The Figure 5 in Gold (1928) by Charles Demuth.
It’s a little surprising to find I’ve been doing this for five whole years yet here we are. Having seen a number of blogs call it quits at the five-year point I should note that I don’t feel quite that exhausted although maintaining a discipline of daily posting can be a chore at times, especially when you’re pressured by work. On the whole the advantages continue to outweigh the disadvantages. Some of the discoveries here have fed back into things I’ve been working on or opened avenues for future exploration. Researching something for an audience (however slight that audience or the resulting post) encourages you to look more deeply into a given subject; sometimes you learn more as a result and occasionally make surprising discoveries. Obsessions are teased out which might otherwise have lain dormant. Yes, it’s an extra bout of work but I’ve spent much of my life saying to people “if you like that, you may like this”, and that’s all many of these posts are doing.
This year promises to be an interesting one so watch this space. And, as always, thanks for reading!
John x
On to the links…
• Cathedral Scan translates the architectural plans of Gothic cathedrals into open-ended musical scores via custom software. There’s more at Blake Carrington‘s website.
• Forty-three William Burroughs recordings (tape experiments and readings) at the Ubuweb archives.
• The opening scene of Deadlock (1970), an obscure German film with a theme by the mighty Can.
• Strange Lands: A Field-Guide to the Celtic Otherworld, a new book by Andrew L Paciorek.
• The enduring nature of Frankenstein, currently on stage at the National Theatre, London.
Owl One (2004) by Yuri Shimojo.
• ¡Activista! by Sonny Smith: Drag Queens, Borders, Rivers, Death and Transformation.
• Estonian sculptor Mati Karmin makes furniture out of Russian anti-submarine mines.
• Alan Moore’s contribution to the Save Our Libraries campaign.
• Innsmouth Free Press is raising funds for their running costs.
• A history of queer street art (Facebook link, unfortunately).
• Illuminated book design for Heston’s Fantastical Feasts.
• Physica Sacra, an engraving set at Flickr.
• Egypt (1985) by Tuxedomoon | Egyptian Basses (1998) by Coil | Soleil D’Egypte (2001) by Natacha Atlas.
Happy 5th, John!
and thank you for consistently excellent, well researched and fascinating posts! Checking in here is now, like running a brush over my fangs, part of my daily routine … and the visit always leads me to wonderous elsewheres.
For you on the occasion :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWWDsILFSkU
regards
Kenneth
Happy fifth as well. Here’s hoping you’ll be posting still in another five years.
Congrats, John! Always exemplary.
Neil Gaiman’s Journal had it’s tenth anniversary a few days ago. He’s begun to repost some of his best ofs with some help from what his readers think are his best posts.
You’re halfway there John
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/02/now-we-are-ten.html
Of course he doesn’t post every day like you do.
Here’s to another 5 years of posts
;-)
I have been coming to read your posts for 3 years now. I am never dissapointed by your excellent taste lucid prose and general love af the arcane and abstruce.
Well done on the five yrae mark. And thank you for the heads up on the cathedral music. It really is quite excellent.
All the best from an avid fan.
Happy blog birthday John – Thanks for the five years of cultural exploration.Dont even think of stopping, we need our daily fix.
It always amazes me that you manage to post every day, when I can just about manage once a week. I’ve certainly made countless new discoveries through {feuilleton} over the last couple of years, so thanks, and long may it continue.
Happy 5th from Washington DC.
Thanks everyone!
Mr Kenneth: I’ve never seen or heard that before, Bowie for me has always started at Hunky Dory. There’s probably a thesis to be written (assuming one hasn’t been already) about the amount of British pop songs of that period which have children/childhood as their theme.
I have always been amazed how you manage to fit blogging with your workload, and i read every entry. I don’t always like the stuff on here, but it’s always interesting, and I have found various things that I would never have come across before.
It has also re-ignited my interest in HPL & AOS, which has led me into creating music/ visual work which wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
So congratulations on 5 years posting, and I hope to read many more.
Happy anniversary. Here’s a gift of wood for your 5th:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/65567911/cthulhu-spoon-lovecraft-mythos-in-the
Happy anniversary! I’ve been reading your blog regularly for maybe six months now. I’ve never commented before, but I look forward to every post. Thanks for your hard work and dedication.
Alfie: Nice spoon, thanks.
Regarding the blogging discipline it’s mostly just a case of thinking ahead all the time. It’s also a good idea when/if you have a free moment to rough out two or more posts at once, that way there’s less work to do later. My main problem is writing too much at times then rewriting, then editing, then looking for links… I try to be more rigourous these days.