One Hundred Fifty Issues

#150! Morning walk, Lane Wilcken, Filastine and Nova, Kalinga Pottery, Brighton Denevan, Monterey Public Library, Chaka Khan, and Meute.

HERE & NOW

“Eye.” Small graphite and colored pencil drawing on paper (2020), by Jean Vengua. Posted in Issue #1 of Eulipion Outpost, January 2021.

It’s hard to believe I’ve hit 150 issues of Eulipion Outpost, beginning with issue #1 in January 2021. That was an “interesting” time to start a newsletter—and my posting, in the first issue, of George Grosz’ painting “The Agitator,” reflects the feeling of dread and chaos we were all going through during that early plague period; this year’s Presidential election brings its own feelings of chaos, but hey—what else is new?

I am still a member of the “Smallstack” club (with less than 500 subscribers and a handful of beloved paid subscribers). I’ve gone from not knowing what the hell I’m doing with this newsletter, to basically being just me, and channeling my curating obsessions into this site.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting my newsletter!

I also feel that, at this moment—even though COVID-19 is still around—I am emerging from the dim corridors of that period into something different, where I feel that I can acknowledge¹ and let go of some aspects of my past that I’ve been hanging on to in ways that have kept me from moving on.

You may have noticed that I’m rambling a bit. And it’s because, at this moment, I’m not in the mood to drive myself to make every word fit into a theme. I just want to go easy on myself tonight—I deserve it.

Photo of some of my father’s travel documents, along with his ukulele and guitar playbook.

An after-post edit: This being Father’s Day, I also want to give a shout out to the spirit world and say thank you to my dad, Nick Daymiel Narvaez Vengua, and all the dads and manongs² of his generation who rode in steerage to Hawai'i to harvest sugar cane and learned to play a ukulele; and then shipped to Seattle or San Francisco and hopped on trains to work in Salinas Valley fields, or to Louisiana to play gigs in New Orleans' Chinatown--and even later got jobs on hospital ships and fed troops during the War. You guys were awesome and an inspiration for my writing and curation.

This morning I woke up around 6:45 a.m. and, unusually for me, went for an early morning walk. I considered taking my phone to shoot photos, but then thought, “Nah, just enjoy the morning!” And that’s what I did. It was quiet outside; the sun was shining, but not too bright. The air smelled clean and fresh, the temperature was comfortably cool, and a fellow wearing pajama pants and a sweatshirt was out walking his dog.

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RABBIT HOLE

• Lane Wilcken on tattooing as spiritual practice (audio). From KQED’s Snap Judgment.

• I learned a bit more about the musical husband and wife duo Filastine and Nova (Filastine was featured here recently). They have spent four years touring the world on a boat that doubles as a stage. See their video, “Murka,” in the Soundings section, below.

• In Pasil, the art of pottery making is passed from mothers to daughters, through the generations. “Made of the Earth” is an article about them in GRID.

• Santa Cruz artist Brighton Denevan is a prolific artist, but he makes art in the sand that washes away with the tide. I once asked him, on social media, how he plans out these drawings. He said that while he sometimes has plans and ideas, most of what he does is improvised:

• In issue #148, “Too Much Stuff, Too Little Space”, I noted that I was rethinking what it means to both receive generosity and share what you have, and I’m happy to see that the Monterey Public Library (in my neighborhood) is creating a makerspace where they will have items available like sewing machines, hand tools, a heat press, laser cutters, 3D printers, and art supplies! I’m looking forward to that, and now I’m looking around and wondering if I have any art supplies to donate.

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SOUNDINGS

• My goodness, Chaka Khan is still at it and going strong:

• More from Filastine, this time with Nova doing vocals in “Murka”:

• Meute’s acoustic rework of Bridged by a Lightwave by Deadmau5, to the delight of folks strolling—and then dancing—on Venice Beach at twilight:

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1. The acknowledgement part of that is important.

2. Manong means “respected elder brother.“