THE PASSENGER / STELLA MARIS (McCarthy, 2022)

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While I preferred STELLA MARIS to THE PASSENGER – not saying much, but both characters were far more interesting than those featured in THE PASSENGER, one of them far more interesting than they were in the latter – I couldn't shake my disconnect to, well, everything throughout: I don't mind being lost – in fact, I've always loved being lost in the winding paths of McCarthy's mindpages – but this wasn't that: this was something... less. One of my notes read, "... first time reading McCarthy that I feel like I'm reading his interpretation of someone else's work.”

While both PASSENGER and STELLA showed glimmers of McCarthy at his best, those glimmers were few and far between: I want to believe that I'm wrong about all of the above and that a re-read of both would change my mind and perhaps it would – but I'd prefer to not give it more time than I already have; a stinging disappointment that the return of one of my biggest inspirations was so uninspir/ed/ing.

My complete reading list, from 2013 to the present, lives here.

quick note on THE MANDALORIAN 3-3

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While I mostly watch THE MANDALORIAN at this point only because my wife is a total Grogu otaku (Grotaku?), I’d be down for a series set in the Coruscant amnesty program housing complex: that was a solid diversion that begs for deeper exploration – and in more nuanced hands than Favreau; Tony Gilroy, get on that. (Note to self: still need to watch ANDOR.)

things id like to do here this week but will probably forget by next

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  • More text mixed in with cool pictures of old movies and toys.

  • Consider, with the above in mind, publishing something longer on Weds to not only add more textual elements here but also to force myself to take a day away from Main Projects to avoid newsletter-discussed fuckall for remainder of the week.

  • But: you do intend for this space to be representative of where you are in each passing moment. Perhaps the current moment isn’t so text-laden (here) and to attempt to force yourself to do otherwise would be a middle finger to the present moment?

  • Which I suppose gets to what a blog is, perhaps.

  • And now I’m just thinking of random shit and typing it.

  • Because now I’ve added text.

  • Carry on.