An NPR segment the other day made a distinction I'd never heard of before: there are two types of people—those who live on "clock time" and those who live on "event time." (I don't love "two types of people" claims, but the segment did clarify that we all have a little bit of both types … Continue reading On loving “event time” but living on “clock time”
Category: Cultural Comment
On celebrating anniversaries as planned (and leaving COVID out of it)
When I saw that the Telluride Bluegrass Festival was celebrating its 50th annual festival this year (2023), I had to pause and do some counting. Like so many events, the festival was cancelled in 2020—it would have marked the 47th annual occurrence. But they counted the year anyway—the next year was 48, 2022 was 49, … Continue reading On celebrating anniversaries as planned (and leaving COVID out of it)
On making art in Japan as an American
An aspiring artist living in Japan my brother has spent the past several years developing his art network, meeting other artists and getting introductions to galleries and other plays in the Osaka and Tokyo art worlds. Recently, he'd been working on a series of pixel-style drawings of popular characters, including Japan's official "anime ambassador" (hard … Continue reading On making art in Japan as an American
On wondering whether the Beatles and Michelangelo have something in common
The other night, I started rewatching Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary, on the Beatles' infamous Get Back sessions of 1969. Jackson's documentary has become infamous in its own right a year after its release—owning mainly to its eight-hour running time, but also to its reliance on snatches of dialogue that can only be understood by … Continue reading On wondering whether the Beatles and Michelangelo have something in common
On remembering why zoos make me uncomfortable
Even though I've lived in or around Denver for four years, last week was the first time I've been to the zoo. "He has a thing against zoos," is what my wife would tell you. And I do, though my thing is not "free the animals" (as you might expect) but rather a discomfort with … Continue reading On remembering why zoos make me uncomfortable
On being a sucker for resolutions
I'm a sucker for the New Year. When the calendar flips, I forget about all my failed resolutions and once-new, briefly-held habits. What if I...tried again? January 1 was like any other wintry day in the Denver area, but that intangible spirit of opportunity felt omnipresent. I went for a stroll to a bookstore in … Continue reading On being a sucker for resolutions
On (not) letting our digital archives get away from us
Kashmir Hill recently wrote about how we have let our digital archives get away from us. And its accuracy scared me. I, too, have steadfastly ignored my "iCloud full" warnings for the better part of two years now. And most of these images are not important, anyway! Many of them are just digital clutter: accidental … Continue reading On (not) letting our digital archives get away from us
On cancelling the art with the artist (and how Nick Cave changed my mind)
A few years ago, Ryan Adams was credibly accused of sexting with an underage fan (an accusation he was later cleared of) and, more credibly, accused of being a music industry creep, leveraging his influence to control the careers of several women, his ex-wife Mandy Moore and Phoebe Bridgers among them. As a Ryan Adams … Continue reading On cancelling the art with the artist (and how Nick Cave changed my mind)
On finding hope in the dark of the theater
For me, the heart of Rebecca Solnit’s book Hope in the Dark is a metaphor that appears partway through the slim volume. In the run-up to what is sure to be a rollercoaster of an election, I have taken a lot of comfort in this masterful metaphor. “Imagine the world as a theater. The acts … Continue reading On finding hope in the dark of the theater
On animals suddenly everywhere
“Seeing through a child’s eyes.” It’s one of those hallowed promises of parenthood—one of the reasons we put ourselves through the wringer with a child: an opportunity to see things new again. After a few conscious decades on earth, it’s hard to chip away the hardened layer of understanding that limns our senses like rime. … Continue reading On animals suddenly everywhere
Taylor Coe 