I sleep at Walmart that night, but the police will continue to come as if I’m some kind of one-man crime wave.
I meant to post this last month but it slipped through the cracks. Well worth a read: My Life As a Homeless Man in America.
The author had formally written for the Boston Globe and Reuters.
Patrick Fealey
Toronto is one of the worst cities I know of to be a pedestrian in. It's my biggest grief about living here — how hostile the city's design, laws, and processes are unless you're in a car. I walk a lot, hours ever day, and cannot tell you how often I see drivers run red lights, ignore crosswalks, or use bike lanes as passing lanes or parking spaces. It is literally every single day if not every single walk.
There is a street near my house, Parkside Drive, which has numerous pedestrian fatalities. The speed camera on that street generates more revenue for the city than any other, yet every day people run red lights on it and the city does nothing.
Someone in Vancouver came up with this crosswalk hack, which is ingenious. We need these on every corner.
Michael Massaia's gorgeous architectural photos:
“For Xiaodan” — Early morning portraits of tenements scattered throughout New York City’s Chinatown.
He writes that, "All images are split toned and tinted Gelatin Silver prints."
Plenty more on Massaia's site.
I've never been a Radiohead fan, but I do quite like Marissa Nadler. Her cover of No Surprises is lovely (as are all of her covers) and this fan-made video by Kai-Duc Luong for the track perfectly captures the mood of the song:
If that mood agrees with you, you'll also dig Yelena Yemchuk's video for The Dove and the Wolf's Springtime.
And as to Radiohead covers, here's a stunning one of Creep by an Indian man and his mother:
If you enjoyed the Nadler and want more, my favorites are Ghosts & Lovers and Thinking of You.
Roger Deakins is best known as a cinematographer, but his black-and-white still photography is quite gorgeous.
Deakins also has a film-related podcast, Team Deakins, that he co-hosts with his wife James. The great thing about the podcast is how they often interview the rarely-interviewed film professionals: cinematographers, Costume Designers, VFX people, etc.
Deakins' official site is here, but the still photography is viewable as part of The Hulett Collection.
Nico Sawatzki's paintings manage to be both organic and industrial at the same time. I imagine that in person one would want to reach out and touch them.
ein Plauch ein Rausch // Kollateralschwingungen
More on Sawatzki's site.
Kumi Oguro has taken photos of segmented bodies for more than 20 years. I find them oddly compelling.
Daisy // Passage // Turn // Thread (clockwise)
Many more on Oguru's site.
Every day, thousands of Cease and Desist letters are issued, telling people to stop what they’re doing. What a bummer! That’s why we created: The Continue and Persist Letter. A official-lookinglegalletter that encourages and uplifts people, one that tells people to keep doing what they’re doing! Surprise someone you appreciate by sending them a Continue and Persist Letter.
More at Continue & Persist.
While in the South Pacific, I tried Kava, a legal drink made from the Kava plant and which has mild effects on the nervous system.
Instantly, upon drinking it, my lips began to tingle and then feel numb and a warm calm came over me. The taste is dreadful, sort of like muddy water, and it doesn't help that you drink from a dirty coconut shell that is shared by others.
You get Kava at Kava Bars, which usually open when the sun goes down. They advertise themselves with a single, dim roadside colored lightbulb, usually green or red. Here's a Kava bar in daylight in Vanuatu:
A woman I befriended on the island Efate had a husband who died of liver failure due to his addiction to Kava.
I was reminded of the drink today after reading about Betel Nuts, which I'd never heard of before: This addictive nut is driving record rates of cancer – yet millions continue to chew it. Fascinating.
Here's Drew Binksy on it:
Millions of people are turning to AI for companionship. They are finding the experience surprisingly meaningful, unexpectedly heartbreaking, and profoundly confusing, leaving them to wonder, ‘Is this real? And does that matter?’
