Plucking Around

For the week of March 14 2022

Sunday, I went to Lines on the Pines, a yearly celebration of art, crafts, and writing from the Pine Barrens. It was small and homey and fun; lots of historical societies, local authors, and crafts like chainsaw-carved railroad ties and beer. So, a good time. I may get a table with my Piney Pal, writer Jen Conley next year. If you haven’t read her story collection Cannibals and Other Stories from the Edge of the Pine Barrens, you need to meet grandma Ruth and Metalhead Marty. Jen is one of my favorite short story writers, though her ‘80s coming of age novel Seven Ways to Get Rid of Harry is a great read as well.

And I saw the Jersey Devil at Lines on the Pines:

Remember websites? I deleted the Twitter app on my phone (again) and I think it’s permanent, this time. I miss websites. And blogs. That’s why I’m here and not on the social. Reading NPR can be tedious—the news doesn’t change much—but it’s better than doomscrolling. Below are a few links that won't make you wish for a comet strike. And after them, more of what I’ve been up to:

Monday 3/14 was π day! Mmm, pie. Here’s an article my friend Kim Parkhurst shared with me, about Vermonters’ unholy love of pie. I for one could have a pie-based diet three meals a day, if savory ones were included…

The cautionary tale of artist Ferruccio Mengaroni, who was literally killed by his own work. You couldn’t write a better fable against pride and hubris. He was killed by an enormous sculpture of Medusa, made with his own visage. He also counterfeited antiques for gain! His story begs to be made into an episode of Tales from the Crypt.

The Senate voted to end the fall back / spring ahead clock bullshit. The House has no plans to vote on it, despite wide bipartisan support. What do you think? I’ve been an I.T. admin for twenty-five years, and I’m sick of monitoring the time change every six months!

This was a great read about two women who started a Turtle Hospital, after they began rescuing injured turtles on their hikes, and found there was no rehab center that would give the reptiles the patience needed for them to heal. Turtles live on a different timeline. And they get to recover here.

I subscribed to Orion Magazine, where I read the turtle story. I had a sub to The New Yorker for a while but it comes out too often. It’s like a job, keeping up with it! If it was once a month, maybe. Orion is quarterly, and by the time I get through it, I’m looking forward to another issue, not dreading it. Fictionwise, I picked up Cosmic Horror Monthly, which is great if you like Lovecraft without the icky bits. (And by that I mean the racism, not the tentacles.) What mags do you read, if any?

I watched The Lost Daughter, and I was the one who was lost. Good acting, good characters, but a difficult to follow story. Gyllenhaal really makes the children horrible monsters, and I’ve never been happier to be child free. I also watched The Spirit of the Beehive, the ancestor of Pan’s Labyrinth. It was good, if sparse; made in fascist Spain under Franco, it had to be subtle and allegorical, which it is. A nice haunting coming of age film. Criterion had a sale and I picked up La Cage aux Folles, Miller’s Crossing, The Fisher King, the Koyaanisqatsi Trilogy, and The Complete Films of Agnes Varda, so you’ll be hearing about those eventually, interspersed with The Secret of NIMH, Bell Book and Candle, and various Studio Ghibli films. Spirited Away deserved the Best Picture Oscar. Thpppbttt to you, Academy! (Click the link for my review of that great film).

I’m reading Fox & I: An Uncommon Friendship, by Catherine Raven, which is good. A biologist living in the woods befriends a fox; but her scientist background makes it difficult to see him as more than a subject. Anthropomorphizing animals is taboo in that field, but it becomes impossible not to impart the creature a personality and see him as a friend, when he hangs around her for no other reason than enjoying the company. She references a lot of books, such as Frankenstein and The Little Prince, and makes me want to read them again. If you want to know what I’m reading, I keep a list in the bottom right corner of the What Pluckery is This? page with links to Bookshop.org! You can also find my books there, if you want to read them. If you’d prefer a signed copy, email me by responding to one of these emails.

I’ve been dreaming about using my Irish citizenship to move to Ireland for years, and it’s not going away. Originally it was Scotland; I have an EU passport and could have lived there before Brexit. Neither country is perfect, but they seem like it, after the last five years here. I have this dream of living near the sea, and walking the rocky cliffs or the strand in my thick wool sweater, the salt spray riming my beard, as I think deep thoughts about writing and the lonely nature of humanity in a cruel and unforgiving world of own creation. The reality would be less romantic, but I can dream, especially on St. Paddy’s day, as I sip on a glass of pot still whisky and listen to Rory Gallagher, the Irish rocker. Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy are also Irish (and dead). Ken Bruen hisself introduced me to Rory’s music, after he gave me a story for the Protectors anthology. If you haven’t read him, he’s a poet of noir. The Magdalen Martyrs is a masterpiece; you can watch Jack Taylor, his investigator, before you read, if you like. Or after you read. Iain Glen plays Jack to perfection. (Best known as the guy on Game of Thrones who carried a torch for the Mother of Dragons, and caught the creeping crud.)

I’ve been listening to my new pink double vinyl copy of Impeach My Bush by Peaches, a joyously filthy classic album. Probably best known now for the theme song to Samantha Bee’s show, “The Boys Wanna Be Her,” it has so much more to offer. It is delightfully dirty and a lot of fun. You can listen to Peaches on Bandcamp. Here’s the album, in all its pelted glory (trimmed for modesty).

More news in filth: The Criterion Collection is releasing a remastered edition of Pink Flamingos, John Waters’s disgusting trash masterpiece, in June. Just in time for my birthday! With the detail of Blu-Ray, it might be too much.