Category: Uncategorized (Page 32 of 1101)

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Bas Jan Ader Primary Time, 1974
‘In the video, Bas Jan Ader arranges flowers into bouquets that are exclusively yellow, then red, then blue, but is dissatisfied with each one.’

 

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Felix Gonzalez-Torres Untitled (Alice B. Toklas’ and Gertrude Stein’s Grave, Paris), 1992
Framed C-print

 

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Saara Ekström Limbus, 2011
‘In the new photographic series, Limbus, Ekström’s pictures blend crime-scene photography with the aesthetics of memorial altars erected at accident sites.’

 

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Gerhard Richter P17 (Tulips), 1995
Oil painting

 

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Azuma Makota Exobiotanica, 2017
‘When it comes to flower arrangements, Japanese artist Makoto Azuma is quite literally pushing the boundaries out of this world. It all started 20 years ago, when the one-time rock musician took a part-time job at a flower shop. The experience made him think: “How can I transport beauty to where it doesn’t currently exist?” His answer: bring flowers to outer space. Now, as part of an ongoing experimental artistic series, Azuma and a crew of florists, balloon experts and cameramen are launching carefully selected flower arrangements into the atmosphere.’

 

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Zadok Ben David Blackfield, 2012
‘Made up of more than 12,000 small steel cut plant sculptures that spring out from a blanket of sand covering the gallery floor, there is a surprise element as one walks around the installation; what initially appears to be all black reveals itself as color on the other side. Each plant sculpture takes its form from Victorian botanical illustrations which Ben David finds in old text books.’

 

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Tony Feher Long Term Pillow, 1997
‘Feher’s deteriorating body after his HIV diagnosis is often cited as the inspiration for his choice of supplies. Transient, degradable materials point to the short life cycles of both objects and human beings. On the other hand, the fact that so many of these cardboard, plastic and highly-perishable items are still intact after more than twenty years reveals their durability against all odds— a more hopeful message that echoes Feher’s own improbable survival (he died in 2016). In the late 1980s, an HIV diagnosis implied a death sentence, leading Feher to reexamine his artistic career and legacy. “Long Term Pillow” is the result of such introspection, a cement stone covered with deceptively-cheery bogus carnations. Resting somewhat ominously on the gallery floor, the rock was intended as a cushion for the artist’s dead body. The heavy permanence of the cement deliberately belies the ephemeral nature of human livelihood. Another funerary piece, “Le Roi de Bâton” is a reliquary, or ode to the artist’s life. A collection of his IV fluids, medication and fingernail clippings, this deeply personal assemblage is a sort of altar to Feher’s transitory existence.’

 

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Brian Eno Memory Flowers, 1999
‘Memory Flowers is 16 speakers facing upwards on stems, playing ambient music.’

 

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Jim Hodges Ghost, 2008
‘The artist assembles a realistic miniature environment enclosed by a bell jar and made entirely of glass butterflies, spiders, and other insects, perched on a mound of dirt sprouting greenery and flowers. Rising in the center of the terrarium and towering over the other elements is a clear crystal plant—a literal ghost haunting its livelier neighbors. The intimate scale and choice of materials underscores the preciousness of the natural world.’

 

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Eko Nugroho Flower Generation, 2014
Fibre resin figure painted with acrylic, plastic flowers

 

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Marc Quinn Marc Stealth Desire (Etymology), 2011
Painted bronze

 

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Jennifer Steinkamp Madame Curie, 2011
‘An enveloping panoramic work reminiscent of Steinkamp’s 2004 video projection The Wreck of the Dumaru, the new piece will activate a field of moving flowers and flowering trees in line with the imagery of Steinkamp’s 2010 work Orbit Without Seasons. Flowers rendered realistically for this new work include marsh marigolds, may flower, chestnut blooms, and hop plants, among many others drawn from a list of over 40 plants mentioned in Marie Curie’s biography written by her daughter, Eve Curie. The seven-channel projection will engage the architecture of the space and will require seven synchronized projections onto three walls of the 4,500-square-foot gallery.’

 

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Tiffanie Turner Byproduct (Ranunculus), 2022
paper mâché, Italian crepe paper, stain, glue, Quik-Tube

 

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Cai Guo-Qiang City of Flowers in the Sky, 2018
‘City of Flowers in the Sky is inspired by Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece Primavera. In about ten minutes, using the sunlit sky as canvas, nearly 50,000 customized fabricated fireworks will shoot out smokes resembling thousands of flowers from the Renaissance. As a generous gift to Florence, cradle of the Renaissance, the explosion builds new memories in its name.’

 

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Takuya Uemura Shoshosai 1 & 2, 2025
Several varieties of cherry blossoms, white and purple wooden cedaras, shinsho, and chara peaches

 

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Joe Brainard Various, 1967-1969
watercolor and collage on paper

 

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Ji Wenyu & Zhu Weibing People Holding Flowers, 2007
‘A huge square formed by 400 identical men of 30 cm high each. They are all wearing suits, holding pink flowers, and seem powerful. ‘People Holding Flowers’ reveals the tacit understanding within the couple. They not only continued Ji Wenyu’s clever and humorous style, but also bear Zhu Weibing’s sensitive expression and cloth crafts’ talent.’

 

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Takashi Murakami Perrier Commercial, 2020

 

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Petah Coyne Portrait of a Marriage, 2018
‘Though she is not a churchgoer today, the sumptuousness of so many Catholic cathedrals imbues her work, and the material lists for her sculptures reads like a shopping list for an especially worldly cardinal with an interest in BDSM. Portrait of a Marriage includes “silk flowers, taxidermy, chandelier, candles, ribbons, black sand from pig iron casting, resin, paint, black pearl-headed hat pins, chicken-wire fencing, wire, cable, cable nuts, quick-link shackles, jaw-to-jaw swivel, silk/rayon velvet, ⅜″ Grade 30 proof coil chain, Velcro,” plus “specially-formulated wax,” a pricey archival material that she developed with a chemist friend and patented. “It’s scalding hot—220, 240 degrees,” she said. “You just throw it and get out of the way.”’

 

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Cai Zhi Song Rose, 2008
‘Composed of sheet lead, the immense Rose which Cai Zhisong creates is lovely, yet poisonous and drained of color. The artist implores his audience to take heed: “Please think carefully when you are searching for love”.’

 

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Saj Issa Poppy Painting, 2024
‘Red splatters of paint that resemble flowers can be seen on a yellow background. Each “flower” has bullethole in the center. Free Palestine.’

 

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Kosen Ohtsubo Step on it, 1973
Spring onion, steel

 

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Taryn Simon Paperwork and the Will of Capital, 2015
Source images with botanist’s identifications

 

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Quique Roma Blo-que, 2020
Mixed media, motors

 

 

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p.s. Hey. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Nah, it was a good question. My coffee was just working particularly well yesterday, that’s all. Zac’s still in a dinosaur phase. Explain that. Here’s highly hoping your family concentrates on giving you a superb vacation. Have a blast. I’ll still be here when you get back. We’re not heading over there until the middle of the month. When I was a kid, when you flew to Hawaii, everyone who got off the plane would have a flower lei put around their necks. It was nice even though it was flower genocide. Love waiting for you in the (presumed) train station today at your arrival adorning your neck with the Hungarian lei equivalent, G. ** julian, Hi. Thomas is majorly worth reading, need I even say. And, yes, Amphetamine Sulphate and Philip Best individually are serious boons. My favorite Sonic Youth album is ‘Sister’. In fact, if you ever come across the original Geffen Records CD reissue of ‘Sister’, I wrote the liner notes. Surely you’ll get a tribute album someday. Heck, I’ll sing a song and donate it, assuming I’m still on the earth. (I was the lead singer of a couple of bands when I was in high school, so I at least used to be able to hold a tune.). ** Steeqhen, A gasp must be the ultimate compliment. I’m fine today, it seems. Well, yeah texting is a universal practice. ‘Vanderpump Rules’ sounds like something that’s really not up my alley, which is not to say I wouldn’t get addicted to it if I took a peek. ** James Bennett, Hi, James. Wednesday, I’ve already got my imaginary baseball bat aimed at your leg. You do have to keep those writing sinews and brain cells lubed, it’s true. But they always perk back up. I suppose doing the p.s. everyday keeps mine at least a little fit. ** Misanthrope, My sense is that it won’t pass the senate without a lot of changes, but we’ll see what those changes are. No faith in nobody in office these day. *Rrrrr, rrrrr*: that’s your car revving. Just don’t hit on Kayla’s bf, and I’m sure it’ll be fine. ** pancakeIan, LA is loveable even when you know it. You should check it out. Seriously. Oh, sorry, now understood about you and Markopoulos. If you haven’t watched JW’s ‘Serial Mom’, I highly recommend it. Thank you so much about ‘PGL’! Yes, it was written in English originally. In fact, assuming you watched it with English subtitles, the subtitles are the original. I don’t kill Drew? Phew. I had forgotten if I had or not. I guess it would be rather impossible to live in Florida without an air-conditioner. Masochists aside. Decent is a good characterisation of my weekend. I hope yours qualified as well at the very least. ** ellie, Hi, ellie! What’s up? The usual, I think, all good on my end. Yours? I’ll go read your poem when I’m out of here. Yay! Everyone, ellie invites you to go read a ‘teeny’ poem by her and I invite you to as well. Click this. Happy Monday! ** Paul Curran, Paul! Buddy boy! How are you, maestro? What are you doing and working on? Big love back from the actual heart of Paris! xoxo. ** Uday, Did you finish the letter? More importantly, did you send it? ‘Halldór Laxness’, okay, I do need to finally get my shit together and track that down. Will do, thank you. That is an awfully good sentence, you are so right. ** Carsten, Hey. I generally kept up with Cannes. I watched the Closing Ceremony. I didn’t know anything about any of the films that won. But, yes, ‘Sirât’ did especially intrigue. I’m curious about the Linklater/Godard film. I love Wes Anderson so of course I’m anxious for that. And others too, I forget. The festival submission process itself is fairly easy. You just submit the same batch of things and information to everybody. Then you just wait and assume you’ll get rejected and tinily hope you won’t be. ** _Black_Acrylic, Glad Sunday was your savior. Falafel should be classified as a holistic medicine, I think. ** l@rst, Hi, buddy. I haven’t seen ‘Pavements’ as it hasn’t played over here yet, but I’m very excited. I’d like to see it projected, but I might break down and stream it illegally. I had friends who were friends with Paul Reubens. He went to Cal Arts as did most of my artist friends, and everybody seemed to know him. If I ever met him, it was quick, and I didn’t pay much attention unfortunately. You sound fiery on the creative front, pal, which is just how me and the rest of the world likes you best! ** Steve, Novelist, huh, I’ll look into it. I of course like Gary’s work in general, but I do think his Village Voice writings were possibly his best work. It was fun to read them weekly at the time, as you can imagine. ‘FD:B’ is most definitely plane fodder for me. ** Alistair, Happy you like the Moore. No, I don’t know the citizen trans* project. Huh, it seems like I would. I’ll go investigate today. Thanks a lot! You have any thought of sending them something? That sounds exciting. Yeah, thank you! ** HaRpEr //, Whenever UK football boys come over here for a match, the normally laissez-faire French get visibly tense. Yay, the video! That was fast. I’ll go watch later today. Awesome. Everyone, There was just an event called Poetry at the National Gallery in London, and there’s a video of it, and, mostly importantly, our very own HaRpEr // is one of the readers, the second one to be precise. Be like me and go watch right here. I’ll be happy to get a look and listen to Steve too. He sounds amazing. I distinctly remember seeing Michael Clarke’s butt in ‘HtNP’. It’s not something one forgets, haha. The new Sparks is out? Yikes, I’ll get it today. Cool. Have a great one ’til tomorrow just to begin with. ** lotuseatermachine, Hi! Warmest welcome! Yeah, I know that this place and its lengthiness seem intimidating, but the thing is once you come inside it’s like sitting around in your best friend’s living room, or so I hope. Thank you from the sidelines for speaking so well about Thomas’s work and to him. So, now that you’ve broken the veritable ice, how are you? What are you into and up to, if you care to say? ** Bill, Hi, B. Hm, how is that I don’t know about ‘The End’? I have the peculiarity of really not like Tilda Swinton, so perhaps it glanced off my eyeballs thereby. Well, I’m curious about it now. Thank you, pal. ** Thomas Moronic, Hey T! Thank you so very much for talking to all of the commenters. So kind of you. And, oh, I love the novel. I do think it might be my favorite of your work yet. Saying something there. Have the loveliest day, sir. ** Okay. I like all of you so much that I’m giving you flowers today. See you tomorrow.

Artwork by Michael Salerno

 

WHAT I SEE IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT I DON’T THINK IT’S ENOUGH

“I’m beyond thrilled to announce that my brand new novel, WE’LL NEVER BE FRAGILE AGAIN, is ready and waiting to enter the world. It’s my sixth novel, and a book that I’m really proud of. I feel it’s the best writing I’ve done so far and I’m excited to share it with you very soon.

“I am indebted to Philip Best for his continued support and faith and for giving the book a place at the one and only Amphetamine Sulphate. I couldn’t ask for a better publisher, and I don’t have the words to describe the help and support he has given me these last few years. And again, I’m honoured that the incredible Michael Salerno has given me his miraculous skills and created such gorgeous, beautiful artwork for the book.

“It’s a strange, painful book about memory, regrets, art, friendship, desire and death.” — Thomas Moore

 

Purchase We’ll Be Fragile Again

Release date: USA, May 18th 2025
UK/EU (hardcover version) June 20th 2025

Buy the book here
USA: https://amphetaminesulphate.bigcartel.com/product/fragile
UK: https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/thomas-moore-well-never-be-fragile-again?srsltid=AfmBOootAkRBRo1hc8m0tMDfIMTpqcy6M3hraxVBVqi7lFWBmADzFWbC

 

Interview with Thomas Moore by Danielle Chelosky

I got into Amphetamine Sulphate through Isabelle Nicou’s otherworldly books. Shortly after, I was diving into the works of Audrey Szasz and Simon Morris, and then finally Thomas Moore. I was enamoured with the visceral writing of all of the authors, along with the handwritten postcards Philip Best would send with the paperbacks. The first book of Moore’s I read was Forever. Reading it immediately gave me the feeling that I’m always searching for in art — that the words on the page are familiar despite the fact I’ve never read them before, like I’m digging up thoughts and ideas from my subconscious. Its follow-up Your Dreams possessed the same magnitude of emotion and disillusionment. Now, We’ll Never Be Fragile Again is another evocative text from a prolific writer dedicated to portraying the tribulations of love, lust, aging, and existing at all.

Danielle Chelosky: While reading We’ll Never Be Fragile Again, I found this line to be particularly striking: “What I see is beautiful, but I don’t think it’s enough.” It’s a recurring idea in your work — feeling enchanted by something yet still empty. It breaks my heart, but at the same time, in spite of this feeling, you keep writing, and I see writing as a pursuit to create something beautiful and fulfilling. Do you view writing that way?

Thomas Moore: I think that might be true in a way, actually, the more that I think about. When I write, part of the whole thing is wanting to write the books that don’t exist but that I wish did exist. I’m very obsessive about writing and that also translates into the subject matter, which often does revolve around obsession. I want every book to be better than the last, so each time I do as best as I can, but it’ll be perfect, so I carry on and try and get closer to whatever it is that this compulsion is driving me towards for whatever unknown reason. And yeah, beauty is a reoccurring idea in all of my books, in whatever form or forms beauty takes in them. I’ll probably never know why, but I just have to keep going. I guess there’s hope in that in a way.

DC: When you say you’re trying to get closer to whatever it is that the compulsion of writing is driving you toward, it reminds of this 1949 essay by Bataille that I can’t stop quoting lately. I’m going to quote it now without the necessary context because that would take too much time. But he says that art “puts us on the path of complete destruction and suspends us there for a time, offers us ravishment without death. Of course, this ravishment could be the most inescapable trap — if we manage to attain it, although strictly speaking it escapes us at the very instant that we attain it. Here or there, we enter into death or return to our little worlds.” It may be dramatic but I think it’s true — that making art is a close encounter with death. Do you feel that sort of euphoric, otherworldly breakthrough while writing? There’s a recurring theme in your books where you feel dissatisfied with writing, though, and I’m curious how often that happens, too.

TM: I love Bataille’s essays. They struck such a strong chord with me way back when I first started to discover his work. I can definitely relate to that quote — he puts it in a way that’s beyond any inarticulate fumbles that I might attempt in that kind of direction. For me, yes, writing completely gives men that otherworldly thing. Bataille talked about sex and religion having this similarity in the way that they both take the participants out of the everyday, and I think from my personal experience, art does similar. It’s only when I’m writing that I enter this zone where the whole world and everything around me just stops and disappears briefly. I think Burroughs referred to it as inner silence. When I get fully into writing it’s like meditation — I’m just writing and nothing else. I don’t notice it until I finish and I’m suddenly hit by the noise of everything else returning. Do you get that too? With regards to the stuff about being dissatisfied with writing, that’s more to do with the idea of the limitations of writing, how I’m interested in trying to achieve things that I don’t think language and words really can — the real magic isn’t about the words but about the moods that are created that are something other than the simple nuts and bolts of the text.

DC: Yes, I once tweeted that I like writing because it’s like blacking out, but meditation is a better (or at least better-sounding) comparison. To get less existential (didn’t mean to start the interview with Bataille but shit happens), I’ve been thinking about genre a lot. With We’ll Never Be Fragile Again, there’s a dedication page but the name the book is for is blocked out. How do you choose between what to reveal and what not to reveal in your work, and how do you react to that frequent desire of readers to know whether something is nonfiction or fiction? It kind of disturbs me — it makes them uncomfortable if it doesn’t fit into one box and it affects the way they view the work. I also think there’s a tendency for readers to view nonfiction-leaning writing as gossip rather than art.

TM: With the dedication, I just liked the idea of using the entire book as part of the fiction, from the front cover to the back. It just seemed like a chance to add something really simple but hopefully quite impactful or something. For me, some of the writers of the New Narrative, which was a massive influence on me, turned writing gossip into something really spectacular and powerful. With regard to what people wonder about what’s “real” or whatever doesn’t really bother me too much. If they’re interested, maybe that means that the books have caught their imagination, in some way at least.

DC: It’s nice you’re less bitter than I am about that stuff. Which New Narrative writers/works do you view as your main influences? (Chris Kraus has been a favorite of mine for forever, but Lynne Tillman’s Haunted Houses recently blew me away)

TM: Oh man, just the whole thing. Kevin Killian, Dodie Bellamy, Lynne Tillman is amazing. Robert Glück is an absolute legend to me. And one of my all time favourites is Lawrence Braithwaite, who I’m always recommending to people because his two novels (and his unreleased final book) are all so completely mind-blowing. He was such a special and singular writer.

DC: This reminded me to order Cunt-Ups by Dodie Bellamy, because I don’t know where to begin with her, but I love that title. Anyway, you put out books quite often; this is your second book of 2025, following the poetry collection I Ruined Your Life, which was published on Kiddiepunk in February. What does the process consist of for you? Are you the kind of writer who saves observations and thoughts into a document throughout the day and puts them together later? Or does it all come out in a flow at your desk? And — even though I personally hate this cliché term, I have to ask — do you ever get writer’s block?

TM: That’s a great book. The Letters of Mina Harker is a wonderful novel, so you should grab that, too. My process is just obsessively reworking and fiddling with things until they feel how they’re meant to feel. I try and write every day. That’s my way of never having writers block. And a lot of the time I just let myself write crap, that way it gets stuff out of my system until the good stuff is ready to appear. I think I only had proper writers block once, and that lasted a good few years. After that I decided if I never stop writing I never have to worry about having to start again. It’s not an approach that works for everyone but it does for me. Also, writing is my favourite thing to do, so it’s never a chore or anything like that. It’s a pleasurable thing for me to do. And yes, I’m forever making notes and then reworking stuff later and seeing what works with whatever else I have. I guess I’m always taking everything in.

DC: OK, last question: I feel like almost all of your books break the fourth wall by acknowledging the book and the act of writing it. The penultimate chapter of Your Dreams was very confrontational with the reader, and toward the end of We’ll Never Be Fragile Again you even explain the process behind the book title. Why do you think you’re drawn to doing that? It’s almost like you’re making the reader feel as exposed and vulnerable as you.

TM: I’m really into the idea of the books knowing they are books. It feels like that gives me space to play with the language in a way that can hopefully mess around with emotion in a certain way that I find interesting for whatever reason. In all honesty I’m not completely sure why I’ve been drawn to this just yet — there are a lot of structural things and formal stuff that I’m conscious of putting in place when I’m working on the books and a lot of things that become more apparent when I’m editing, but so many of the decisions are also intuitive and instinctive and just come from whatever place the compulsion to write comes from in the first place. I don’t try and work it all out too much, I think that the ideas are there and it’s important that when the ideas feel so certain, that I just go with them. I think the writing knows more than me.

 

Excerpt

Links:

Thomas Moore at Instagram is @thomasmoronic
Amphetamine Sulphate: https://amphetaminesulphate.bigcartel.com
Michael Salerno and Kiddiepunk: https://kiddiepunk.com
Danielle Chelosky: https://www.daniellechelosky.com

 

 

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p.s. Hey. This weekend the blog reverts to doormat mode to become one of the entryways for Thomas Moore’s spanking new novel. I’ve read it, and it’s really gorgeous, and I suspect you’ll think so too. Please scroll incrementally and input all the evidence gathered here. Thank you, and many thanks to you for gracing this place with your mastery, Mr. Moore. ** James Bennett, I thought so. Well, palm trees always give their planting ground a certain je ne sais quoi. Enjoy the out and about with your pal. When’s the Adem-hosted reading? This weekend? ** jay, Hey there! Back from your Japan holiday? If so, that’s some jet lag to reckon with. Anyway, is that where you were? Were you dazzled, etc.? All’s good and fairly usual here. Good to see you! ** Misanthrope, As with everything directed from the governmental gate keepers these days, I’ll believe when I see it, if even then. Three days off with no car? You got a bike? ** Dominik, Hi!!! I feel like I can think of lots of films where queerness is central but not bracketed by the ‘coming out’ thematic. Let’s see … Kenneth Anger films, Araki’s, John Waters’s, Derek Jarman’s, ‘I Saw the TV Glow’, ‘Death in Venice’, ‘Tangerine’, Wong Kar Wai’s ‘Happy Together’, most of Almodovar’s films, ‘Velvet Goldmine’, ‘My Own Private Idaho’, … Or did you mean something different? Steve had a recommendation for you if you check this comment of yesterday. Love didn’t want to interview Huppert mostly because it’s a lot of work since he would need to familiarise himself with a decent portion of her films and she’s been in a million films and because he respects her but is not that excited by her. Oh, no, an asshole dentist is scary. I trust Anita’s mouth is drinking and chewing and breathing normally. Love relaxing a bit because Zac loves his latest draft of their new film script, G. ** _Black_Acrylic, One of these years I do want to go to Greece for that monumental screening, but it is, yes, a daunting prospect. Not to mention the imagined heat, yikes. Happy you were hooked in by his films. How’s your weekend looking or how did it look? ** Carsten, If you grew up in the States pre-internet you had to live in LA or NYC or maybe SF to even know experimental films existed much less see them. Well, unless you studied film at university and lucked out with some adventurous professor. We storyboard our films both to help us visualise the wordage initially and also and mainly because if you make films with a crew and cast who are being paid for their time and if you have very limited money like we do you don’t have the luxury of sitting around on set for hours experimenting with the filming aspect. ** julian, Good, mission accomplished. Experimental films have been kind of my bread and butter since I was teenager. They’re where I learned so much about making things. UCSD, yes, that’s what I was thinking. I used to know people who taught there, and maybe I still do. Oh, the tribute album. Yes, that was wild. It was the project of this guy/writer Don Waters. He just approached bands and artists he thought might be influenced by my work and solicited tracks they thought showed the influence. And a couple of musicians I collaborated with. I was totally honored by it, of course, and liked a lot of it. He basically had no funding, so a number of bands/musicians who wanted to contribute (Sonic Youth, Pavement, and others) couldn’t because their record companies wouldn’t donate the tracks gratis. I’m surprised that CD hasn’t been uploaded somewhere. Awesome that you found it. ** Steeqhen, Hi. I need to befriend someone who only speaks French, but it would be hard to start a friendship where both parties would be doomed to months and months of confusion and exhaustion. I’ve seen the words ‘Vanderpump Rules’, but, as with all things TV, I don’t know what the fuck. ** Thomas Moronic, There you are, the man of the 48 hours (and beyond). Thanks in person for what’s up above. I’m really happy you like Beier’s work. Yay! Love, me. ** pancakeIan, Surely you know John Waters’ or Gus Van Sant’s stuff? Anyway, glad it struck you. Poor Robin (‘Try’), yes. I felt sad putting that figment of my imagination through all of that. And let’s not even start with poor, poor Alfonse. Some part of me is horrible, haha. If I was a human air conditioner, and sadly I am not, I would be teleporting you a hug right now. ** Steve, Grief is a sneaky and invasive and unfortunately patient thing. I passed your rec. onto Dominick, thanks, and I might check that film out myself. I don’t know it. ** HaRpEr //, Excellent! Wonderful! And I am not at all surprised, but still. Yes, yes, share the link when it’s linkable. The poem sounds great, natch. There are few things in this world more unpleasant than drunken UK soccer fanatic boys. As I may have mentioned, one night when I was on a UK book tour in the early 90s these three soused soccer boys knocked me to the ground and kicked me repeatedly in the head because their team lost some match. Lovely. Of course the Bowery show is amazing. Gosh, great, so happy you got to it. ‘Hail the New Puritan’ is wonderful through and through. Exactly, about ‘120 Days”s end. Couldn’t be put better. Glad the films intrigued you. Have an intriguing and much more weekend. ** oliver jude, Hey! Nice to see you. Gosh, LA is giant. Where are you staying? You’ll have transportation? Um, I always recommend The Museum of Jurassic Technology. The Graveline Tour where you’ve driven around in a converted hearse and shown the exact spots where famous people died is fun. There are the amusement parks, but you probably won’t have time. Eat good Mexican food. Poquito Mas is my favorite. Anyway, yeah, where will you be in that sprawl? I’ll try to think further. ** Okay. Be all experiential with Thomas Moore’s new novel, you people, and I will return to this place again on Monday.