Monocausality is a Myth
the end of why
Waving, or drowning, who’s to say?
I have no idea what’s keeping me in this mood. I should be elated or at the very least amused by everything I see these days.
This week was a flurry of endless activity - almost all of it in preparation for a board meeting this coming Wednesday. The temperature fluctuations outside threw off my mind; I want so much it to be as warm as it was a week ago, but the sun is currently false advertising.
I’ve been thinking a lot about responsibility - how it develops, where, when. How resentful some people are of having it, how resentful others are that their loved ones do not have it. Few people talk about it anymore, though it was a common refrain when I was growing up in Texas. Now it more frequently appears in the context of people “putting” responsibility on you.
I think embracing responsibility is an absolutely admirable trait. Not enough people do it, and of those, even fewer do it with grace. Instead, responsibility is commodified: you either make it someone’s job (and then have to pay for it in some way in an even exchange) or the person themselves builds up resentment because they feel unappreciated. This means of behavior: where everything is equal and you get as much as you give and vice versa is transactional social currency and I don’t like it.
Let’s all be responsible for the sake of it, or just to get the good stuff done. Later we can learn to give freely, accept with grace, and love each other wildly.
Writing News
Perhaps it is just the Ides of March, but nothing is ready this week.
I was a host on the Pen Parentis Literary Show Tuesday, which is supposed to be edited and ready this week - but isn’t yet. It seems to be the case that all of the computer-using world is overwhelmed and overworked right now.
I did attended a glamorous gallery book event with Kristin Vukovic. It was great to see her and connect with some of her friends. Here’s the Columbia MFA group:
I also lifted my eyes from the screen to attend two musicals about monsters: one was Bigfoot! A New Musical (which I loved) - I had seen it as a staged reading, and the full-on production was fast-paced, and funny, and just terrific and kept a lot of the quirky low-budget flavor of the staged reading, which was a lot of its charm.
Meanwhile, at the polar opposite of the spectrum was Blood/Love A Pop Rock Opera. This was as overwritten as any musical that took the lead actress six years to develop. (I’m not being snarky, it’s in her bio.) But in case anyone’s got tickets, I won’t list spoilers here. I wrote a comparative review of the two monster shows which is currently under consideration by Counter Arts on Medium.
I had really hoped to have a poem for you to read this week. Gargoyle Magazine accepted it in February, but they were hacked and are still sorting through it all. Hopefully by next week, all of these things will be available for you.
Don’t hold your breath.
Random Final Thought
Garbage in, garbage out.
Great Lenten thoughts! Hope the March winds blow you to steady marching ❤️.