Tag: writing

by jad

With All That’s Going On in the World (More Camera Comparisons)

“With all that’s going on in the world.” I was thinking about this turn of phrase, with all that’s going on in the world, and all that’s going on in my part of the world in particular. So I did what I often do when a thought gets lodged inside my brain: I looked it up. I know that in this house we love to hate it, but I liked how off-putting yet accurate it sounded, so here is what Google’s AI overview had to say: “ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ” ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴏɴʟʏ ᴜꜱᴇᴅ, ᴛɪᴍᴇʟʏ ᴘʜʀᴀꜱᴇ … Continue reading “With All That’s Going On in the World (More Camera Comparisons)” →

by jad

A Faltering Body and a Lonely City

I think about this whenever my attention’s brought back to my faltering body, usually “when it’s screaming,” as the upper cervical chiropractor put it this morning: I wonder to what degree what I know as my “self” is just a pinched nerve or a blocked flow or a chemical out of place. Can a personality really be (mis)shaped by spinal health? Did you know that chronic pain from spinal issues triggers the body’s stress responses, increasing cortisol and reducing motivation, often leading to a “short fuse” or high anxiety? Or that persistent discomfort and reduced mobility can lead to social … Continue reading “A Faltering Body and a Lonely City” →

by jad

Permission to Read a Different Script

A friend’s been going through a profound transformation that’s been a privilege to witness and be invited behind the scenes for, and it’s been making me think about my own threshold experiences, past, present, and future. Another friend has been calling this year a time of blooming. As the perennial late bloomer, I’m thinking about that too. What seeds are sprouting, I wonder? A subterranean connection I think these two friends have in common is a love of being alive, as a meme one of them shared with me this morning put it. And the more I think about it, … Continue reading “Permission to Read a Different Script” →

by jad

Dada, and Art as a Creature of Its Epoch

“Art, in its production and direction, depends on the time in which it lives, and artists are creatures of their epoch. The highest art will be one in which the thousandfold issues of the day are revealed in its consciousness, an art which allows itself to be noticeably shattered by last week’s explosions, which is forever trying to collect itself after the shock of recent days. The best and most challenging artists will be those who every hour snatch the tatters of their bodies out of the turbulent whirl of life, who, with bleeding hands and hearts, hold fast to … Continue reading “Dada, and Art as a Creature of Its Epoch” →

by jad

Seven Years of This Account (Pike Place After Dark)

Pike Place, after dark, on New Year’s Eve. x I started this account seven years ago as a grounding tool; a way to mark my x on the spot with a move as massive as immigration. Over time, it became a diary of sorts. A way to break with hesitation and rearticulate myself and my thoughts, especially in the depths of pandemic longing and despair. But now I find myself wanting to write less and say less. Some of that is a consequence of having picked up photography as an honest-to-god hobby, instead of just a visual pairing with the … Continue reading “Seven Years of This Account (Pike Place After Dark)” →

by jad

The Shankill Butchers (and a Sweet New Year’s Eve)

“Two, three, four The Shankill butchers ride tonight You better shut your windows tight They’re sharpening their cleavers and their knives And taking all their whiskey by the pint. ‘Cause everybody knows If you don’t mind your mother’s words A wicked wind will blow your ribbons from your curls. Everybody moan, everybody shake – The Shankill butchers want to catch you awake.” x We started our New Year’s Eve down in Pike Place before heading up to Capitol Hill. It was a very sweet atmosphere. x “They used to be just like me and you They used to be sweet … Continue reading “The Shankill Butchers (and a Sweet New Year’s Eve)” →

by jad

Only Connect (Burning Intentions for the New Year)

There’s been a lag this year between the official threshold ritual and the actually lived experience of the settling of accounts, that balance sheet of mental assets and liabilities we call reflecting on our year. It’s a lag that pretty much describes the last three years, give or take. That’s the temporal metaphor I keep coming back to: a slippage out of sync, a running out of breath, the reel of events speedily unspooling while the laugh track awkwardly tries to catch up. There’s a spatial metaphor I keep thinking about too. Transparencies of the self and world like many … Continue reading “Only Connect (Burning Intentions for the New Year)” →

by jad

Janus, Resolutions, and the Rent Gap

There’s a metaphor here somewhere. Art in the interstices of the rent gap. According to Google Street View, this space has been vacant for years – even before the pandemic. The last time a business operated out of this address, it was Zipcar, itself a symptom of a recomposed post-crash economy. Platforms for recirculating value. Prints and misprints. x I’d like to say I read this, but it was a video on my feed. The Romans chose January 1 as the new year because of Janus, the two-faced god of the threshold, at once looking forward and back. But they … Continue reading “Janus, Resolutions, and the Rent Gap” →

by jad

The HOTU Digicam (No Year-End Review)

Merry Christmas from my lil friend, a “HOTU” keychain digicam that Santa gave me. It looks like a dinky version of my Fuji and even comes with a little strap to wear around your neck like a total dork. I love it! x Wanna see something cool? x This one is for all you gear heads. Only quality content on this page. x Is this street style? x No year-end review. Just this photo I took while heading home thinking that I might have ripped the roll of film I’d just finished shooting out of its canister. x No year-end … Continue reading “The HOTU Digicam (No Year-End Review)” →