot be underestimated in my experience. We have a full, solid draft of the color graded film as of last night, and today we start the last finessing, so it’s looking good. That Adams film seem like a nice coincidental fit for today’s post maybe? Thanks, Bill. ** Dominik, Hi!! Oh, no, nothing happened, it was just the realisation that something bad could still happen rather than us being in the clear. Hopefully it won’t. It’s too complicated and boring to explain, and hopefully I won’t have to. Nice phrase grab. I did spend some minutes contemplating that one. How about … love is the scrunkly, the scrunkler of scrunkles who speaks English and a little bit of Klingon and Cornish, G. ** Charalampos, The problems are potential problems so hopefully they won’t begin. I think the last Polanski film I liked was ‘The Tenant’ from 1976, so, yeah, he’s been operating on fumes for ages. Knowing you to the small degree I do, I do think you will find a way out of that chamber drama, yes. Uh, no rain today yet. Probably not. It’s almost toasty here right now, 16 degrees. Vibes from that exact locale. ** Dom Lyne, Howdy, Dom. VD dinner sounds most pleasant and sufficiently elegant to meet love’s stringent requirements on its big day. I ate a takeout Vietnamese sandwich while watching our film’s color enrich and saying things like ‘maybe that shadow on the left is a bit too black?’ with my mouth full. Nice appropriate reverie there. Film stuff is mostly all good, but it’s been such a long and awful process that it’s natural to expect the next pitfall any second. Thank you. Enjoy today’s totality my friend, xo. ** Даrву📺, Hi. Nice … are those things also called emojis even though they’re so, so much better? The only filter I use when hunting the escorts is an age range: 18yo to 26yo. There’ve been quite a number of Latino escorts, I’m pretty sure. I think in California your car has to have insurance but not you? I can’t remember. I hope yours is easy to obtain. I do know what song that lyric is from, of course! Me and Silverchair go way back. They’re even in my novel ‘Guide’ under the slightly altered name Tinsel Stool. I hope your weekend is so great it makes mine seem like the work-filled, not great thing it is destined to be. ** Justin, Obviously certainly possible that he’s on TikTok. Also certainly possible that the escort just stole that guy’s photos and is a total fake. Escorts say ‘soft SM’ a lot. I suppose what that means varies. I guess it’s supposed to intrigue and make men think there’s potentially more available than sucking and fucking. I think it’s a pretty effective clickbait kind of gesture maybe. Film proceeds okay, thank you. How’s your weekend looking? ** Right. Meet 63 marionettes, See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
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Hi Dennis, it’s good to be back. So happy to see that your film is coming along.
I love puppets so this was a great start to my weekend. I’m jealous for my friend’s marionettes. He has a Pinocchio he found on the streets of Tel Aviv and a carnival puppet from an Italian village.
I was in USA for two and a half weeks, got back a week ago. Started off visiting my sister in South Philly, lots of good eating there. Went to the Mutter Museum with my mom. We were impressed by how they managed to make it dignified and not a freak show. Still my mom forbade my sister from going there until she’s finished having kids. At the art museums I became a Modigliani fan. Caught a Marshall Allen gig. He inherited the Sun Ra Arkestra and is still playing out at age 99.
Then I stayed with my mom in my Western MA hometown. All of a sudden my childhood friends converse mostly about houses and babies.
I made it to the Stéphane Mandelbaum show during an afternoon layover in New York. Very impressive. I was surprised by how huge the portraits were, had never seen pencil drawings so big and so clear from far away.
Went on a USA shopping spree. Mostly practical things, but also brought back Wiffle ball and Slinky. Book shopping was good in Philadelphia and New York. Here is my haul:
-Uncensored, unabridged, and inexpensive edition of Richard Burton’s translation of the “Arabian Nights” (finally found after years of searching, perfect bedtime reading)
-“Fanny Hill” (John Cleland)
– A pulp gay porn novel from the early 80s. Didn’t do much for me as literature or as porn but did make me curious about the life of its probably paid-by-the-word ghostwriter. Were you acquainted with anyone in that line of work?
– “Whatever Stasis” (Chris Tonelli) got me back into contemporary American poetry.
-“To 2040” (Jorrie Graham)
-“Notes on the Cinematograph” (Robert Bresson)
-“Sixty Stories” (Donald Barthelme)
-“The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” (Milan Kundera)
Hi!!
Why do most marionettes look fucking terrifying?
Ah, okay, misunderstanding about the potential problem! Huh. I really hope there won’t be any more fuckery around the film.
Yess! I had three favorite phrases/sentences from yesterday’s post – the one I sent you, the one you picked for today, and the one I’m sending in return. So: love who’s thin, unfriendly, hot and embarrassed to be gay, Od.
Must say I have a fondness for marionettes, maybe that’s a widespread phenomenon?
Writing class went well last night and the response to my Flash fiction was good. We have a new short story project starting up next week, so I’m looking forward to that one too.
Thanks to the recommendation of Philip Best’s new Letterboxd account here, I’ve been watching Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, a history of Folk Horror that I’m greatly enjoying. There’s still a lot of that genre that I’m yet to tackle, so this has been quite the education for me.
Dennis, I like marionettes, but I wonder if when they make them, they go for the scariest ones they can find. A lot are just scary and really ugly. Like I see kids running in terror from them.
It’s funny, my friend Alex and I were just talking about Team America: World Police and the epic sex scene with the marionettes. When I first saw it, I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. Still one of the funniest things I’ve seen.
Speaking of Alex, I got home really late from the gym last night because I lost my phone. It was in his car. I was able to reach him from the front desk of the car and he brought it back. 😀
Okay, cafe allonge. Gotcha. That sounds like a plan…that I may copy. I like that idea. I’m a look into making one myself today. See, this is yet another reason why the blog rocks: coffee advice. 😉
Have a great weekend, Big D. I’ll be doing a little get-together/bonfire thing tomorrow night, and the rest of the weekend will be mine.
I love this collection of sweet and creepy characters.
Of course, marionettes either make me think of watching Stingray when I was a really young, and more so, this classic scene from the best of the Nightmare on Elm St movies, Dream Warriors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waiA1uSgK3w
Bonjour, Dennis ! Good Merry Annettes. I endorse Sypha’s urge for a Batman mega post. Press preview was last nite for FOKA play: Experiencing a method actor playing “me” (complete with physical and vocal mannerisms, not to mention the interpretation of my text) was profoundly disturbing. Dambudzo Marechera’s novel ‘Black Sunlight’ and American Fiction moooveee on the weekend agenda. See’est thou soon!! xo Jack
Oh good and the restored Kip Kinkel post a few days bag was much needed punch in the emotional guts. Thanks!
Love,
Thomas xoxo
I have a feeling that Thomas Ligotti would appreciate the aesthetic of this Day.
One thing interesting about the Batman post is I’ve slowly begun doing a bit of basic research and already I’m learning new things. Like I always knew that Gotham City was meant to be an vageuly New York-like East Coast city, but did you know that it’s almost canon that it is very specifically located in New Jersey? That cracks me up for some reason… the idea of all these crazy villains all being located in the New Jersey area.
The Satan puppet looks so melancholy!
Will you be able to take a break from working on the film Sunday?
The past few days have been filled by my plans for a trip to see my parents in March. I’ve found a lawyer in their town who does estate planning, and we’ve been in touch, although we haven’t yet talked to each other. Within the next week, I want to plan a meeting with him and their banker. But this stuff is really exhausting and soul-crushing, to the point of wearing me down physically.
I interviewed Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke yesterday morning. Their new film DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS is quite fun, sort of a raunchy screwball comedy/neo-noir about two lesbians on a road trip. They’re bringing dildos back to mainstream(ish) American film!
Reading through Corey’s post I think I have to read more of Barthelme for sure. I loved loved Snow White. You did introduce me to this book Dennis and I loved it. I actually never do this because I have mixed feelings about it but I did draw over the pages of this book And I did a mini series of some like five six drawings around and on some pages because I felt Possessed with capital P while reading
Kisses from rainy Chania go strong and hard on your film journey
Hey.
hm. So, yeah. I did get the insurance. I dont know. It just all feels like nothing. Got this call from my mom saying “Youve been ordering testosterones behind my BACK!” and its just like, no, what? Behind her back, im an adult haha and I literally mentioned it. She has this weird way of blowing things up, threatening to “Pull out the court date” for ceasing the conservatorship and suing planned parenthood. Haha. She was even upset that I got insurance without “running it through her.” Like what the fuck, haha.
Anyways. I feel nothing when I talk, like with friends n stuff. It all is just a void.
The therapist here sucks because really no one understands that is ALL beyond my control. Everything.
This is like a void too. nothing. No offense. I think I just write to distract. I think i’ll just accept the void. Though it just sucks if I quite now, cuz it feels its all a waste, the book, the art project.
I dont even want to think about death certificates n government names that aren’t even mine. I cant even control that.
I love marionets. Like Automata’s ya know. Tinsel stool… that’s funny. I like Placebo too. Used to be in a big Brian Molko phase when I worked at a Halloween store at 16.
Im not sure if i’ll be here next week. The weakened seems formidable.
night.
They call em Kaomojis
(⌐■_■) (づ￣ 3￣)づ (✿◠‿◠) ✍(◔◡◔) ಠ﹏ಠ (¬_¬”) ＞﹏＜
( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`) this ones my fav cuz they are hugging.
Marionettes creep me out. In the best way, though. Speaking of, does your forthcoming Marionette audio project have a title? Was planning to drag my bf to go see either Poor Things, All Of Us Strangers or Zone Of Interest this weekend, but it looks like all of them will be out on VOD in the coming weeks so I think I’ll just wait and watch them comfortably at home, which I prefer more and more these days.
Love marionette day.
Here is link to Marionette Mickey — I bought these three photos at the Rose Bowl.
https://ibb.co/q1Q1wrm
X
Matt
Marionettes! I remember playing with a cultural variant called Kathputli when I was a kid. The image of you vacuuming mosquitos is quite comic. It’s been a fecund week and in addition to the story I’ve worked on a short essay reviewing a book that doesn’t exist. The book is supposedly by Pasolini and I’m giggling at the thought of my professor reading it and rushing to find the book. It also mentions you just because I’ve been so obsessed with this blog and it’s been a good source of intellectual development for me. Also re: Corey that’s so cool because I’ve saved up to come to New York for this weekend to see the Mandelbaum show before it closes. I’m excited!
Marionettes! I used to play with a cultural variant called Kathputli growing up. You’d love Delhi, I think. It’s been a fecund week. In addition to the story I’m writing a short review essay of a book that doesn’t exist. I made it so that it was written by Pasolini so I’m giggling imagining my professors scrambling to find it. Also giggling imagining you vacuuming mosquitoes. Do you have any thoughts on perfume? Also re: Corey. I’ve been saving up to come to NYC for the weekend to visit some friends and see the Mandelbaum show before it closes. Excited!
I don’t know why the first draft of the comment published separately that’s so weird. And cool I guess.