End of year lists. A bit played out and commenting on them being played out is too. But I think it's important to look back on what this year meant for me, literaturely. Along with starting to volunteer at Open Books as well as working on an event with Asymptote (stay tuned!), I've been writing more, sometimes for money, sometimes creatively, sometimes not at all (more often than I should). But the bones of a novel came out of it. If you're reading this blog and are interested in reading a surrealist tale about language, identity, memory, and perception, with indulgent experiments in form and more namedrops to philosophers, writers, musicians, and other pop culture references than I probably should have made, I will absolutely let you read it while I figure out where to go with it next.
But enough about what I wrote, here is what I read:
Showing posts with label boston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boston. Show all posts
1.01.2016
3.06.2014
Montezuma's Revenge (Summer 2013)
Last summer after getting sick in Mexico City, I spent a few days in NYC ignoring how sick I was. I wrote this on the airplane ride from NYC to Boston, where I never really got any better. I didn't scribble as many notes then, but perhaps I'll make a part two to this. Since I have a cold today, this seems like the perfect time to post this.
Find three friends. Go to Mexico City. Eat street food. Ride bikes. Eat street food. Say goodbye to Craig. Be jealous of him three days later (later you find out his fate was the same). Go to the 17th best restaurant in the world. Drink Mexican wine. Eat ants. Get drunk.
Find three friends. Go to Mexico City. Eat street food. Ride bikes. Eat street food. Say goodbye to Craig. Be jealous of him three days later (later you find out his fate was the same). Go to the 17th best restaurant in the world. Drink Mexican wine. Eat ants. Get drunk.
Wake up the next morning. Urinate. Defecate. Get a
cappuccino. Get a bagel. Yes, a bagel. Plan your day. Defecate. Defacate.
“Shit.”
Enjoy room service for your last meal in Mexico City. Watch Argo. Watch Ted. Sleep on and off; never reach REM state. Read the Wikipedia
page for “Montezuma’s Revenge”.
Go to the airport. Eat a banana. Relax. Feel better. Run
through DFW. Sweat; but make the connecting flight. Land in LGA and patiently,
but frustratedly wait for your luggage which is on the next flight. Arrive at
friend’s place in Bushwick. Wait for him. Listen to Saves the Day. Andy comes
home; trade stories. Pass out
and sleep in. Feel better. Go out. Get coffee. Go to a beer
garden. Play bocce. Drink a beer. Talk with friends. Talk about music and
writing and music writing. Drink more beer. Eat a slice. Smile, laugh. Go to
the park. Meet more friends, drink more beer. Eat tacos.
Regret those tacos.
4.19.2013
Boston Part II
I went to bed at around 3:30 AM last night. Between 11 PM and that time, I was following the developments of a shooting at MIT, a carjacking, and a shootout with police in the Watertown neighborhood of Boston, in which allegations of grenades and other explosives going off conquered news media streams.
With tabs on my Internet open to my full Twitter feed, multiple on-site journalists, professors, and students, local Boston news station WCVB streaming in the background, chatting with a friend on Facebook about our different perspectives as the events unfolded...this is the new listening to the radio with friends and family as we learn about Pearl Harbor, or watching the news during Operation Desert Storm. It goes back to what I posted two days ago, the oversaturation of media. But perhaps because as the night when on, that the marathon bombing, MIT shooting, and carjacking all seemed to be related, that I was able to communicate with someone online as equally interested, getting up to the minute information, from people who make clear that much of what they hear can not be confirmed immediately...something about the socialness of social media brought me closer to the event. That the guys in charge of this country could actually capture these guys within a few days of the bombing would be a miracle. The last I've read, one suspect has been killed, and the other ("the white hat suspect" as he will eternally be known) is still at large.
It was the first time in a long time I felt so compelled about a story to follow it for four hours, keeping me up at night. I'm not sure if that says more about me or the state of the world or just how significant the events currently unfolding in Boston are.
Mistakes are still made. We are all still trying to figure out how to be responsible with our words in these situations (normally I would go off on a "power of language" rant here, but I'll refrain), especially with the inherent power of a RT or "share." Even the most brilliant of minds out there can admit a mistake:
Of course, not that "old media" is immune to unconfirmed reporting.
I tried to keep my distance last night and wait for things to develop. Especially now that we learn that although the events were related, the original names of the suspects posted were untrue, another lesson is learned about what we report (note to everyone: a police scanner is not your bible).
While news stories continue come in, including updates on the two current suspects and a profile of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who is still at large, here are the most worthwhile tweets from last night I saw.
And two .gifs to better express how everyone is feeling right about now:
With tabs on my Internet open to my full Twitter feed, multiple on-site journalists, professors, and students, local Boston news station WCVB streaming in the background, chatting with a friend on Facebook about our different perspectives as the events unfolded...this is the new listening to the radio with friends and family as we learn about Pearl Harbor, or watching the news during Operation Desert Storm. It goes back to what I posted two days ago, the oversaturation of media. But perhaps because as the night when on, that the marathon bombing, MIT shooting, and carjacking all seemed to be related, that I was able to communicate with someone online as equally interested, getting up to the minute information, from people who make clear that much of what they hear can not be confirmed immediately...something about the socialness of social media brought me closer to the event. That the guys in charge of this country could actually capture these guys within a few days of the bombing would be a miracle. The last I've read, one suspect has been killed, and the other ("the white hat suspect" as he will eternally be known) is still at large.
It was the first time in a long time I felt so compelled about a story to follow it for four hours, keeping me up at night. I'm not sure if that says more about me or the state of the world or just how significant the events currently unfolding in Boston are.
Mistakes are still made. We are all still trying to figure out how to be responsible with our words in these situations (normally I would go off on a "power of language" rant here, but I'll refrain), especially with the inherent power of a RT or "share." Even the most brilliant of minds out there can admit a mistake:
In the chaos of last night I wrote a tweet that I have regretted all morning. Fucking being human is a son of a bitch.
— dansinker (@dansinker) April 19, 2013
Of course, not that "old media" is immune to unconfirmed reporting.
I tried to keep my distance last night and wait for things to develop. Especially now that we learn that although the events were related, the original names of the suspects posted were untrue, another lesson is learned about what we report (note to everyone: a police scanner is not your bible).
While news stories continue come in, including updates on the two current suspects and a profile of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who is still at large, here are the most worthwhile tweets from last night I saw.
“Explosives — some type of grenades — they’re between the houses down here… Shots fired! LOUD EXPLOSIONS!” ~ Boston PD scanner
— Matthew Teague (@MatthewTeague) April 19, 2013
Site of the bomb explosion on laurel st. bomb detectors are out #mitshooting #boston #mit twitter.com/AKitz/status/3…
— Andrew Kitzenberg (@AKitz) April 19, 2013
RT @walldo: Meanwhile, 8 people have been shot in Chicago today with the city flooded
— Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) April 19, 2013
RT @pkmonaghan: CNN: We don't know if anything is linked to anything. I can't even confirm that I'm speaking right now. Been reading Hume.
— Robert Loerzel (@robertloerzel) April 19, 2013
I'm following live updates from @sethmnookin @taylordobbs @wesleylowery and @thetech. CNN can kiss my dark-skinned ass.
— Sanjay Srivastava (@hardsci) April 19, 2013
Still weird to me that we can watch and listen to real people shoot guns at each other but reporters get apologetic when there's cursing.
— Seth Rosenthal (@seth_rosenthal) April 19, 2013
RT @nxthompson: Just a member of old media tweeting about TV on a website that's showing a man's cell-phone videos.
— Robert Loerzel (@robertloerzel) April 19, 2013
Boston Globe right now:twitpic.com/ckcoq7
— Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) April 19, 2013
RT @johnezekowitz: Steve Cooper of WHDH is reporting that the suspect who went to the hospital is dead. #Bostonbombing
— Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) April 19, 2013
And two .gifs to better express how everyone is feeling right about now:
And this article from the Onion, just for good measure.
Fuck.
Glad to hear all my friends and family out there are safe and sound. Can't imagine the feeling in the air right now in that city.
4.17.2013
Boston
As I had nothing pressing to do on Monday, I followed quite closely the developments of the Boston Marathon bombings. Not having cable, I opted to follow social media, primarily Twitter, for updates on the bombing. I've curated my feed to only follow bright- and open-minded people and organizations, save for some of the more sensationalist pieces by Salon or Slate, that are mostly link-bait, but do progress the conversation of media responsibility, albeit inadvertently at times.
Two days later, news orgs are still trying to figure out if there is a suspect in custody or not, trying to be the first to "report" the "news," trying to get more hits, more advertising, blah blah blah blah and the only tweet that seems worthy of any attention is one by Modern Seinfeld.
48 hours ago, I didn't even know the Boston Marathon was happening. 48 after that 48 hours ago, the bombing seems like it happened much more than 48 hours ago, the barrage of media displacing my attention in various directions, that I've become entirely disassociated from the event. The 25-year-old me who has family, friends, and acquaintances in Boston, feels no closer or more informed about this situation than the 8-year-old me felt about Atlanta in 1996 and introducing the word "pipebomb" into my vocabulary for the first time.
Two days later, news orgs are still trying to figure out if there is a suspect in custody or not, trying to be the first to "report" the "news," trying to get more hits, more advertising, blah blah blah blah and the only tweet that seems worthy of any attention is one by Modern Seinfeld.
George tries to pick up a woman by claiming to be a cop that arrested a suspect in Boston case. CNN producer overhears it, runs it as fact.
— Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday) April 17, 2013
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