Big Round Number Up Ahead!
This one's got a new episode with Maurice Vellekoop, a request for A Special Episode, some neat Instax pix, a quick self-portrait, & more!
The Virtual Memories Show News
A 2x/week email about a podcast about books & life
Podcastery
This week I posted Episode 596 of The Virtual Memories Show, feat. artist & illustrator Maurice Vellekoop as we celebrate his amazing new graphic memoir, I’M SO GLAD WE HAD THIS TIME TOGETHER (Pantheon). We talk about the midlife crisis that led to the memoir (and the subsequent crisis that almost made him give up), the joy and pain of putting his life on the page, his process of self-discovery as a gay man and an artist, and why his mother hoped she wouldn’t live to see the book come out. We get into the long sigh from his partner (an editor) that told him the first draft needed a drastic rewrite, the role sublimation has played in his art & sex life, his accidental technique for drawing himself crying, how the AIDS crisis did & didn’t affect his life, his decision on how to depict sex in the book, the incredible color palettes he uses throughout the work, and the realization that he had a 500-page book on his hands. We also discuss life on Toronto Island and what it was like during lockdown, why he’d like to try stage design (just once), his Pride tradition, why publishing a book of erotica was a great stepping-stone for making a memoir, and more. Give it a listen! And go read I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together
Last week I posted Episode 595, feat. historian, professor & author Laura Beers as we go deep on her new book, ORWELL'S GHOSTS: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century (Norton). We talk about the course she teaches on Orwell and the making of the early twentieth century, how the post-Jan. 6 misuse of "Orwellian" inspired her to write this book, and her own path into Orwell. We get into Orwell's balancing act between freedom of speech and obligation to truth, what he meant when he wrote that he was "for democratic socialism, as I understand it," his family's history with Empire and his hatred of inequality, why my favorite of his essays, Inside The Whale, may be the most misunderstood Orwell piece of all (!), and why The Road To Wigan Pier might have the most influence on her. We also discuss the ways to reckon with Orwell's prejudices and especially his misogyny, Laura's trip to Barcelona to follow Orwell's steps in the Spanish Civil War, how her chapter on gender involved some deep, critical reading and writing, how we should look at the "blacklist" Orwell provided to the Information Research Dept., and more. Give it a listen! And go read ORWELL'S GHOSTS
Recent episodes: Robert Pranzatelli • Bob Fingerman • Swan Huntley • Stan Mack • Jim Moske • Adam Moss • Randy Fertel
Big Round Number
My 600th episode is coming up in a few weeks — by my arbitrary counting standards, which don’t include the ~60 daily episodes I made during 2020 lockdown — and while I could go with one of the guest-episodes I’ve recorded in recent weeks, I’m wondering if I should celebrate this Big Round Number with a special show.
For Episode #500, I brought in nearly 100 past guests (!) to talk about the show, their experience on it, what they think this whole project (& me), etc., and it was a joy to hear from so many people and celebrate what I’ve (we’ve) built over a decade-plus.
It was also a lot of work, and I certainly don’t want to go through that again.
So if any of you have ideas for a special anniversary episode, a feasible great guest, or a theme, let me know. I’m a milestone-y sorta guy, so it’d be nice to celebrate #600 in some way, shape or form.
(I don’t think we need another monologue episode from me for a while.)
In other news, I got to visit my college/environs on Sunday, after recording a podcast with Sven Birkerts. Last time I was up there was November 2022, when I recorded with Michael Lesy. (I dropped by his place this time to shoot an Instax pic for My Book Project.) It was sweltering, so I did less exploring than on that 2022 visit. No visiting Emily Dickinson’s grave (although the topic came up during my talk with Sven, which’ll be airing in October), no reminiscence-walks around campus, only three bookstore visits (I mean, I’m still ME), and then I was on the road.
Instaxery
Here are some Instax pix I took during the weekend
I’m going to make a book of these — Instax on left-hand page, writing on right-hand page, similar to Jarrett Earnest’s Valid Until Sunset (currently on sale from the publisher; go get it!). All the pix will be from my 2024 in-person podcasts, as well as when I get together with past guests; the pix won’t be of the people themselves, but of something of theirs, or something in their environment.
I plan on launching a Kickstarter for it later this year. If you’ve got ideas about what sort of rewards I should make for different tiers of donors — like, things you’d love to receive if you contributed, say, $30, $40, $50 OR A WHOLE LOT MORE to this project — let me know. (Plus, ideas for stretch goals, on the remote chance people actually support this project.
Artistry
Didn’t draw anything this past week, but did make some thumbnails for a 3-page comic I want to make for the next Haiku for Business Travelers. I felt guilty about the lack of art, so I made my first (?) self-portrait sketch this morning, from a photo. Using a PIGMA pen with a BIG brush-head. And with my contacts in. In 3 minutes (no lie). So, you’ve been warned. 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/painted postcard as a thank-you. I’m falling behind on those; better get to making some art!)
Until Next Time
Thanks for reading this far! I’ll be back on Sunday (from another undisclosed location!) with links, books, & workouts, and on Wednesday with a new episode, and maybe some art & more Instax.
I fake it so real, I am beyond fake,