Good Morning. Hello. How are you? #1483
Improving writing flow, ASMR pronunciation, some dumb dreams, some political ramblings and a long thing about the best piece of non-LOTR Tolkien writing that you have never read.
Hello hello hello what is up hi how are you good morning. So I have been doing this thing in my personal daily writing, which I do over at 750words.com, where I am trying to get more flowing, more “in the zone” with my journal writing. I feel like even after, say, 40 years of journaling, there is still often this disconnect between my brain, what it is thinking, and what flows from my fingers. I have a lot, lately, well, this year, found myself sitting there unable to type anything into 750 Words, even as my brain is thinking something mildly interesting, or at least interesting enough to tap into, to write about. I am not sure what’s causing this block.
Anyway for the last two or three days I have been trying to overcome that and just write what’s in my brain. This is a little bit different than my past efforts at getting a Sen Fitty (I call it) done when I have writers block. In previous unblocking attempts, I would just write nonsense words, la la la or write about how I don’t have anything to write about. And that does work, sort of, to fill up the page. But it never aided my quest in unblocking the linkages between thoughts and words on the page.
The problem is, partially, I think, the buffer. The difference of speeds at which you think and anyone can possibly write, so there is this editorial cycle that has to happen on top of that. You have to remember the last couple interesting thoughts, and store them in some sort of mental buffer, while filtering out the less interesting ones. All while your brain rushes on further and further ahead. It is happening right now. All three of these paragraphs I chose to write you right at the beginning of this edition of GMHHAY. When I got to the words “hi how are you good morning,” because I felt a little bit of the flow I have been feeling the last few days in sen fitty. But here I am, three paragraphs, couple hundred words later, still completing that thought. And of course it’s worse here, in GMHHAY, with an audience. It is not really sustainable here. And I guess if I am being honest, I am not really doing it right now. Right now I am just telling you about a thing I’ve been working on elsewhere. But, you know, it rhymes.
This exercise has been going pretty well the last few days! I feel like I’ve managed to maybe get the blockage a little bit cleared. And when it’s going well, whoo, boy, it is crazy, you know? Sorta like that euphoric exhausted feeling you get when you’re done exercising. So people tell me.
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Hey question for you: Do you pronounce ASMR as a word? Like azz-merrr or something? If you do, drop me a line so I am not alone. If you pronounce it as an initialism well I do not want to hear from you I have heard enough about that thank you very much.
We are listening to someone named Kedr Livanskiy today. I don’t know anything about them. Seems to be a woman, world-influenced, bit W Hotel ish. The algorithm served me up a song of hers (?) called “Anna” a while ago, I liked it. I added the whole album. “Anna” is the most played song on Spotify from this album, has 70k streams. I guess the algorithm gave her a shot and was like “nah, only trainspotters like Rick seem to be responding to this let’s serve something else up to the masses.” But it is pretty good. Myrtus Myth is the name of the album.
Everyone loves a story, right? When I find a new artist I like, I Google them, try and read a Wikipedia page, try and learn something about them. Makes me feel more connected to them, remember them amongst the crowd of other bands. I was listening to this band CLOAKZ yesterday, solid sound, noisy pop punk rock kinda reminds me of the Neverly Bros or Spice. And I wanted to know something about them. I did find a Bandcamp page, which is always a great first step because this (probably) means the band is not just a Spotify-inc-funded creation. But not much else about them.
I have not yet Googled Kedr Livanskiy. Maybe we could do it together. ooo she has a Wikipedia page that means they are legit. Real name Yana Kedrina, born 1990, the year I gradfuated from High School. Russian, born in Moscow. Used to be in a punk band and a sludge band. I like that. Jesus. This is her fifth album. On a Captured Tracks spin-off label. Nothing about her political views, though, so, you know. Who knows.
Speaking of which props to Pedro Pascal for calling out JK Rowling and advocating a boycott of this horrific Harry Potter remake on HBO even though he is ON HBO. I approve. A+. Someone explain to Jon Lithgow while this is a horrible idea. I cannot say I had the highest esteem for Lithgow but I thought him better than this. Sixty years of republican assaults on Hollywood are slowly bearing fruit. Those people really are in it for the long haul. Straight up still bitter about the New Deal.
Though speaking of, I think we might have a Herbert Hoover situation here? Before the New Deal in the depression, America just kept voting for idiot conservative “free market” Republicans and things just kept getting worse because they were idiologically opposed to, you know, helping people. And then eventually America got so fed up they not only elected FDR but they gave him stunning mandates in the house and senate. Giant majorities. Maybe we’re looking at something like that here, and, I think, they know it. Sure you got your Steve Miller’s who are making a play for outright Hitlerian fascism, and I think obviously most of them would take that if they could. But the speed at which they’re going, I think they know this is their one shot, and they watched their Hamilton too and they’re not gonna miss it, and they’re just fucking going for it, knowing it’s all unpopular, and just hoping enough of it sticks that when the next FDR mandate comes along a lot of it will stick.
Plus, of course, the Dems need to actually find an FDR. Maybe Pritzker? Lotta parallels there, I guess. Rich patricians being the shocking savior we need, etc. etc.
Sorry getting into the fantasy weeds again.
Last night I had a dream that I made two separate lunch plans with my friends Danielle and that guy Dave who used to do Pitchfork Reviews Reviews wonder how he’s doing haven’t talked to him in years he was a nice guy. Anyway I made the lunch plans at the same time so I was always destined to miss at least one of them, so I just went ahead and missed them both and played with LEGOs. Worked on a replica of that pier in NYC where that Röyksopp Robyn concert was. That concert really shoulda been better than it was.
Boring enough dream but I took a nap yesterday and during the nap I had a dream that James played the Roxy aka Royale with Cheese in Boston and you know those side seats in the Balcony that they never seem to let you sit in anymore? Well that was a special bed section and you could watch the show while snuggling in bed and oh my god. I mean, look, obviously playing a show to a room full of people in bed is probably not gonna be the most energizing thing for the artist, I get that. But hear me out: watching concerts from bed. It was amazing. They played “Tomorrow” and “Getting Away With it All Messed Up” and it ruled.
This week I am working on book 11 of the History of Middle Earth, about 70% through it and I got to this amazing piece of writing, “The Wanderings of Húrin,” which lay out Húrin’s travel and adventures after Morgoth lets him go once he has totally fucked him and his family over. And this piece of writing… it is awesome! It is so amazing, so in-depth, a whole society fully fleshed out — the men of the Brethil Woods. Absolutely enrapturing and devestating and has that human interest and emotional flavor Tolkien has at his best that is absent from so much of his First Age stuff because it’s the last thing he does to his work, he polishes it with emotion. And most of his First Age work did not get that far. Which is why the Silmarillion, which is basically unfinished, is so much less verbally, linguistically (as opposed to plot points) emotionally rich compared to Lord of the Rings.
And, you know, one of the last projects Christopher Tolkien did after finishing History of Middle Earth was doing a novelization of this whole Húrin saga and the stuff with his family in the book The Children of Húrin. Which I have not read, becase it is basically a subset of all the stuff I have read in this 12-volume History of Middle Earth series. I might read it someday but I gotta tell you I am sick as shit of Turin and Glaurung and Niniel these people all suck. So I am gonna wait a while.
But this piece of writing, holy shit. Made me think, well, wow, if they ended The Children of Húrin with this, then maybe it could be awesome?
So I looked it up and no, no they did not include it. In History of Middle Earth, Christopher Tolkien explains why he didn’t include it in the Silmarillion — basically it was too rich, too detailed, too much compared to the level of writing for the rest of the book. Which, I guess, fair enough. But here with Children of Húrin, once again, it is excluded for essentially the same reason.
And I am not being hyperbolic when I am saying that this Wanderings of Húrin is perhaps Tolkien’s absolute best non-LOTR writing.
And no one ever reads it because it’s buried eleven volumes deep.
Real shame.
Also “Húrin in Brethil” is a great metal band song name.
Or one for you, Gordon.
I will now go back and add the accent agieu to all those Us in “Húrin” Tolkien and his accents, maaaaan.
Got a shoegaze mix for you today. I cannot convey to you my current level obsession for this song “Banger Boomer” by some band called Dewey. I don’t know anything about them (have not done the Google ringomorale yet) and by all rights this song should be a clunker but oh my god it is so catchy and I love it and there should be a million tiktok covers of it. Acoustic and country and metal and everything. It is a near perfect song.
Also threw some recent Shriekback on here for you, again, RIP Dave Allen.
Oh and thank you to… um… god who was it? Someone referred New Age Healers to me because their friend is the drummer and they were right. It is great. So thank you for that.
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Thanks for reading.
And hey! Maybe buy one of my books!
Good Morning, Hello, How Are You vol 1.