From The Mad Attic
I know. I started a Substack newsletter. Trendy.
The arc of personal media apparently trends ouroboros-esque:
“Subscribe to my newsletter!”
“Subscribe to my blog!”
“Subscribe to my podcast!”
“Follow my Twitter!”
“Subscribe to my podcast!”
“Subscribe to my blog!”
“Subscribe to my newsletter!”
Thus, here we are.
Here and on places like it, frustrated journalists have found (remunerative) homes, content creators have built audiences, formerly obscure academics have become ragingly popular, and so much more.
I intend to do… ummm… none of these things. As of today, I don’t even want to set up a paid tier. I really just want a templated way to jot down my thoughts, share what I like (and what I don’t), and maybe even entertain some folks along the way.
Just so you know what you’re getting into:
THIS IS NOT A “CURRENT EVENTS” NEWSLETTER! This is probably the most important thing to know. Most of this newsletter is just about stuff I feel is worth sharing. Some of it will be personally or professionally enriching. Some will just provide a distraction.
I don’t intend to get into politics, however, everything is politicized today so I suppose intersecting this filthy swamp is inevitable. I will loudly and publicly celebrate the first “unsubscribe” I receive for this.
I love science fiction, music, food, technology, innovation, and culture in all of its wild, unpredictable and multivariant forms.
I am not going to concern myself with notions of “equal time.” In all the ways that count, I am “equal time.”
“Newsletter fade” is inevitable. Going to try to keep this up weekly, but that’ll be very very tough.
Recommendations & Ridicule
Here, I will offer links to items I’ve found interesting and inspirational. I will also link to stuff that, well, at least I think you ought to avoid. Both are a public service to my dear readers.
Recommendations
JOURNALISM: Guitar World, “Tracking down Steve Vai's elusive ‘Crossroads’ Jackson – the most famous guitar that was never heard,” 2021-06-17 — Remember when guitar whiz Steve Vai played the Devil’s guitarist Jack Butler in the Ralph Macchio vehicle Crossroads? In what is probably one of the most fun pieces of music journalism that I’ve read in a long time, Erik Kirkland tracks down the long-lost guitar from the iconic scene within an otherwise forgettable film.
JOURNALISM: The New Yorker, “My Time with Kurt Cobain,” 2021-09-22 — I look upon Kurt Cobain the same way my parents look at Bob Dylan when he’s presented as “the voice of their generation.” Nevertheless, an incredible read that straddles the professional and the personal.
TV: Star Trek: The Next Generation, “The Measure of a Man” — Probably one of the very best courtroom scenes ever filmed for the small screen.
SHORT FILM: This Machine Greens — Sick as I am of the brainless “Bitcoin mining kills baby seals” trope, this documentary uncovers the positive environmental impacts. Give this 40 minutes and you’ll never think about this topic the same way again.
Ridicule
FILM: Stealth (2005) — It’s actually hard for me to slot this in here. Not because it’s a good movie — it’s wretched — but 1) it was written by W.D. Richter, the director of the movie I have chosen to model my life after, and 2) enough of you dopes are watching this stercoraceous bomb that it breached Netflix’s top ten over the last weekend.
Parting Shot
No one should be surprised by 1) the Facebook whistleblower’s revelations and 2) the “See what I can do to you?” mass shutdown of Facebook and its other properties the day after the whistleblower became known. I suspect it was the most dramatic “flood the zone” attempt ever.