Letter From The Founder
The debut Symposium that went out on Wednesday was a roaring success, I am proud to say. Excellent responses via messages and comments, good numbers (though everything we are building is an initiative to move the collective conversation away from mere metrics), and more importantly the work itself surpassed the already high bar that we set for ourselves here each week. The usual suspects all submitted great work and really pushed themselves by either refining and pushung their own style and approach further or by branching out into new mediums and genres.
It was great to see.
Also we had a few long time Social Club members who made their debut appearances, even when they have always maintained that they are regulars at the virtual bar mainly to simply chat and support and have fun. But it turns out being around artists who are striving to excel becomes contageous.
So anyway. After all of that work and excitement we are back to the weekly routine here. And once again we are putting out a fantastic issue. It’s par for the course now.
Until next time,
Live well,
Tom.
N.B. You can read the Symposium by clicking the link below⬇️⬇️
Essays
How to Think like a Roman Emporer, or What's Wrong with Stoicism by Thomas Kealy
Irreverent and insightful criticism here from Thomas in this book review. Undercut with a real humour too. The best book reviews are those entertaining (and justified) takedowns of books you know you’ll never read. This is in that fine tradition.
The Call to Adventure by Gavin
The origin story of Gavin the traveller. Now I find that a lot of Joseph Campbell ‘Call to Adventure’ story structure referencing gets tired and cliche in the wrong hands. Fortunately, as this piece demonstrates, we are in the right hands here.
bookmark #413 by Deepansh
This captures that beautiful, liminal, gap between bed and the start or the day with real poetry. This is the kind of work, the kind of tiny moment that Deepansh excels at.
Faces by Adam
As is often the case, I’m not sure what’s better here- the words or the illustration. Both are hugely evocative despite being small in scope. Adam can do more with a few paragraphs and a seemingly simple sketch than most. This has always been something that I as a reader, a listener, a viewer, a fan have always favoured- evoking much from little. And this is a fine example of that at work here.
Blanding by Simon
Simon correctly calls out the bland and safe minimalism of much of contemporary design. This decade and the one before largely lack that distinct feel that all prior decades had. It’s a problem. But at least Simon has now given it a name. Blanding has now entered my vocabulary.
Reflection #1 by Clint
‘Cats understand how to enjoy life far better than most humans. The truth popped into my mind as I sipped my drink.’
Having too had such thoughts, I found Clint’s debut reflection (of what will hopefully be a long running series if this is the benchmark) very relatable, as well as being very well executed indeed.
The Placebo Mindset by Victor Casler
An intriguing title and real in depth delivery on that premise. And there’s diagrams to boot. I feel Victors inclusion on the team has really rounded out this weeks Omnibus here.
Thought Bananas 9 by Charlie
Any newsletter that simultaneously quotes GSP and gets readers to think about and articulate what their own personal aesthetic is is a winner in my book.
Reflections on my time at a very large company by Yuelian
I like pieces about the simple reality of the business of living and working (I think this looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary is what unites many of us STSC members) and this musing by Yuelian is a fine example of what I’m talking about. It’s captivating in its unadorned and clear eyed observations. Charming too.
Nude Writers by Charles Schifano
A well-read, worldly and wise meditation on the phenomenon of unfinished manuscripts. I swear Charles is still getting better every week here. Remarkable.
A Short Essay on Short Stories by Thomas J Bevan
Rather than praise my own work I’m gonna quote a good point that D.B. over at the Social Club raised about some of our pondering on short stories being the future:
So alls I'm saying here, is if there's a new term that can be invented to describe short form fictions enjoyable on cigarette breaks or commutes or a minute before going to sleep, and that term is described in relationship to breaking out of the algo-feeds and content, the way the practice of meditation has just become resting your eyes for a bit or whatever, then short stories can be the anti-content brain trend that follows the content brain trend. "Yes I do believe in reading fiction, and it breaks you away from your endless feed of people who don't read fiction. Click here, it only takes five minutes to read.
I suspect the STSC will end up being the innovators of this genre and this movement. In fact I’m quite certain.
A letter to my daughter by Lyle
This is a powerful yearly ritual from Lyle. And as you would expect the prose is the kind of heartfelt, honest, powerful stuff that we see Lyle consistently deliver.
Fiction
Jae Kim's Korean Market by AJ
I loved this. That’s all I’m saying. Read it.
Two Newspapermen, by Chekhov translated by Ivan
Ivan released this excellent translation of a neglected Chekhov gem a long time a go as part of his earliest newsletter forays. And now he has issued it for wider consumption. So if you haven’t been an Ivan reader since the very, very beginning (and even if you have) give this work a read.
Poetry
Sonnet 0x1 by David
Today, you buy yourself an NFT;
The next, you prob’ly buy them all, no less,
For apes and dogs and cats and frogs you see
Whereat to mad machines we retrogress.
A single meme is each and hardly more,
But ‘tis the age when minds do deal in strife.
Decisions make and projects launch to whore
A mass bewitched by coin and carnal life.
Should love be scorned in thrall to selfish pains,
A quest to make it all we care to tout,
The hearts of men do black with rust and chains
And halt what NFTs could be about.
When next you sit to sip your bullish brew,
Reflect on what investment means to you.
Podcasts
Je Déteste M. Bête (Tragedies of Modernity #7) by Thomas J Bevan and Craig Burgess
We get into protein shakes vs vodka, ‘fly episodes’, the mini series format and that diabolical Me Beast
Sauna car by Madspace
Dogs die if you leave them in hot cars but humans like Matt seem to do okay in sauna cars. Or can manage it at lease. Here Matt gets into not being crypto rich, iPhones and makes an excellent point about the fundamentally narcissistic nature of self loathing.
Growing The Metrics (Wednesday Audio #55) by Craig Burgess
Craig’s allegedly friendly voice is genuinely unnerving if not terrifying. But also hilarious. He seems to think so too, the way that he kept laughing off mic. Is the revered Wednesday Audio professionalism starting to slip?
TJB Film Recommendation
The Godfather: Part 2 (1974)
D. Francis Ford Coppola
W. Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo
S. Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton
I know I usually try to showcase lesser know films here. I know that The Godfather: Part 2 is one of the most acclaimed and well know films of its era, if not of the 20th century. But I don’t care. I watched it yesterday on an iPad during a train journey that lasted a little longer than the films epic length and I was taken to another world.
The direction, the performances, the cinematography, the score, the clothes and cars, the writing, the themes- everything is perfect (or at least I can’t see how you could make it any better). A masterpiece. If you haven’t seen them watch Parts 1 and 2 (I’ve never see part 3 but I’ve heard enough to keep it that way). If you have then go back and reacquaint yourself.
You won’t regret it.
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 tonight at 8pm 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!