Podcastery

This week, I posted Episode 669 of The Virtual Memories Show, and it’s gonna be the last one for a while, as I’m putting the podcast & this newsletter on hiatus going into 2026. Talk about your crazy New Year’s resolutions! In this year-end wrap-up show, I talk about how I recognized It Was Time For A Break, whether or not this podcast is what gives my life meaning, what I might get up to (HINT: it’s WAY past time I finish writing my Instax book), and how months of depression after my dad’s death left me feeling like I was out of options. I get into my 2025 highlights and why I needed to visit my photo library to overcome his amnesia, the hairiness of my professional life, the thrill of receiving holiday cards from my arts-heroes, the blessings of this world, my thanks to all of you, and a lot more. It’ll be the last episode for a while, so give it a listen!

Last week I posted Episode 668, featuring our year-end tradition, now celebrating its thirteenth anniversary: The Guest List! I reached out to 2025’s pod-guests and asked them about the favorite book(s) they read in the past year, as well as the books or authors they’re hoping to read in 2026! Twenty-six guests responded with wonderful, idiosyncratic, and illuminating book recommendations: Jonathan Ames, Kayla E., Dan Goldman, Dean Haspiel, Jennifer Hayden, Rian Hughes, Paul Karasik, Glenn Kurtz, David Leopold, Seth Lorinczi, Sacha Mardou, Kate Maruyama, Whitney Matheson, Josh Neufeld, Lance Richardson, Ari Richter, ML Rio, Dmitry Samarov, Jonathan Sandler, Damion Searls, David Shields, Peter Stothard, Tom Tomorrow, Peter Trachtenberg, Cecile Wajsbrot, and Mia Wolff (and I chimed in, told some stories, and made some 2026 aspirations, too)! This great episode of The Virtual Memories Show offers up a huge list of books that you’re going to want to read in the new year, so give it a listen!

And, if you’re interested, here’s every book (non-comics) that I’ve finished since 1989.

Recent episodes: Jonathan Sandler • Morten Høi Jensen • Prue Shaw • Glenn Kurtz • Jennifer Hayden • Rian Hughes • Josh Neufeld

Going Away

As mentioned in that writeup above, I’ve decided to put the podcast and newsletter on hiatus — Short Version: burnout, Long Version: listen to the episode — so that means this is the last newsletter for . . . well, I have no idea how long I’ll be gone, and long-time readers/listeners know how I detest the term, “foreseeable future,” so let’s just go with “a while.”

I only consulted with one friend of mine about this hiatus, a past guest who recently took a break from his creative thang after 30 years of daily work. We talked about what led him to that decision, what it’s been like, and some of the trepidation he has about returning.

He told me, “Thirty was a nice, round number, but now I wish I did this years ago,” so I feel pretty good about taking a break after 14 years.

Other stuff:

• Amy heard my half of that call with our friend, and also approved of my taking some time off. Otherwise, I didn’t talk about this with anyone.

• FTR, it’s 12 years since I went to a weekly schedule, during which I averaged 51.5 episodes a year, not including bonus episodes or the 60-ish daily ones I did during lockdown in 2020.

• That’s also why last Sunday’s linky-newsletter had so much stuff in it; I wanted to go out with a bang (and close a bunch of browser-tabs). It’s been a little weird the last few days not to log interesting links and RIPs in a draft file, but I need to stop the whole public-facing thing for “a while.” I’ll email articles to specific friends, or maybe I’ll write URLs onto postcards and mail them to folks.

• In the wrap-up episode, I forgot to mention one of the best things about 2025: seeing old friends. I got to visit friends from high school, college, grad school — you know, pre-podcast — throughout the year, and that was wonderful. Several of those visits were in the first weeks after Dad’s death, when I was in need of solace, but some were before then, like when I had a trade show in Philadelphia in May, and reconnected with an old pal from grad school I hadn’t seen in ~15 years. I also have an occasional Zoom call with a college friend out in Oregon. Connecting with old friends helped me a lot in the past year, and I hope there’ll be more of that in 2026.

• Yesterday was Birdy’s first gotcha-versary. We thought of having a party for her, but every day is a celebration with this maniac, so we just did the usual: repeatedly throw one of her toys down the hall for her frantic version of fetch. Also, Amy has finally convinced her to jump into our bed, which I do not believe will end well.

  

• I’ve written a couple more pieces for my GUEST/HOST book since Sunday’s newsletter, and hope to get a bunch done before diving back into work next Monday. I wrote the last few on a laptop using OmmWriter (+ a pair of AirPods), after typing in a bunch of my longhand notes. The austere vibe & lack of notifications worked well for me. Weird creature that I am, I’ll have to change up practices after a bit, because I get too accustomed or something.

  

• My only real New Year’s resolution is to finish writing the pieces for the book, so I can bring it into the world.

• Oh, and I’m going to try to cut back on social media, too, so if you want to reach me, use my email (reply to this newsletter), or drop me a line in the mail (my address is at the bottom of this).

• Okay, I’d also to get down to 175 lbs. or lighter.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year’s celebration, and that the year ahead is easier on you than this past one was.

Also, don’t get stuck in any mystery bins.

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Even though I’m putting everything on hold, I’ll need to maintain the various accounts to keep it going. If you want to help out with those expenses — this email setup runs $29/month, podcast-hosting is $25/month, and the remote recording setup is $20/month — or otherwise Contribute To The Cause, you can support the Virtual Memories Show with a one-time contribution of any size via Stripe, or a recurring one via Patreon. It has never been about the money, so don’t feel obliged.

Instaxery

No new Instax this week; sorry! But as I mentioned, I’m getting writing done for the Instax book, so that’s something. A few entries have been lyrical & poetic, and others are more prosaic, but they all need to be there. You’ll see the whole shebang in a few months, or so I hope.

Artistry

I started sketching a little, and took out the scanner so I could share a little with you. Here’s Birdy from Dec. 29; she moved after I sketched her legs, so the rest is from memory. From where I was sitting, I think her forelegs were tucked under her. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

You should go to the Flickr album of most of the art I’ve made & find something you like.

Postcardery

My postcard-a-day habit is NOT going on hiatus, so let me know if you want to be on my list.

Until Next Time

Thanks for reading this far. I won’t be back for a while; I hope you’ll keep your subscription going (it’s free, of course) for when I return. I’ll miss you, this, the whole mishegas, but I hope you understand.

My eagle flies tomorrow / It’s a game I treasure, dear / To seek the helpless future / My love, at last, I’m here,