"An honest work generates its own power; a dishonest work tries to rob power from the cataracts of the given." --Annie Dillard, Living by Fiction (1982)


"Running with Staplers"

the gilded dome turning
kabei zhalx
pluviaminatory spring
"what if God was
one of us"
otium, through clearings
the castle visible
this word, spended, not
unlike the dull thud of books
as they fall against the walls of the dumpster

perfidulo
cephalopods

nothing to steal and
no one
to steal it from

Klaatu barada nikto
cephalopods


J G Ballard and the Lost British Avant Garde. (via Nomadics)


"Devoid of wit hadst thou the hope that thou
Couldst reach on wings the lofty stars desired..." -Geta


The art of jisei. (In the comments: "I wonder what would have happened if Goethe actually committed suicide after publishing Werther?")


Konzertredner.


The Borgesian momentariness of the Republic of Tannu Tuva means it only appears on the map between 1921 and 1944. Not long ago, we got in a world atlas from 1939; i'm thinking of buying it. (Previously.) (Feynman & Tannu Tuva.)


Energy Descent Action Plan. (via Beyond the Beyond)


    "Tears the Bullet Wept

We know that bullets sing.
Bret Harte transcribed their song.
But give them this: they weep as well,
And theirs are the most precious souvenirs
That venders hawk on the streets of hell.

What is so tragic as the lethal blast
Of thunderbolt or .38
That turns what had been present
Into past? There he stood
And here he lies at last.
Will you not shed a single tear
For any such? Is that too much to ask?

Here is a tear. Weigh it,
Please, Sir, on your scale--
And I will tell you the whole tale.
But only when your job is done.
Kill all the rest first. I will wait."

--Tom Disch