HEAT DEATH Issue 2: Borgo Lapsus
162 pp. Colour & B/W, mixed papers, perfect bound, French flaps.
ARCHITECTURE; RUIN PORN;
SICILY; PHOTOGRAPHY; SICILIAN
BAROQUE; LATIFUNDIA;
EMPTINESS; DE CHIRICO;
NECROPOLIS; IN COUNTRY;
ITALIAN FASCIST ARCHITECTURE;
PROSTITUTION; ECOLOGY;
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION;
SYMMETRY/ASYMMETRY;
ARGONAUT; BEYOND THE FRAGILE
GEOMETRY OF SPACE AND CRIME
My withdrawal from this place of administration was a performance and a penitence. In my living vestment of bees I drifted glacial as time back through the corridor, my arm painful in its frozen salute, and then out of the building’s front entrance, where I found myself at the top of a double external staircase. I looked ahead at an overgrown meadow full of wildflowers, with copses of oak and pine a short distance away, and with no further hesitation I turned left, and with meticulous care climbed down that side of the staircase. With each step more bees flew or fell from my body, my muscles relaxed and my ordinary movements returned, and when I arrived on terra firma I was confident enough to brush the remaining insects from myself and then remove my clothes one piece at a time before taking great deep euphoric breaths as I stretched and preened myself in the tall grass and then began to smile and laugh out loud.
“New Juche writes with the sun-blasted madness of D.H. Lawrence living his final days in Mexico, or as haunted amanuensis transcribing the ravaged dreams of Ezra Pound in his spotlit prison cell tucked away in the night hills of Pisa. Heat Death 2 bears the hallmarks of prophecy, and behind the scarred architecture of a man casting himself adrift lies the clarity of a warrior monk’s keenest vision. No-one is writing like this today. They simply fucking can’t. Read it!“
Philip Best (Amphetamine Sulphate)
“There is no Maslow’s Demon in New Juche’s hermetically-sealed Word Universe. The entropic march toward a complete disassembly proceeds with or without his endorsement. He’s not here to cast a judgement, but simply to record the dissolve as he’s torn apart at the seams himself. Borgo Lapsus is the next step on that pathway toward entropic equilibrium; toward a wiping clean; toward our Heat Death. Read his work, it’s brilliant.”
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Buy HEAT DEATH – ISSUE 2
Gallows Fruit
Excerpt
Raw materials & outtakes
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p.s. Hey. So, before I get into why the blog was away for so long, I want to say how pleased I am to welcome it back by helping to welcome the new work by the great New Juche into the universe. NJ is one of the topmost sterling writers, etc. of our times, and thus I highly hope that you’ll spend this re-inaugural weekend perusing and maybe even scoring the book you see above me. Now, very long story very short, while I was away in the US, my hosting site suddenly announced that my blog was using too much memory, and they shut it down. This was followed by a bunch of back and forth until it was determined that the blog would need to be migrated to a larger server. That was supposed to take a couple of days. Ten+ days later, they finally got on the task only to tell me that the new server they chose also wasn’t big enough. More negotiating before they decided to move the blog to an even larger server. That took days and days, and working out the technical issues that came along with the migration took more days. Finally, on Thursday, I was told the blog was in its new location and wide open again. And here we are. Hopefully everything will run smoothly from here on out, but we’ll see. I’m very sorry for the unexpected delay. It was very annoying. Finally, there are 62 comments. Honestly, there’s no way I can adequately respond to so many comments in my normal fashion today. I would be brain dead before I got a third of the way through. So I’m going to respond briefly to each comment, and, if I miss a question you asked or miss something you specifically want feedback on, please restate those things starting tomorrow when presumably the comment count wil be at its usual doable length. My sincere apologies for any short-shrifting in advance. And, hey, it’s really good to ‘see’ you all again! ** James Bennett, Thanks, pal. I saw an email from you, and I’ll get to it pronto. ** jay, Hi, jay! How’s it? Right, Ethel Cain, that was an obvious miss on my part. I’ll get the Ed Atkins book, great, thank you! Look forward to catching up! ** Katie Jean Shinkle, Hi! I would love to get your new book! Write to me at my email (denniscooper72@outlook.com) or on Insta or Facebook, and I’ll give you my mailing address. Really nice to see you! ** Chris Kelso, Hey. Well, of course (on including your book). What’s the status of your film now? ** Susie Bright, Susie! The great Susie! So lovely to see you, maestro! xoxo. ** _Black_Acrylic, Thanks, Ben. ** Larst, Thanks, L. And for the love and peace and especially for the gnarlyness. ** Malik, Hi, Malik. I’m happy to see you mention Backxwash. I feel like that amazing album has been really overlooked. Wonderful list. I’ll pore over it. ** zach, Hey, hey, zach. I’m not hugely into painting. Or not like I am re: sculpture, installation, videos, etc. Painting is more sellable, and that’s a lot of what the art world is about. ** Alistair, Hi, A! Phil Ochs and 100 gecs in the same list! How cool is that? ** scunnard, Hi, J. Thanks, pal. Things going well on your end with your project(s)? ** Sypha, I’m literally calling Emergency Services to take me to the hospital on account of the extreme state of shock I am in at learning the Lady Gaga album is one of your year’s favorites, haha. ** Dominik, Hi!!!! Unexpectedly long time no see. How are you? What’s been happening? Thank you for the shiny ‘bests’ list. Love wishing he could do a heavy edit of those ‘two weeks’, G. ** Steve, Hi, Steve. Thank you for your lists. I’ll go over them with a fine toothed comb. My plane blockbusters weren’t a revelation although it was interesting to find out that ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘A Complete Unknown’ were as respectively boring and mediocre as I had imagined. ** politekid, Hi, O! Sad to catch you on a day when I have to move swiftly, so come back. Lots on your lists I want to know intimately. No, I don’t know ‘Petscop’ but I will, thanks to you. ** Justin D, Hi, JD! The States portion of my away time was very good, thanks. I’ll make notes on the things on your lists that I don’t know once I’ve hit today’s finish line and recouped a bit. I hope all’s really good with you. ** MR. OMAR KING, Hello, sir. Very happy and a no brainer to put your lovely book on my faves list. And thank you for your faves. That shirt you liked that Zac was wearing was indeed made by Michael Salerno. You could write to him and see if still has any? @ kiddiepunk.com. ** Tyler Ookami, Hey, Tyler. Thank you for your faves and of course for the links. I’ll head over to them asap. ** julian, Howdy. I’m very happy you liked ‘For Disobeying’. All’s well with you, I hope? ** PL, Hey, hey. I miss talking too. Things are good, busy, film stuff, the usual. I was very young when Nixon and my dad were close friends. I only have one memory of walking into our livingroom and seeing him sitting on a couch with Pat talking with my parents. And even that’s blurry. I hope Sao Paolo was fun. The drawing re: ‘The Sluts’ (thank you) seems to have removed or something? I met Tom of Finland once at an art opening where they were showing his drawings. He seemed nice enough. I just basically said hello. ** BimboFagDoll, Hi. Thank you. I hope you had a good vacation, so to speak, too. Great about the interview. Maybe write to me via email? denniscooper72@outlook.com. ** sasha!, Hi! So great to see you here! Well, of course, re: your book. It’s easily one of my ultra-favorites of the year. ‘“Crawlspace” by chat pile’: will do, straight away, thanks! Of course I would totally love to read your pro-wrestling novel whenever. Wow. What an amazing idea. Thanks so much for coming in here. ** lotuseatermachine, Thanks. Things with the film went really well. Thanks for the nudge on your stuff. I will. I’m a little behind as seemingly usual. Thank you a lot for your faves list. ** LQ/Lily, Hi. I’ve always been hugely into the New York School poets since I was in high school. They were very influential on me. I think there just happened to be bunch of books by or about them this year. No, I mostly see art in Paris and then wherever I happen to be traveling. Thanks a bunch. ** oliver jude, Hi, oliver. The screening went really well. Totally, there were so many self-driving taxis in SF it blew my mind. Spooky. I’m glad your LA trip went so well. With any luck, I might be able to announce a NYC screening somewhat soon. Just waiting to see if we’re lucky. ** Hugo, Hi. It was great to get to meet you in Paris. Sure, you can send me your novel. I just can be very slow, that’s what you need to know, but yes! ** Alice, And it was awesome to see you and hang out in Paris! Very cool about the games. I utterly agree re: the ones I know. Sorry to have to be in a rush today, but we can talk/catch up more vociferously next time. ** Bill, Hi, Bill! Yeah, it was so great to see you in SF, and I’m so happy you like the film. Zac was really happy to meet you. Thanks a lot for your exciting looking list. I’m going to have to wait just a bit to look through it carefully ‘cos today’s a whopper. Great! Alls well since we left? ** William, Hi. I did like the new Deerhoof, yes, but I wasn’t sure if it was a total fave, but it’s still accumulating in me, and the year is youngish. Thanks. ** Joe, Hi, Joe! And there you are right up above there. Thanks so much for giving the blog the honor. xoxo. ** Carsten, Hey, man. It’s not bad form to ask, no. I saw Neil Young live the other day. It was great. It was like experiencing something from another time. It was very interesting. ** HaRpEr //, Hi, HaRpEr //!!! The US/traveling part of my time away was very good, thanks. And the summer hasn’t been too, too brutal since I’ve been back. Yet, obviously. ‘Castration Movie’ played at the same festival we were at in SF, and it won the Audience Award for best film. Wild. I’ll go check your list once I’m finished scurrying through the big comments pile. Thank you! Great to see you! ** Nicholas., If there’s anyone who needs a *poof* return today, it’s probably me. I’ll check your site. Everyone, Nicholas. has updated his site Closed Practice, Go check it out. Here. Dinner … uh, pasta, capellini, with Basilica sauce mixed with Mushroom sauce and lots of Parmesan. ** Steeqhen, Blog is back later than expected but better than nothing. Thanks for the catch up own your recent artistic experiences. I’ll have to come back and concentrate later/tomorrow as my brain is staring to fade. ** Darbz 🎃, Hi, Darbz 🎃! You’re making me even more excited for Halloween. I’m really glad you’re out and feeling better. My trip was good. The film went down well. Saw friends, you know, good things. I remember Chaos Magic being very tricky. Really nerdy in a great way. I’m still kind of new at Instagram. I just post links to the blog and do announcements about the film and stuff so far. But it’s cool to find so many super interesting people and lost friends there and stuff. It’s really good to see you, my friend! ** nat, Hi. Yeah, the technical stuff was a big hassle, but maybe we’re in the clear now. Here too: tourists everywhere you look. But they’re all wide eyed at Paris, and it’s kind of sweet. Cool, talk with you better and more soon. ** Bernard Welt, Bernard! Yeah, it’s a pile, but it’s a great, heartwarming pile. I was given a copy of Crooked Fagazine when I was in LA. It’s very cool. Is it #10? Wow, I’ll check back. I love Wes Anderson’s films. I get that he has become even more ‘Wes Anderson’ with time, but he gives such pleasure, as far as I’m concerned. Rachel and I are pals, and we go quite a ways back. She’s great. ** horatio, Hi! Thanks, pal. Another Backxwash fan, excellent. Thank you a lot about ‘Permanent Green Light’. That’s so nice to hear. And obviously I’m chuffed that you’re liking GbV. Best of luck with MIX NYC. To us too. How cool if we could festival neighbors. ** SP, Hey. I’m disappointed with ‘I AM MUSIC’ to be honest. There’s great stuff in there, but the totality is so bloated, and I’m disappointed that he did the standard thing of packing the record with guest superstars. I was hoping he wouldn’t go that route. I think my expectations after ‘Whole Lotta Red’, which is one the most exciting records in years, I think, were maybe too high. So I like the new one, or parts, but it didn’t blow my mind. What do you think? ** rewritedept, Acid, nice. I’m back in relatively sane France, yes. Thanks for reading ‘Enter at Your Own Risk’. I like that book. I wish it would get reprinted. Theremin, yes, wild, congrats. And for finding the perfect ass. Anyway, you caught me after my brain exhausting set in, sorry, but we’ll talk more soon. ** Kavita Choudhary, Wow! ** Tosh, Hey, Tosh! We’re back. I’ve missed your eyes. ** Right. We’re back and hopefully on track. Enjoy New Juche and your weekend at large, and I’ll see you on Monday.
Now available in North America 
Hey Dennis! Nice to have you and the blog back – and congrats on how well RT was recieved (from what I’ve read!). Any news on any European screenings, or the Japanese horror festival?
P.S., I also totally forgot to mention HaRpEr’s dissertation in my “best of” category. I’ve been kicking myself over forgetting that, it’s really stuck with me.
Wow, that’s so kind of you to say. The person who marked it sort of ripped it to shreds while simultaneously passing me (begrudgingly, I assume), so to read you say this is a wonderful affirmation of what I was trying to do. Thanks! You’ll be happy to hear then that it’s finished and I’ve been looking into options for putting it into the world, so stay tuned…
Welcome back Dennis!! Wow, that review from Phillip Best… I’ll have to add this to my list of books I must purchase once I secure this job I’m going after. It’s getting quite long haha. Thank you so much for replying to everybody, I don’t know how you do it! Wishing the best for you at MIX NYC as well- I would be honored to be festival neighbors with you.
I recently started my art book I mentioned a while back, so far I have a page that’s a quote from a forced exposure article, a WIP of a “map” connecting & explaining relationships between musicians/artists of interests, and watercolor doodles of Peter Sotos haha. He’s such an interesting figure, but I’m not quite sure what to make of him. There seem to be two camps of people when it comes to those who praise his work… the first being those who seem to enjoy it in a straight forward way, and the second being those who believe there’s a moralistic argument underneath everything. My exposure to Sotos’ work is quite limited since his writing seems to be hard to come by, but it’s interesting to see what camps people fall in. On one hand, there’s a guy on youtube right now doing a series of in depth critique of every Sotos book he can get his hands on (Terminus: Extreme Metal Podcast if you want to check it out). He’s in the first camp, and argues that viewing his work as like… a critique of news media flattens its complexity & just doesn’t engage with the actual goals of the work. On the other hand, I remember one of his detractors called his stuff “too political”, which oddly enough I think would land him in the second camp… I was wondering what your thoughts are on this, & also if you know of any good resources in terms of researching Sotos?
I finished reading Frisk to Ryaha also, they really enjoyed it. Tonight Ryaha and Connie hosted a rave at a house venue. The basement had black walls and we were encouraged to draw on it with chalk, and Ryaha said I should draw you. So for a brief moment a semi-realistic portrait of you was on the wall of a basement venue until it got rubbed off by two puppy girls who were making out- which is pretty awesome in my opinion.
Thank you for the support on my film by the way, you really made my day/week/month/year/decade/etc etc etc. Cannot understate how wide the smile is on my face- I hope you have a spectacular day! ^_^
Welcome back to this thing we call reality! Feels so good to have the blog take its rightful place as part of our collective daily reading ritual once again.
Here in the UK we’ve been suffering a severe heatwave that is only just now starting to show signs of ending. For someone with MS, I have found things quite difficult. Currently hoping for a milder August anyway.
Hi, I just wanted to say how much I missed this blog but sweet release that it is back! Welcome back
Nice good news about Room Temperature, I have no idea when I will watch so I am waiting like I did before
Hi from sunny hot Chania Crete
Dennis — Happy Day !!!!! Return of DC Blog renews my faith in the Everlasting Universe of Things. Just sent my Room Temperature QA to XRAY… with the updated images & a better headline. I did 3 performances last weekend and saw Superman… plus Rashomon. My daughter had her FFS and is recovering. I shall seeest thou soon !!! Sincerely, Toshiro Mifune
Welcome back, Dennis! I missed reading this blog and talking to you. This writing is blowing me away. I ordered myself a copy. I’ve been doing very well the past month. I’ve been recording my album, which is nearly finished. Also, I finally got around to reading God Jr. which I loved. Definitely in my top three books of yours now. Reading that, paired with Ballard’s Atrocity Exhibition, has shown me a new way forward in writing my own novel that I’ve been working on for the past year and a half. The idea behind the novel is that I want to structure it like a haunted house with long corridors and cramped little rooms and corners that creatures can jump out from behind. The fragmented, short bursts contrasted with longer passages in God Jr. and the Atrocity Exhibition to me kind of resemble different rooms in a haunted house. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was intentional on your end, knowing that you’re a big fan of theme parks and haunted houses specifically.
I’m glad you’re back, and I’m happy I can be here too. I have a question or thought about you and Zack’s films: Do you ever imagine them being shown on a commercial flight? And would that work for you in the context of flying and watching a film? The only films I’ve seen on planes and jets are big-budget Hollywood movies. Oddly enough, they do work for me in the economy (coach) seat, even when I watch a film a few rows down from my seat. Many Hollywood films don’t even require sound or dialogue to understand; they make sense visually through how they tell the story. You miss some details, but I’m surprised at how much I get from a blockbuster film on a plane without sound.
And the New Juche book looks (and reads) fascinating.
Beautiful to have the blog & you Dennis back in our daily lives. The web is a pretty desolate place these days without it. And what a comeback post. Nice use of a visual component too. I have a draft of my chapbook that comes with accompanying photos—not illustrations per se, but a cool little side dish of sorts that gives the text something to bounce off of.
Speaking of which, I’ve been busy sending out work via Submittable. Bernard’s been great with advice on FB. So far two rejections (from mags that didn’t look like a good fit to begin with) & one acceptance: Cathexis Northwest Press is publishing my poem “Dreamkeeping” in their upcoming November/December issue. That impressed me, since it’s one of my most experimental pieces. And they produce lovely chapbooks too. I already emailed them about that.
The chapbook as a whole I’ve submitted to Roadside Press, BlazeVox, Driftwood Press, Serving House Books & Fjords Review. Any of those familiar to you? Besides BlazeVox, which obviously made your mid-year list.
Glad to hear the Neil Young gig was good. He’s been on fire lately, from what I’ve seen online. But fighting oligarchy musically will do that. Iggy was a blast too. Like a time capsule to a wilder, purer age. I came out of that concert with my soul rejuvenated—by a damn near 80 year old man. Nothing ironic about that. Those who ride with the gods don’t age.
Congratulations, New Juche!
It’s great to have the blog back. May the server stay afloat!
New York’s just gotten out of a heat wave. (We were flooded last Monday.) I went for a long walk this afternoon, and tonight I’m seeing a program of experimental films from Slovenia.
I agree about the Playboi Carti album. He copied Future too much instead of building on WHOLE LOTTA RED, and fell victim to the malaise plaguing current mainstream hip-hop (especially the 80-minute Spotify-bait runtime).
Hey, Dennis! We’re filming on the 22nd of this month. So scary to think we’re almost ready to start the shoot – it’s been such a laborious process. Enough to put anyone off making a movie, frankly. Did you find it got easier with each film you made? Or is it still a hellish pain in the arse?
Hope you’re well. Glad the blog is back to full fitness!
Chris
Hi Dennis.
Its nice to see the blog back, just in time for me to be home too. Me and Alice didn’t go to the catacombs in the end, but we did spend a good amount of time in pere lachaise. Alice didn’t shoot me in the head there though. I did make her try escargot and stuff like that after we parted. You were good company I must say, and I am grateful for the time that you gave us.
I picked up a copy of “Castle Faggot” at After 8 and read it in one night. It was a ton of fun! A very good read. I have also started “Doting” by Henry Green, which has also been on my mind. How was Jurassic world by the way? Did Zac like the dinosaurs?
As for my novel, I might hold off on that. I’m working on my current work now, its only around 20 pages on docs as of right now but I like what I’ve done. I think I would send that first because I would be curious as to what someone else thinks. I wouldn’t mind sending the fuller novel of course. I dunno. I just have a lot on my mind, and I ramble again. I just hope you had a good day.
Cya–thank you very much for everything!–see ya monday!
Hey, Dennis! Twitter must blocked it to non-users because of it’s nudity. It’s a shame. Recently I opened an account on a site to get anonymous messages from the people that follow me and got a story that I can’t stop thinking about. Not too crazy, but maybe you’ll like it! I’ll try to translate to you.
“I had an experience that may be a little too much. I was having sex with a guy and while we are at it I saw the reflection of someone masturbating in the window. I found it weird but continued. Then I asked him if there was anyone else in the house and he said “just my older brother””
I asked people to send voyeuristic experiences they had. It’s an interesting image, I think. Someone having sex seeing another person watching them, not from the mirror, but from the window. And it’s a family member! Odd.
Do you know any good voyeur story? I’ve been collecting these from others lately, but never had one.
Hope you are doing well!
Great to have you back, Dennis! Server problems aside, hope the trip back was not too annoying for you and Zac.
New New Juche: what a way to kick off the blog’s return. I happened to be visiting Chiang Mai right after Heat Death #1 came out. Joe’s partner dropped off a copy for me, but no such luck this time.
Things have been ok. I played a little house concert with the trio a couple days ago. Very pleasant event in the ‘burbs, we played decent, there’s a casual recording but I’m not sure it sounds good enough to share. I’m leaving town in a few days, playing again next weekend. I can’t remember the last time I had gigs two weeks in a row, haha. By the way, I didn’t get into Crossroads. I should look around for some place else to send Feints.
Bill
Hi!!
Welcome back, Dennis!! You’re here – and with such an absolute treat of a welcome-back post! New Juche’s books always look breathtaking – this one is no different.
How was the film festival? Did “Room Temperature” find its worthy audience? And how are you? What have you been doing/working on now that you’ve been back for a while?
Here, everything’s fine. This sounds so boring, but nothing out of the ordinary has happened, and I like that so much. 😀
I’m leaving for a week-long family visit today, so I’ll be back on the 28th. (Obviously, when else than when you’re finally back?) I can’t wait to catch up with you properly then!!
Love helping me remember what I dreamed last night because I can only recall a red painting of a dead boy, and it’s kind of killing me, Od.
Hi Dennis, good to see everything back here and returning in full style with the day. How have you been? Things are going well. I’m wrapping up this showcase and trying to get everything lined up and prepared now. I’m curating it like an actual show and will get the images and work to you for here soon. Jonathan Mayhew is going to interview me about the showcase and the space as well and it will be part of it once I get everything sorted and put together. Thanks again!
hi dennis!
i know i said this last time i popped in, but i hope you remember me! i’ve missed talking with you on here a lot. i’m actually in paris right now, which made me think of you and to finally get back to the blog. i’m really loving it so far. i’m only here for a couple more days, but the highlight for me has definitely been the catacombs. such an emotionally overwhelming experience. i’d love to see you but i’m not sure if i’ll have the time! already hoping to come back at some point though, it’s such a beautiful city.
congrats at the film having its festival premiere!! i’m dying to see it, and hoping it makes it out to seattle sometime soon. i finally got around to like cattle towards glow and loved basically everything you and zac were doing. room temperature is easily the upcoming release i’m most excited for, it sounds amazing.
i know you’re a big pavement fan, but have you listened to silver jews much? that’s been my latest musical obsession. berman’s lyrics always leave me in awe, he constantly comes up with thoughts i’ve never seen before. i’ve been reading his blog and getting into the various poets/writers he recommends. did you end up seeing pavements? if so what did you think of it?
i remember you asking however many months ago i was last here (maybe it’s been a year? which if it has makes me really sad) why i couldn’t medically transition yet and i never answered. the reason was i needed to have some financial stability and support system away from my family. good news about that: i should be starting hrt in november! things are finally starting to come together. i’m preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, so we’ll see how that goes.
i hope everything else is going well! sorry that your blog went down, that sucks, but i’m glad i caught it just as it went back up. i’m gonna try my best to get back to talking with you with some regularity, because i really have missed it.
much love,
audrey
Hey! I highly recommend ‘Castration Movie’. The director has done a thing where you can purchase it for as much as you want to spend and you can download the file directly.
If I made the best of list today I’d add ‘Pavements’ which I really really loved. Although I don’t think it’s 100% perfect, I’ll take a beautiful mess over something which is too safe and calculated any day. I think calling something perfect can be a crux, a lot of great things have flaws because that comes with wild ambition, but the perks can be so great that the flaws don’t matter as much. But maybe I’m biased, I’ve been listening to Pavement basically every day for the past couple of months so it really hit the spot and made me cry at the end.
I’ve been having a crazy time at the moment, but I was feeling so bad for so long that I’ve sort of crashed and now settled into something calmer. I paid my last month of rent at this dump so I’ll probably move out asap because I hate it here. Some days I feel like I’m going insane and some days I’m okay, so I really just think that I need to get away from here. I won’t get into it fully because it bums me out. I’m just on edge all of the time. I can’t find any work or anything, so I guess I’m probably going to have to stay with my parents for a while. I graduated the other day btw. The whole thing was one big embarrassment.
Anyway, yes, the book is finished, which is one thing that makes me happy. I sent it to Michael Salerno about three weeks ago because it sort of fits in with the whole kiddiepunk thing but I’m not fully expecting an answer. I’ll probably send it to Calamari next. I’m working on the next one too. There’s this book I’ve been writing for years and years that sort of failed because I was learning how to write as I wrote it and was under someone else’s influence every time I went to write it, and no matter how much I edited it, I couldn’t escape the inherent flaws. Now I’m splitting it into three short books and am sure that I’ve landed on how to do it and am filled with so many ideas. I’m trying to come up with a title for the first one. I have this sort of dumb idea that I’m going to give it the name of a random classic book, like what The Replacements did with ‘Let it Be’.
Hi Dennis, I’ve missed you so, so, so much! I’ve been meaning to write to you for a looong time, but I was going through a lot, and then your blog broke down, which made me realise how much I need it even if I don’t check in much. I’m as excited as ever for Room Temperature but more so for you. How are you, dearest friend? Hope I can come see you in Paris this summer if you’re around? Sending love & kisses as always
d-
yes, that ass. well, there are actually two that have entranced me, both just guys from random webcam vids. one, he plays with a little vibrator and he’s just got a really nice ass. but the other one… he’s a boy you would write about. incredibly handsome, great body, skinny emo guy with just the most perfect ass and the most beautiful asshole i’ve ever seen. there are a couple videos of him, not much action, he just jerks off and plays with his ass a little, but… well, you’ve heard me gush about his ass already. suffice to say, it’s perfect.
i’m pretty sure i have an abscessed molar. it hurts constantly and it’s resulted in me having a migraine for about the last week straight. the only things that seem to help are chewing on whole cloves or applying clove oil directly to it, and loads of cannabis. so i’ve been staying stoned as much as possible while i wait for my insurance to kick in so i can see the dentist, which will suck. dentists are one of my biggest phobias, so i’m looking for one who’ll drug me the second my ass hits the chair (i so despise going to the dentist that i haven’t been in close to two decades).
yes, it would be nice if enter at yr own risk were brought back into print. i paid $60 for a copy, but that’s reasonable, i suppose. i’m about to spend $100 preordering the rick froberg art book that akashic have coming out later this year, and honestly i don’t mind spending money on books. i’ve always been a bibliophile.
have you spent much or any time with the band tropical fuck storm? they’re great, australian art punks who straddle the line perfectly between funky/super danceable and really fucking weird. they have a new one out, and it’s quite possibly the best thing they’ve ever done.
my world is uneventful. started a new job a few weeks ago. i don’t really like it, but i feel that way about every job. otherwise just been spending a lot of time with my cat and watching movies and being lazy. gonna go see eddington with a friend on wednesday. are you a fan of ari aster at all? i really liked hereditary and midsommar, but i haven’t watched beau is afraid yet.
this new juche looks great. i think all i have of his is mountainhead, so i should remedy that.
hope you have a great day. love to yous. talk soon.
-c.
Hi there, Dennis! Thank you again for taking the time to meet up. It was a lovely encounter, and I hope the rest of your day went well. The rest of my time in Paris was delightful. A particularly special moment was visiting the Père Lachaise Cemetery. I intended to see the graves of Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison, but I was swept by the power I felt there. It’s such an expansive space and isn’t something I’ve seen from other cemeteries I’ve visited. I usually hear it described as “city-like,” and I can agree with this in terms of how visible the different walks of life were. I imagine it’s likely that you’ve visited this space. If so, do you have any stories of being there?
I’ve followed up on your recommendation of Hesse K. Although I haven’t started it, I was able to pick up a copy of Disquiet Drive in After 8. I’m excited to dive into it. My slight problem is that I kept myself loaded with the novels I picked up in Paris. It was wonderful to find many of Kathy Acker’s works. For whatever reason, they are tricky to find within the stores I’ve visited across the UK. Hugo and I visited Shakespeare and Co twice. I found it to be a comforting space to get lost in the texts I picked up. One such example was Rimbaud’s Illuminations. What’s so enveloping to me is his approach to the sensual and how that informs perspectives present in reality. It’s such a captivating presentation of experience and what it means for insight to be shaped by interaction.
Lately, I’ve also been reading Edward Said’s Representations of the Intellectual. It resonates with me in terms of how it constructs voice as a tool reflective of the oppressed. There’s this balance between self-criticism and participation, which has made me consider how to shape certain identities within my creative works. I have a huge selection of books to choose from, so I’m excited to explore them!
I’m happy to see that those issues with your blog were finally resolved. Wishing you all the best with all else that’s currently going on for you. Take care!
Hey Dennis, good to see you back!
The main info from my last comment, bar a list of albums ive been listening to, is that I did decide to go to the Charli concert and I’m happy I did. It felt good to be out and about, meeting friends of friends and people i knew through social media there, and just to go out in Dublin again. I’m basically out of whatever slump I was in; taking care of myself, my new room is all set up and looking great, eating well (three meals a day consistently, which is unheard of for me) and enjoying cooking, and getting to meet up with a lot of people ive not seen in a while. My big task that I keep putting off is to start using a bullet journal to track my plans and to-do lists. Whilst I’ve been putting it off for a week or so, I’ve sorted out a lot more pressing issues that have been on my backburner for a while (some for a year or so!)
Can’t remember if I mentioned as it’s been so long, but I did pass my degree; 2nd class honours which is one below the top score, and I got 1st class honours when it comes to my dissertation! I’ve been putting off writing and reading for a while, but in the past few weeks I’ve felt myself becoming motivated again to delve into that world.
Do you use any form of calendar or organiser for your work or plans? I’m such an indecisive person who loves the input of others. It took me a few months to decide whether I should do it physically or online, with my decision being online as short term ‘jot stuff down’, physical for actual decisions.
Oh! Here’s some fun news! Went to a silent film that was being screened for free in UCC: a french one named Paris qui dort, from 1923. Had a fun time with that, considering the film was more a showcase of the city. The plot is basically that the entire city of Paris seems to have frozen, except for a man who was working on the top of the Eiffel Tower. There were two older gay men sat in front of me — one Irish, one American. Didn’t speak with them, but got to enjoy listening to their conversations before the screening.
Also, this one that I saw did some music for Room Temperature, 7038634357, is doing a gig in Cork this Thursday. I’m going with my best friend’s boyfriend as he was already a fan. Hopefully that’s good.
Anyway, whilst I named some albums I was listening to from this year last time, here’s some I’ve heard of from the past 12 months that I plan on listening to soon:
– Scanners by Anthony Naples (techno, ambient)
– Lifetimes by Erika de Casier (RnB, pop)
– Heavy Metal by Cameron Winter (singer songwriter? rock?)
– Magic, Alive! by McKinley Dixon (jazz hiphop)
– The New Sound by Geordie Greep (art rock, latin rock)
– Phonetics On and On by Horsegirl (folk rock?)
– They Left Me With The Sword, and, They Left Me With a Gun by Paris Texas (2 EPs, electronic/experimental hiphop)
– Portrait of My Heart by SPELLLING (art rock)
– Forever Howlong by Black Country, New Road
– Revengeseekerz by Jane Remover
– Instant Holograms On Metal Film by Stereolab
– MAD! by Sparks
– I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away by Hayden Pedigo (instrumental folk/country)
– Fairyland Codex by Tropical Fuck Storm (frankly idk how to describe this besides if Godspeed made Gorillaz-inspired pop)
– Blush by Kevin Abstract (hiphop)
– Let God Sort Them Out by Clipse (hiphop)
Have I become so predictable? I mean what I say, though. And in my defense I am (and have) not been shy about some of the Gaga projects I was less then enthused with. Like her 2016 album, JOANNE, otherwise known as the “authenticity” one (ugh, there, I said it). And I think I’ve listened to her two Tony Bennett duet albums a grand total of one time each.
I actually did end up seeing the new Wes Anderson in theaters last month, and on my birthday no less. Really, what better way to treat one’s self?
Hi Dennis, thank you so much for the great honour of being the subject of your re-opening post! And thank you to everyone for taking the time to have a look.
Look forward to hearing about your trip and RT developments.
Joe and GF