Greetings from my hovel, fellow sinners!

Today on one of my feeds (I’ve forgotten which and don’t really want to go look) I was introduced to Hiroshi Yoshimura and specifically the album GREEN. Apparently it’s getting a reissue on vinyl, that’s neat. I like vinyl for the artifact, but can’t be assed to actually listen to any music that way. Fortunately Light in the Attic Records has also put it up on YouTube and (Spotify if y’nasty)

It’s beautiful and calming, which is what I need today. It’s all beautiful music all the time played over footage of Giant Bomb’s lockdown streams here where a certain amount of existential dread has finally begun to encroach. Full distraction protocols are being introduced. Screens set to only show me beautiful things and play beautiful music and news feeds are switched off. They get turned on for a very limited time first thing when I get into the office and then again sometime in the evening after the daily health officials briefing but are silenced again until a time when I have more mental bandwidth for them. Not a lot I can do down here in the hermitage anyway. I continue to think of you all and hope you are well.

Currently Playing: Hiroshi Yoshimura – Green
Currently Reading: Starting a reread of TREES, Warren Ellis & Jason Howard

All the systems I spent last week setting up for the people I work with have been in place long enough now for them to start breaking in ways I hadn’t anticipated. SO THAT’S BEEN FUN.

How we all doing out there?

There is a printer in my house for the first time in a few years and it’s worse than I thought. I just got a little inkjet thing and the speed it burned through this ink I bought is CRIMINAL. Printer companies can all collectively get in the fucking sea.

I’m surprised things aren’t MORE shut down out there than they are, but I suspect that’s coming soon. We’re in this for the long haul I suspect, so we better be good to each other.

Currently Playing: Nothing. I’m listening to people stream video games.
Currently Reading: Man… hardly anything. I need to read something FUN and stupid and distracting.

Staying sane/safe out there, denizens of the wasteland?

A bunch of big new video games came out this week! I have barely scratched the surface of the last big batch of video games I bought (Outer Worlds, Outer Wilds, Code Vein, Judgment) since I mostly just jump into Apex Legends or Modern Warfare whenever I get gaming time lately (I’ve also played a couple hours of the new Ori game and it’s rad), but I am pretty tempted by the new Animal Crossing and Doom: Eternal. I suspect I’ll hold off on them for a while, but it’s good to know they’re out there.

I like thinking about, reading about, talking about, listening to people talk about and watching people play video games as much if not more than actually playing them, so this is a good time to be housebound as there is no shortage of people playing games online. I’m a Giant Bomb premium subscriber so I pretty much have the Lockdown 2020 streams going all day when they’re on. Sometimes I mute the audio and just play music over it and just glance up occasionally to see whatever game is on, but often I just leave the audio be and happily work while listening to these technical strangers with whom I have developed some form of parasocial relationship. It’s very comforting.

Currently Playing: Lisa Bella Donna – “Destinations”

Currently Reading: FROM HELL, Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell

Another day of the new normal.

I feel pretty settled in, unsurprising given I was born to be a wizard-hermit, burrowed deep in the earth, muttering incantations and gnawing roots for sustenance. Others I know having a much tougher time adjusting, I suspect the “getting-used-to-the-new-normal” period will be much worse than the actual “new normal”.

This will hopefully help

Classic Tokusatsu shows are EXACTLY what you need. I got the first 3 Ultra series blu-rays when they released last year so I should dip into those soon, but the idea of sampling a bunch of weird shows appeals to me.

Both of my favorite ambient music podcasts released new episodes recently, so stick those into your ears here and here.

And here’s a movie youtuber I like doing a very in-depth analysis of the Oil Derrick Fire Sequence in There Will Be Blood (the best movie of 2007).

Currently Playing: Drums & Tuba – “Vinyl Killer”

Currently Reading: FLIGHTS, Olga Tokarczuk

I’ve got the livestream of the jellyfish from the Monterey Bay Aquarium up on one of my monitors and am playing my backlog of ambient music releases from bandcamp over it.

It’s the BEST. Especially when I’m taking a moment to just look at it and feel peaceful and suddenly a squeegee pops into the shot and starts wiping down the glass. I laugh EVERY time.

This feels like a really great time to watch slow cinema and peaceful, slice-of-life shows. I started Mushishi the other night and it was just perfect for this moment. Thinking of starting Laid Back Camp later tonight too.

I finally finished Bruce Sterlings HEAVY WEATHER last night. More about it on friday in the book roundup, but I liked it a lot.

Keep safe and find good stuff to read/watch/play/do. Flatten the motherfuckin’ curve, y’all!

Currently Playing: Marc Ertel – “[Overtures]”

Currently Reading: FLIGHTS, Olga Tokarczuk

Brain feeling very frazzled today. Getting the staff at work set up with the ability to work remotely went smoothly but now everyone is settling in and trying stuff and finding little things they need answers for and they’re all coming in at once.

Time to throw some muted, peaceful black and white movie on the big screen and pipe ambient music into the earbuds and start tech support triage. Welcome to the new normal, I guess.

Currently Playing: The Master Musicians of Dyffryn Moore – “Music for Hand-Washing”

Currently (almost done!) Reading: HEAVY WEATHER, Bruce Sterling

Greetings, fellow wasteland-dwellers! How is the end of all things treating you?

I am safely sequestered in Joezone HQ, full work-from-home protocols engaged. Still fine-tuning small details and making sure all the tech I have set up is working in concert the way I need it to, but overall very pleased with everything so far… too bad it’s under these circumstances.

Trying to explain to my 4 and 6 year olds why they need to stop putting their goddamn mouths on everything without terrifying them is proving to be the greatest challenge thus far.

I also learned that a cheap ink-jet printer that sat in the back of a closet for 9 years doesn’t just WORK when you plug it back in. Who knew?

Anyway, settling into the new normal as best as I can, you do the same. Take care of yourself and your loved ones, watch some anime, read some books, listen to good music, wash your hands, flatten the motherfucking curve.

Currently Playing: Kloob – “Remarkable Events”

Currently Reading: FLIGHTS, Olga Tokarczuk