What Resembles the Grave but Isn’t

by Anne Boyer

Always falling into a hole, then saying “ok, this is not your grave, get out of this hole,” getting out of the hole which is not the grave, falling into a hole again, saying “ok, this is also not your grave, get out of this hole,” getting out of that hole, falling into another one; sometimes falling into a hole within a hole, or many holes within holes, getting out of them one after the other, then falling again, saying “this is not your grave, get out of the hole”; sometimes being pushed, saying “you can not push me into this hole, it is not my grave,” and getting out defiantly, then falling into a hole again without any pushing; sometimes falling into a set of holes whose structures are predictable, ideological, and long dug, often falling into this set of structural and impersonal holes; sometimes falling into holes with other people, with other people, saying “this is not our mass grave, get out of this hole,” all together getting out of the hole together, hands and legs and arms and human ladders of each other to get out of the hole that is not the mass grave but that will only be gotten out of together; sometimes the willful-falling into a hole which is not the grave because it is easier than not falling into a hole really, but then once in it, realizing it is not the grave, getting out of the hole eventually; sometimes falling into a hole and languishing there for days, weeks, months, years, because while not the grave very difficult, still, to climb out of and you know after this hole there’s just another and another; sometimes surveying the landscape of holes and wishing for a high quality final hole; sometimes thinking of who has fallen into holes which are not graves but might be better if they were; sometimes too ardently contemplating the final hole while trying to avoid the provisional ones; sometimes dutifully falling and getting out, with perfect fortitude, saying “look at the skill and spirit with which I rise from that which resembles the grave but isn’t!”

☞ THUS

more embroidered fish fossils

babe wake up new cloud just dropped through a gap in the cirrocumulus

A fallstreak hole is a large gap, usually circular or elliptical, that can appear in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds. The holes are caused by supercooled water in the clouds suddenly evaporating or freezing, and may be triggered by passing aircraft.

Magi Puig (Palou, Catalonia b.1966) Chaouen, Morocco (2017) oil on canvas

Umberto Eco, who owned 50,000 books, had this to say about home libraries:

"It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones.

"There are things in life that we need to always have plenty of supplies, even if we will only use a small portion.

"If, for example, we consider books as medicine, we understand that it is good to have many at home rather than a few: when you want to feel better, then you go to the 'medicine closet' and choose a book. Not a random one, but the right book for that moment. That's why you should always have a nutrition choice!

"Those who buy only one book, read only that one and then get rid of it. They simply apply the consumer mentality to books, that is, they consider them a consumer product, a good. Those who love books know that a book is anything but a commodity."

Exceedingly cursed decor in this AirBnb.

★ GET WEIRD! GET UGLY! GET GOING! ★ patreon sticker for march

Off the coast of Japan: “Venus,The Crescent Moon and Rocks”.  Photography by Masahisa Uemura on Flickr

Step 0: Pick tunes and boogie

Step 1: Film the boogie from my laptop with Photobooth

Step 2: Shift the video to my iPhone with Airdrop or something similar

Step 3: Trim down the video to a single clip of 5-10 seconds

Step 4: Open the Shortcuts app (comes standard with iPhone)

Step 5: Select “Make GIF” from the Starter Shortcuts section

Step 6: Select the video clip I just picked as my source material and VOILA!

Comics-Makin' Warmup - 2/23/24

STEVE I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU FOUND AND RESURRECTED THIS COMIC THAT IS TWELVE EARTH YEARS OLD THAT I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT

After a particularly tech-heavy 24 hours…

“Even now, after centuries of reductionist propaganda, the world is still intricate and vast, as dark as it is light, a place of mystery, where we cannot do one thing without doing many things, or put two things together without putting many things together.”

— Wendell Berry, ‘In Distrust of Movements’ (1998)

Brass ship's Cargo light lantern, 19th century

Comics-Makin' Warmup - 2/23/24

Backflash tells the story of Devin, whose life is spiraling out of control, until he discovers the impossible: by touching an article of family memorabilia, he can travel back in time, mentally reliving the best moments of his past while escaping his problems of the present. But the more Devin "backflashes" he finds himself on a trail of family mystery and betrayal. On this hunt for a truth that was never supposed to come to light, Devin must come to terms with his past if he wants any chance at a future.

What's that? A new time traveling grief fleeing mystery graphic novel drawn by everyone's favorite Comics Dad @stevelieber?? With these utterly sumptuous colors by Lee Loughridge??? Yeah I'll be preordering that in November.

(More deets here.)

Put thee not on Silent

the very rare phenomenon of a volcano producing vapor rings/volcanic vortex rings. Mount Etna today (April 5, 2024) by Boris Behncke