Old/New LIFE
This one's got my new AMA episode, my CLL results (I'm fine), some of the good ol' anhedonia, a lot of panels that have to be filled, and more
The Virtual Memories Show News
A 2x/week email about a podcast about books & life
Podcastery
This week, I posted Episode 651 of my Virtual Memories Show. There’s no guest this week, so it’s time for my first Ask Me Anything (AMA) episode since 2019! Past guests and pals peppered me with questions about the podcast, my reading habits, menswear aesthetics, mental health, comics, hair care, keeping a journal, work/life balance or lack thereof, the one episode I think people are sleeping on, Star Trek vs. Star Wars, the superpower I wish I had, and a lot more. I dish some pod-secrets, talk about the episodes that will never air, stride the Giant’s Causeway, and tell you where I buy my underwear, so give it a listen!
Last week I posted Episode 650, feat. writer/cartoonist Dan Goldman and his wildly entertaining graphic novel of midlife, the afterlife, and the south Florida real estate market, RED LIGHT PROPERTIES: Unfinished Business (Kinjin Storylab). We talk about how the concept for RLP grabbed hold of him 20+ years back & never let go, why the story had to take place in/around Miami, how his work in video games and TV/movies affected his world-building in comics. We get into the peak life experiences of making this book, the transition from digital to print, the role of the “invisible” elements of comics design, why the next season of Red Light Properties will be “singles, not albums,” how it felt to work with Kickstarter and control every aspect of Unfinished Business‘ design & production, all while reveling in our shared comic loves. We also discuss turning 50, whether cocaine is ever a good story device, his sensitivity to hauntings, the effect The Invisibles had on him (esp. Grant Morrison’s letter columns), the paradox of choice and the joy of the analog-hunt, his prose writing and why he tells stories that are 83% true, and plenty more. Give it a listen! And read RED LIGHT PROPERTIES: Unfinished Business!
Recent episodes: David Levithan/Jens Lekman • Sacha Mardou • Oliver Radclyffe • Eulogy • Rachel Cockerell • Paul Karasik • Kate Maruyama
Old/New LIFE
Monday is World Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Day. I got a head start by having my quarterly CLL check-in at the oncology clinic yesterday. The numbers came back fine; my white blood cell count dropped 15% or so, and it’s an increase in WBC that they’re looking for. If that count ever doubles in a 6-month span, that’d be the sign things are out of control and I’d no longer be stage zero and need to start treatment
The night before, Amy asked if I was anxious about the appointment. I told her I’m so stressed/burned out by everything else in my life that I hadn’t given it much thought, but that I’d try to work up some anxiety if it’d help.
And on the other side, when the nurse gave me the good news about my numbers, there was barely a blip of relief this time around, just a “Well, back to the grind” vibe. (In this case, the grind included recording this week’s Ask Me Anything episode, which was a hoot.)
That morning, I finished another journal, and made my usual “End of LIFE” joke:
None of which is meant to be depressing; like everyone, I’m just Going Through It right now. But like I said to the receptionists at the clinic when one got off a call with the family of a patient who died yesterday, “I always feel like I’m the luckiest patient in this joint.”
I started a new LIFE this morning.
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Instaxery
No new Instax, sorry.
Artistry
I started drawing that 2-page comic I have to get done by this weekend. The prospect has me filled with dread and anxiety, which isn’t what I need right now, but hey: gotta fill these squares.
You should go to the Flickr album of most of the art I’ve made & find something you like.
Postcardery
Let me know if you want to be on my postcard-a-day list. (Financial supporters of the podcast get a hand-drawn or painted postcard as a thank-you.)
Until Next Time
Thanks for reading this far. I’ll be back on Sunday with links, books, & workout-/meditation-craziness, and on Wednesday with MAYBE a new episode, and maybe even some art & a new Instax.
Bodacious cowboys / Such as your friend / Will never be welcome here,