October 17, 2023 by Tyler W. Weaver in 2023w42

Time for another social break, rendering this space and MacroParentheticals my only connections to the world. No specific reason – neither a principled stand for or against something or other nor a mental health break – just feels like the right time. Addition of principle nine seems semi-prescient.

September 09, 2023 by Tyler W. Weaver in 2023w36

Took another look at BlueSky and concluded that I just don't have the energy to build up another social network, especially when it seems to be rife with the same cliques and echo chambers that exhausted me in the other place.

sharing is caring as that one plugin used to say

August 08, 2023 by Tyler W. Weaver in 2023w32

As we slip and slide and stumble and fumble into the post-SpaceKaren social media paradigm (still love Mastodon and it was fun, Threads, but you're reminding me of a one-night stand that I'm glad happened but still, one night stand; and BlueSky, well, you strike me as the colonial village reenactment of old Twitter – and all of its malign idiosyncrazies), I want to do a quick PSA on the importance of sharing work you dig.

I can post what I'm working on, my little narrative experiments and mental gesticulations, until the end of time – which I'm happy to do, toiling in my own obscurity as I've been doing for the entirety of my 20+ year process of public processing – but the truth is that the only way my work (or any of our work) finds more eyes and/or brains is by someone else sharing it: With rare exceptions, I've never picked up a book or a comic or watched a film or listened to an album because the artist themselves posted about it. You and your reach are the other 50% of the equation, of the deal: a link on your blog or in your newsletter or in your social networks, along with saying something nice (or not nice, if that's your thing) goes further than you can possibly imagine.

I'm trying to get better about it myself: the EarBlisses are part of that, as was the podcast and as are the Postscripts and other random things I share; but I do want to include a blogroll and favorite newsletters and such. I make it a point to share only work I genuinely dig – I don't do transactional shares and I rarely write about work I dislike because a.) I won't waste my time with something I dislike and usually know within the first ten seconds or words whether I'm feeling it; b.), it's a lot easier to piss and moan about something you dislike than it is to be enthusiastic about things you do like; and c.) if I dislike something, chances are I’m going to shape my current work or elements therein to be a reaction against the disliked thus making it actually useful to me.

Here endeth the PSA. Do with what you will.

periodic restatement of who? and what?

August 04, 2023 by Tyler W. Weaver in 2023w31

Hi, I'm Tyler, I'm a writer (more or less), and if you're reading this, you have stumbled into Parenthetical Recluse, my little slice of the internet, a happy (for me) place where I post loose or perhaps complete thoughts, daily Attendance Cards (stolen from Lynda Barry and bastardized into my own unholy mutation), links, reviews, EarBliss, bits and bobs from The Collection, notions, and whatever else strikes my fancy and/or my ire; it is, in short, the most complete digital approximation of what William Gibson would term my "personal micro-culture."

Now that you're here, you can check out my about page to learn more about me; my projects page to peruse the various "weird shit" I've thrown out into the world; and my reading page for a glimpse at not only what I'm currently reading but everything I've read for the last decade.

You might also find it worthwhile to subscribe to MacroParentheticals, my "Sunday morning synthesis of a week in the life of, featuring (among other things) exclusive essays, recommendations, and now, thanks to the new 'I am the voice in your head' audio versions of each newsletter, a rebirthed THE GROUND LOOP, a short, subscriber-exclusive Proust-meets-Lipton-meets-me interview series." For what it’s worth, I’ve been told the newsletter is not terrible at all; here's that sign-up link again.

Should you feel the need to shout, scream, swear, say hi, or otherwise at me, my email is tww(AT)parentheticalrecluse(DOT)com (or you can use the contact form) and you can find me, adrift in the fediverse at social.parentheticalrecluse.com/@tww.

If you'd like to say hi publicly, I direct your attention to the nifty little comment box below.

Welcome, and enjoy.

threads? threets?

July 06, 2023 by Tyler W. Weaver in 2023w27

Signed up for Threads (which, to its credit, is remarkably easy to do), posted a Thread (Threet?) or two and a dog GIF, and realized that a.), Twitter is its own Twitter killer – Space Karen is just the latest (though admittedly far more loathsome – if he and Zuckhead fight it out in the Colosseum, the world would be far better off if the rules of engagement were historically accurate to the place they chose to besmirch, read: lions) wrecking ball; b.), while I’m willing to fiddle about with it, I have little interest in another short, status-based ambient social/swarm experience; and c.), having asked myself, "If I were to start using social media for the first time today and not 15+ years ago, how would I use it?" the answer is, without fail, I wouldn't: while I'm grateful for the eyes that “the socials” have brought to my little narrative experiments and mental gesticulations, I've felt a mental and creative freedom in these last couple of weeks away from all of them – yes, even Mastodon – that I haven't felt in, well, 15+ years. That being said: perhaps with a bit more time (I'm experimenting with once-weekly photo dumps from the week prior on Insta and, like I said, I’m willing to fiddle with Threads for a spell) I’ll find a modicum of enjoyment but I'm not going to expend any significant mental energy to do so.

internet dinosaur sitrep

July 02, 2023 by Tyler W. Weaver in 2023w27

Macro0124 is in subscribers’ inboxes and I'm still, two weeks in, sold on my current dinosaur approach to the internet and to my career: this retreat to writing words and spewing thoughts about books and films and whatever springs to mind. I'm just going to do my thing – whatever that thing may be – and if someone enjoys it (or finds it) fine; the hustle, the network, is over.

Fascinates / disturbs me how I only find this freedom in my own space when I'm not posting / syndicating it to social media. Maybe it's a byproduct of getting rid of that "something extra," as Suzuki would say.

While there are still more things I’d like to do here – both an increased sharing of others' blogs and newsletters, and the realization of seemingly-unshakable notion of a day-ending / curtain closing coda (though it's not in active processing, by any stretch) – I'm happy with the way things are and plan to continue it for the foreseeable future. Until I change my mind but that’s for a later iteration of myself to decide.

June 23, 2023 by Tyler W. Weaver in 2023w25

As I’ve initiated internet dinosaur / recluse mode for a bit know that a.) this space and the newsletter (and email) will be my only communication frequencies for the time being and as such, you may expect many postings and deletions and re-titlings (and de-titlings) and 404s but at least the latter is entertaining, somewhat.