Hitting The Links: 8/17/25
This one's got tons of links, a poetry-bomb from Louise Glück, BIRDY! at the vet, & more
The Virtual Memories Show News
A 2x/week email about a podcast about books & life
Books and Blood, My Time Bombs
I have a copy of Louise Glück’s Poems: 1962-2012 on my shelves, between Henri Cole and Sandy McClatchy, but I never read her until last Friday.
I was an incandescent pillar of rage that afternoon, having been massively fucked over by my old man from beyond the grave, with an assist from his widow. The details are petty, and they put my home and wellbeing in jeopardy.
Unable to focus on work, and sure that a weights-workout in that state of mind would lead to injury, I looked for something to read. I thought poems might help get my mind away from the seething resentment I have toward these people.
I looked over some of Henri’s poems, but didn’t find myself connecting, then took the Glück collection of the shelf. I opened at random (pp 244-245), and this is what faced me.
FIRST MEMORY
Long ago, I was wounded. I lived
to revenge myself
against my father,
not for what he was—
for what I was: from the beginning of time,
in childhood, I thought
that pain meant
I was not loved.
It meant I loved.
And I thought, “THANKS, shamanistic universe. You got me.” It — she — reminded me of why I feel so much pain, why I let Dad fuck me over in so many ways over the decades, why I laugh to myself every time someone tells me, “May his memory be a blessing,” why the little kid inside me will never be at peace. She reminded me that I’m not alone, even if the details are petty.
Birdy Of The Week
Our girl needed some of her shots this week; she’s still nervous about the vet’s office.
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And now, let’s hit the links!
Links & Such
Recent Virtual Memories Show podcasts: David Levithan/Jens Lekman • Sacha Mardou • Oliver Radclyffe • Eulogy • Rachel Cockerell • Paul Karasik • Kate Maruyama • David Denby
RIP Sheila Jordan . . . RIP Danielle Spencer . . . RIP Bobby Whitlock . . . RIP Mario Paglino and Gianni Grossi . . . RIP Christophe de Menil . . . RIP Don Elbaum . . . RIP Margaret Boden . . . RIP Masaoki Sen . . . RIP George C. White . . . RIP Gregory C. O’Connell . . . RIP Ray Brooks . . . RIP Bob Scorpio . . .RIP Miguel Uribe . . . RIP Lionel Taylor . . . RIP Billy Howton . . . (now someone’s going after the nonagenarian wide receivers?)
Some neat outdoor art at the Clark in the Berkshires. If wind up on the Mass Pike again (2x since June, but no Boston trips planned until November), maybe I’ll make a side trip.
I’m thankful not to have kids nor work with youth, and to have kinda divorced myself from pop culture over the last 30+ years, so that I can get by with not giving a crap about Labubus, Dubai chocolate, or any other pop phenomenon.
W. David Marx wrote about this piece, and notes that even my disinterest is part of the pop culture machine.
I’m a fan of straightforward grifts like this one.
Vivian Gornick wrote about the plague of low self-esteem.
Neat piece by Arthur Hoyle about memoir & Gurdjieff.
Emily Flake wrote about parenting & jealousy.
This David Marchese interview with hostage negotiator Chris Voss about empathy & the current president’s negotiation skills is . . . something.
This interview about speeding up rail travel in the Northeast kinda avoids the question of why some routes stop at less-frequented stations and others don’t. Which is to say, it sorta presupposes and makes prominent the travelers from like 3-4 stations, everyone else be darned. Still, some interesting stuff.
I’ll be on the Acela Tuesday morning for a trip to DC; got some meetings at the State Dept. & the Dept. of Commerce, the whole notion of which is still kinda humorous for someone who was a literature major at a hippie college in western MA 30+ years ago
Current/Recent Reading
Acceptance: Book 3 of The Southern Reach - Jeff VanderMeer
True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen - Lance Richardson
I Want to Die, I Hate My Life: Three Essays on Tragedy and One on Beckett - Simon Critchley
+ the mourner’s Kaddish every morning, in Aramaic
Sound Body, Fractured Mind
As mentioned above, I skipped weights on Friday, but did do weights-yoga-yoga Wed-Thu-Sat. I hope to get in weights today. I’m feeling like a bloated wreck, but that’s more mind than body, I figure.
Meditation’s been less fruitful, as I’ve been so stressed by events that I can’t disconnect/dissolve as I’d like to. But I’ll keep up my practice and try to let peace envelop me.
Until Next Time
Thanks for reading this far! I’ll back on Wednesday, with a new episode to share, plus a throwback Instax and maybe some art. On Sunday I’ll be back with links, books, & workout craziness, & maybe a little profundity or something.
You see me in a foreign face / In ships that sink without trace,