Past Tense, Present Tense, Tick Tock, Time
#128: Katie Gee Salisbury, Kate Morgan, Balint Zsako, Klaus Rinke, Amanda Quraishi, Joyce Carol Oates; Neng Chee Lee, Chia Por, and Jong Sue; Punch Brothers, and Hans Zimmer.
HERE & NOW
It’s almost 2024. Instead of looking back at this year, specifically, I revisited my turn-of-the-year January 2022 post, where I noted that I was thankful for not having lost anyone very close in 2021. Yet I was also very aware that at least ten acquaintances died that year. “It was a stressful time for all,” I noted. The past-tense “was” seemed to suggest my desire to put it all in the past. But it should’ve been the present-perfect “has been,” since the challenges continue, past and present intermingling. And let’s face it—we will experience one challenge after another until we die. If and when you are able to, create some space for rest, meaningful work, and appreciation for this gift of life.
While I still “mask up” in crowds and groups, especially in enclosed spaces, I’ve had other health issues to deal with in 2023, which taught me that establishing boundaries and attending to the mind and body is not just an issue for youth and middle age. Dr. Gabor Mate’s book, When the Body Says No, has been very helpful.
I haven’t carried through on some personal projects I optimistically announced I would start and/or continue, this year, but I hereby let go of the guilt and the “shoulds.” I do what I can when the time is right.
Six Questions in January:
Coming up on January 6, 2024, Patrice Vecchione answers the Six Questions! I’m excited to start the year with this wonderful author and artist, who is also a blast from my past and early days as a writer in Santa Cruz.
ART
I’ve been playing around with very small works in ink on handmade paper that I see as potentially translating to larger works on canvas with simple shapes and more color. It depends partly on the state of my immune system, which over the last year has been unusually sensitive to some chemicals. I do miss the goopiness of paint and the feel of a brush on canvas. But I’ll take this slowly and see how it works out.
Three experiments in minimal color and shapes:
RABBIT HOLE
Katie Gee Salisbury on the new Anna May Wong Barbie dolls.1
“To clean up poisoned streams, Appalachian researchers are turning acid mine drainage into something different.” Article by Kate Morgan in Vox. Thanks to Clive Thompson’s Linkfest for the link.
Balint Zsako’s “Bunny and Tree” book (and check out the other amazing books in this collection).
“The Cactus of Klaus,” a lovely but prickly little video about sculptor Klaus Rinke and his cacti:
Thump, thump, thump, thump; I’m a living clock; tick tock, tick tock . . . —Klaus Rinke
“Writing as an Embodied Practice,” article by Amanda Quraishi.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that much of writing is about consistently pushing past creative inertia; that it doesn’t get easier; and that being a writer isn’t about talent or genius, but about stubbornness and self-discipline. —Amanda Quraishi
“27 Clues into Writing Your Heart Out,” by Joyce Carol Oates (from A Writer’s Journal, her Substack newsletter.
If you can “interview” an older relative, in a context in which this person is not playing the role of your relative, and you are not playing the role of their relative, you may be astonished at what you learn. Within our own families there are untold stories—mysteries never explained—rich, fertile possibilities for your writing to which you will have a special access available to no one else. —Joyce Carol Oates
Handful of Fediverse Artists and Writers:
Note: if you want to visit the Mastodon server where one of these folks is located, just paste the two.words after the last @ in your browser, e.g., wandering.shop or mastodon.art. Click on “live feeds” or “local timeline” (top right) to see what the community is posting.
Vida Cruz: Filipina fantasy and sci-fi author: @laviecestmoi@wandering.shop
Welsh Pixie (living in S. Africa): artist, calligrapher, chief admin of Mastodon.art: @welshpixie@mastodon.art
John Schumacher, Korean American writer: @john_schumacher@mastodon.social
Liz Ruest, Canadian artist and printmaker: @lizruest@mastodon.art
Emma Juettner, poet, artist, and knitter: @emma@social.emmajuettner.com
SOUNDINGS
Birdsong of the Hmong People (from UK Guardian):
“I play the qeej to release the spirits of the dead to their ancestors, to be reborn…I am like a driver; I deliver the passengers, and then return to the living world.” —Jong Sue
Perhaps this is what many artists do, knowingly, or not . . .
It’s the gales of December (not November) around here. But as the rain comes down and the waves loom large, I thought I’d play the Punch Brothers covering Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”2
Composer Hans Zimmer performing Time (from Inception - Live in Prague):
Thanks for reading/listening to Eulipion Outpost. As always, special thanks to my supporters for donations to my Ko-fi!
I have a LinkTree now, so you can check out my other sites all in one location.
I’m not putting up a paywall. But I will be turning on paid subscriptions early in 2024, for those who wish to support my work through this site. If you haven’t already, please subscribe!
If you are wondering what Barbie dolls have to do with writing and art, consider the doll avatar, as noted by author Eileen Tabios.
Songwriter/composer: Gordon Lightfoot. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.