Hereâs a video of them in action!
The video!!!!

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cherry valley forever

JBB: An Artblog!
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
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$LAYYYTER
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I'd rather be in outer space đ¸
todays bird
Mike Driver
Xuebing Du

Janaina Medeiros

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Three Goblin Art

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@rahthesungod
Hereâs a video of them in action!
The video!!!!
It really is
it really is friday night when you think about it
This Weekâs Expert Picks
Brought on by the burden of the pandemic, the central theme of Resilience is ever present in this anthology, but it is also a main theme of Local Gems Press and its founder James P. Wagner, who is constantly and (most importantly) consistently doing so much to promote the wonderful world of poetics from Long Island to...any land you can think of. This book is filled with outstanding poems from outstanding poets, hand-picked for their Resilience. Wagner (aka Ishwa) and Local Gems release a few solid anthologies a year, but behind the scenes they never stop moving and promoting poetry. From prompts to now virtual parties and readings, their catalog and hearts continue to grow and stay Resilient. If you want great poetry, you won't find it at the big bookstore near the mall. Nope. You'll have to dig and keep digging, and stay...Resilient. RB
This is the story of Beauregard Montage aka âBugâ a hard-working mechanic, husband, and dad. Though his present is peaceful, his past he was known as the best driver and wheelman on the East Coast. But, the past comes back to haunt him, bills are mounting up, and his back is on the wall he decides to accept a job from a former associate for a jewelry store heist. With his past weighing on him which includes his father running out on him and his mother, Bug has to navigate his past and present lives as they collide doing 90mph.
I really enjoyed this book. A man trying to provide for his family, driven to his limits because of circumstances, race, poverty, etc. Cosby balances character development and action extremely well, continually raising the stakes in the novel till an epic showdown at the end. His writing is visceral, reminds me of The Friends of Eddie Coyle a bit, that hard punch to the gut and continue on. Bug balancing his family life and criminal life is such an intense arc in the book and I love how the book ends.
Check this book out, if you love crime/noir/southern novels this is fantastic. Feels like the movie Drive with even more action and heartfelt personal battles. If they donât make this into a movie in a few years I would be shocked, a great story of redemption. I need to see that 1971 Plymouth Duster on screen, screaming tires and all. Definitely check out the book, and I cannot wait to see what S.A. Cosby writes next. CJH
Women, Race and Class by Angela Davis is everything you hope it will be. Davis tells a history, painstakingly researched, from the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade until 1981 (the year of publication) and dissects every major moment in the battles for women's liberation, Black liberation, and working class liberation. She tells arguments and rhetoric from the day and refutes them. She gives anecdotes including good and bad qualities of the people involved in both sides of the struggle and, while taking your hand and leading you into today's struggle, she's rubbing your back and cheering you on.
This is one of the most informational and inspirational books I have ever read. Angela Davis is everything you've heard about her. This book should be a new bible for all marginalized and disenfranchised people and anyone who wants to live in solidarity with them. With us. SE
This Weekâs Expert Picks
In All That Shines Under The Hollywood Sign, Iris Berry pays tribute to her Los Angeles and reflects on her Hollywood, as well as its history the way only a punk poet can, delivering ardor and vitriol in the same dose. With a cocktail combination of poetry and prose, Iris paints a pretty, yet raucous, picture of her journey, her view, and how it reflects the common witness within us all as we watch our world evolve, for good or ill. As a native Angeleno, Iris Berry is one of the true and original progenitors of the L.A. punk scene. All of her books are unique and attention-grabbing, garnering her a deserved and devoted fan base. In addition, she's an L.A. Pop culture historian, actress, and musician, having appeared in numerous films, TV commercials, documentaries, and iconic rock videos. But it is her writing which shows her true self, complete with passions, flaws, and all. Once again, she and this book prove that good poetry, good stories are worth digging for, beyond the best-seller shelf. RB
Much of Thomas Ligottiâs work is horrifying supernatural horror. This is his first nonfiction work and still includes plenty of horror. Including fields of study such as philosophy, literature, and neuroscience, Ligotti infers that we are nothing but sacks of meat living in a continually meaningless nightmare. He even goes so far as to say those that choose to ignore this are acting out in some form of optimistic fallacy.
Iâd only read one or two other works of his and if I thought he was pessimistic in those, this is the book where itâs hitting you over the head. He is the exact writer you want for this topic though, he is able to exercise his point, back it with evidence, reveals that maybe we all are just ignoring the horror. Though I may disagree with certain aspects of his thoughts, feels very Rust from True Detective, but accepting parts of his proposed analysis are helpful.
Another insight, for some and especially at such a pivotal time right now, might not be the best time to read. Makes you question a lot of existence and how bleak it all is. That said, I did enjoy it and he is a fantastic writer, perfect for this type of real life horror that many of us ignore every day of our lives. CJH
During the first quarter of this book I was annoyed. Having been previously impressed with Krans, I continued reading solely due to my hopes that "Freeze Tag On The Highway" would do to me what "A Constant Suicide" did. To the reader who makes it to page 80 and is wondering why you're reading an emotionally charged Palanhuik knock-off: KEEP READING. As I hoped, Krans gave me a glare at the life I try to pretend doesn't exist with burdensome prose and unnecessarily weighty sentences. I say "unnecessarily" and "overly" but it's important to the narration that this amount of depth is placed in Jake's head. It works to the advantage of the story. Freeze Tag will disturb you with its black and blue (rather than rose-colored) version of summer camp and the temerity to go where Jay McInerey and Chuck Palanhuik haven't the practicality or insight to go. I recommend this book to people who wish Palanhuik and McInerey would write a book together. SE
This Weekâs Expert Picks
Vibrant Death by a poet that goes by the moniker of Alowishous is a collection of poems written between 2013 and 2018 embodying a journey of thoughts, emotions, mind and heart that all culminate into declarative last words to the era or part of a life inevitably leading to letting go. In its first pages, Vibrant Death gives you a choice â a warning â to continue or to retreat, and by doing so, the author only pulls in curious souls even more. And the raw, beautiful, boundary-breaking poetics only reassure the reader that they have made the correct, if daring, choice to march on into the world of a person who not only needed to write this book, but who also needs you to read it. This is a book to be shared and passed on to others. Read it and then re-gift it. Pay poetry forward, as it were. RB
Is it art or mischief? The Fangs tend to interlope the two in Kevin Wilsonâs book The Family Fang. For Buster and Annie Fang, the children of Caleb and Camille Fang life has never been ordinary. With a chaotic childhood, it makes things difficult to cope with the outside world. Now adults and nowhere to go, the Fang children must return home where the parents have their biggest performance art piece planned.
At the heart of the novel, it represents the parent and children relationship, exploring how some parents consciously or unconsciously push their passions on and expect their children to follow. Examining your dysfunctional relationship and discovering the truth is what I enjoyed most of this novel. It keep things extremely light but entertaining as well.
Feels similar to Wes Andersonâs The Royal Tenenbaums or the tv show Arrested Development. The book represents heart and humor. I enjoyed the first half and the second half felt oddly unexpected. It was an enjoyable read but didnât feel as attached the second part. Iâve seen others really enjoy Kevin Wilsonâs latest book Nothing to See Here which I look forward to reading! CJH
Demons in the Spring by Joe Meno is perhaps the greatest example in modern history of what a short story collection can be. Each story stark and separate from its peers, Meno weaves together universal truths with fanciful stories. Meno is a master of prose and form, managing to convince his readers that they are the subject of his narratives. In one story, people can adopt miniature wild animals (an elephant the size of a cat), in another we see a humans turn into clouds, while others explore the slow heartache of miscarriage or office life. Every piece moves quickly, easily, and sits in the heart of the reader forever after. Highlights include: The Sound Before the End of the World, What a Schoolgirl You Are, I Want The Quiet Moments of a Party Girl, The Unabomber and My Brother. Each story is illustrated by a different Chicago artist and proceeds from the book benefit 826 Chicago. SE
This Weekâs Expert Picks
Sometimes, when the weather is just right (or you find yourself in a poetic internet rabbit hole) a book finds you. And that is exactly what happened with Heart Stoner Bingo by Stephanie Gray. I was digging for poetry in Long Island and I stumbled upon a true treasure of a book. Stephanie Gray is a poet and filmmaker known for short Super 8 films that explore the experience of urban space and gentrification, queer identity and feminism, and disability and class. All of these themes are showcased in what was her first book of poetry. When I came across a website with a snippet of Heart Stoner Bingo, I immediately bought it on Amazon. To my surprise, it was signed. Not to my surprise it spoke directly to the sensibilities of my heart that made me thank the kismet which led me to its poetic pages. Open this book and let it spill over you like fire. RB
Belabored (A Vindication of the Rights of Pregnant Women) is special. I'm upping it to 5 stars (I would have given it 4.5) because it is special. Part memoir, part manifesto, part sociology lesson Belabored takes on Western history and modern medicine with an eye toward social justice. Lyz Lenz, true to form, writes this book as if it is a single essay, lighting a path of meticulously researched history with the fires of her own deeply personal experiences in her own human body. Lenz's prose is artful, deft, and easy while managing to pull together a narrative spanning most of human history to give us this gift: the experience of having a body that can make life.
Amazingly, this book (unlike any other I can think of) works as an excellent companion book to Angela Davis's Women, Race, and Class. Where Davis's book ends on a note about sterilization and capitalism (in 1981), Lenz returns to the themes of gender, race, and class and adds to them sexuality, the internet age, and identity.
This is a near perfect book that combines great artistry, vulnerability, and research. It should be read by all people who inhabit bodies. SE
Your brother is murdered. You want to enact revenge. You grab the strap and go after the guy that did it. You get on the elevator to get to the lobby. Seventh floor. You press the lobby button. The ride down takes 60 seconds. Every floor the elevator stops, someone from your past asking you what the hell you think youâre doing. A look at the cycle of gun violence and how one small mistake could make life long repercussions.
Jason Reynolds is such a gifted writer. Written in staccato narrative verse, Reynolds utitlizes the style to deliver haymaker after haymaker of powerful short sentences. Heâs able to flesh out characters in such a short period of time. Each floor represents a different person from the past, each with a life lesson from different years of Willâs life. It exhibits how the cycle of gun violence will just keep continuing until you break the cycle.
Such a powerful book at such a pivotal point in time. Reynolds is an extraordinary author and person, his bio at the end of the book is beautiful. Mentioning how he just wants kids that this book could be written about, to feel seen and their pain acknowledged, you are heard! I had the pleasure of meeting him when he visiting our local library years ago. Such an important person, his writing will continue to inspire and make those that feel unseen, seen. CJH
I review books.
Asked my BFF out on a post-pandemic date to our local LGBTQA+ nightclub called The Garden via song.
It just felt right to do so in a quick take.Â
Because how else do you handle such unprecedented times?
This Weekâs Expert Picks
Green Grass Running Water is a masterpiece of literature and culture. Thomas King tells many stories in this volume to create a reflection of native life in North America. Each story slowly, artfully combines to create the strongest plot I've ever read. The stories include repeated attempts to tell an accurate origin story, two contemporary characters as they navigate their lives both on and off the reservation, and four versions of First Woman as they adapt and evolve to fit the changing culture of North America. Beyond the plot, King includes symbolism so intricate and well-thought out that the book often rewards you for reading. The way the stories interlock is nuanced and builds steadily. the narrators are likeable and easy to read and the conflict is simultaneously grand and universal. This is maybe the best book of the 90s and Thomas King is one of the most gifted story tellers of our time. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. SE
Sarah Elgatian is a writer living in Iowa. She currently spends her days in isolation wondering how long her hair will get before quarantine ends.
I bought this book a decade ago at the best bookstore in New York City, Strand, mainly because of the artwork, which was done by one of my favorite musicians, Devendra Banhart. Now, I regard this book as a seminal influence of my poetry and art. It is rare to snap up a book and grow with it over the years, finding new meaning with each of life's milestones. We Meet highlights Patchenâs more outlandish side and sensibilities, like fabrics stitched into a crazy quilt. Open to any page at random and find Patchen protesting, or telling simple yet beautiful tales of bedroom floors, or talking directly to the reader about nervous vines. This book begs for internal evolution, maybe reading a couple pages a year for the rest of your life. RB
Ryan Buynak is a rock & roll poet and the author of a number of poetry collections.
Oh look, Iâm an expert!
An expert AND a darling. Congrats, Sarah đ
Well, would you lookit that, it's me!
literally a quote from Marcus Aurelius
HAD to go and dig for the quote. âsex is the friction of a piece of gut and, following a sort of convulsion, the expulsion of some mucus.â marcus was just being reductive, but purrp takes his analysis one step further: he correctly identifies that sex is stupid
how can civilisation be in decline when social media abounds with philosophers greater than Marcus Aurelius
Available, Jake Farmer (because)
This Weekâs Expert Picks
Green Grass Running Water is a masterpiece of literature and culture. Thomas King tells many stories in this volume to create a reflection of native life in North America. Each story slowly, artfully combines to create the strongest plot I've ever read. The stories include repeated attempts to tell an accurate origin story, two contemporary characters as they navigate their lives both on and off the reservation, and four versions of First Woman as they adapt and evolve to fit the changing culture of North America. Beyond the plot, King includes symbolism so intricate and well-thought out that the book often rewards you for reading. The way the stories interlock is nuanced and builds steadily. the narrators are likeable and easy to read and the conflict is simultaneously grand and universal. This is maybe the best book of the 90s and Thomas King is one of the most gifted story tellers of our time. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. SE
Sarah Elgatian is a writer living in Iowa. She currently spends her days in isolation wondering how long her hair will get before quarantine ends.
I bought this book a decade ago at the best bookstore in New York City, Strand, mainly because of the artwork, which was done by one of my favorite musicians, Devendra Banhart. Now, I regard this book as a seminal influence of my poetry and art. It is rare to snap up a book and grow with it over the years, finding new meaning with each of life's milestones. We Meet highlights Patchenâs more outlandish side and sensibilities, like fabrics stitched into a crazy quilt. Open to any page at random and find Patchen protesting, or telling simple yet beautiful tales of bedroom floors, or talking directly to the reader about nervous vines. This book begs for internal evolution, maybe reading a couple pages a year for the rest of your life. RB
Ryan Buynak is a rock & roll poet and the author of a number of poetry collections.
Oh look, Iâm an expert!
fyi to yall in quarantine whos grasp on reality is getting a little slippery: isolation, intense boredom, stress and lack of positive routine are absolutely contributing factors to exacerbating psychosis and psychosis-adjacent disorders, even latent ones. im not saying this to fearmonger im saying it so u can recognise it and take steps to handle it especially if it induces your first ever episode.
some warning signs can include
starting to believe unusual things that you previously did not believe (e.g. living in a simulation / you or others around you not being real / secretly being in hell or dead / otherworldly beings communicating with you somehow / government conspiracies / everyone around you is out to get you and harboring ill intent)
seeing things youre pretty sure arent there (e.g. shadow people, floating lights, stationary objects moving on their own, animals in a house that doesnt have pets)
hearing things (e.g. murmured voices, occasional clear and loud voices, faint music, scratching sounds, any without a source)
feeling a sense of dread or generalised paranoia, a sense that you are being watched or that something terrible is looming on the horizon but you dont know what
having extra trouble putting your thoughts in order and speaking coherently, cannot concentrate, space out to the point of feeling slightly catatonic
those most at risk are anyone with a family history of this vein of mental illness as well as those using certain drugs to get through the tedium of quarantine - if this is you, its best to research whether the substances youre using have documented links to triggering episodes of psychosis in users. weed is included in this, not just psychoactive drugs.
here are some steps you can take to get a handle on the situation if your grasp on reality is slipping like this and you cant access irl mental health resources.
have a routine. this is vitally important - you need structure. set an alarm for a specific time every day, even though you have nowhere to be. give yourself a bedtime. eat 2 meals a day, at least, at regular times.
leave the house. no, i dont mean Go Out, just be outside for a while every day or two. go for a walk if you can. stand outside your house for 15 minutes paying attention to the cars and the birds and the breeze and the clouds if you cant. really observe your surroundings. get sunlight.
on that note - let as much natural light into your house as possible during waking hours. your circadian rhythm needs it.
take up some form of hobby that requires physical engagement - whether thats journaling, drawing, making origami, gardening, cooking. the point of this is to ground yourself in your body and the world around you, have an affect on your surroundings, and stimulate your brain.
dont dwell on your delusions, hallucinations or distressing trains of thought if you can help it. that isnt to say "snap out of it and just dont have symptoms", but rather accept them without either judging them or overindulging in them. observe them as they happen, accept that they happen, and let it go, if you can. you may not be able to control the experiences, but you can control how you react to them, and the best case scenario is not allowing them to overwhelm your thoughts and your days. this is much easier said than done, especially if the experiences are distressing in nature, but the aim is to sever the feedback loop that causes further stress and thus further bad extrasensory experiences.
this is honestly just a basic surface scratch of advice though bc im by no means an expert, just someone w latent psychosis who used to work in the field for a while. there are tons of resources online by others who have experienced psychosis that can be a huge help if u think you might be at risk due to the stress, boredom and uncertainty of quarantine
Do you think Hamilton actually loved Eliza, or only married her since he couldn't be with Laurens?
Oh, I think Hamilton definitely loved Eliza (though he was far from the perfect husband at times). His letters to Eliza were often just as over-the-top romantic/emotional as his letters to Laurens were. I havenât read the Hamilton/Eliza letters as much as I have read the Hamilton/Laurens ones, so I canât come up with any direct quotes right now, but hereâs all the letters Hamilton wrote to her. Theyâre pretty lovey-dovey. And in the letter Hamilton wrote to her in case he died in his duel with Burr (spoiler alert: he did), he called her âbest of wives and best of women.â He also got her pregnant nine times, if you want to take that as an indicator of their love.
Itâs come up before that Hamilton could have been polyamorous. It seems like he loved Laurens and Eliza pretty equally. Eliza was by no means a second choice because he couldnât have Laurens, and likewise Hamiltonâs love for Laurens didnât end once he met Eliza.
A recent quotation posted here from a Hamilton letter to Elizabeth compared his love for her to Achillesâ love for a woman. Â Achilles?Â
The Iliad begins in the middle of the story of Troyâwith Achilles sulking in his tent. Heâd won the beautiful Trojan Briseis as a prize of warâto be his concubine. Â Then Agamemnon appropriated her & Achilles declined to fight. The Trojans began burning the Greek ships & Achillesâ beloved Patroclus begged to borrow his armor. Â Achilles agreed. Â Hector, thinking he was fighting the greatest Greek warrior, slew Patroclus. While mourning over his body, Briseis told how Patroclus had been kind to her & promised that he would see her & Achilles married when they returned home. Â (The story continues, with very few happy endings.)Â
Here we see Briseis on the bier of Patroclus. Â Achilles, in red, has been shocked back into the fight by the death of his beloved brother-in-arms. Â
In referring to this tale, Hamilton was looking back to the days of legendâwhen it was possible to have a beloved brother-in-arms and a beautiful bride, Â (Still no happy endings.)
That wouldnât be the first time Hamilton viewed marriage through through the lens of antiquity either. Such as in this letter:
âMeade just comes in and interrupts me by sending his love to you. He tells you he has written a long letter to his widow asking her opinion of the propriety of quitting the service; and that if she does not disapprove it, he will certainly take his final leave after the campaign. You see what a fine opportunity she has to be enrolled in the catalogue of heroines, and I dare say she will set you an example of fortitude and patriotism. I know too you have so much of the Portia in you, that you will not be out done in this line by any of your sex, and that if you saw me inclined to quit the service of your country, you would dissuade me from it. I have promised you, you recollect, to conform to your wishes, and I persist in this intention. It remains with you to show whether you are a Roman or an American wife.â
- Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler, August 1780
Hamilton really seemed to expect Eliza to play in the part of a Spartan wife, who would shame her husband for acting cowardly when his country needed him. (This also helps explain why he viewed his obsession with honor as his highest duty, even over family.)
Antiquity also gave Hamilton an example of menâs devotion and love to one another, as when he copied in his paybook that, âEvery lad had a lover or friend who took care of his education and share in the praise or blame of his virtues or vices.â So this isnât really an either/or situation.
Obviously Hamilton was not a particularly virtuous husband - given the Reynolds affair and his tendency to flirt a lot - and he could be very patronizing. Eliza was a better wife than he deserved. But the nature of his private letters to her do show he was dependent on her and for all his flaws did seem to love her.
âJesus once passed a blind beggar on the road, and his disciples asked, âWho sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?â And Jesus said, âNeither this man nor his parents sinned. He was made blind so that the works of God could be revealed in him.â And with that, he placed mud on his eyes and told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. And the man did, and he came back seeing. Right now you are blind. Not because youâve sinned, but because youâve been chosen. So that the works of God can be revealed in you.â
Jackie (2016)