Sometimes I Even Talk to the Darkness. And I Say "Hi, Darkness!"

Now these are a little more closely curated. Try as I might, though, I couldn't quite get the program to grasp the idea of Challenge. That last animation is an illustration from The Haunted and the Haunters, one of the scariest tales in Great Ghost Stories. I need to make something from the illustration of this scene in our old book.

Into the Archive: Literary Outlaw

Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs, by Ted Morgan – January 1, 1988 (Henry Holt and Co., 659 pp.)

“A comprehensive biography of the Beat Generation icon, written by Ted Morgan. The book details Burroughs's life, from his early years to his final days, covering his work, his struggles with addiction, his relationships with fellow Beats like Allen Ginsberg, and the infamous accidental shooting of his wife, which profoundly impacted his life and writing. Morgan's work is considered the definitive biography, capturing Burroughs's "destructive energy, his ferocious pessimism, and the renegade brilliance of his style".  – AI summation

It came yesterday, a day or two before schedule. The order was $8.26. It is a softcover, which surprised me; I was almost certain they had said hardcover but maybe I was being wishful and overeager. Not insurmountably disappointing; it’s still a good price. What was worse was the damage to the back cover: the last few pages rumpled and a tear in the cover, which I am going to charitably assume happened during shipping, though there was no outward sign on the packaging. I’m right now pressing the book to minimize the crumpling and will patch it with tape later when I feel steadier.

Written and read while Burroughs was still alive (1988; he died in 1997), it proved an invaluable key, to me, both biographically and critically, to understanding much of his rather cryptic work. Morgan’s style (he is a Pulitzer Prize winner) is ‘almost indecently readable.’ Rather than borrowing the book from John for a reread I decided I needed my own copy for the Archives, and here it is. Now I’m interested in Morgan’s biography of Allen Ginsberg. 

Back to the Beginning

I dutifully return to the A's and B's. Thus we have Advisor, Anice (which I can't help think is pronounced Anika), Argola, Argument, Astride Attack, Astronomy,  Ban Ban Caliban, Batrachian, Bookstall, and Brother Blessing. Batrachians have their own peculiar backstory, starting from a dream of finding an ancient square lake which is drained and found to be artificial and inhabited by a warren of frog-like, belligerent, intelligent monsters.

2021 Diary: What's the Deal with April?

4/14/2021-4/15/2021: Much time confounded in the days leading up to the Shanafelt/Babel trip to Colorado. On the 14^th got a load of stuff from HEB. In the evening Amy suddenly reveals to me that I need to let her know if I got a stimulus check before she could finish my taxes.

On the 15^th I scurry around trying to find my Direct Express balance, then finally realize stuff is sent by my phone, and find my stimulus was sent on the 7^th. Send Amy the data. The day was cooler and near the evening a little drizzly. Went over stuff with Susan in the evening, about the pool, the dogs, and her E-bay account. By the evening 10 PM or so all was settled.

 

4/16/2021: Up about 5 AM and went in to bid everyone bon voyage. Left about 5:10 AM, and I went back out and lay down again. Saw a few cartoons and drifted off. Up about 7:45 AM, checked the pool, had donuts fer breakfast, turned off the safety lights. Pretty damp weather, but not exactly raining. Will check mail at 9 AM.

Mail not there at 9 AM; checked at 10:30 AM, and mail and packages on the porch. Various little chores like washing dishes, taking recyclables out. About 11:30 AM laid down for a nap. Awoke as by instinct at 1:12 PM. Started a load of wash, brought Ginger in. Almost immediately she peed on the rug, but so what? Finding the empty World Book shelf a good room divider.

Susan called at 5 PM to say they had landed in Roswell and to keep an eye out for a package coming this evening. Brought Ginger’s bowls in. Made some Knorr noodles with tuna. Spent most of the evening between 6 and 8 waiting for the package. Saw a big old raccoon walking across the driveway. I gave up at 8 PM, came in and finished eating supper. Suddenly about 8:25 PM the dogs started barking, so I went in, saw the box had finally come, set up the lights and closed the house. Came in to find that Ginger had pooped at last. Now almost 9 PM. Prayed, Bible.

 

4/17/2021: Up by 6 AM to watch cartoons, the house open and fan going, and pretty cold! Tried to keep Ginger warm though. Went in about 8 AM to cut off lights. Fed pets.

Rest of the day ate too much, but not heavy things. Cereal, grapes, olive loaf sandwiches, a banana, popcorn. Got packages off porch and then mail about 10:30 AM. About 11:30 AM contacted Kelsey on FB about maybe a visit, but at last, no.

Lost the first auction on Ebay, then won the next. About 8 PM turned on the lights and locked up the house. Ginger pooped at last. Now 8:42 PM.

 

4/18/2021: Stayed home rather than going to church. Prayers, missalette. Pool pump went off. Called Andy, put hose in hot tub. Day draggled along. Got Susan’s E-bay in the evening. Still eating too much; spaghetti in the evening. Nice and cool all day.

 

4/19/2021: Up at 5 AM. Shower. Cartoons. About 10:30 AM the pool guy gets here. Let the Rotts out afterward. Washing clothes. Now 2 PM. Ordered PS2 paddle, Hobbit Trilogy, and The Man who Killed Don Quixote from Walmart.

 

4/20/2021: Got HEB order.

Notes

Well this April seems to be following the same pattern, except no-one is on vacation and I have no elderly and incontinent Chihuahua to care fore. But the weather is that same iffy, neither/nor damp grayness. Everything seems both contingent and uncertain, and at the same time unchanging. 

Sunday Matinee

The idea of female Orcs is actually canonical to the books (at least the later versions of the books, when Tolkien had more time to ponder the matter); it says Orcs reproduce 'after the Manner of the Children of Iluvater' (in other words, they bump uglies). The idea of them springing out of slime pits was cemented in the minds of those who only watched the Jackson movies. The concept of sea-serpents (and indeed other water monsters) has always fascinated and horrified me. They seem to rise up out of the unknown like 'monsters of the Id' from the hidden recesses of the mind.

Fantasy vs. Reality: The Eternal Struggle

Miramon sighed. “That is true. There is no marriage for the maker of dreams, because he is perpetually creating finer women than earth provides. The touch of flesh cannot content him who has arranged the shining hair of angels and modeled the breasts of the sphinx." - The Silver Stallion.

In the Wastelands

Once again, AI supplies legs for a legless dragon (a Wyrm) in the Wasteland. Some of these are more curated than others.