“It insists. / It isn’t always right, but it insists.” – Brandon O’Brien, “Cthulhu Asks For Kendrick Lamar’s Autograph”
Yep, we’re still being obnoxious about this thing. I’ll act like I’ve been here before later (though let’s not forget, I have been here before). It’s even more obnoxious when you consider—
What I’ve Been Reading Lately:
Nothing! Ahahahahahaha! Well, I haven’t finished a book. I’ve started a book! It is a very good book that just came out in paperback and features a married lesbian couple and the sea. I’m sure you can guess, especially if you follow me on Twitter. Here’s the thing: I had a massive, massive deadline this week, my kid’s summer school only goes til noon, and my mom’s in town. It’s summer, I’m not doing a book a week. Here’s Boris Diaw:
Moreover, I do really love this book, or at least the first 60 pages of it. It’s lyrical and interesting. I wanna savor it! But I don’t have anything intelligent to say, because I’m like a fourth of the way through. I wanna savor this book. Here’s the “In Too Deep” video:
LINKS!
Here’s my short story, “Remodeling,” in Whisk(e)y Tit Journal! It’s a ghost story! I feel compelled to say I wrote that “Ship of Theseus” riff way back in like 2016 before it started showing up in like every movie. But hey, this is what I get for taking a long time to finish things. I’m very excited this story is out in the world, it’s near and dear to my heart, please go get haunted.
WANNA READ A GHOST STORY (Credit: a nun frightened by a ghost playing guitar, page 65 from the ‘Images of Spain’ album, Francisco Goya) The Metaverse was a massive failure. But who cares about trivialities like “people’s livelihoods” and “building a better world?” Here’s Kate Wagner in The Nation on whether or not any lessons were learned after the initial multi-trillion dollar valuation of Narc Zuckerberg’s shitty version of Second Life.
Wrenching piece from Mirin Fader in The Ringer about Keyontae Johnson, the former University of Florida forward who collapsed on the court in 2020. There’s a lot in here about not wanting to give up your passion, and finding ways to do the thing you love when things aren’t working out. Johnson is back on the court—drafted no. 50 by the Thunder and had a good showing in Summer League—and I hope his career works out in a way that makes him happy. He did some coaching and scouting during his two-year injury recovery, so whatever happens, dude is going to be around the game. Basketball never stops.
Amazing, AMEN-inducing, depressing John Paul Brammer essay on US scammer culture. This essay made me feel very heavy and very tired, but also felt like a rallying cry. A pull quote: “It’s beyond junk mail, and scam calls, and phishing plots in aggregate. The most depressing thing to me is that we live under economic conditions where cynicism is consistently rewarded, and where to be earnest is to leave yourself wide open for exploitation.”
Double-dipping on the same story—one from RomeJ in The Triibe and one fro Atavia Reed in Block Club—from on the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project’s new ART on THE MART installation celebrating and interrogating the history of Black dance “from the beginning of time.” The program runs through September 13th, go check it out!
Genuinely loved every idea in this article. Genuinely bummed about how long it’ll take before the idea of cutting back on NBA travel starts to look good.
Great piece from Katie Prout in the Chicago Reader on intervention and deescalation. There incident where a man was being disruptive on a CTA train and the situation was peacefully deescalated. There’s a lot in here about how we can be good neighbors, good and peaceful members of a community, and more understanding of each other. Well worth your time, and don’t be afraid of the CTA!
There. Extra links since I can’t finish a novel in a week for once. If you’re in the service industry, may you clean up in tips this weekend. Here’s the “Time Bomb” video:
Sorry you got an email,
Chris