The Analog Archipelago
The Analog Archipelago grows, and I post a new episode in between hospital visiting hours
The Virtual Memories Show News
A 2x/week email about a podcast about books & life
Podcastery
This week, I posted Episode 623 of The Virtual Memories Show, feat. cartoonist Matt Madden‘s return to the show as we dig into his new collection, SIX TREASURES OF THE SPIRAL: Comics Formed Under Pressure (Uncivilized Books). We talk about the liberation to be found in formal constraints, his history with OULIPO and its OUBAPO offshoot, how structure can inspire story, and the formal and thematic challenges in sequencing the stories in the collection. We get into how he tried to make the most of a multi-year residency at La Maison des Auteurs in Angouleme, the unwitting influence of Hergé on one of his favorite stories, the changes in his art & storytelling since publishing Ex Libris in 2021, and the “director’s commentary” he added as back matter for Six Treasures. We also discuss Lewis Trondheim’s challenge to him to make a comic without a formal rule or constraint, his Substack-goal of sharing OUBAPO rules, the balance of comics-making with child-rearing, the fun of making foldy-comics, why it’s important not to let the formal constraints overwhelm the heart of the stories, and more. Give it a listen! And go read SIX TREASURES OF THE SPIRAL! (And listen to our 2021 conversation!)
Last week, I posted Episode 622, feat. the return of Fred Kaplan, to celebrate his first foray into fiction, A CAPITAL CALAMITY (Miniver Press)! We talked about how lockdown got him to start A Capital Calamity after 4+ decades as a reporter and with a half-dozen nonfiction books under his belt, how his history in national security and the defense sector informs the novel, how his protagonist is & isn’t a Fred-Not-Traveled, and what it was like to make things up after a career spent reporting the facts. We got into the moral quandaries of being an insider in Washington, his experience working for Les Aspin in the ’70s, his early morning storytelling revelations, and why he set a major scene of the book above The Comedy Cellar. We also discussed whether we’re slow-walking into WWIII, the lessons learned from the 2017-2021 era and how they may affect his coverage of the new administration, his jazz recommendations, the fun of dissecting Washington cocktail party culture, and more. Give it a listen! And go read A CAPITAL CALAMITY! (And listen to our 2013 and 2016 conversations!)
Recent episodes: Mia Wolff • Damion Searls • 2024 Recap • The Guest List • Benjamin Swett • Ken Krimstein • Eddie Campbell
The Analog Archipelago
It’s been a wearing couple of days; my old man had to be admitted to the hospital on Monday and so I’ve spent hours sitting bedside each day. We’re hoping to spring him today, but we were hoping to spring him yesterday. First time he’s been admitted in 4+ years, which is a real achievement.
I brought my gear with me — laptop, notebook, sketchpad, AirPods, Catching the Big Fish — but it’s tough to concentrate on pod-stuff between the hospital vibe, his health, and day-job issues re the federal government.
All of which is to say: I’m sorry that both the podcast & the newsletter are a day late this week.
Back at home, construction of The Analog Archipelago continued with yesterday’s delivery of this new desk:
Previously, there had been a junk pile in that space, blocking Amy’s keyboard/piano. My office-library-studio-etc. downstairs is a big game of Tetris, and by getting rid of the sofa that Benny loved and Birdy absolutely abhors, I was able to move the keyboard, get rid of a ton of stuff, and open up that whole wall.
Me being me, I thought, “What I could really use is another desk where I can just sit down and write & read, without any nearby screens.” There’s a smaller version of this desk under a window nearby — that’s where I do my morning routine of reading a chapter of Musil, writing a page or two in my journal, and writing the daily postcard — but it’s cramped and I need more room to look at the binder of Instax photos and write whatever is going to comprise My Book.
For a little while, I was doing that at my drawing table — also part of Analog Archipelago — but it’s got its own vibe, and writing there would really drive me away from any other art-making, which I’ve already put on the back-burner.
All I can say is:
it helps me to have spaces dedicated to certain activities, and
having a screen around is too distracting a lot of times
And so, another desk! Bigger! In a space where there’s no ledge above! Where my four Jim Woodring prints will loom on the wall and mess with my head!
I’ll look for a spartan chair and a lamp sometime, maybe on the way to/from the hospital today.
If you ever come visit, there’ll be plenty of places for you to sit down and read.
*
This email setup runs $29/month, so if you want to help out with it or otherwise Contribute To The Cause, you can support the Virtual Memories Show with a contribution of any size, one-time or recurring.
Instaxery
I didn’t take any Instax, but I’m starting to collect some fragments of writing for the book about them. It’s been slow going, for a variety of reasons/excuses, like buying a new desk, but I’ll keep at it. Here’s an outtake:
Artistry
I’m still making a little sketch every day with a rollerball pen in a cheap notebook, but that’s been it. Drew my dad in his hospital bed last night. 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 some art, maybe some Instax or an outtake.
I don’t want excuses, I don’t want your smiles / I don’t want to feel like we’re apart a thousand miles / And I don’t want your attitude, I don’t want your things / I don’t want a phone that never rings,