today a friend of mine sent me a wonderful op-ed from the nytimes, in which dave eggers, in his inimitable fashion, demonstrates the absurdity of our current moment. besides being an entertaining 10 minute read, it sprung my mind from its own sort of lockdown: i’ve been trying to make sense of the last 8 weeks, trying to bring some coherence to what is an essentially incoherent and fundamentally absurd experience.
look at us! look at how we live now! i can't believe we don't hug. i can't believe we ever hugged. we’ve traversed over a break in relational thought. there’s no going back and nothing to catch us. there’s no way to make sense of the horror, humor, humanity, negligence, tragedy, freedom, collapse, and community of the present moment. there’s no way to contextualize it in relation to itself, the past, or the future. no metaphor that holds water, no comparative past to look at as prologue. we’re simply here, now, and any way you slice it it’s… nuts.
<insert your own nuts emoji>
i’ve decided to embrace this meltdown of reason: i no longer attempt to listen to All The Podcasts. i read the news only when i feel like it, which isn't often anymore. i have progressed into someone who can Occasionally Finish The Wednesday Crossword. i bought a ring light to improve the look of my livestreams and videos, and now i love to just sit basking in its comforting, circular glow. it’s like a small, perfectly formed sun, dropped from outer space to tell me there is no end or beginning to anything, only light.
another sure sign of my own change is that i switched the default view of my online calendar to “week”, and now i only look a few days ahead. i encourage you to try this. it really helps! and this from a person who could have told you what they were doing at a specific hour on a specific day in january 2022. what is time? i now ask myself. of course, there is no answer.
freedom! i wont let you down! freedom! how does the next line go? as someone else said, stop trying to make sense.
meantime, i have been busy making things for the Internet. my motto for my career now is “Here If You Want Me”. and by here i mean at my fabulous cottage on a river living the simple life, tethered to the world by a stream of ones and zeros. via that narrow pathway, i have been leaving bread crumbs of content for anyone to find.
to whit:
an updating playlist of videos i’ve made in the pandemic, my (ahem) CO-VID activities.
for mother’s day, joining a streaming performance of our musical Miss You Like Hell.
tomorrow, kicking back on my couch and playing a virtual concert for a venue in ann arbor.
i've played a few private zoom concerts/parties, and it wasn't wierd. i'm happy to do more, just invite me via email.
oh, and i launched an online teaching portal, #CABINCOLLEGE. join me for group classes or individual instruction in song-writing, logic tutorials, or making musicals.
that's it for this current series of minutes that do not hold together in any form we recognize. i sincerely hope that you will join me in stopping trying to make sense of what is happening now. come on over the water is sunshine.
x erin
¡ME GUSTA! : SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
a fabulous short op-doc about some of my favorite people, butches
my pal, the reverend mary eaton, is a light and conduit for all good things. here's an audio diary she made for the washington post taking us through her holy week activities pastoring the homeless population in downtown boston.
the enduring power of scooby doo
a deep and beautiful documentary about the mystical badass painter hilma AF klint. by watching it through this link you are supporting our local independent amherst cinema. with a little digging you can find out how to support your own local art-house.
soothe your pandemic panic by watching wolf cams
every time i see a pundit or celebrity live streaming from their home, i am much more concerned with what's on their bookshelves than what they are saying. if you are like me, this article is for you.
and finally, a very comforting 12 minutes. what else are you doing with your time?