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Letter From The Founder
There is no editorial touch to these weekly Omnibuses. Contributors can write, record, draw and create whatever they like. Freedom is the name of the game. This often means that it is a glorious free for all as each creator carries on down their own particular and personal creative path.
However, sometimes- through coincidence or through there being something in the air- several pieces come across my desk that independently strike the same notes and have the same concerns.
Perhaps it is the coming of spring with its emphasis on rebirth and renewal but there is a definite through-line here this week of the artists recommitting to their crafts and so discussing just what mastery and by extension life and death are all about. These are the big questions and as always I am proud to be the owner of the bar and the pamphlet where such conversations can take place.
And I think I speak for all of us when I say that we hope you enjoy them to. And we hope also that you will press the button below and claim one of the empty seats at the bar for yourself.
Until next time,
Live well,
Tom.
Essays
Lighthouse #54 by Prashanth
‘When I was older, and I could understand words, the first thing I recognised was the close resemblance between "music" and "magic". For me music was nothing less than magic in the first place - it still is - throw a bunch of musical notes together harmonically and you have a masterpiece.’
I found this piece on the Greek composer Yanni (who I was not previously aware of) to be utterly charming. Prashanth’s voice really shines through in this one.
The Coming of the Space Nazis By Pr0ph3t
‘Can you, from within your own worldview, demonstrate that the sadistic and methodical nightmare perpetrated on the prisoners of Ravensbrück, Dachau and Auschwitz was a moral evil? I can. Yuval Noah Hariri, author of the “provocative” Homo Deus, has demonstrated that he cannot.’
Provocative and learned takedown of Harari’s Homo Deus by the ever-dependable Pr0ph3t.
bookmark #348 by Deepansh
‘when i think of art, of building a life around it, about the pursuit of it, i think of the tragedy. the tragedy was that no artists belonged together. all of them had their differences. you’d think once people went on their own road, charting their own course, they’d all end up in the same place, but that was seldom true. irrespective of their friendships and camaraderie, regardless of how many banded together, there would always be an air of loneliness in their lives.’
As the founder of a social club for artists and writers and bohemians I think about this quandary a lot. But not perhaps as eloquently as Deepansh has here. Excellent as always.
The Interrupters by Simon
“Attention is vitality," said Susan Sontag. "It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.” Indeed, except it's bloody difficult to pay attention.’
Very strong piece from Simon here and extremely resonant for me aa someone who is trying to regain and maintain his attention span in a world of constant interruption.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by GK Gaius
Using Tolstoy’s classic novella (one of my all time favourite works of literature) as a jumping off point, GK discusses death and therefore life in this powerful short piece. Those keeping score will have noted GK’s real improvement as a writer since the start of his Omnibus journey. Always great to see.
Motorsport’s Lack of Storytelling by Hayden
Knowledge when combined with true enthusiasm is contagious and highly persuasive as Hayden demonstrates here with his discussion of Formula 1. I don’t follow the sport but I was riveted by our mans detailed and passionate discussion of the current landscape and the meta storytelling issues that coverage of the races has. Hayden is in his element here.
Alchemist’s Paradox by Katavasis
‘Life is ontologically finite, whether you die right now or live eternally. On the other hand, a concept transhumanists tend to forget or rather ignore since it doesn’t serve their materialist outlook is this: metaphysically, life never begins or ends. It’s a coiling serpent, biting its own tail — a pictorial symbolism as old as civilization.’
This is the kind of weight, insight and philosophical rigour that Katavasis is bringing in this piece discussing some of the thorny metaphysical problems with transhumanism. Outstanding stuff.
Stop Avoiding Instinct by Charlie Sherritz
‘I believe that the way to common understanding is through reason, not dogma. I believe that the ideal can only be achieved by going through, not around, instinct.’
Hear hear. The Medium account Charlie is the fired up (but still logical and orderly) Charlie and he has plenty to say about our current ideals, beliefs and ways of thinking in this one. Some of his best essay writing to date here.
Not pieces, masterpieces by Vita
You will recognise this as a reworking and significant expansion on the piece Vita submitted last week. This in itself is an example of Vita putting his thesis into action. Don’t just create piece, little bits of content, but create masterpieces, complete works that can stand on their own. I have been thinking a lot about my own practice as of late (see the film recommendation below) and Vita’s work is always hugely helpful in giving me the vocabulary and insights to get the next step closer to mastery. Essential reading.
All hail the Experts by Kieran Moran
Kieran absolutely goes for the jugular on capital E Experts here. Both darkly funny and witty (as we have come to expect from him) but also vitally important. The caustic final line made me laugh out loud too. Tremendous.
A Primer on Crime Fiction (Part 2) by Frank
After last weeks excellent introductory overview Frank takes a deeper dive into the genre itself and the iconic detectives that it spawned. I may be biased as this is right up my alley but this series so far has been fantastic and I can’t wait for more.
Open The Blinds by Clint
A short and simple analogy that I had never considered before but it makes perfect sense. You’ll see what I mean.
A Cold Wind by Charles Schifano
A poetic meditation on the changing of the seasons, much shorter than Charles literary analysis pieces but it shows that he has a very strong voice and a talent for finding the telling detail and perfect piece of imagery.
The Art of Making it/Headcount by Tony
‘Seven billion humans collectively are sinking their teeth deeper into the piece of cheese so carefully placed within the never ending rat race, whether they know it or not.’
Tony has done it again. An utterly unique ramble- this time on the meaning of success- from the startlingly original and always entertaining stream of consciousness series.
The Secret Formula For Comedy by Ryan Lambert
Wherein our reviewer Ryan discusses The Palm Beach Story (that’s good- and I can vouch for it) and the Amy Schumer film Snatched (that’s bad and I would stake my reputation on that fact even though I have never seen it). As I say every week, I love this good vs bad format and as well as discovering new cinema I always learn something and smile at Ryan’s caustic wit too. A truly excellent film reviewer, he is.
Front Lines by Paul Publisher
And now for the psychic weather report brought to you by Paul, a man in a league of his own. Always, always worth a read, no-matter your degree of scepticism.
Fiction
To The Moon by David
A last minute entry means we have a fiction subsection for this week. Enjoy David’s short, Elon Musk laced ‘tribute to outright degeneracy’. I should think this will resonate with the crypto-addled diamond handed contingent here. Enjoy.
Translation
Traits of Cultured People by Chekhov (translated by Ivan)
A beautiful translation by Ivan of a wonderful letter that Chekhov sent to his artost brother filled with gem after gem or hard won wisdom and advise from the great playwright and story writer. It’s a real gift to have this available in English. (And the footnotes are good too)
Hymn (yes, that’s right)
Word of God the Father, ere the world began by James
In an STSC Omnibus first, we have a hymn for you this week written by day one member and excellent whiskey selector James. Honestly, I know very little about hymns but I know enough about poetry, rhyme and rhythm to know that this is absolutely meticulously crafted.
Click the button below to purchase a beautiful paperback edition of my debut essay collection. We’re closing in on 100 copies sold!
Podcasts
Upbeat Anniversary Discord Party Time! (STSC podcast #1) by myself and Craig Burgess
The first official episode of the official propaganda organ of the STSC. Officially. Give it a listen, see how long you can last and please (for the love of God please) send questions and comments for tomorrows episode. Leave them after this email, in the STSC discord, on Craig’s twitter, wherever. Thaaank yooou.
This is what most podcasts get wrong (WA #46) by Craig Burgess
What you have to do, right, is to start strong, yeah? No waffle just a strong start. No repeating yourself just straight to the chase. No ads, no repeating yourself, no waffle, just straight in there with the c*ntent. Make sense? If not then you’ve got some Wednesday Audio catching up to do you poor sod.
A Fond Farewell… by Madspace
Nothing gold can stay. So Matt bids us farewell as he ends his Madspace podcast project. His closing message in the last 2 minutes was particularly poignant, so make sure you stick around for that. Thaaaank yoooou.
TJB Film Recommendation
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
D. David Gelb
S. Jiro Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Yoshikazu Ono
For what ever reason I felt compelled to rewatch this documentary yesterday and now I feel compelled to recommend it. Yes, documentaries are perhaps outside of the scope of the remit for these film recommendations but I don’t care. Because this kind of thing is what the documentary form was made for in my opinion.
So what you have here is a glimpse of the life and craft (although both things are the same and completely intertwined) of an 85 year old three Michelin star Tokyo sushi master Jiri Ono. You see his passion, his obsession, his meticulousness in making the worlds best sushi, along with input from his long suffering sons and apprentices.
Jiri is a true shokunin (craftsman) and after watching this film there is a good chance that you will feel motivated to likewise strive for true mastery in what you do also.
So enjoy.
Thank you for reading/listening. Feel free to share this email and the individual authors work and also feel free to leave comments either here or on the authors own sites.
Finally, Craig and I will be recording another episode of the Soaring Twenties Podcast tomorrow at 9pm GMT. We’ll host it and record it live from the Discord and then post it onto this Substack on Monday.
All exclusive for STSC premium subscribers.
So if you want to hear that either live or via recording (and if you want to join our ranks and contribute your work) then click the button below and choose either monthly, annual or founder member.
I look forward to seeing you over at the Social Club Discord.
Cheers!