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p.s. RIP Joan Didion. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Happy you liked them. Thank you about the producer. Yeah, me too, limbo sucks. My poor toes are the slightest bit warmer knowing they have friends. Did that actually happen with your Smarties? That’s sad and, well, exciting. Love unveiling a Xmas tree with a million prettily wrapped packages underneath that have your name written on their tags with perfect penmanship, G. ** David, Hi. Peace on earth for that arguing couple. Mm, let’s agree to not talk about Trump and that stuff now or again, okay? I have an unspoken agreement with myself not to argue or fight with people on the blog, and that’s a topic I can’t be calm or neutral about. So let’s move on and talk about other stuff, yeah? Well, since I literally have no plans to celebrate Xmas, I guess I’m ready. I might try to find something out of the ordinary to eat tomorrow, so I guess I have a wee bit of grocery shopping to do. But, otherwise, I’ll be the same old me tomorrow, I think. Good luck finishing up your whatevers. ** David Ehrenstein, Flashback! ** _Black_Acrylic, Thank you, Ben. May you have the loveliest Xmas to have ever transpired on this wretched yet beloved planet. ** Bill, Cool. That you liked his photos. I might even feast on ‘The Feast’ this very Xmas Eve assuming the internet has my best interests in mind. ** T, Hi, T. My Xmases here in Paris basically just involve me taking long walks in the weirdly dead, introverted Paris, although after the post-apocalyptic emptiness that beset the city during the first lockdown last year, it doesn’t have the same ‘wow’ factor. But, yes. I don’t remember a favorite Xmas immediately. My parents used to really do it up with a jaw-dropping number of gifts magically appearing under our Xmas tree on the morning of, and I just have a generalised memory of seeing that and thinking my whole world was about to change for the better. Oh, no, you got it. The C. So many people are testing positive this time around. I know so many, as opposed to the first two variants where I hardly knew anyone who got it. Will you still get to do some kind of Xmas shebang with your folks? I hope your symptoms stay timid. So sorry. Cool you’re seeing ‘TIHYWD’, and, yes, prayers that it happens. What night are you going? I think I’m going on the 7th assuming they’ll give me comps. (it’s severely sold out). I too would highly appreciate having that wardrobe appear in my apt, so, yeah, thank you. What else can I hope for your weekend other than that your feel perfect even if you aren’t. xo. ** Steve Erickson, No, I don’t think he fucks with his photos and adds stuff. I guess that place existed, strangely. I’ll give you that Koons maintains an interest in aesthetics. His work from the early 80s was great. KAWS … not so much, unless creating giant, samey, mindless knick-knacks constitutes an aesthetic. I guess it does, ugh. ** Brian, Hey, Brian. Happy Xmas Eve unless you do Xmas on the Eve, whereupon happy X itself. Sure, that makes sense. I try to make every novel really different from my others, but it wouldn’t surprise me if ‘I Wished’ is the most. Maybe ‘God Jr.’ could give it a run, different-wise. Happy that your aunt successfully made it! That’s hardly a given at the moment, obvs. Cool, enjoy. You have a lovely friend there. Well, I’m sure all your friends are lovely, of course. My Xmas build up hasn’t honestly seemed any different than a usual end of week other than most of my friends being away or preoccupied with visiting family. But it’s been quite pleasant enough. Have an absolutely excellent Xmas weekend my friend, and I’ll see you on the other side if not before. ** l@rst, Hey, L. Merry big XE. No criticism or being bummed out from me re: your Xmas poem. I think it’s beautiful and a keeper and utterly appropriate to the Xmas I personally know and understand. Thank you, buddy. Very Merry Xmas 24 hour early to you! Lots of love, me. ** Okay. I thought there might be at least some of you out there who are still madly looking for last minute Xmas gifts for your loved ones, and so I thought I would line up some suggestions for you today. Because I don’t have plans to celebrate Xmas IRL I will be here tomorrow on Xmas day giving you a Xmas post/gift and saying hi, etc. to anyone who shows up. See you then.
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Thanks Dennis yep that’s the same reaction from all of my pals…. my pal Colin went mad at me on facebook once over that subject… also my best friend Steve gets mad about it and my sister… so I promise no ‘T’ mention never ever again… you are actually very impressive when you get firm Den!! Hope your throat’s hymen is still intact….
This post is brilliant there are some amazing things here! the strangest thing I thing I ever had in my xmas stocking was a piece of glass accidentally put in by my pal Steve…. along with some other bits and pieces…. My fave present when I was a boy was a little radio I had… it was left at the end of my bed… I remember putting the batteries in and turning it on about 7am… and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody came on…. I was about 8 or 9… a bionic man action mad and a chemistry set… were also amongst my favourites… ahh memories!!!
have a great brilliant Christmas Dennis!!!! xx
Who’s a mentioning a Trump aye? ? I will ring all necks!! Fuk him!!!
Merring Christmas to all apart from Trump…. I spit at you a thousand times!!
a thanking Dennis Cooper is a good this a post aye!
R.I.P. indeed A unique Talent.
Latest FaBlog: Merry XmasTo One and All 2021
Happy christmas Dave x
And a Happy Darlene Love to you!
That old Batman toy or dispenser or whatever it is, it’s a beautiful object. I love seeing old toys that are based on comics or TV or movies, etc. And to be honest with you, today’s blog is the most Christmas good feeling I have yet received this season. Going through dark times with my mother’s health and being here, right now, cheered me up. Merry Xmas Dennis, and thank you for giving us this gift (your blog) that keeps on giving.
Hey Dennis – An impressive roundup of stocking stuffers. I remember a few of them, including the TV adds for ‘I Vant to Bite Your Finger.’ That ‘daddy saddle’ is really something. The ‘hand-i-taur’ boggles my mind, too.
I dug the Todd Hido post. I wrote about his work for my late ‘Ideal Home Noise’ column (which I’ve been fantasizing about resurrecting). There’s a new reprint of his second book that I’m hoping to score with some holiday money.
And nice to see Rudy Wurlitzer on the blog. Some years back, Eric at Two Dollar Radio said he was working on a new novel, close to finished, but sadly nothing has materialized. Have you heard anything?
Stephanie’s stepfather is a big reader with surprisingly edgy tastes. He’s keen on things like early Cormac McCarthy. A friend recommended ‘The Marbled Swarm’ to him and he loved it. We’re sending him ‘I Wished’ for Xmas.
Randomly: Are you a fan of Heather Lewis’s novel ‘Notice’? Jeremy Davies was recommending it. Apparently it’s very OOP at the moment and he had been trying to resurrect it.
I’m hoping to unplug for the next 10 days or so. Happy Xmas and New Year — and see you here on new page of the calendar.
Hey Dennis. Some great stocking stuffers. Highlights include; shave the baby, woman giving birth and Batman pistol. Hoping you have a merry Christmas and that you are keeping safe. I saw that Covid numbers in France are going way up, same here.
I finally got around to reading I Wished. Congrats on another amazing novel. Yr work has been a massive inspiration to me and IW felt like an honest piece of writing. I hope that it helps provide some peace for you with regard to George.
Merry Christmas, Ian
What a great selection of presents! I’d be thrilled to get any one of these. Wrapped mine up today, unimaginative chocolates and CDs for Mum and Dad. Gonna try showing them the original Matrix film later, seeing as they’ve never seen it before. Maybe it’s time they joined the 21st Century after all?
H’mm, we sell a lot of stocking stuffers at work now but nothing like these. I do kind of like the wind-up hand… and the standing white cat… and find the Buddha action figure strangely interesting in a WTF kind of way…
If I did the stocking thing, I’d be excited to get some of these items inside.
We’re having a nasty COVID spike! I’m dialing back social engagements, more time for reading and movies. Hope things aren’t too bad in Paris.
If you do get to The Feast, let us know what you think.
Bill
If there was a store that sold these things in my town I’d be a lot more excited about x-mass shopping. Skipping the family this year anyway – I swear since covid hit we’ve been trying to imitate a close knit group we never were. The Hido day reminded me I still don’t own any of his books, and same with Wurlitzer. Gonna check Powell’s website today for both. Saw some text from God Jr. on Twitter, think I might reread that today. Hope you’re great, D xoxo – s
merry xmas dc!!
i’m afraid i have been too swamped to get a more personal present for you, but i have brought together here a little hamper of my favourite internet discoveries this year. i hope some of these might be new to you & of interest as well!
> William H. Dickey’s HyperPoems vols 1 and 2, originally written for Macintosh HyperCard software between ’88-’90 but only released in September 2020. vol 1. is smaller poems, vol. 2 is three erotic epics (‘some of the very earliest (and most explicit) digital creative works by an LGBTQ+ author’):
https://archive.org/details/william_dickey_hyperpoems_volume_1
https://archive.org/details/william_dickey_hyperpoems_volume_2
> an emulation of _Robot Odyssey_, the notoriously difficult video game from 1984. originally aimed at ten year olds but somehow requiring a doctorate in electrical engineering to finish:
https://robotodyssey.online/
> full documentation of the ‘Final Fantasy VII House’, a mini-cult of people who believed they were _Final Fantasy_ characters in a past life:
http://www.demon-sushi.com/warning/index2.html
> last, but certainly not least, a collection of my favourite emo machinima videos:
https://archive.org/details/Teenagers
https://archive.org/details/helenasims2
https://archive.org/details/BoulevardofBrokenDreamsMachinima
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa75gWC10sk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-OtGPUFdI0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ny2ZPUVkgw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7qGpS3AjH4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKY0sA9IWfY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmMBRpnb0nY
how have you been? i hope you’re having a wonderful time. are you up to anything interesting today??
PS Shocking Roulette — what a nostalgia trip! they were huge at school when i was about fourteen or fifteen. (i refer you to the emo machinima.) i also used to own one of those 3D sphere mazes. i wish i still had it; i didn’t get anywhere near completing it but it had great “thing” value. petrol-bombed jeep is now on my wishlist.
PPS RIP Didion indeed. RIP everyone recently. a terrible season. Eve Babitz really got to me a few days ago.
“Daddy’s Saddle” and hunky Buddha are terrific gift ideas.
My music top 10 list (with extras) came out in Gay City News today: https://gaycitynews.com/the-best-music-2021/
I finally made it through SQUID GAME today, with that familiar “that was pretty good, but it didn’t need to be 8 & 1/2 hours long” TV limited series feeling.
Happy Christmas tomorrow, to you and everyone here who celebrates it!
Dennis! I have a bone to pick with you. These are all great ideas for stocking stuffers…but why did you wait so late to post them? If you’d posted them a week ago, I could’ve gotten them into kids’ stockings in time for Xmas! Waaaaaahhhhh!
Okay, we’re going to get really cliche and do the Chinese food thing for Xmas dinner. I know, I know. But it’s better than nothing.
I was surprisingly busy at work Thursday or I would’ve had something not interesting to say.
Yes, in Paris. Man, I’m somehow following this Paris page on FB (photos of Paris and they post constantly) and I find myself liking almost every single fucking one. Hahaha. Wth?
Great city.
I hope your Xmas weekend is swell. I hope the buche is sweller. See you on the other side.
Of all these, there’s something about Shave the Baby that really gets to me in a way I’m displeased with. I feel like I’ll have that burned on my retinas for too long.
Loved the Todd Hido post! As a fellow night picture-taker, I love his supernatural glow.
Happy Xmas, Dennis!