January 22, 2021 in 3,281 words

_{• • • an aural noise • • •}

word salad: This release was formed through the ongoing encounter with the search for a meaning and a way in the world. While the world struggles to handle the pandemic, Øhmar was experiencing a renewed journey of self discovery in Australia. The life in the rollercoaster of the contrast and uncertainty has contributed to a very tangible understandings, Ones that cannot be described by words and symbols, Ones that only music was able to express that time.

In this collection of musical tales, Inspired by a number of styles and genres on the spectrum between Bass and Psychedelia, Each of the tracks pretends to be a kind of a seal on an in depth understanding of another of the various life lessons. Nothing and Everything offers you a blend of fresh cosmic beats, soothing and mindful harmonies along with glitchy and intricate sound designs.

_{^{• • • some of the things I read in antisocial isolation • • •}}

Decrepit but still standing, these fortifications along the Rhine were a result of Edgar Allen Poe’s vicious rivalry with a criminal gang.

— Fake Atlas Obscura (@notatlasobscura) January 21, 2021

Photographing the Architectural Remains of 19th Century American Asylums

_{Wheel chairs and peeling paint. Embiggenable. Shop at home.}

ACROSS THE EAST COAST OF the United States are crumbling ruins of failures to treat mental illness, with peeling interiors once intended to be cheery encouragement and forgotten treatment devices from bowling alleys to hydrotherapy tubs. Photographer Jeremy Harris has documented many of these institutions in a project called American Asylums: Moral Architecture of the 19th Century. We asked Harris a few questions about his work:

What is your background as a photographer and how did you start documenting the asylums?

I began photographing abandoned farm houses and factories in the 1980s while in high school. I moved to San Francisco in 1990 to finish college. There I started my career as a pro portrait/rock and roll photographer. In 2004, I discovered the abandoned asylums through various internet sites and decided that I needed to see them for myself. So I would fly to the East Coast every couple of months and meet up with friends. We’d take exploring trips lasting from a day to two weeks.

_{Decayed staircase. Embiggenable. Shop at home.}

_{Beds in an asylum. Embiggenable. Shop at home.}

Abandoned insane asylums are arguably some of the most unsettling places on earth. What drew you to want to spend so much time inside of them with this photography project?

Since my teens, I’ve been interested in history and abandoned structures, as well as abnormal psychology and insanity. When I visited my first asylum, the Lunatic Asylum in Buffalo, New York, I was able to roam the massive ward hallways, sit in actual patient rooms, and explore dark passages beneath the buildings. The experience was one of fascination and excitement — a feeling of stepping back into time and treading where few others have been in years.

_{Curved hallway. Embiggenable. Shop at home. Here are some more places.}

Once inside the buildings (after slipping past security and mental health police), I found the experiences to be quite calming and peaceful, as I was able to shut out the outside world and concentrate solely on photographing these beautifully designed buildings, the way the light shines in at all hours of the day and the ever-changing look of places that are slowly decaying and being reclaimed by nature. It was addicting and has become an obsession. …

This doesn't sound fake enough? Silos do explode from wheat dust in the air right?

— stillnotelf (@stillnotelf) January 21, 2021

RELATED: An Incomplete if Exhaustive Tally of Recent Highway Truck Spills
_{From bees to beers.}

Bread truck collides with deli meat truck in New Jersey https://t.co/OMPa8y89IM pic.twitter.com/a6wH9WI05t

— Austin Statesman (@statesman) June 20, 2016

ONE FRIDAY, A TRUCK CARRYING deli meat and a truck carrying bread crashed into each other—apparently unintentionally, though lots of sandwich jokes ensued—on a highway in New Jersey. The consequential wreckage included a not unfamiliar scene: food scattered all over the highway. Perfectly good food, that is. Lots of sad potential sandwiches.

On the highway, tractor-trailers move like elephants, pacing along in the right lane, barely noticeable except for their size, their contents as mysterious as their destination. But in disaster they are, like all of us, completely unspooled. There is no more mystery, just utter vulnerability.

Compelling photos may explain why a truck carrying deli meat crashing into a truck carrying bread will always make the news. Just a few days before the meat-bread collision, for example, a truck in China got into an accident and hundreds of baby chickens were let loose. But truck spills themselves obey few laws: they can happen at anytime, and no cargo is safe.

By this Friday, an event like this will likely have happened again: a tractor-trailer, full of Twinkies or kittens or makeup, makes a wrong turn, or is forced into an overcorrection, and wipes out, baring its contents to the world. …

Ah this must be the GOP Unity and Healing Act of 2021 https://t.co/eGtE81O45E

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) January 21, 2021

Stop Keeping Score

_{She who dies with the most checked boxes wins, right? Wrong.}

“How to Build a Life” is a column by Arthur Brooks, tackling questions of meaning and happiness. Starting today, the column will be published weekly on Thursday mornings.

I AM AN INVETERATE scorekeeper. I can go back decades and find lists of goals I set for myself to gauge “success” by certain milestone birthdays. For example, in my 20s, I had a to-do list for the decade, the items on which more or less told the story of a penniless musician who had made some dubious choices. It included quitting smoking, going to the dentist, mastering my pentatonic scales, and finishing college. (I hit them all, although the last one mere days before my 30th birthday.)

There is nothing unusual about this tendency to keep score. Google “30 things to do before you turn 30” and you will get more than 15,000 results. Researchers writing in the journal Psychological Science a few years ago observed that people are naturally motivated toward performance goals related to round numbers, and birthdays in particular can often act as landmarks to motivate self-improvement. We naturally seek outside sources of quantitative evidence of our progress and effectiveness—and, thus, our happiness.

Building a “30 by 30” list, however, is a misbegotten approach to happiness. Not that anyone in our material- and achievement-oriented society could be faulted for thinking this way, of course. Every cultural message we get is that happiness can be read off a scorecard of money, education, experiences, relationships, and prestige. Want the happiest life? Check the boxes of success and adventure, and do it as early as possible! Then move on to the next set of boxes. She who dies with the most checked boxes wins, right?

Wrong. I don’t mean that accomplishment and ambition are bad, but that they are simply not the drivers of our happiness. By the time many people figure this out on their own, they have spent a lifetime checking things off lists, yet are unhappy and don’t know why. …

The Oldest City in The Americas Is an Archeological Wonder, And It’s Under Invasion

_{Embiggenable. Explore at home.}

Having survived for 5,000 years, the oldest archeological site in the Americas is under threat from squatters claiming the coronavirus pandemic has left them with no other option but to occupy the sacred city.

The situation has become so bad that archeologist Ruth Shady, who discovered the Caral site in Peru, has been threatened with death if she doesn’t abandon investigating its treasures.

Archeologists told an AFP team visiting Caral that squatter invasions and destruction began in March when the pandemic forced a nationwide lockdown.

_{An agricultural area that has invaded the protected site.}

“There are people who come and invade this site, which is state property, and they use it to plant,” archeologist Daniel Mayta told AFP.

“It’s hugely harmful because they’re destroying 5,000-year-old cultural evidence.” …

Arrested After Alleged Involvement in Capitol Siege

On today’s episode of insurgents facing the consequences of their own choices, it seems yet another rioter, a New York City-based pickup artist, allegedly involved in the attack on our nation’s Capitol earlier this month has finally been arrested, joining the ranks of fellow yahoos including the QAnon Shaman, the lectern-stealing mutineer formerly known as “Via Getty,” and of course, the woman who took Burn After Reading a little too literally. Prior to his incarceration on Wednesday morning on charges including unlawful entry and disorderly conduct on restricted grounds, Samuel Fisher of the Upper East Side lived a double life fit for a Breitbart-produced Hannah Montana reboot, spewing conspiracy theory nonsense and offering terrible dating advice under the secret alias of Brad Holiday, Gothamist reported. Of course, like several of the dingbats arrested before him, he decided to brag about his time attending the violent siege on social media.

“It was awesome. It was dangerous and violent,” the 35-year-old wrote on Facebook of his time at the Capitol, The Daily Beast reported. “People died…but it was fucking great if you ask me. I got tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed.” Yet he even before he attended the “fucking great” siege that killed five people, he hyped up the event, explaining his plan of bringing weapons to D.C. and “bring the pain upon” 45’s political foes, according to the outlet. Really guys? How many times do I have to go over this? Don’t break the law, but if you’re going to, maybe oh, I don’t know, avoid plastering your plans and a full-on review of your illegal activities all over social media?

Yet it seems his dating tactics aren’t much better than his strange approach to allegedly committing crimes. The founder of a company called LuxLife dating, Fisher touted his ability to help his clients get “high value girls” with the help of his “predictable pickup system.” So what, exactly, is in his coveted methodology, you ask? According to several videos on his YouTube channel, Fisher’s approach to girls consists of “red pill advice,” encouraging mild catfishing via FaceApp, pushing his followers to avoid living with a woman, and advising viewers to refrain from effectively communicating with their partners. Now, reader, I am not claiming to be a Casanova, but as a real live woman who has dealt with creepy wannabe suitors that attempted several similar tactics, I can tell you firsthand that following the above tips will get you blocked, dumped, or left on read every time. …

Annoying Coworker Keeps Sending After-Hours Emails That He Trapped In Office Elevator https://t.co/Ei8Ig2ezWz pic.twitter.com/rO9HvyJoSa

— The Onion (@TheOnion) January 21, 2021

RELATED: 5 Throwaway Jokes You Didn’t Realize Required A Ton Of Effort

There’s an old aphorism that claims “dying is easy, comedy is hard” — which is probably why Game of Thrones was full of decapitations and immolations, but Jon Snow never once masqueraded as an elderly nanny from the Iron Islands following his break-ups. But as fleeting and disposable as some jokes might seem, some of them require more blood, sweat, and other bodily fluids than you might expect, such as how …

5. Sasha Baron Cohen Was Attacked By An Angry Mob While Making Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Featuring Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova, and Rudy Giuliani‘s raging ickiness, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was one of the few bright spots of 2020; a surprisingly successful follow-up to the 2006 comedy. And while it may look like Cohen’s process consists of simply slapping on a porno stache and rolling the cameras, a whole lot of work goes into crafting his brand of ridiculousness. For example, the scene where Borat crashes Mike Pence’s CPAC speech dressed as a Dick Tracy villain-esque Trump —

The stunt required getting up at one in the morning to have six hours worth of make-up applied, followed by hiding in the CPAC men’s room, rationing out sips of Coke while listening to Republicans pooping for “a number of hours.” And a lot of viewers may not realize how elaborately contrived some of the situations really are. That debutante ball Borat was seemingly invited to? The party was actually thrown by Cohen, with attendees paid $50 each to attend.

Similarly, at the “March For Our Rights” rally, Borat performs an impromptu racist country song — but the stage and band had all been secretly paid for by Cohen, acting as a “PAC out of Southern California.” And even though the event security was hired by Cohen, an angry mob was eventually able to storm the stage, forcing the crew to take refuge in the private ambulance that served as their “escape vehicle.”

This was not the easiest movie to make. #BoratSubsequentMoviefilm pic.twitter.com/oagfJoGjNt

— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) October 27, 2020

Yup Sacha Baron Cohen was almost beaten to death by a right-wing militia who were either pissed off about the prank, or weren’t big fans of The Brothers Grimsby. …

Dutch buy delivery uniforms, borrow dogs to dodge curfew

_{An Uber Eats food delivery courier’s backpack is seen in front of a fast food restaurant as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Amsterdam, Netherlands March 25, 2020.}

Fears of being cooped up during a curfew have led the Dutch to resort to creative ways to dodge the rules, with people signing up for borrow-a-dog services and ordering the uniforms of home delivery companies.

From Saturday, a nightly curfew to try and curb the pandemic starting at 21:00 (20:00 GMT) and running until 04:30 will be imposed, the first nationwide curfew since World War Two.

Exceptions will be made for essential services, including takeaway meal delivery, package couriers and those who need to take pets outdoors for walks.

A website matching those needing help with their pets with volunteers for dog walking has been overwhelmed with offers. …

Video Goodnesses
_{and not-so-goodnesses}

NBA players can’t shake hands anymore, Putin arrests Alexei Navalny, a guy can’t remember the password to his Bitcoin wallet with a quarter billion dollars in it, and Pablo Escobar’s hippos are taking over the area.

_{THANKS to Comedy Central and The Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noah for making this program available on YouTube.}

On his first full day in office President Biden presented the country with a clear path forward in the fight against Covid-19, signing numerous executive orders and allowing Dr. Anthony Fauci to resume his vital role as a spokesperson for the government’s pandemic response.

_{THANKS to CBS and A Late Show with Stephen Colbert for making this program available on YouTube.}

Seth takes a closer look at Joe Biden working to clean up the mess left by Donald Trump on his first full day as president, making Republicans lose their minds.

_{THANKS to NBC and Late Night with Seth Meyers for making this program available on YouTube.}

子ねこの成長は本当にあっという間です。The growth of kittens is fast!

FINALLY . . .

Early Retirement

_{A short story.}

_{Embiggenable. An unrelated place to explore.}

HE HAD ADOPTED this insane new beauty practice of rubbing Preparation H on the bags under his eyes. He was trying to scrub that puffy, confused, alcoholic look right off his face—it burned to all hell but goddamn if it didn’t work. There had to be some kind of fancy, faggy, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory something or other at a boutique in San Francisco that, like, smelled nice and blended into the skin in a less severe way. But these days he could barely make it to the corner store, much less downtown San Francisco.

The trolley cars bothered him, the European tourists giving him that What are you doing here? look on the street bothered him, effort in general bothered him—put all these factors together and what was left was a tube of hemorrhoid cream purchased at the Grocery Outlet for $1.50. He still smelled like alcohol in the morning, but at least his face didn’t look all fucked-up. The small victory would have to do.

The past couple of months he had started sleeping with his feet hanging out of his second-story window. It helped to correct his restless moving around in bed, and now he could hear the cars out on the highway in the night. He started to have dreams that he was peacefully underwater, but he knew his brain was reinterpreting the cars roaring past. From a distance, the hum of the highway sounded like waves crashing into land. In his bed, he would pull the covers over his head and imagine being in the ocean. Alone and at peace.

The fall had been a hard stretch.

He was an actor and had gotten a job that summer as the lead of this god-awful play, some drama about a murderer in a mining town during the Gold Rush. It bored him to tears and he hit the bottle real hard one night before the show, ended up blacking out onstage and being removed from the play the next day. It was not the first time this had happened.

He relayed the story to his friend Mark over the phone.

“I got drunk and embarrassed myself in front of a bunch of prominent white neoliberals,” he offered.

“Again?!” said Mark.

“Again. The stage manager was this hippie who told me I would never work in this town again! I broke down and cried.” Real tears—he could feel them leaking through the film of the Preparation H. …

_{Ed. More tomorrow? Possibly. Probably. Maybe. Likely, if I find nothing more barely uninteresting at all to do.}

ONE MORE THING: What Novelists Can Learn From Playwrights
_{Brontez Purnell on writing fiction from a theater background.}

“EARLY RETIREMENT” IS TAKEN FROM Brontez Purnell’s forthcoming novel-in-stories, 100 Boyfriends (available on February 2). To mark the story’s publication in The Atlantic, Purnell and Amy Weiss-Meyer, a deputy managing editor of the magazine, discussed the story over email. Their conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

Amy Weiss-Meyer: In the first few lines of the story, the narrator, Antonio, describes his new habit of applying Preparation H to the bags beneath his eyes. It’s a darkly funny introduction to a character who is both vain and shiftless, self-conscious but unapologetically himself. What, to you, are the primary uses of humor in storytelling?

Brontez Purnell: Sometimes I feel like I write fiction from a strong theater background—fiction is drama, and the story has to move. In my head humor and drama are such close siblings. Fraternal twins, maybe? One is always coming out of the other. Also, the character in the story, Antonio, is experiencing a deep depression, and there are ways (sometimes) when in those bouts we become these funny characters. Like, people who show up to CVS in complete pajamas and slippers—midday, no less. Are these people deeply depressed? Oh, hell yeah. Are they kind of funny to watch? Yes. I just like Antonio as a character because you can tell he likes, or at the very least is certainly not afraid of, who he’s become.

I feel like I use humor as a tool the same way my characters are using it: as a flotation device, a defense mechanism, a point at which to rest or energize. What can’t humor do, really? I like taking risks in my writing, and using humor is kind of based in risk—it can sometimes be dismissed as lacking intellectual rigor, and worse still be seen as lowbrow. I think all good theater and literature should run the zodiac of feelings: Some of it should be sad, some of it profound; some of it should be boring and some of it should jump completely off the cliff. Whatever vehicle I’m using, I’m always trying to arrive at a certain sense of balance. …

ONE MORE ONE MORE THING:

History Of Demonstrations On The Capitol pic.twitter.com/wNnOtgPD2l

— The Onion (@TheOnion) January 21, 2021