Teach me to care and not to care.
Just before he dies, in the few seconds beforehand, every man feels he has just inherited a measureless fortune. A hundred trillion dollars, let us say.
Q: What does it feel like to die?
A: Dying feels like learning you have inherited a hundred trillion dollars and then dying only a few seconds later.
Over the last several weeks, I have returned to Neroli, as I do every summer. I am presently working on Love What Lasts, my fourth book. Love What Lasts began as a book about art, but is quickly becoming a clearinghouse for every idea I’ve had since finishing How To Be Unlucky.
Regardless, Neroli has been my writing music for three years now. It sounds as good as ever, even on my 30th listen of the week.
My latest for CiRCE is dedicated to teaching readers how to predict the future. It is easier and more humbling than you can imagine.
My latest for CiRCE is about Joe Versus the Volcano. It’s a sprawling essay and you can read it here.
My latest for CiRCE is a brief reflection on my unlikely love for Patricia Highsmith and all the nasty things that algorithms do to our ability to love beauty.
Read it here.
If you can’t say something nice, you’re probably trying to talk about the zeitgeist.
Today, my sophomore Humanities class began a four week study of Hamlet, and I opened our time in the play with a few comments on Harold Bloom’s introductory essay to Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human.
The lecture is available to download by clicking here.
The Shore of Oblivion (1889)
20. Love Remains, How to Dress Well
19. Without You I’m Nothing, Placebo
18. Evening Star, Fripp & Eno
17. This is Hardcore, Pulp
16. Seventh Tree, Goldfrapp
15. The Celts, Enya
14. Lovely Thunder, Harold Budd
13. Carve Out the Face of My God, Infinite Body
12. The Boatman’s Call, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
11. Tales of Us, Goldfrapp
10. The White Arcades, Harold Budd
9. Kaputt, Destroyer
8. Adore, The Smashing Pumpkins
7. A Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi Trio
6. Third Eye Blind, Third Eye Blind
5. Lost in Translation, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
4. Duncan Sheik, Duncan Sheik
3. Parachutes, Coldplay
2. AIA, Grouper
1. December, George Winston
There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.