At the end of the Fall 2021 semester, some of the 12th Street editors got together online and wrote some thoughts on how we keep ourselves amused and healthy these days. And from all of us, we hope that you are staying safe and keeping company in mutual uncertainty, literature, and good TV.
What have you been reading?
ALEX: I’ve been reading John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and The Inner Lives of Artists by Kay Larson, and it’s absolutely remarkable! She covers so much of 20th century American creative culture and traces powerful threads of influence between major luminaries (John Cage being the core focus). 210% worth a read. I’ve also been re-reading and picking through a few favorites which manage to keep giving: The Art of Is by Steven Nachmanovitch, Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks, McMindfulness by Ronald Purser, Give My Regards to Eighth Street by Morton Feldman, and A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. The International Bateson Institute has some amazing works/papers coming out lately on work deriving from the life and legacy of Gregory Bateson and his Daughters (Nora Bateson, see Warm Data).
NATALIA: The main thing I’ve been reading is Rachel Cusk’s OUTLINE Trilogy. Cusk is a British-Canadian author who looks deeply into relationships and mundane human behavior, but her books are all structured in this radical hybrid style. They contain stories within stories, long stretches of dialogue, throwaway characters, and muted visual prose. She balances humor and drama really well. The book that I’m reading currently, Transit, starts with a conversation on a plane between two strangers and the stories they share about each other get pretty wild. Cusk is truly one of the emerging authors to watch and I’ve loved reading her work.
ZANE: My God, the amount of Warhammer 40k novels that I’ve been reading! Disclaimer: Warhammer 40k is a holdover from my childhood which I’ve only started reading again to let my brain rest in between work and school on the subway. Recently, the two most notable additions to my reading list have been Flesh and Steel by Guy Haley and Soulless Fury by Will Mcdermott. Soulless Fury is about a violent rampaging noblewoman, named Mad D’onne, going against the societal norms of being prim and proper by brutally slaughtering the members of the repressive regime of religious fanatics. We later find out that these same fanatics necessitated her initial descent into a life of rampaging destruction.
Flesh and Steel is a crime novel that follows a series of murders being investigated by an self-destructive alocholic and out-of-favor noble son who has become a detective, and his superior officer, Rho Lux, a female-identifying member of the adeptus mechanicus involved in solving a techno-heresey. Both tell stories of incredibly exciting violent and flawed characters who are navigating an uncaring galaxy. So if that’s your cup of tea, check it out.
LILY: Over the break I have been reading a lot of Alan Watts’ The Wisdom of Insecurity and Carl Jung’s Dreams. Although they are super interesting, and I feel like I learn a new life-changing idea every couple of paragraphs, they are both very metaphysical, and I have to stop every ten pages or so to have an existential crisis (in a good way maybe?). Also, my mom has never read any of bell hooks before, so we are going to read All About Love together over the break, which should be a cathartic experience for us to commemorate her and her powerful work.
MICA: Nothing except for the inordinate amount of academic articles for class and the comment section on The Bachelorette posts on Instagram.
SKOT: The City We Became by the crushingly badass N.K. Jemisin and a bunch of literature for a philosophy class which took up all my extra eyeball time. Jemisin’s new book is a wondrously magical tour of NYC and takes the historical racism and exclusion of the SFF genres head-on with the author’s trademark brilliance.
…listening to?
ANJI: I recently bought a Victrola and a bunch of albums from an antique store. I have no clue who anyone is, save for about two to three artists but that was intentional. My inspiration, strangely, was a script that I wrote, “Reckless Below Radar,” in which there is one scene about a character playing a Victrola. However, before then, I had no clue what a Victrola was until I read another script. Isn’t it funny how the strangest things motivate us?
NATALIA: For some reason, I’ve only been listening to three things lately:
- The band Metric, which every few years I remember is one of my all-time favorites. They have a song called “Succexy” that is somehow a protest anti military, anti capitalist anthem set to soft post-punk pop-rock? I’ve been listening to it every morning for like two months now.
- Bad (maybe good) French pop music I hardly understand. Musical artists include oldies and goodies like Yelle, Angele, Claire Laffut, Yseult, Le Femme, Vendredi sur Mer, Lolo Zouai, and Le Couluer.
- Caroline Polachek and Indigo De Souza. No further explanations will be written. Support women indie artists. Look the girlies up.
STEVIE: I’ve been listening to a lot of Rufus Wainwright. Poses is one of those albums that I keep coming back to. It’s like lemon and honey to me. New York during the holidays can be beautiful but also profoundly lonely—a kind of loneliness that makes you want to walk around drunk on Fifth Avenue and eat a bag of candy until your heart’s content. Rufus embodies that sad, dreamy, binge-eating queerdom so well. Plus, his sister Martha Wainwright is a badass (check out her song “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole”).
LILY: To be honest, I have been listening to a lot of Radiohead, The Smiths, Spiritualized, and Alt-J during finals week to help encapsulate the state of sadness and stress. But, I also have been having Daft Punk and LCD Soundsystem dance parties to break apart the homework grind. It’s times like this, when I am overwhelmed and a bit depressed, that I am so grateful I have music in my life. It can energize me more than a cup of coffee, or calm me down like a meditation.
ZANE: I’ve been listening to a lot of musicals recently, which has been fun. Last night I took my girlfriend to her first Broadway show, Wicked, so we listened to that soundtrack all day. But for finals and productivity I’ve been listening to Doja Cat and Joji nonstop. I feel that kind of music is really good for focusing and writing stuff that just needs to get done.
ALEX: I’ve been deep in contemporary avant-garde and experimental minimalism for awhile (check out Steve Reich, Judd Greenstein, Meredith Monk, John, Cage, and John Adams), but recently reconnected with Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto, post-traditional folk movement (check out Talisk and Chessboxer), and guilty pleasures like Mumford and Sons, Watsky, and Jukebox the Ghost. Rachmaninoff composed his second piano concerto after overcoming debilitating depression following the critical reviews of his first symphony. The piece has a type of ‘transcending through’ feeling I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anywhere else. Maybe only with Rostropovich at the 1968 BBC proms—there’s a profound historical moment if you’re inclined to investigate.
MICA: A lot of Christmas music since that’s the only music playing at work. I’ve been listening to Hey Babe the podcast with Chris Distefano and Sal Vulcano while on the subway.
MAX: I’ve been playing this space drone game, Duskers, and the soundtrack is really calm.
COURTNEY: My partner makes me this thing we call “jam-jams”, which is a compilation of recordings from various improvisational music jams in our home town. We came up with this idea in an attempt to solve a problem I was having. I couldn’t find the perfect ambiance for writing in the pandemic, and these jam-jams seemed to do the trick. The background coughs and kitchen sounds only to add to their appeal. I now rely on my playlist of jam-jams to get me through finals every semester since.
SKOT: When I was just getting out of high school, there was a record that came out called Board Up The House that just blew my damn mind. Vicious grinding chaos melded with electronic dreamscapes and melodic hooks to make you cry. The band broke up pretty soon after, and I never got to see them live. This year, after 12 years of inactivity, that band, Genghis Tron, put out a new surprise album called Dream Weapon. It is astounding as a work of art. The band’s new sound similarly reflects all the ways I’ve grown and tempered and redistributed my own energies in the decade and change since I last heard from them. I’ve regularly subjected the 12th Street staff to it whenever it is my turn as staff DJ. I promise it’s not as bad as they make it out to be.
…watching?
STEVIE: One of the best shows I’ve seen lately is the new HBOMax dramedy series Sort Of, starring Bilal Baig. It follows a non-binary trans feminine Millenial named Sabi (Baig) who comes from a Pakistani family. Sabi works two jobs as a bartender and nanny for an affluent family in Downtown Toronto. Without getting into major spoilers, Sabi finds themself as the kids’ primary caretaker, which sort of upends their life in both good and bad ways. What I love about the show is that the drama doesn’t just revolve around Sabi’s gender identity. It’s mostly concerned with the tragic circumstances of everyday life. Sabi just happens to be non-binary. The tone is a refreshing change from most LGBTQ+ centered shows, which are usually filled with trauma-porn. But if you’re looking for something short and sweet to watch, I highly recommend it.
NATALIA: After many years of resisting I’ve finally done it: I started watching The Other Two. This weird gem of a show is comedy about a child pop star and his two older fuck-up siblings. Set in New York, it stars UBC alum Drew Carver, actress Helene Yorke (known for The Good Fight), comedian Ken Marino, and the INCREDIBLE Molly Shannon. It lampoons everything I have ever felt about the entertainment industry and introduces some really smart thoughts about celebrity, teen culture, internet culture, and the like. It’s absurdist and reminds me a lot of It’s Always Sunny. It moves really quickly, has a great arch for each character, and is bingeable. There are too many guest stars to name, but my favorite is a recurring music label CEO, played by Wanda Sykes. Everyone is casted perfectly, even the side characters. If you need just a few moments to shut off your brain and laugh, it’s the perfect show.
ALEX: I’ve been SO BAD about watching shows the last few weeks. I’ve been rewatching The West Wing (greatest political drama of all time), The Good Place (unprecedented comedic gold for philosophy nerds), caught up on Grace and Frankie (just watch it, trust me), and am impatiently waiting for the next seasons of Stranger Things and Rick and Morty. I don’t do many movies anymore, but every time I get a hankering I usually opt for The Legend of 1900, which is a remarkable narrative about a piano prodigy born and raised on a boat–and doubles as a systems theory commentary of social stagnancy.
MAX: Watch season 1 of Into The Night on netflix. You’ll feel exhausted from the excitement. Do not watch season 2.
LILY: I just finished High Fidelity (the show, not the movie) and am on the market for a new show. I am still persevering through the Naruto series. I have about thirty episodes left of Naruto Shippuden left and if you watch Naruto, you can recognize that that is a big achievement!
MICA: The Bachelorette! Also binged all of Selling Sunset on Netflix while procrastinating doing homework.
SKOT: I rewatched The Good Place because I thought it would help with a philosophy class. It totally did. Been trying to keep up with the new Wheel of Time series to wash the lingering bad taste of Game of Thrones out of my mouth, and it is pretty rad. Turns out there are more ways to develop female characters other than subjecting them to horrific violence and abuse. Whodathunk?
ZANE: “Dad”, a YouTube channel full of multiplatform mysteries that revolve around a main plot. It behaves more like a puzzle than a youtube series. You can check it out on almost any social media as “DadFeels”.
COURTNEY: I decided to “re-watch” Gilmore Girls this week because you can follow the dialog without having to look at the screen. This makes it the ideal show for when you have a final to draw and you plan to spend the next several hours staring intently into your lap.
…cooking?
SOPHIA: I have been making/eating a lot of noodle dishes recently (because noodles are amazing, any type of noodle is tied with rice as my favorite food). And it’s the perfect winter food! I ate cold soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles) one night this week, and made a delicious dipping sauce consisting of a noodle soup base, sesame oil, garlic chili oil, nori flakes, furikake, and tempura pearls. I topped the soba with green onions and went to town. The next evening I gorged on chickpea pasta and an Italian inspired red sauce, which is basically my excuse to eat all of my favorite vegetables at once (mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, tomatoes, spinach, the works). Then I kinda cheated on cooking by getting pho from Lucy’s Vietnamese in Brooklyn (the BEST vegan pho I’ve had in NYC). Their vegan “chicken” pho is a staple in my diet. I add a packet (at least) of sriracha and two limes for some extra tang and spice. Oh, and then I’m pretty sure the very next night I had ramen from Setagaya (vegan tantanmen for the win!) for dinner. Did I mention I love noodles?
ZANE: Last thing I ate was a pesto chicken with mozzarella cheese and a truffle linguine alfredo.
SETH: My partner and I have become pandemic-era gardeners, and about 50% of the stuff we plant survives—yay!? Dormant now with a few winter items, but we have a winter’s worth of canned things. At this point, the spice and marinade collections are on point.
MAX: The Yaki-Soba from H-mart has been a godsend. H-mart in general (while ridiculously pricey) has the best snacks. Have you tried an Asian pear? You’ve got to get the perfect ripe ones to keep in the fridge. If you’re having a stressful day, pop one in the freezer with an orange for 4 minutes. Then take your ice cold pear and orange (peel the orange) into a hot shower and eat them like an animal. Let the juice go everywhere—you’re already in the shower. There’s something primal about eating really cold fruit in hot water. Feels good.
MICA: Annie’s mac and cheese with hot dog bits.
SKOT: Still working on my Thai basil chicken recipe. Anybody know where I can find fresh Thai basil in NYC? In lieu of that, who wants to join me for some Chinatown exploring to hunt it down? I’ll bring snacks and show you my favorite Malaysian Cafe.
COURTNEY: My definition of cooking is combining as many different types of spaghetti as possible into one pot.
How have you been caring for yourself?
MAX: I’ve been pushing everything down and bottling it up really really deep and, honestly, I’ve never felt better!
ZANE: Nope I’m staying up late and going to 5am shifts. I’m getting no exercise and eating crap. And I think I’m slowly becoming translucent due to my poor self-image.
STEVIE: The Holy Trinity: TV, THC, and Talk Therapy.
MICA: Drinking too many cow-milk iced chai lattes, my tummy has been hurting.
SOPHIA: By drinking waaay too much hot chocolate and cuddling with my dog, Miso, until she wriggles out of my grasp and leaves me for her stuffed unicorn. 🙁 Another form of therapy is feeding Miso whipped cream from the can. She catches it in her mouth like a person, and it’s my favorite pastime! I’ve spent a sizable portion of my paycheck on whipped cream, and I don’t even care!. Basically, Miso (both the dog and the soup) has been my main source of warmth and comfort, and I’m very pleased with the balance I’ve struck. 🙂
LILY: Hanging with my cat, dancing in the mirror, actually going to therapy.
COURTNEY: I just finished a massive decluttering project at both my parents’ house and my apartment. It’s really been my only hobby since the moth infestation I had earlier this year. What started as an urgent, mandatory clean-out of our pantry took off into an overhauling of everything I own.
NATALIA: I don’t think I should admit to the ways I’ve been “caring for myself.” They are either totally illegal, morally corrupt, inappropriate, and or would implicate you in a crime. I am also very fond of cheese and lactose intolerant. So, is it really care?
SKOT: It’s been a tough one, folks. This last semester I realized I have extended myself too far in trying to be the person I think people need me to be. So, I’m actually going to try caring for myself first, which is weird. Wish me luck.
Been to any good events or readings lately, online or offline?
RILEY: Recently I went to see a performance of The Nutcracker at the David H. Koch Theater, and it totally got me in the holiday spirit. The set, the costumes, the music. . . it was all so enchanting. I did not realize how much of the score I already knew. And the dancing! That kind of elegant precision just amazes me. The kids were so darn cute, and I was blown away by their talent.
SKOT: Since vaccinated folks have been able to congregate indoors the last few months, I’ve gone to five concerts in grimy dives and art music venues. Acts like Old Man Gloom (who my buddy refers to as the J. D. Salinger of extreme music) and Imperial Triumphant stand out. I was also able to attend a talk at the Brooklyn Book Festival on apocalyptic fiction featuring TNS’s own Alexandra Kleeman. Watching her and Jeff VanderMeer (Annihilation, Hummingbird Salamander) talk about their craft is now in my top 10 most inspiring life events.
What’s a good piece to check out on 12th Street?
STEVIE: “My Type” by Natalia Berry. A poem that knows exactly what it’s saying, Berry tells a hilarious chronology in razor sharp detail while leaving room for the reader’s imagination. “My Type” asks the reader to consider: what “type” of lover are you willing to settle for? And does having self-awareness about your “type” or “types” change a damn thing?
MAX: “Elegy of a Fruit Fly” (Mikayla Emerson) was one of my favorite pieces to read and edit this year. The rhyme is like an overripe fruit collapsing in the heat. It’s a sticky and almost alcoholic poem—give it a read!
ZANE: “Rider’s Room” by Leon Freeman. It’s hilarious, it’s true, and it’s relevant.
SOPHIA: I wish I could recommend all of them. Love, love, LOVE all of the blogs that we have been publishing, written by members of our very own, VERY talented 2021–2022 12th Street staff! “It’s NOT Kind of a Funny Story” by Natalia, “Love of a Sniper” by Leon, “Dead Name” by Graydon, “Obituary of an Ice Cream Sandwich” by Alex, “The Home Within my Hips and Head” by Lily, “Thursday Night in Pasadena” by Zane, and “The Sopranos ‘Woke up this Morning’ and Chose Violence” by Stevie. Take a day (if you haven’t already) and binge-read them all.
Any resolutions for the new year?
STEVIE: To finally start a review writing blog. Also, to bake my first loaf of bread. Bread with olives in it, and cheese!
RILEY: Learn how to effectively grocery shop. I’m convinced it’s a skill.
ALEX: This year I’m finishing the formal processes to convert to Neo-Hasidic Judaism and lay-ordain in Rinzai Zen Buddhism! Many years in the making, so I’m SUPER PUMPED.
NATALIA: My big resolution is that I’d like to start a regular writing practice. I am much too scattered relying on “inspiration”, “vibes”, and “my mood”. I just want to become someone who writes everyday as a habit.
MICA: Go on more walks just because! Explore the city just to explore without a task I’m achieving.
ZANE: I feel themes are easier to hold true to than resolution. So I’m making next year the year of self improvement. 2020 was the year of writing and aside from all the terrible stuff that happened I managed to hit my goal of 500 pages of work. So here goes nothing.
SOPHIA: Basically, my New Year’s resolutions are the same as Liz Lemon’s from 30 Rock: “Yes to love! Yes to life! Yes to staying in more!”
This blog prompt is modeled after an April 17, 2020 publication in 12th Street, “Subsisting and Social Distancing with 12th Street.” The post was assembled by Kylie Lynch, a blog editor at the time and later managing editor.
Not everyone was able to join us for this co-writing session, but they get no less love from the team. Shout-outs to Leon and Graydon!