The blog of author Dennis Cooper

Spotlight on … Kenji Siratori HUMAN_WORMS (2003)

 

‘The work of Japanese novelist Kenji Siratori poses the reader with a contentious question: at what point does literary experimentalism transcend the circumference of literacy? Siratori’s work evokes “the coming to consciousness of an artificial intelligence” via “a devastating loop of language” (Blood Electric book jacket). Indeed, his novels are a conflation of computer code with anatomical, medical, and technological language. So, Siratori’s fiction is generically cyberpunk; yet, extreme in both form and content. Siratori’s writing evokes Joyce’s Finnegans Wake and the cut-up experiments of William S. Burroughs thus placing Siratori along an experimental trajectory. However, while the work of Joyce is semantically fecund and Burroughs wishes to reveal the underlying conspiracy of language, Siratori moves away from reconceptualizing meaning towards a disorienting, often violent, affect.

‘The emotional experience of “reading” Siratori demonstrates literary meaninglessness as an analogue to the consumer’s relationship with information technology. His work considers the biases of information technology in an analogous manner that Joyce and Burroughs ask about the biases of language. Here, agency and literacy are conflated in an intense way: if we are unable to acknowledge the biases of information technology, we are incapable of possessing agency in late-capitalism. American media theorist Douglas Rushkoff recently suggested that “Facebook is set up to make us think of ourselves in terms of our ‘likes’ and an iPad is set up to make us start paying for media and stop producing it ourselves.” Amidst all the garbled nonsense of his writing, Siratori’s metaphor is as lucid as it is timely: the anxiety of reading asemic cyberpunk is analogous to the consumer’s illiteracy regarding programming and information technology. As literary experimentation is pushed to absolute limits, new languages of code and programming suggest the dawn of new arts.

‘Siratori’s psychedelic style, mixed with its idiosyncratic (and definedly Japanese!) use of the English language, recommends a reading in which the reader is rendered the real author of the book. The theme of the awaking artificial intelligence demands us to be replaced in the mind of what is awakened, including the noise of growing, learning, forgetting and remembering, in short, acquiring a self-referentially evolving self. In Siratori’s own words: “In my writing, the language cell is distorted by the infinite hyperlink of the synapse -a new language is the conceptual pain– all the data act as the hardweb character as if I dissect subjective writing, I’m striking the nude brain to a screen. This is the practice that hardweb creatures were disclosed”. In order to read it, one furthermore has to do away with everything that qualifies as fiction, science or otherwise. Siratori presents us the art of the 21 st century word, with its typical references to the multimedia embedding of (post?)modern communication.

‘As Siratori himself states, “my writing was born with the horizon of techno — I’m advocating nerve physics here — I process violence and sex as the reality of data — I take a view of my conceptual web with nerve experiences. The writing is linked to how I game this expanded hardweb for me — such a method that touches to my brain more cruelly.” His work is an experiment with noise and complexity, and the necessity of its reduction. The reader should therefore be especially attentive to what he remembers of the text, what he perceives to be the text’s meaningful (although I doubt that word is in place here) qualities. More than anything else, this implies a sensitivity for the transformative aspects of the new media. What is the meaning of this writing, what is its truth? If one asks Siratori: “TRUTH–data trash in the brain universe–nerve violence and nerve sex—we scan reality with the HIV form.” Apparently, he has accepted the epistemological consequences of his writing. This digital narrative is no more than a synapse of an endlessly evolving web of communications, the meaning of which is ever harder to discern… Read if you dare.’ — collaged

 

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Further

Official Kenji Siratori
‘The Etude of Murder’ by Kenji Siratori
‘Brain Meat for Naked Lunch’ by Kenji Siratori
‘hallucination=cell’ by Kenji Siratori
‘TATTOO’ by Kenji Siratori
Kenji Siratori @ Discogs
THE NUDE BRAIN: AN INTERVIEW WITH KENJI SIRATORI
‘Writing machines from remote territories’
KJ’s ‘Blood Electric’ reviewed @ Word Riot
Kenji Siratori @ goodreads
Kenji Siratori @ Facebook
Re: Kenji Siratori @ IMAGE [&] NARRATIVE
‘”Hidden Truth” is a Bootleg, Kenji Siratori his shadow and Nocturne the Killer’
::theQuestionnaire: KENJI SIRATORI
‘Living Through Our Errors’
‘Kenji Siratori: Cybergothic Writing’

 

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Musics & Videos


Colette Phair by Kenji Siratori


‘Monster’s Device’


‘Superbug’


‘Cow: a desperate poem’


‘Zero Person Study’

 

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SANTEMUTERUERU, a graphic novel (excerpt)

 

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Ctrl+Monster
3D printable object by Kenji Siratori

Plastic is a great starter material. Strong, with a fairly good level of detail and slightly flexible, it comes in a wide range of colors. If you’re not sure which material to go with, plastic is a great all rounder. €117.95

 

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Interview
from Bookmunch

 

Let’s start the only way I know how. Can you talk me through your novel Blood Electric – describe the book to me in your own words.

Kenji Siratori: My writing was born with the horizon of techno — I’m advocating nerve physics here — I process violence and sex as the reality of data – I take a view of my conceptual web with nerve experiences. The writing is linked to how I game this expanded hardweb for me — such a method that touches to my brain more cruelly. In my writing the language cell is able to be distorted by the infinite hyperlink of the synapse — ‘a new language’ is the conceptual pain – all the data act as the hardweb character as if I dissect subjective writing, I’m striking the nude brain to a screen. This is the practice that hardweb creatures were disclosed. Blood Electric is presenting the aspect of a genetic hardweb clearly — the nerve cells that run through our gene dub — is the strategic object that our body codes erodes the world – ‘literature is networking to our gene dub’

You say “Writing born with the horizon of techno” – Are you saying that dance music and dance culture is an influence on your writing?

KS: Yes–my writing is an industrial human body emulator–virus for the Genomics strategy. Rave that was turned hypertext is body-encoded.

Furthermore, would you say your writing was narcotic (in the way that, say, Coleridge or de Quincey or Burroughs or countless others wrote while “under the influence”)?

KS: Vital browser of nerve system is opened–language cell spins to genomewarable–nomads of the spiral form occur from my writing.

You talk about “new writing” – aren’t you just dressing up what the modernists did at the start of the twentieth century, a method Burroughs did something to update but which is in essence “stream of consciousness”, albeit stream of consciousness infiltrated by technology and html code etc?

KS: I advocate a hypermodern literature to pop culture–it means the invasion to the gene code–and to update our abolition world code–because the characteristic of 20th century style ‘hardweb’ is a struggle. However my language cell is streaming the genomewarable struggle as 21st century style ‘hardweb’.

Who are you writing for? Who do you imagine your reader to be? Would you admit there was an element of impenetrability to “Blood Electric”?

KS: I upload the focus of the nerve system–everything is to contact our language cells that were exposed to gene terrorism–I manufacture the literary plug-in of a vital browser.

Like a lot of experimental fiction, you expect your readers to work pretty hard – should reading be this difficult?

KS: I expect my readers to scan the language cell–to cause the cracking of the gene corroded–to stream the change to the human body emulator.

I think we need to define terms more clearly: what do you mean by “industrial human body emulator”? What do you mean by the term “genomewarable”? What do you mean by the phrase “the invasion to the gene code . . .”?

KS: “industrial human body emulator”–it functions as a literary hacker in our genetic network. . . “genomewarable”–the hyperlinking genetic information–the genetic engineering liquidity of hardweb. . . “the invasion to the gene code”–so language cells in gene dub are produced by the genetic ‘struggle=hardweb’.

There is a sense, I think, that you hide behind coded responses – you don’t clearly articulate answers – do you sublimate the intimacy of your SELF behind cyber doublespeak?

KS: So I cause to escape SELF of the spiral mechanism to positive–it is the language cell sequence that was approximated to nerve transmission.

What is the TRUTH – for you – of what you say – yes, you have to work to uncover the meaning of your book (and the answers to these questions) but, having worked, what is there? Is it worthwhile, this “streaming of the genomewarable struggle . . .”?

KS: TRUTH–data trash in the brain universe–nerve violence and nerve sex—we scan reality with the HIV form.

On the one hand, you’ve got STYLE – your style, this “new” style – but on the other you’ve got storytelling – the importance of telling a story in a way that can be understood (maybe not right away, but eventually) – are you telling a story in Blood Electric, or is telling a story outmoded?

KS: I go across the digital narrative in the human body–Blood Electric is such software that captures “the digital narrative in the human body” and is archive that connects my digital narrative to your digital narrative.

Who is Kenji Siratori – man or machine?!?!

KS: He is one hardweb that hyperlinked to our genetic information . . .

 

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Book

Kenji Siratori HUMAN_WORMS
iUniverse

‘EXTREME BIO-CYBERPUNK HORROR>>>insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was sucked to the emotional replicant of super-genomewarable abolition world-codemaniacs that was biocaptured a chemical=anthropoid acid of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM is accelerated the virus:: clone-dive a trash sensor drug embryo rave on the DNA=channel of the cadaver feti=streaming_body encoder that was send back out to the acidHUMANIX infection archive genomics strategy circuit technojunkies’ era respiration-byte nerve cells of the hyperreal HIV=scanner forms to the brain universe that was processed the data=mutant of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system murder-gimmick of the cadaver city Blog…. I compress the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator to the brain universe of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance technojunkies’ DNA=channel hacking the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM acidHUMANIX infection****the genomics strategy circuit of the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells that accelerates the virus of the artificial sun to the hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the cadaver feti=streaming_body encoder that clone-dives a chemical=anthropoid mass of flesh-module vital to the era respiration-byte sending program murder game of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals different of a trash sensor drug embryo-hyperreal HIV=scanners that were controlled plug-in….’ — Kenji Siratori

 

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Excerpt

Insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was sucked to the emotional replicant of super-genomewarable abolition world-codemaniacs that was biocaptured a chemical=anthropoid acid of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM is accelerated the virus::clone-dive a trash sensor drug embryo rave on the DNA=channel of the cadaver feti=streaming_body encoder that was send back out to the acidHUMANIX infection archive genomics strategy circuit technojunkies’ era respiration-byte nerve cells of the hyperreal HIV=scanner forms to the brain universe that was processed the data=mutant of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system murder-gimmick of the cadaver city BLog….acidHUMANIX infection archive of the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells to the mass of flesh-module murder-gimmicks of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals DNA=channel of a chemical=anthropoid is send back out the era respiration-byte_covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart to the brain universe of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance that was biocaptured the cadaver city technojunkies’ nightmare-script and crash that genomics strategy circuit****cadaver feti of the artificial sun=hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the neuromatic body encoder that streams to the hyperreal HIV=scanners that BDSM play a trash sensor drug embryo hacking–hunting for the grotesque WEB of the cadaver city=covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that jointed and suck acid to the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was send back out the era respiration-byte of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM mass of flesh-module rave on::the different vital-controllers of the biocapturism nerve cells to non-resettable the murder-gimmick of a chemical=anthropoid–abolition world-codemaniacs to the cadaver feti=streaming circuit of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_brain universe that technojunkies’ BDSM plays the DNA=channel of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system gene-dub….I compress the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator to the brain universe of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance technojunkies’ DNA=channel hacking the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM acidHUMANIX infection****the genomics strategy circuit of the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells that accelerates the virus of the artificial sun to the hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the cadaver feti=streaming_body encoder that clone-dives a chemical=anthropoid mass of flesh-module vital to the era respiration-byte sending program murder game of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals different of a trash sensor drug embryo-hyperreal HIV=scanners that were controlled plug-in….”I am disillusioned-covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart cadaver city at the murder-protocol that was processed the data=mutant of her abolition world-codemaniacs emotional replicant module and that genomics strategy circuit noise–hunting for the grotesque WEB of a chemical=anthropoid=body encoder of the hyperreal HIV=scanner form to the different vital-controller of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_brain universe that jointed technojunkies’ hacking the nightmare-script….hunting for the grotesque WEB insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator to gene-dub of the cadaver feti=streaming_brain universe that compressed the acidHUMANIX infection of a chemical=anthropoid murder-gimmick of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM=joints::the technojunkies’ DNA=channel era respiration-byte sending programs of the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells that artificial sun was output to the mass of flesh-module of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance is installed vital different of a trash sensor drug embryo-hyperreal HIV=scanners that were controlled clone-dives to the genomics strategy circuit that was biocaptured her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals….the nightmare-script of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_body encoder that clone-dives the cadaver city to the murder-protocol data=mutant processing organ DNA=channel of a trash sensor drug embryo FUCKNAMLOAD****abolition world-codemaniacs that was send back out the era respiration-byte of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system murder-gimmick of the chemical=anthropoid to a hybrid cadaver mechanism SAVE the paradise device of the biocapturism nerve cells_covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that artificial sun was set up and stream to that mass of flesh-module cadaver feti=….the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was biocaptured to the hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the cadaver feti=streaming_brain universe that compressed the technojunkies’ acidHUMANIX infection soul/gram made of retro-ADAM murder-gimmick nightmare-script….I rape the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that crashed a trash sensor drug embryo to the emotional replicant of super-genomewarable abolition world-codemaniacs that was sucked to the different vital-controller nerve cells of the hyperreal HIV=scanner forms that BDSM play@artificial sun DNA=channels of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals acid of a chemical=anthropoid….rave on the modem=heart of the hybrid cadaver mechanism technojunkies’ gene-dub to the nerve cells murder-gimmick of her abolition world-codemaniacs emotional replicant****the surrender-sites of the hyperreal HIV=scanners BLog the artificial sun to the cadaver feti=streaming_brain universe that I compressed the acidHUMANIX infection of a trash sensor drug embryo mass of flesh-module vital to the hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the murder-protocol data=mutant processing organ that crashed a chemical=anthropoid different of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM-insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was controlled FUCKNAMLOAD vital different of a trash sensor drug embryo-genomics strategy circuit of the biocapturism nerve cells that compressed the acidHUMANIX infection of a chemical=anthropoid is output to the hyperreal HIV=scanners that were controlled the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that accelerates the virus of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM to the mass of flesh-module murder-gimmicks of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals gene-dub::the DNA=channel of the cadaver city hyperlinks to the disillusionment-module of the murder-protocol data=mutant processing organ that was send back out the body encoder of the abolition world-codemaniacs emotional replicant performance technojunkies’ era respiration-byte reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that accelerates the virus of a trash sensor drug embryo to the DNA=channel of the cadaver feti=streaming_brain universe that compressed the technojunkies’ acidHUMANIX infection crashes–the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was send back out to the different vital-controller of the murder-protocol emotional replicant that was biocaptured a chemical=anthropoid era respiration-byte of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM clone-dives abolition world-codemaniacs of the hyperreal HIV=scanner form gene-dub of the cadaver city to the nerve cells nightmare-script of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system mass of flesh-module hunting for the grotesque WEB of her abolition world-codemaniacs emotional replicant=being covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that was sucked to the cadaver feti=streaming circuit that jointed technojunkies’ acid mass of flesh-module is output::clone-dive the artificial sun insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was biocaptured to the disillusionment-module of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_brain universe soul/gram made of retro-ADAM murder-gimmick rave on a chemical=anthropoid gene-dub in the surrender-sites of the hyperreal HIV=scanners nerve cells of the murder-protocol data=mutant processing organs BDSM play the cadaver city….the surrender-sites of the hyperreal HIV=scanners gene-dub of the cadaver city to the brain universe of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance that was sucked the acid of a chemical=anthropoid FUCKNAMLOAD ****the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells rave on the murder-gimmick of the trash sensor drug embryo hunting for the grotesque WEB of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system=genomics strategy circuit that jointed to a hybrid cadaver mechanism to the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was biocaptured the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM nightmare-script….the data=mutant processing organ of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_vital browser DNA=channel of the artificial sun is ejected being covered to abolition world-codemaniacs of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_body encoder that technojunkies’ BDSM plays hunting for the grotesque WEB of a chemical=anthropoid=reptilian=HUB_ modem=heart that jointed that murder-protocol mass of flesh-module….it hyperlinks the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator murder-gimmick of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM to the nightmare-scripts of the biocapturism nerve cells that accelerates the virus of the artificial sun plug-in to the hyperreal HIV=scanners that were send back out the cadaver feti=streaming circuit that clone-dives@digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals era respiration-byte of a trash sensor drug embryo….era respiration-byte is send back out to the DNA=channel of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_brain universe insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that clone-dives the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM BDSM play a chemical=anthropoid ****plug-in to the vital browser that was processed the emotional replicant of super-genomewarable abolition world-codemaniacs technojunkies’ reptilian=HUB data=mutant of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system murder game to the mass of flesh-module of the hyperreal HIV=scanner form biocapturism nerve cells hacking a trash sensor drug embryo DNA=channel of the cadaver city–.

 

 

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p.s. Hey. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Yes, I’ll be in LA for the last three weeks of October. Plans are mostly visiting as many haunted attractions as possible and showing the film to the cast, crew, and supporters. And seeing my many pals there. And eating lots of actual Mexican food. Thanks, the approach is still in motion, and let’s ‘pray’ it doesn’t collapse. The ceiling of our toilet room leaks off and on, and it’s never been properly fixed. There’s a broken, not-to-be-used toilet on the floor above it, and sometimes people use it anyway, and … ugh. That giggling burst does sound like trouble, well depending on who’s dead, I guess. Kenji Siratori hacking ChatGBP, G. ** jay, Peach-fuzz: I’ll look him up. I read ‘The Monk’ ages and ages ago, I don’t remember it all. And I didn’t know about that hospitalisation, so thanks for the news bit. I didn’t see ‘Revenge’. Okay, I’m more interested in the ‘The Substance’ now, and that’s good. Thanks! ** _Black_Acrylic, Yep, about his music, and agreed about ‘Halloween 3’ being his creme de la creme. ** kier, Hey, k! ‘Ghosts of Mars’ isn’t very good at all, in my memory. Awesome. ‘Phantasmagoria’, wow, how does it hold up? Copenhagen sounds like a lustrous rush. I don’t know Tal R, but I’ll search for him. Did the studio visit happen? How did it go? I can’t believe you never gotten that ‘work stipend’?! It must be rigged or something. That’s a travesty. Surely it’s your long awaited turn for that. Hierarchies suck always, and art world hierarchies are way, way up there. Film world ones too, if I even need to say. Tuesday was okay. Hung out with Zac, saw some art (Andrea Fraser, a ceramics show, Tony Cragg), none of it amazing at all, although the Craggs were very elegant. Otherwise just emails and film stuff with no breakthroughs. I hope your Wednesday involved getting big praise from your studio visitor at the very least. xo, me. ** Charalampos, Hey. James Tate! Weird you said that because I just put together a spotlight post about my favorite (by far) Purdy book ‘Eustace Chisholm and the Works’. It’ll come soon after the October blog vacation. I want to read ‘Face Eraser’, but it’s not so suited to my speaking voice, so I’m trying to figure out if I can make the two work together or not. Congrats on the new, promising movement. ** Misanthrope, There you go. You solved it. Readings are always very stressful for me, at least before they happen. Once I’m up there, I just do it kamikaze style. ** nat, Hi. I like that term ‘thirst shot’. And the shot itself is nice and thirty. Thank you. Fuck, I hope someone does a Halloween party or something in your vicinity. Wait, make a haunted house! Charge the cruise ship people to go through it. Solve any immediate financial problems. Just a thought. ** Uday, And now you’re back properly! Enjoy Charli XCX. I’d like to see her show. And whatever luck you might need your article -> that book. ‘Summer in Baden-Baden’ … no, I haven’t. I’ll look for it. I am a sentence fetishist. Very, very happy to have you back! ** Steve, Hey. Everyone, Here are a couple of new Steve Erickson pieces for you to indulge in and learn from. Here is his review of Alan Sparhawk’s WHITE ROSES, MY GOD, and here is his overview of LGBTQ films at the New York Film Festival. **  HaRpEr, Hi. Hooray about the touchdown on the Kristof. Obviously I hope the move today is as easy was such things can allow. No, I’m not especially a Carpenter fan. I just thought it would be interesting to collate his stuff and see what happened. I do really like ‘Halloween 3’. I used to really like ‘In the Mouth of Madness’ for the meta aspect, but I watched it again last year and thought he didn’t commit nearly enough to the meta possibilities. It’s no ‘Providence’. Haha, re: the Salome incident. Thoughts on a possible costume this year? ** Bill, Yeah, me too. I’m doing Air France, and they’re pretty reliable on the in-flight movie front. I haven’t seen ‘Cigarette Burns’. I’ll try it. Right, ‘They Live’, that’s a good one. Roddy ‘Rowdy’ Piper! ** Justin D, Hey. As I was saying up above, I want to read ‘Face Eraser’, but I need to make it work in my speaking voice, and it isn’t quite working as of yet. I don’t think I’ll read anything else from ‘Flunker’. I’m thinking two parts of ‘I Wished’ and a few things from ‘Ugly Man’ maybe. ‘Memoirs of an Invisible Man’ is truly awful. I recommend ‘Halloween 3’. Wow, I don’t know if I have a favorite horror movie. Hm. I’ll have to think about that. The horror movie that scared me the most at the time was ‘Blair Witch Project’, but I wouldn’t pick that as my favorite for sure. What’s yours? ** Malik, Hi! Right, ‘Christine’, that’s a good one. The people who made those CD-rom games were actually experimenting with the form, and even wildly in some cases, and you only really see that now in kind of obscure online games made by individuals and small collectives in their bedrooms, which is fine, but it’s sad that the medium has gone the way of movies. Have fun at the reading. I’m reading on the 2nd, so good luck to us both. I’ve only heard of Harpers Ferry, and I guess I’ve seen some photos, but that name always institutes this kind of dreamy ‘American’ imagery and tone. Nice! ** Lucas, Hi. I’m pretty sure I’m not a representative American. That’s interesting: yeah, I did detect a kind LA roll to the way you speak, now that you mention it. Thanks for thinking especially about ‘Period’. It’s a fave of my own. You can watch ‘The Holy Mountain’ here at home if you want. I only like the first 2/3 of it, and then it kind of runs out of gas or something for me. My day was okay, how was Wednesday? Yours, I mean. ** Tyler Ookami, Hi, T. ‘An IT worker’s idea of what hippies were’ nails what I imagine Meow Wolf is. I’ll look for pics of Water World. Weirdly, I have never been to a waterpark. I’ve stared at them through fences, but I’ve never entered with my swimming trunks in tow. Odd that. I love them by sight and in theory. Benjamin Weissman is great. His two books ‘Dear Dead Person’ and ‘Headless’ are great. And Amy Gerstler’s great. Casey McKinney used to run this really good lit/culture site called Fanzine, but it died mysteriously, and I don’t know what he’s doing now. Thanks for the Wolf Children link. I’ll hit it in just a few moments from now. ** Right. Today’s post isn’t an official Halloween post, but it seems like it’s in the spirit in some way. Correct me if I’m wrong. See you tomorrow.

14 Comments

  1. jay

    Oh wow, that prose is so so amazing, I may have to try and find a pdf of some of his stuff. I’m so completely enraptured by this boundary between data and the human brain, and how hard it is to get anything between those two.

    I think it’s maybe what I really loved about Marbled Swarm, or at least one of the parts I adored – this idea of seemingly nonsensical prose being a delivery mechanism for extremely complex ideas. It’s kind of evolved into a joke with my friend Harry, that I’m sort of turning him into a sexual Manchurian Candidate by way of slightly mannered but extremely precise small talk about our days / jobs. Actually, I really remember reading a mostly quite poor scifi story a few years ago about a man who “uses 100% of his brain”, or whatever, but it ultimately ended with him killing someone by intuiting a series of 3 seemingly banal words that, when deliberately spoken, would trigger an emotional chain reaction that would kill the person who hears them. Anyway, ramble over, I just absolutely love that concept in pretty much any interation.

    Yeah, Peach-Fuzz is basically just a guy in a wolf mask, so it’s not a super elaborate costume, which is probably why lots of people gravitate to it. I’m sort of waiting for Substance to turn up on Mubi, personally, given how much cinema tickets cost nowadays, but I’m pretty hopeful about it. Let me know what you think, when you go see it! P.S., if it isn’t too much to ask, would you mind if I asked you to record that reading you’re doing on the 30th? If you’d prefer not to, that’s completely fine!

  2. Dominik

    Hi!!

    Your LA plans sound fantastic! I’m so excited to hear about all the haunted attractions you’ll visit! Do you already have a list, or is the schedule still flexible?

    Shit, I’m sorry about your toilet ceiling! Such a great situation…

    That’d make my job a lot more exciting – I’m working on so much AI-generated material nowadays. Love taking off his socks and finding hands instead of his feet, Od.

  3. _Black_Acrylic

    “Rave that was turned hypertext is body-encoded.” The 1st time I went to the Orbit in Leeds and heard any Techno, that took me a while to get my head around the very idea. Siratori is probably way ahead of what my brain can process right now. What he’s doing can still provide a thrill, though.

  4. Misanthrope

    Dennis, Okay, now I’m going to imagine you dressed as a kamikaze pilot while you’re up there reading. Derek should dress as a haunted hillbilly. I’ve emailed with Derek before. It’ll be nice to see him in person.

    Our hotel room is booked. Just inside midtown on the east side. I haven’t been to NYC since December 2019. Should be fun.

    I’m just counting down the days until I’m off for 9 days. I haven’t had a week off since August 2022, which I took off for my birthday but then we all got covid. 😛

    I still haven’t read anything by Siratori, but I’m quite familiar with him, as some of my friends are friends with him. Seems a really swell guy.

  5. kier

    Hey den, thanks for the day, i especially thought the graphic novel was exciting. i’ve had his blood electric on my to read list for many years, i’m assuming you did a day on it way back when. i tried my library for him, in vain. phantasmagoria failed to download sadly:((

    my studio visit got cancelled, gallery person was sick. we’ll try again next week. i wish you were on the work stipend jury! it’s a lot about writing the right kind of application, and that’s hard to master, plus so many of my contemporaries are doing three times as much stuff as i am, and that counts a lot. and you have to be lucky with the jury. but it’s hard because you never know if you were close to getting it or if they really hated the application and thought it was terrible. i didn’t get started on it yesterday but will tomorrow. but i had a really good studio day! made a weird lamp shade and finished some other stuff.

    today i went to french class, learned the ‘if i would have’ form if you can call it that. like, if i had money then blah blah. grammar stuff. we listened to ‘si j’avais un marteau’ (if i had a hammer) by claude francois. then i was in the ceramics workshop for a few hours, finished a lamp body. can you say that? lamp body? in norwegian it’s a lamp foot, but that sounds wrong. lamp base i guess. made two more lamp bases, and started work on a little sculpture. i’m working a lot with house and home stuff for my solo show so i’m making some furniturestuff. then i went and bought a curved needle for sewing-work on furniture, and i bought a funny plant. tonight ottar’s coming over and we’re watching this new horror movie ‘cuckoo.’

    what was your day like and what did it bring you? kisses and hugs

    • jay

      Hey Kier! I absolutely love your tumblr blog, if you’re the one posting nicely curated screenshots from films and fashion photoshoots.

      Also, here’s a slightly nicer download for Phantasmagori , the Internet Archive download file is corrupted, apparently:

      • kier

        Hi Jay, thanks so much about the blog:)) and thank you for the download link, much appreciated!

  6. Tyler Ookami

    Yeah, I’m glad I found that story; I saw one of those collections and kept being like you need to remind yourself to Google “short story collection with Paul McCarthy rabbit cover” and then ADHDing out of it the second I open a browser.

    Lost River of the Pharaohs is one of the weirdest theme park rides I’ve experienced. Lots of videos of it on Youtube. I found an old commercial that looks like it had much more elaborate animatronics when it opened 34 years ago.

    Surprised I’ve never come across Santemuterueru in my search for abstract or strange manga. Human Worms reads like something from Lain or Evangelion or other anime of that era. Seems like all Japanese multimedia artists make glitch music. There’s an album, Xtoyourmilkyhair, that’s the only music by a visual artist named Nobuko Hori, that’s better than what a lot of career musicians have made.

  7. nat

    greetingsDENNIS, affirmate-msg recieved, video game character hot and thirst positive pleasure-. yeah, i’m not doing that whole message. maybe next time.

    i spent a while disecting that excerpt, akin to that viral picture of someone’s noting over finnegan’s wake. i do like alternatve syntax, steeped in coding or cyber aesthetics. hell, you could have told me this came out this year and i’d believe you. oh well, i’ll check for a copy, maybe even ironically buy a paper copy.

    reminds of an ex, unit. it had this single-minded inclination to tech, seeped in the hardcore edges. hard to explain it more other than one of those you know what it when i see it. it was alienating to most of the people he met. he somehow even made himself an outcast in his it classes, a class filled with tech outcasts already. i miss it. oh well.

    thank you forrr the nice msg about my character, i would send more of the conceptual or at least more effort then ‘hehe, nice butt’, but the shots are with my friend’s characters, and they prefer to keep that to ourselves. maybe i’ll recreate them just for here. though as you said, thirst shot is a nice term.

    brilliant idea honestly, i wonder if there is any haunted houses nearby. i know there are escape rooms and at least some horror themed stuff. but specifically haunted house? hmmm. maybe a market there. i do wonder how many people i would get if i specifically forced em in. i think the number of people whose been here is now in the million, and the town is very below having million people.

    uh not much else to note, i’ll probably think of something in due time, since i am writing to these relatively early. i say as it is eight pm where i am rn.

  8. Tyler Ookami

    I am glad I found that story. I kept trying to remind myself to Google “short story collection with Paul McCarthy rabbit cover” because I saw one of his books a while back and could not remember what it was called.

    The pharaoh ride at Water World is hilarious. Really baffling in both idea and execution. There is a lot of footage of it on Youtube. I also found an old ad from when it opened 30+ years ago on Youtube and it looks like it once had more elaborate animatronics, but maybe that wasn’t a great idea in something designed to slosh water around.

    I know of Creep because of all the horny fanart. Did not know that the slasher in that is called Peach Fuzz. I don’t know if you have seen this kind of stuff where women (usually “fujoshi”) love to draw pastel art of slashers as pretty manga boys, with flower crowns and whatnot. Peach Fuzz is more or less engineer to be the perfect intersection of that and furry. The slasher fujoshi like to ship him with the slasher from Cat Sick Blues, another “mumblegore” thing of that era.

  9. Malik

    That point about video games taking after movies is why I’ve become more interested in smaller games since playing more on PC. I especially like the ones that revert to old forms or explore the interactivity of a game, like Cruelty Squad, Superhot, or The Stanley Parable. There’s still larger games I like of course, Baldur’s Gate 3 is well worth all the hype. I just came to the point where you’ve seen all there is in “traditional” work, so you start seeking out the more challenging and different stuff.

    Harpers Ferry is a nice and picturesque place! It makes for a great source of inspiration. Everywhere you look, the Blue Ridge Mountains loom over the horizon, historical markers about John Brown’s raid are all over, and Charles Town is just minutes away.

    The hotel I stayed in was right across the street from the casino and racetrack, but the horses don’t run on Labor Day. Those environments always fascinated me, and I’d like to write about it some day. In fact, just finished reading The King of Video Poker by Paolo Iacovelli from Clash Books, and it got me twisted. Great novel.

    And I wish you luck on your own reading, Dennis! I’m currently stuck between reading something that was published between the first reading in May and now, or making something brand new.

  10. Lucas

    hi. interesting that you noticed that about how I talk! and, yeah, I really really love ‘period.’ I obviously liked it as I first read it, but I was really confused throughout. to me, it seems like the most structurally/formally experimental novel of the cycle; I’m wondering if you had planned it to be like that, like a progression throughout the books, or did it just happen to occur that way? and, like, I know that it was originally supposed to be very different from how it ended up, so did any of the original ‘period’ remain as sort of part of the novel’s skeleton, or did you just completely scrap the old plan? I have so many questions I don’t think are brief enough for the p.s, oops. I’m glad your day was ok, I think that’s better than the torture you’ve had to endure recently. my wednesday was weird: class, seeing my friends, even therapy was more or less okay but I got some really shitty news about a terrible person I haven’t seen in a year potentially visiting soon and that’s ruined my mood a little. I’ve just spent the last few hours trying to keep myself from spiraling, I’ll be okay, but I should have studied instead haha. I’m not sure he’ll come and I don’t think I’ll even have to see him if he does, but it still always sort of does something with me. I’m just glad I’m seeing my friends tomorrow again, even though I’m totally failing the exam I have first thing in the morning. love, me

  11. HaRpEr

    Hey! I kind of made a stupid decision with the move. I wanted to move in as soon as possible so I got here in the evening. Unfortunately, my cutlery/plates/glasses and bed sheets are in storage. I borrowed some plates etc. from my parents but I’m sleeping on a mattress and comforter/duvet without any of the sheets that go over them. I have blankets and pillows though, so it won’t be so bad. If I sleep fully clothed I can probably avoid the itchiness. Also, the storage unit is only a ten minute walk from me so I can head over there tomorrow. I’m kind of disorientated and don’t know what to make of it all yet. I really wish I had some time to settle in before classes began, but I’ll be fine after a week or so. Once habit takes over.

    For Halloween I’ve had a few ideas for costumes. The one I’ve always wanted to attempt is Ziggy Stardust and I think it’s time. I know how to do the makeup but the costume is supremely difficult. There’s no one option. I could order a shitty costume online but it’s not the same. My dream costume is the bodysuit with one arm and one leg cut out that he wore in ‘Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture’. I wish I could knit stuff, that would be awesome. When I was a kid I asked my grandma to knit me clothes for my dolls etc. but never stuff for me.

    Wow, this book looks really interesting, and it seems buyable as well. Fittingly, I have my experimental literature class tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that.

  12. Justin D

    Hey, Dennis! It rained almost all day here! 😍 Hmm, I don’t know if I have a *favorite* Horror film, but I’ve always loved ‘The Shining’ and try to watch it every year circa Halloween. So I guess that’s it. ‘The Blair Witch Project’ scared the shit out of me, too. The shaky camera work makes me kind of nauseous, additionally. I will definitely give ‘Halloween 3’ a shot, thanks! Wow, hearing you read from ‘I Wished’ would be kind of a dream come true. I still can’t believe your publisher didn’t let you read for the audiobook. Madness!

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