Hitting The Links: 5/4/25
Plenty of links, a visit to Joe Coleman's Carnival, maybe a new guest, more running, and BIRDY SIDE-EYE
The Virtual Memories Show News
A 2x/week email about a podcast about books & life
Carnival
“I want you to understand something, but I don’t know what,” I wrote in a notebook while sitting in traffic on Rt. 4 yesterday.
I was heading into NYC to record a podcast with Peter Kuper (coming 5/13!) and then visit the opening reception for the Carnival art exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch’s Wooster St. gallery, curated by Joe Coleman. Tom Tomorrow joined me, Peter, his wife, and her cousin.
In case you can’t be bothered to click through (sob!), here’s Joe’s statement about the exhibition:
I believe that the carnival is a kind of profane, holy place where the private desires, fantasies, and fears of a society are given uninhibited free expression. This expression produced unique works of art to embody this mysterious part of ourselves. I have long been fascinated by these works, and in this show, I explore the many forms that this expression takes—from the amazing banners produced for side shows and crime shows, the spectacular costumes of the burlesque house, the Mardi Gras, and the art parade. The influence extends to puppet show figures, whose roots trace back to ancient theater, the wax figures that evolved from medieval votive saints to the criminal and celebrity effigies of the sideshow museum, and even the miniature and flea circuses.
Carnival was magnificent, from the crystal carousel
to the Red Grooms Strand piece, which reminded me of the time I recorded with his ex, Mimi Gross, 10 years ago
to Patrick McDonnell’s Hulk/Kirby contribution to the show
to the mermaids
And on and on, a gestalt of the art, the performers, and the audience, a profane/holy mode of the lush, garish celebration of life, with Joe as our ringmaster
As my group gathered on the sidewalk to head out for late (for me) dinner, Patrick McDonnell & Karen O’Donnell called me over to say hello to Art Spiegelman. I reminded him of the time I recorded a live podcast 10 years ago with his wife, Francoise Mouly, and we talked about getting together this summer to record a conversation; I’ll keep you posted.
Dinner with new and old-ish friends was a blast, and I managed to drive home safely at a late (for me) hour.
There’s SO much tearing me apart at the seams right now — work, my dad’s health, the fact that my flight to Amsterdam tomorrow for a conference may get cancelled, because Newark — but I had some joy yesterday, and that feeds my soul. (Bonus: I was expecting to get shouted at by one of my clients this morning, but we had a civil conversation.) (Yes, we had a call on Sunday morning.)
You must get tired of me prattling on about what a blessing my life is, what a joy it is to know so many wonderful artists.
I want you to understand something, but I don’t know what.
Birdy Of The Week
Queen of the side-eye
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And now, let’s hit the links!
Links & Such
Recent Virtual Memories Show podcasts: Craig Thompson • Ari Richter • Dan Nadel • See Hear Speak • Peter Trachtenberg • David Shields • Meeting Across The River
RIP Ruth Buzzi . . . RIP Dick Barnett . . . RIP Butch Guice . . . RIP Jill Sobule . . . RIP Jiggly Caliente . . . RIP Julia Parsons . . . RIP Jane Gardam . . . RIP Stan Love . . .
Also, David Horowitz died.
I’m bummed that Greg Popovich has to retire from coaching the Spurs.
Summer Pierre is taking her art in some amazing directions. (Support her work via Patreon.)
Robert Meagher sent around a link to a GoFundMe for the Superhumans center to help Ukrainian blast victims with new prostheses. GIVE.
The High Line Part Deux?
I guess I’m okay with being like 45% before and 55% after.
I’m not even a member of my running group’s group chats.
Dachshund Queen of Kangaroo Island: Kidnapped! (Or Rescued, depending on your perspective)
Pre-ish-internet, Mark Leyner had a great column in GQ or Esquire about people who called the FBI to say that their significant other was the Unabomber KNOWING FULL WELL THEIR S.O. WAS NOT, IN FACT, THE UNABOMBER. This was prompted by the fact that the Unabomber was turned in by his brother, who had read the manifesto in the NYT and thought some turns of phrase sounded pretty familiar. Leyner figured it only made sense to turn your sibling in, because eventually the Unabomber was going to run out of scientist targets and start fixating on the time you pushed him off a swing or something. ANYWAY, here’s Ted Kaczynski’s brother, talking about the what & the why.
Current/Recent Reading
INSECTOPOLIS - Peter Kuper
Where the Paths Do Not Go - Rainer Maria Rilke (tr. Burton Pike)
Great Books - David Denby
Every Man For Himself And God Against All - Werner Herzog (tr. Michael Hoffmann)
I experienced the onset of the digital age, the internet, with content chosen for me not by human beings but by algorithms. I have received emails addressed to me by robots. The social media have essentially changed all forms of communication even though I make no use of them myself. Video games, surveillance, AI, there has never been such a cluster of radical changes in human history, and I can hardly imagine that future generations will experience such density of change in a single human lifespan.
Sound Body, Fractured Mind
Exercise was all screwy yet again; I got in my weights workouts on Wednesday and Friday, but missed yoga on Thursday (lengthy medical stuff with my old man) and Saturday (aforementioned NYC podcast + art show). But I ran 5+ miles on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, so I’m keeping that up. If I get in weights today, maybe that’ll somehow redeem me.
On Tuesday’s run, our group crossed paths with Ivan, a runner in that neighborhood I hadn’t met, and he joined us and bumped our pace a little:
I missed my meditation session on Saturday, too, but talked about it with a Peter Kuper & Tom Tomorrow during our NYC travels, and they both said it sounded okay in theory. I don’t proselytize and I always explain that my method isn’t scientific or anything, but I said that it helps me disconnect from This Whole Situation for 15 minutes or so, sometimes with a halo effect that helps the rest of the day, sometimes with incursions into the undermind where I come away with insights, visions/hallucinations, or other weird results, and always with at least a little dissipation of the anger and resentment that rule me.
Until Next Time
Thanks for reading this far! I’ll be back on Wednesday with a new episode, a new Instax, & maybe some art, and on Sunday with links, books, & workout craziness, & maybe a little profundity or something.
Have I been blind, have I been lost inside / Myself and my own mind?,