Ghost World
New podcast with Dmitry Samarov, thoughts on ghosting, some new art & Instax, and more!
The Virtual Memories Show News
A 2x/week email about a podcast about books & life
Podcastery
This week, I posted Episode 652 of my Virtual Memories Show, feat. the record-holder for appearances on the show, Dmitry Samarov! What’s he been up to since his last episode in 2024? Plenty! We talk about his new project of redesigning and illustrating public domain books, why he started off with the White Whale itself, and why Babbitt was next in line, what the common themes are among the six books he’s illustrated since this project began, and how it all ties into his reaction to the 2024 election. We get into what it’s like working with publishers after controlling his own books for years, how he discovered James Hogg’s The Suicide’s Grave on SOME OTHER PODCAST (okay, it was Beyond The Zero), how he’s exploring visual interpretation and different tools with each book, and how this project has him reading and rereading differently than he used to. We also talk about how he looks back at his art in the wake of his self-monograph, how he got into a relationship with someone after a long time solo (after a showing of why Cronenberg’s not-good The Shrouds), what other books he’s considering illustrating, his new series of ‘zines about bookselling, the joy of Moby Dick‘s tangents, and more, so give it a listen!
Last week I posted Episode 651, 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!
Recent episodes: Dan Goldman • David Levithan/Jens Lekman • Sacha Mardou • Oliver Radclyffe • Eulogy • Rachel Cockerell • Paul Karasik
Ghost World
Sorry I’m a day late on this newsletter. The podcast was also a day late, and I’m willing to chalk it up to the Labor Day holiday in the US if you are.
But “[t]he internet has created an expectation of unabated interaction that did not exist before,” sez a kinda meh kinda okay New Yorker article I read yesterday morning about ghosting in the digital and analog eras.
And I’ll admit that I did consider ghosting you, my ghostly audience, as I’ve considered a bazillion times before. I wonder what would happen if I just stopped posting episodes & newsletters, let the voice go silent, and found something else to do with my time. (Nothing would happen, in all senses of the word.)
I never take that impulse too seriously, of course. I still get too much fulfillment & joy out of all this to stop, but it’s worth considering not just stopping it all, but doing it without warning and without looking back. What shape would that absence take?
I got a hint of it yesterday evening after posting this week’s episode. I logged into Bluesky and saw a DM from a listener:
Hi Gil - Haven’t seen your newsletter/podcast. Hope you are OK. If you are simply running a bit behind, that’s fine with me (I’m totally cool with waiting until later this week etc.). I just hope that you are ok.
I wrote back that the new episode just went up, and they replied, “Good to know that you’re alright!”
“now, I didn't say THAT, but the episode is up!” I wrote.
Thanks for sticking around/caring. Here’s a photo from yesterday’s walkies with Birdy, when I was contemplating some of this stuff:
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Instaxery
Two new Instax! One from a new pod-session, one from a hangout with a past guest, both on Labor Day, because I never stop, despite the occasional ghosting-impulse.
Artistry
I made progress on that 2-page comic, and got an extension to this weekend. Got a good pep talk from my editor on it, but there are still a couple things that I have no ability to draw and must draw. Here are a couple panels, sans lettering.
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 a new episode, and maybe even some art & a new Instax.
Switch off your shield / Switch off and feel / I’m working on loving, yeah,