______________
James Rielly Ghost With Red Socks, 2017
Oil on linen
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Biangle Studio Ghost Ship, 2019
‘The rigs needed to be able to fluctuate vertically with the tide while staying horizontally fixed. The pumps require a minimum depth of three feet, and the tide in the Delaware River differs six feet.’
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OHINONIHO Still Ghosts, 2022
Panel, Oil, Acrylic
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Rachel Whiteread Poltergeist, 2020
Corrugated iron, beech, pine, oak, household paint, and mixed media
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Sri Whipple The Ghost of William Blake, 2020
Oil on Cradled Masonite Panel
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Ines Doujak Ghostpopulations, 2019
collage
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Urs Fischer Ghost, 2016
oil on cast bronze
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Katie Ione Craney ghost berries II, 2021
dead berries, frame
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Drift Ghost Collection, 2011
‘With the Ghost Collection, DRIFT explores the boundaries of experimental hi-tech production possibilities to give shape to their ideas. In this regard, the Ghost Collection is about the contrast of an endless free-floating airiness captured in a tightly limiting rigid form. The inner shapes were created using a unique 3D-technique to form subsurface drawings inside solid acrylic forms on a large scale, giving the works a dualistic, and illusionistic, character. Each Ghost Chair has a very sharp-edged, graphic silhouette. Yet when placed under a distinctive light, an internal shape in the transparent objects is revealed. An unexpected organic and elusive ghostlike figure appears, like frozen smoke.’
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Angela Deane Seeking, 2019
‘From 2012 to the present, Deane has been taking found photographs, such as those from garage sales, and painting acrylic ghosts where humans once were.’
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Maya Lin Ghost Forest Baseline, 2022
50 tree sections
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Vasco Diogo Ghost, 2024
augmented reality
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Marnie Weber The Ghost Train, 2015
‘The Ghost Train is an art installation that serves as a metaphorical journey into another state of consciousness. The characters are frozen in time as they attempt to board the train with their sentimental worldly possessions that cannot transition into the non-physical. Baggage, suitcases, doilies, and figurines are stacked alongside the passenger effigies all waiting and hoping to be transported. The sounds of movement, trains, animals, and people chattering float through the station intermixed with music that shifts from free jazz drumming to haunting synthesizers to an ethereal angelic choir.’
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inges idee Ghost and Unknown Mass, 2010
Copper, chrome alloy, FRP
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Tony Oursler Blob, 2014
Form, projection
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Laurie Lipton Various, 2017-2021
Drawings
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DarkZoneWonder The Enfield Poltergeist.. The true Story behind the Conjuring 2, 2023
‘We delve into the story behind the hit movie The Conjuring 2.’
______________
Ed Ruscha Ghost Station, 2011
Metal relief print
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Paul Klee Fleeing Ghost, 1929
Oil on canvas
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H. R. Giger Poltergeist II – Drawings, 1983-1985
‘Thanks to his work on the iconic creature for the film Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)—a detailed account of which is given in his Alien Diaries (2013)—H. R. Giger was firmly established in Hollywood’s supernatural horror and science fiction genres. Giger went on to design all the ghosts for Poltergeist II: The Other Side (Brian Gibson, 1986). Unlike his work on Alien on the set at Shepperton Studios in England, Giger collaborated on the movie remotely from Zürich, basing his creatures on Michael Grais and Mark Victor’s screenplay and airmailing the airbrushed designs to Los Angeles. Due to his absence as well as misunderstandings with the director and the studio and a meager production budget, the dark inscrutability and amorphous plasticity of Giger’s initial shape-shifting sketches ended up falling flat on celluloid, coming to resemble cheap-looking monsters in a campy B-movie. Giger’s in some cases psychedelic sketches were designed as sequences showing the metamorphosis of a worm-like ghost into a grotesque dwarf that ultimately morphs into a soul-devouring Gorgon-like monster called “The Great Beast”.’
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The House of Strange Happenings Pair of Poltergeist Photographs, 1977
‘Two photographs mounted to a single matting, snipe on verso of each with syndication marks and Photo Trendsstamps, dated 13th September 1977.’
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Alicia Kwade Self-portrait as a ghost, 2020
Bronze
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Weijia Ma Step Into The River, 2021
‘Step Into The River is a haunting tale of girls living in China under its One-Child Policy. The river is significant as children who have passed are placed in the river for the current to take them away. Wei is drawn to the river by visions of her dead brother. Lu eventually takes Wei out into the river to see her brother and encounters the ghosts of other children.’
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Mike Kelley Energy Made Visible, 1979
Fiber-tipped pen, acrylic and graphite pencil on paper
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Susan Hiller Small photographic work in which the camera substitutes for the specialized vision of a psychic, 2012
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Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige Sarcophagus of Drunken Loves, 2024
‘Nowadays, Beirut is often deprived of electricity. It is not a one-time accident but a new state. In the national museum, visitors find themselves in darkness and use their phones to light the traces of past civilizations as their world crumbles.’
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Ellen Greene Invisible Mother’s Milk, 2013
‘In my usual hunting for vintage gloves and objects to use in my artwork, I came across strange and haunting images that resonated with something deep inside of me. They were “Invisible Mother” photographs of the victorian era. These photographs were evidence of a practical solution to the technical problem of photographing a wiggly baby/toddler with the long exposure times that photography of this era require. The child would be held still on the mother’s lap which was draped with a heavy decorative cloth that went up all the way over her torso and head. The mother would be obscured further when the final tin photograph was put into an oval matted sleeve, which revealed only a child nestled in a draped “background”. Over time the paper matting on many of these photographs have disintegrated revealing the once “invisible” mother, resulting in both horrific and absurd images. In some the mothers hands and/or feet would be visible creating an image of an absurd furry half rug/human holding a baby awkwardly, other times just the draped head shape loomed behind the child’s head creating a menacing ghost image.’
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Yasam Sasmazer Illuminated Darkness, 2011
‘Sasmazer works with Linden wood and bronze to carve children that represent certain feelings, from raging emotion to naive lust. The artist also makes use of shadows to help convey her message saying, “The shadows represent the darkness in our souls’ hidden side and the most frightening part of our personality. The shadow is everything you are but do not want to be.”’
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Brody Albert Empty, Except for the Ghost, 2023
‘Depunctualization, a term coined by theorist Bruno Latour, describes the phenomena of only seeing / recognizing the parts of a complex system when it malfunctions. For example, you are only aware of your stomach when you have a stomach ache, or you are only aware of your car’s engine when it breaks down.’
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RIP Jacques Roubaud ** Dominik, Hi!!! Hopefully before my birthday. And I’ll report back. Efteling is my favorite amusement park. We’re so close to ending the film’s biggest nightmare I can almost … well, not smell it, but see it. I don’t suppose you could describe those specific notebook requirements? Haha, yes, I guess should have mentioned it was in my game. In my case, it took a long time to gather those coins. People who are more skilled and completist could probably snap them up. You mostly get coins when you repair these gaping holes in the ground and walls that are everywhere, and you repair them by throwing magic confetti from a bag of confetti you carry around, and the confetti sticks to the hole and covers it and coins pour out. It’s more fun than it sounds. Wow, love was pretty lazy yesterday, but who can blame him. Love turning your apartment into a haunted apartment whether you like it or not, but he lets you pick the dead person whose ghost will forever hang around and spook you, so who do you pick? ** kier, Hey, hey, kier! Glad you dug it. I’m pretty okay, playing video games a lot and waiting for a big film problem to get fixed, and stuff like that. Glad you’re better and I hope your energy has caught up. You need it if you’re gonna do all that painting. Sounds vivid in the best way. The only time I ever did pottery and glazed it and stuff was in grade school. I made a dinosaur, but of course it just looked like a shiny turd. But most of the other kids ended up accidentally making turds too, in my defense. I still have it somewhere for some completely unknown reason. Anyway, best of luck acing the glazing process, and, knowing you, you will without any extra luck. Hope you had fun with your friend. Yesterday I played my game, made two blog posts, paid rent, answered two emails, ate spaghetti, … pretty blah. But today still has time to sparkle. Yours too, btw. xo, me. ** James, Avoid the plague, needless to say. I am pro-Chinese food. In fact, my favorite food in the world is cold sesame noodle, Szechuan style ideally. French guys seem like good people dally with. Hey, maybe you’ll dally yourself over here. Beach Boys are very good, yes. I’m all about the ‘Pet Sounds’ -> ‘Surf’s Up’ era. Or maybe -> ‘Holland’. Never been on a dating app myself. Never even peeked at Grindr over some Grinding person’s shoulder. I’m probably a let down in person too, but two letdowns might get along? Still ‘Paper Mario’, yes. I just defeated the Giant Rubberband Boss, and now I’m about to get on a boat and sail out to sea for as-yet-unknown reasons. Paris is supreme. Venice is really unique and something. The ‘DiV’ hotel, the Lido, is kind of a let down though. Sure, this blog could use a balcony, and you lounging there sipping your tea seems like it would work. So, done. ** Misanthrope, If I see any of your future bfs on the escort sites, I’ll let you know. Happy birthday to your mom a day late. 82, not bad, she’s hanging way in there. Hope that was the expectable sentiment-filled blast. ** jay, Hi. I feel like in person I can make people understand I’m not judgemental, but in prose alone … I’m pretty good at tone constructing, but suspiciousness is a dense wall. Emo night sounds kind of wonderful. Wow. I would check to see if Paris has similar events, but no amount of outfitting and make up applying would let me pass. Wait, a ‘Marbled Swarm’ t-shirt? Seriously? No, you have to be joshing. A guy wearing a ‘Marbled Swarm’ t-shirt at an Emo event would be one of those ‘I can die now’ things. Hm, okay, I think I’ll watch ‘Love is the Devil’ again then. Seriously, it’s pretty hazy in my head at this point. Anyway, nice, score! See you pronto. ** _Black_Acrylic, My pleasure, Ben. Man, take extreme care. And I trust your hat left every sentient portion of your surroundings agog. ** nat, You made it through safe and sound. You figured out who Christopher is, I see. I’m trying to adopt a ‘I should just be grateful that …’ ‘tude about that podcast, but I’m not quite managing to. Having no clue about the specific currency in ‘Final Fantasy’, I still think a million anything is a pretty impressive figure. Nor did I have any idea that one could sell oneself as a slave in ‘FF’. I thought it was just a bunch of kind of Goth-ish romping and swashbuckling and stuff. Anyway, I had it all wrong, and I guess I need to at least watch a walkthrough video or something. It sounds like you had a momentous time. ** Steeqhen, Hey. You’re tempting me to reread ‘Snowflake’ but I really, really need to read some other things first. I love living in Paris. It’s ideal. And the transport here is excellent. Best metro system in the world that I’ve seen. So total encouragement from me to consider Paris your next home. I can give you a tour of what you don’t already know and spout accurate hype as we traverse the local highlights, etc. I hope my respective rambles have whatever quality they have herein whence they’re emitting from my actual face. ** HaRpEr, No, no, I’m sure my mind’s lacks were at fault. But anyway, a reading, which, well, is a performance, although hopefully not of the ‘slam’ variety, but I don’t suspect I need to worry about you slipping into ‘slam’ mode. I was born in LA, grew up there, and have lived most of my life there, so, yes. I like Babitz’s depiction of LA. It has its slant, for sure, but it’s infused with the real. It makes a good couple with Didion, who also ‘gets’ LA. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend Pamela Des Barres’s book ‘I’m With the Band’. It’s a splendid, fun, flirty, sparklingly written book about LA when it was wild and wide eyed. It is very odd about the resurgence of interest in Babitz and unfortunate that it’s being partly occasioned by her books being accoutrement of the famous and moronic set. Thanks for saying that about the podcast. Yeah, it was annoying and full of off-base, barely thought through presumption. The way they sexualised the films was gross, and they acted/talked like Zac was just a technician or something. I know Chris a little, and he really should have known better. I guess it’s interesting to hear people talk about the films who are so far afield from understanding them. Anyway, thank you. ** Lucas, Hi. What color is your hair now? I hope your psychiatrist appointment dispelled the dread. I’m fine. Really, just kind of hanging/waiting for the film thing to be resolved. It looks like it will be any minute now, but given the untrustworthy person who has to agree, it has to be a believe when I see it thing. Otherwise, just doing what I usually do. All’s well. Most people I know either do a Substack or visit them, but I honestly haven’t gotten in the habit of checking things out there, so I don’t know any to recommend. Still, it seems like the place to see and be seen these days. Well, hey, I’ll start my Substack promiscuity with your place. Hit me up with the link when it’s gettable. Cool, thanks. Lovely Friday to you too! ** Right. I decided to make a third instalment in the blog’s ongoing, very occasional Ghosts franchise, and there it is. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
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Oh wow, I never knew Giger worked on Poltergeist 2 – that’s incredibly entertaining, I love bathetic hiring practices. I don’t know if you’ve ever played the “Dark Seed” duology, but they’re another really fun Giger piece – it’s his art, put into a really early videogame. It’s by another person who maybe doesn’t “get” Giger. This image sums it up pretty well – pixelated and distorted Giger art, with a gonzo grossout facial expression. That Alien videogame I played and adored recently was similar – there’s a segment where you go into the Alien 1 spaceship, and it sort of falls apart aesthetically. You’re able to look closer at the walls, or get to angles where the giant phallic monster looks ridiculous.
Yeah, I know what you mean about getting across sincerity over text vs over reality. I suppose you have this advantage on not seeming judgemental, given how open you are in your art. Emo night was honestly amazing, yeah. I think you’d be surprised how little you need to get in, although it might be more fun to view the outside of an emo event, the insides tend to be too dark to see. I’m not kidding about the Marbled Swarm shirt! I can trace it back, actually – there’s a (lovely, and very empathetic) hardcore sadist dom who lives in my area, who totally loves your books (and got me into them), so there’s this bubble of readers of your books in my area.
I’d love to know your thoughts on Love is the Devil. Oh, and my friend who I’ve been discussing your books with has picked up Guide again, and is at the segment of the book where the emotional boundaries the narrator has set up fall apart like a bow. He’s a fan, of course! Happy Friday, and happy incoming weekend!
Hi!!
Ah, don’t even get me started on my specific journal requirements – line width, paper color, size, cover… And these are just simple notebooks. When it comes to actual journals, like guided journals, it’s even more difficult. Maybe I should figure out how to create my own notebooks and journals.
Honestly, walking around with a bag of magic confetti, throwing it around, and repairing things by doing so sounds like a lot of fun – although it must indeed be a bit time consuming to collect thousands of coins that way. Which game is this?
That’s very generous of love! A hard question to answer, though. I’m very tempted to say My Chemical Romance’s former drummer because he died very recently and unexpectedly, and he’s been on my mind a lot. But at the same time, I can’t possibly pass up the opportunity to invite Richey Edwards to become my permanent ghost acquaintance – assuming he’s indeed dead, of course. So, Richey, then, and thank you, love! Who would you choose?
Love ghosting hate, Od.
Dennis, I don’t believe in ghosts, but they scare the hell out of me.
Yeah, the woman is still kicking. And yeah, it was a fun time. The stuffed shells were good, the cake was excellent, and my mom won the Mario Party game. A good birthday for her.
Hope you have a good weekend. Just a basic one for me, and that’s okay.
Love those Giger poltergeist drawings! There’s a ltd edition Taschen book of his stuff retailing for like 100s of pounds that looks extremely covetable. Think it’s probably sold out already, so I’ll not be adding it to any anyone’s Xmas list this year.
I was out this morning for some family brunch and the weather was not too bad. However, Storm Darragh is on its way to the UK tonight and I’ll be holed up inside my flat while it blows a gale outside. Handy that the storms we get are each given their own name, often quite an incongruous one at that.
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for the ghosts!
I was interested to read that you have never even looked at Grindr out of curiosity. Is there a reason for that? You’re probably better off cos it’s definitely addictive and designed to be so. I try to stay off it these days but occasionally get tempted back for a look. Not to say I haven’t had some good experiences but overall it’s a huge time and brain drain.
I’m three quarters of the way through “The Present and the Past” by Ivy Compton-Burnett. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. I was wondering if you could say something about what it taught you as a writer. I have some burgeoning thoughts that I will try to express next time I comment as I have to rush back to work now.
Hope you’re enjoying Xmas in Paris. I had such a craving to go over there for a day recently but I don’t think it’s gonna happen. On the plus side, I am going to Brussels for a day next week to see the David Altmejd exhibition. So I will definitely absorb some continental Christmas vibes.
Bisous,
James
Hey Dennis,
Getting a tour around Paris from you would be wonderful! I’ve been messaging my friend and finding out the best way to move to Paris nowadays as he only moved there for college and has some good experience and wisdom for me.
I used to love scaring myself by watching ‘real ghost caught on tape’ videos online as a child. I remember in 2017 a school near me posted online ‘CCTV’ footage of an alleged haunting, with shaking lockers and slamming doors galore. It was obvious it was faked but it still got them on the news, so good for them I guess!
I’ve finished Snowflake and started The Country Girls. I’m going to need a week’s extension for these two essays as I’ve been so lethargic and glum that I’ve been unable to study, though I’m gonna force myself to do some now. Was going to go see Wicked with my family tonight, but I’m just not in the mood anymore, been having a rough week. I’m still hopeful though that next week will be easier… or at least more fulfilling than lounging and napping like I’ve been doing this week.
Mostly, these ghosts are pretty cute – Deane is totes Tumblr hipster style, but Doujak is my fav. I don’t quite see the point in ghost furniture. But that second Weber image is perhaps actually a bit scary. Still funny, though.
Afternoon though, D-Dawg. A little bit bummed because my best friend had to go and get a fucking job which means on Fridays after college we can’t go on our Friday walks – a venerated tradition – anymore. So after English I had to go home, on my own, feeling kind of miserable. I’ve pumped up on tea and food to try and assuage those blues.
I live in like, a perpetual state of semi-cold, I can bear the brunt of general ailments. Obviously, I’d rather not.
Chinese takeaways are so going to fuck up my financial independence in uni, I imagine. I used to be sweet/sour pork without FAIL, but I’ve come round to plum duck. Absolutely terrible for me probably but by Jove it is scrumptious. What is it about *cold* noodles that pleases you so?
Oh, absolutely. Gay adolescence is FAR improved with a French guy texting you varyingly lewd and romantic things. I suppose it’s possible that I could go to Paris this summer holiday, grandmother’s always desperate to make me happy because I’m perceived as this so-called ‘human storm cloud.’ Plus I’ll be 18 then, so hopefully I won’t be quite so scrutinised for trying to meet you, pfft. I don’t think reading your works would help them in that respect xp
Even the silly fun Beach Boys songs are great. Aruba, Jamaica, oo, I wanna take ya… etc.
Brian Wilson was such a genius, man. Still, I think I’d take the Beatles over them.
All my peers are on dating apps or some other thing. Meanwhile I get my kicks from… chatrooms. Uh. Old school! I apparently have mild digital charisma. The benefits of hiding behind a screen and having time to compose well-revised messages!
Hookup culture is seriously fascinating to me.
Letdown + letdown = cancel out, mayhaps? Lord knows what we’d talk about.
Nintendo can do good bosses. I still haven’t forgiven them for Diamond Dog in Earthbound. Or Whitney in the Gen 2 Pokémon games. The bastards…
I’m trying to think a naval/maritime WAIT. WAIT.
What adjective best suits an Italian plumber who’s on a ship?
Mariotime.
That was terrible. If I’m forbidden from ever commenting again, I understand. I profusely apologise.
Notre Dame getting fixed up was some nice news. Been to see it yet? And how do you feel about France’s current political situation? Things seem a little shaky from what I’ve read. That is quite possibly a gross understatement.
I really love hotels. Maybe it’s their liminal nature? They’re just really evocative places to me. Potted plants, nature photography, fluffy blue carpet, desks, mirrors, lights always on in the corridor, semi-silent rooms with strangers in them who are as close as they’ll ever be, vending machines, the bathrooms with stupidly bright lights – I just love them. I have memories from being a kid and staying only a single night in this riDICulously snazzy hotel, it was just *gorgeous.*
Aw yeah, get in. If anyone needs me I’ll be out on the balcony, my silhouette wavering through silk curtains and steam trailing from the cup of tea in my hand – pinkie extended, of course. B) Tschuss, D-Dawg! Viva le weekend.
P.S. jay, I can only take so many panty shots and wardrobe malfunctions, man. As someone who’s seen all the Monogatari series – I’ve had my fill of the stuff. I was the right age for the Fortnite fever. My chums, love them as I do, are prone to riding the fad wave whenever it comes around in the season for it. And none of them read. It helps to have people who take me out of thinkythink mode, though.
Oh, right. Memetics, OO! SCARY! Writer really pulled a dick move with that one, shucking spooky dog onto unsuspecting reader.
Yay, more books I’ve never heard of to make note of. Who’s this Melville guy? Teehee.
I really ought to read more you-know-who. I’ve only read the one, ah, don’t crucify me x-x
Love that you got intro’d to him by a ‘lovely and very empathetic hardcore sadist dom.’ I did not have such an initiation, alas. My town is devoid of such characters. To my knowledge. One can only guess what they get up to in their bedrooms.
Fav novel for me really is impossible.
It’s a shit lyric, really, but I do quite like Of Montreal, they’re my 2nd most listened-to artist. The only edgy French dudes I *have* read are Sade and Genet (Querelle – my weigh-in being ‘not enough buggery’) and Mandiargues (I can no longer look at an octopus the same way).
Yesterday afternoon really *was* boring. Most exciting occurrence – got a nosebleed in the middle of class which everyone turned to look at, and almost forgot my jacket because I was busy texting a boy. Humiliating.
Today I learnt that in one of my interviews I’ll be getting to talk to a tutor whose criticism I’ve read and lectures I’ve listened to! Really excited about that.
Addendum: Mew have a track called ‘Circuitry of the Wolf.’ That image really sticks with me. Not really relevant.
I think I’ve managed to be more concise than usual. Hope Frijay was good tyou!
Poecilia, rightyoh, thanks for the elucidating. Usernames really are an art. My characters don’t have quite as much autonomy, I like to keep them tightly-collared and under my authorial boot, teehee. I’m sure sadomasochistic practises are just a swell fit for fiction.
Sugar Cloud is great, and when I got to the chorus of (who’s? Can’t remember) Lament I was like, ohhh, I know this. Not a chance in Hell I’d convince an audience to revive my ass.
Mhm, I remember listening to The Magnus Archives and hitting the first episode where I was like ‘oh shit that came up in an earlier episode’ – I loved that connect-the-dots feeling. And Jon and Martin are so cute/fucked up and Elias is an awesome character. Brutal pipe murder noises ensue…
Started listening to Alice is Dead last night – love the atmosphere. Have you heard Wolf 359? I love that. And My Brother, My Brother, My Brother and Me is good company when I’m feeling a little low.
I’ll try to get an email your way – possibly later tonight? I warn you of potentially overly short tentative messages or overly long wordvomit.
Woo, always nice to meet others with my similarly lost worldview. It’s a shitstorm out here in the real word. I wanna be more tapped into the blogosphere than I am, I think. I find so many interesting small obscure ones.
Internal screaming is a classic. Semi-permanent state of being.
Big agree on that whole ‘let’s not stab people whose books we don’t like’ thing. Perhaps we can compromise on rotten produce throwing.
See you again soon, either in comment or email!
Haha, gotcha about anime, I’m mostly the same, unless it’s bizarre enough for me to enjoy it. When it’s done at a time and place, like with a bathing scene, I totally zone out. It’s just some anime that choose to have gratuitous nudity during like, emotional monologues that I find so compelling. I agree, none of my friends read either, but it’s nice to have people you can just hang out with.
Haha, well, I recommend you-know-who’s books to most people I know that aren’t instantly put off by either reading, or emotionally challenging writing. How did you end up discovering Closer (if that’s the one you read)? Oh, yeah, nosebleeds are the worst. I have a medical condition that makes me bleed super easily, and I often don’t really notice, so I totally get your struggle. Amazing that you’ve got a good tutor for your interview, congrats! Circuitry of the Wolf… I haven’t listened to much Mew, do you recommend that one? Anyway, happy Friday, and happy weekend!
Anime when it’s bonkers off the wall silly is great. This is why I love Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. I haven’t seen/read it but Keijo is fucking insane, if you don’t already know of it.
Yeah, until they go and get jobs, and now we can’t hang out. UGH! Walking around on my own was pretty depressing. No one to push me around in abandoned shopping trolleys.
I’ve been trying to remember how I discovered Closer. I’m worried it really might have just been on like. List of gay books. I don’t think it’s impossible that I discovered the blog before I read Closer? I probably found it on one those images that slaps together a bunch of book recs under the category of gay. Am glad I found it, however, because 1) good book 2) discovered blog 3) met cool people on blog. Do you have any recs as to which book by you know who I go to next?
I get nosebleeds weirdly often. Yesterday’s really was just out of nowhere, the guys on my table made loud shocked noises. They overreacted. There are ancient stains at the bottom of my bed from when I got a nosebleed literally *immediately* after waking up.
Interviews are all I’m talking/thinking about these days. It helps to have a father who’s been through them before, he’s a great help.
Meh? I only just finished listening to Mew’s discography (mostly) and while I found them pleasant, they’re a bit samey? I can’t really discern/name one track from another. But they make a good noise.
Merry weekend.
James, just popping in to say I received your email and that is definitely not a bad icebreaker. It’s an amicable drink-cooling icebreaker, not a frozen lake icebreaker. If I don’t reply right away, it’s because I had an idea for a fanfiction that I decided will be told at least 25% in musical notation, which means I fell into the hyperfocus oubliette of wrangling musical notation formatting (while cussing out whatever muses possess me to have a go at this idea, because I really prefer to read experimental or unconventional forms that somebody else already wrote, than to have to wrangle it into existence myself.) (Hi, Mr. Cooper. Liking the renovations with the balcony added to the metaphorical house. I’m just going to disappear into the walls and secret passages now.)
jay, merry happy weekendmas!
Keijo is something I’ve sort of heard of as the ultimate of these softcore-bordering-on-hardcore anime. Abandoned shopping trolley pushing around… wow, very coming of age film. Well, if you saw Closer on a /lit/ list, that was most likely from my friend Sean, who I got into you-know-who so… the more you know, I guess? I’d probably just say go for the next one in the series? They flow together in a really engaging way, I wouldn’t say it “flows” per se, but they’re disjointed in a way most series aren’t, and joined together in a way that I haven’t really ever seen before in anything else.
Yeah, it’s always awkward to get a nosebleed in front of other people, it’s embarassing in a very unique way. Mine tends to flare up while I’m asleep, so I sometimes wake up a little woozy and sticky, before realising that I’ve bled a lot in the night. It happened, ages ago now, with my boyfriend, and I’d stupidly forgotten to warn him that I sometimes bleed, so he woke up in a panic and thought I must’ve died, or something like that. I think when you’re lying down, or in white sheets, what would typically only be a splash of blood gets inflated to a crime-scene-photo level, which is always bizarre.
Samey is wonderful, I think; I love William Basinski, so samey is almost ideal to me – further proving that me calling Skyrim “boring” was actually the highest form of praise, haha. A very merry weekend to you too!
Just in time for Bandcamp Friday, I’ve dropped my new album PHOTOS OF ABANDONED AIRPORTS: https://callinamagician.bandcamp.com/album/photos-of-abandoned-airports.
Seth and Marc mentioned your work glancingly in relation to ELEPHANT during our podcast, and I got the impression they didn’t like it.
It’s the coldest day of the winter so far here. I’m heading to Lincoln Center to see Mike Leigh’s HARD TRUTHS tonight.
Any progress on the film or haunt?
Have you made your top 10 lists for 2024 yet?
Hi. My hair is black, has been for the past two months, I just needed to touch up my roots + it was fading. My psychiatrist appointment went actually great! With luck I may be getting back on testosterone at around March, which seems way too far away but at least there’s hope. Otherwise, I had a pretty okay/tiring day. School etc., but also hung out with friends, which was nice. One of them lent me ‘No Longer Human’ (what do you think of it? I’ll probably read it next to be able to give it back to her quickly) so I lent her ‘Malina’ in return. Realized I need to study for biology again, which is whatever, but my next exam is history which I find sort of exciting and cool. My plans for the weekend: weirdly have classes tomorrow, and am not looking forward to that, continuing my emo-/gothification (dyeing one of my shirts black and hopefully buying a coat), tons of studying like I said, maybe finally writing if I drink enough Red Bulls, watching ‘On The Silver Globe’ if I find the time, maybe seeing friends on Sunday. So I’m pretty packed. And next week is going to be sort of stressful school wise tbh, I have to sort out a lot of things with my teachers because I’ve been absent like 50% of the year so far, oops, haha. Your weekend? Honestly I’m so jealous of your recent video game adventures. Soon enough I’ll have the christmas holidays and will be able to just relax and do stuff like that. I’m praying these two weeks go by quickly. Have a nice one!
Hey! Don’t worry! I think I told you before in regards to my feelings about slam poetry. The ‘performance poetry’ lecture I had was just about performance art that involved language in some way. But no, I was just talking about doing a regular reading, but I do like being emotive with my readings, trying to project something that I intended with the text, or something completely separate from the text which I think improves it retrospectively.
Oh, I’ve heard of ‘I’m With the Band’ but now I really want to read it. Yeah, Didion is a good chaser to Babitz (or vice versa). Didion in a sense was quite conservative so was a bit of an outsider amidst all of the hippies and stuff, but was obviously a great social observer. Babitz does actually show the dark side from time to time, but it’s from the perspective of actually being involved in the life she was writing about. Have you ever read ‘A Way of Life, Like Any Other’ by Darcy O’Brien? I quite liked it when I read it a few years back, but not to the extent of Babitz or Didion.
And re: that podcast. Yeah, it still bewilders me that people can become so puritanical in terms of comprehending sex in art, that sex isn’t just sex. It’s understood that when a writer goes into great detail about food, it’s not just food they’re talking about. Sex is another kind of container where you are able to explore a wide range of things.
Oh, such a nightmare today. I had to miss a day of HRT because there was some sort of admin error in ordering my prescription and was getting mood swings because of it. Anyway, luckily the pharmacy called this morning to say they had it in stock. My pharmacy is in my parents’ neighborhood because a lot of gps refuse to prescribe hormones to trans people and I didn’t want to hedge my bets since I got lucky. It was a two hour bus ride because of traffic, and when I got there they told me they didn’t have my prescription! Then why did they say they did? I ran next door to the gp and hysterically explained my predicament to the receptionist. I even started crying kind of, and she was kind enough to give me a token which means that every pharmacy is forced to give me my prescription because of this piece of paper she gave me. So I went down the road to a different pharmacy and I managed to get it. Thank God.
( ´ཀ` )( ´ཀ` ) <—– Watch out for the zombies!
𖠰𖣂𖢔𖠋𓍄𓇥𓋜𓐬 <—- Santa and his reindeer
I hope the website didnt terribly translate the funny symbol emojis I found online.
Hey I am a fan of Ghosts because they are so chill and they really do nothing wrong.
You must really like Laurie Lipton I feel like I may have seen her a couple of times here. I like her too its cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB0gkSOZSlA
I remember playing this game growing up as a kid with a box computer. Its about a kid trick-or-treating as a ghost and he gots locked inside a mansion.
I am not sure why theres a little kid speaking. its the only one I found.
MY first day at work today wasn't too bad. I stocked the shelves in the Christmas aisle and cleaned up after inconsiderate people.
Oh I never told you about my recent good/shockingtome news.
So a month ago or so, im sitting in a psych bed covered in awful scars and feeling stagnant.Flashforward now, somehow, despite it taking me ages to even submit an application, I find myself about to work two jobs. Its scary because intermingled with this new feeling of strange success is the same old terrible feelings. Its impossible to do things when a terrible sadness trails everything I do. Its so hard to dispose, it rots my communication and it erodes the layers of my skin until im not even the happy motivated flesh, im just a beaten shell of the person.. I dont know how people live their lives and make friends when they are like this. Oh but I guess all I can do is keep pushing forward, even if it hurts. Even if all it takes is one mistake. It hurts to say but I would never tell anyone, that even though its been a month since I last hurt myself, I think about it ever second. I cant stop it, the rotten thought that watchingt the ugly ones fade makes me in a fucked up way feel like my existence and deeply embedded pain is just a speck on the body of earth that will gradually be disintegrated. When I think of death a voice says "Of course you would you fucking scum, be a miserable pitiful brat like always." but then it refuses to let me go it pulls in "Well now that your thinking about it , do it you fucking coward."
Ever since I was 11 my body has not belonged on this Earth. That thought alone does not invoke sadness or pain, it invites comfort, but its a constant struggle to remind myself every morning that I do exist and that I can produce emotions in my body.
Im sorry you dont have to read that. Im think im scared to delete it because of the fear of dissapearing. Im bewildered.
(Happiness ensues below)
The other job im very excited for. Its at a "doggy daycare" or thats what they call it haha. Im sure you know what that is but basically i'll be watching/cleaning dogs.
How is Xmas in France and what does that look like?
Oh wait. I heard about that awful mass-rape trial in France, how much of an impact does that have?
gonna just sneak in a ‘hi dennis!’ and a ‘wow great curation, i really like the contrast between each one’, too worn out to write out a post.
Hey Dennis, what’s up? I hope I submit in time for the morning deadline. The self-portrait as a ghost is sticking in my head. Conceptual art usually either sticks with me or falls flat. I’d like to add “Ghostwriter”, a favorite PBS kids show from my 90s childhood. A ghost helps kids solve mysteries by re-arranging letters in their surroundings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMsOKTJNdN8
I had a good week. Went to several dance performances, making new friends on the dance scene. Went to a movement workshop that was New Agey but worked for me. I found myself moving in ways I hadn’t since I was a little kid, or didn’t know I could. Also went to a zine workshop at a community printshop, learned how to make an 8-page zine by folding one big sheet of A11 paper. They have fun old magazines and encyclopedias there to use in collages, so I decided to do a collage zine. I got into a flow state with the cutting and pasting. I made the collages dense, that I still have several pages to finish. I can go back there and also use material that I have at home. I had no idea that making a zine could be so fun and easy. I’m now thinking about mixing in more graphics with my poetry, though I also learned the basics of how to make a more traditional poetry chapbook. How did you lay out “Little Ceasar” in its earliest and/or simplest form? I’m drawn to laying out on paper and using a photocopy machine, maybe Riso if I wanna get some fancy color. If I want typed text I can print from a computer and then paste into the layout.
After spending a few hours collaging on paper I suddenly felt inspired to start editing my mountain of cell phone footage. The plan is to make one, probably a series, of five-minute films. So far I have 30 dense seconds. For now it’s silent. There certainly won’t be any lip-synched talking. So I’m free to change the speed of different segments. I also screw around with color correction buttons however I’d like, which is fun and adds a lot.