Hi friends, and happy Spring!
Welcome to my first newsletter :-)

First, about the email! I want to send one email per month, so really nothing that will demolish your inbox. I want to make the barrier to subscription low, and I don't particularly have time to write more than that. You can feel free to reply to these emails to chat.

Why this email?
First, since getting rid of social media (see here), I don't have an easy way to connect with folk I don't see in person regularly. I'd love to keep people in my life up to date on what I'm doing and thinking, whether it's close family or folk I briefly meet at a hostel. I also hope that the content of these newsletters is a better representation of who I am than what I would be posting on Instagram.

Second, for my Boston friends, there is a deep lack of wide-net, low-barrier social events which get a lot of people meeting a lot of other people. Community building is especially valuable in the midst of an unrelenting loneliness epidemic, and I want to be part of the solution. Hosting is also an important skill I would love to develop*, a way to build my surface area for luck (see here), and a just a fun time. Given that, I'd like to host a little coffee window, where I will serve home made baked goods, coffee, and light boardgames; anyone can feel free to drop by and please have a low (but extant) barrier for +1s. I'm still building up the email list with people I'm tight with, so that may be announced for the next email.

I also hope to share some updates of my life through these.
In April, I went on hike with Ian and Tabby, both gained and lost aura by starting a Substack, started working on a new piece on Nietzsche and Screamo which I'll publish this month on said Substack, worked hard at making MAIA go crazy at the MIT club fair, restarted the effort to publish my community college paper from a year ago (finally!), and spent a lot of time with the new boyfriend, Finn. April has been a frankly needed busy period in my life, but I am excited to settle into May as the MIT AI students begin their seasonal migration to San Francisco.

*I forgot who or what convinced me that hosting was a distinct and valuable skill that has eroded since the early 1900s, but for some reason I firmly believe this.

What I've been listening to: Cat by Hiroshi Suzuki, Nonstop Feeling by Turnstile, and Dance Tonight, Revolution Tomorrow by Orchid

What I've been reading: Nietzsche, Emerson, Cate Hall's Substack, and The Public and its Problems by Dewey

What I've been watching: Werner Herzog movies with my buddy Christian

Some long shot asks. I’m looking for

• An engineer who wants to hear my pitch for a new alarm clock and could be interested in a start-up

• A physical mail pen-pal, ideally not from the US and ideally not someone I know very well

• Really Good chiptune rock albums (e.g, Get Olde/Second Wind by Crying). Where are they!!!

Truly all the best,
Ryan Baylon
ryanbaylon.neocities.org
ryanbaylon.substack.com
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