christmas card 2023 (Patreon)

hello! after a frankly disastrous series of flights from london i write to you from the last easterly stand of the midwest, my childhood home in cleveland, which is really in a suburb of akron, which is really in wadsworth, ohio (a conversational sticking point those of you who are also from nowhere will know). this year my family and i are talking about ai and diagnosing each other with new mental illnesses. our traditions are very 'the girlies who get it'...christmas eve is big dinner, games etc night (my younger cousins are finally allowed to drink this year which means i will get to discover their true personalities) and on christmas day we open presents at grandma's...and that's our last obligation, normally finished by noon, and so, with this empty festive stretch of time to populate, my immediate family decided fifteen years ago that after presents we would order chinese food and see a movie and that is what we've done every year since. it's very comfortable and low-pressure tradition and so i enjoy it immensely. i don't know what we're seeing tomorrow...wonka is the obvious choice but my parents saw it a couple weeks ago without me, the bastards (though i have been removed from the movie picking committee anyway after the uncut gems christmas four years ago, a decidedly christless picture that i had realized was the wrong choice within the first two minutes, but sit through it we did...my parents hated it and bring it up every year, which is funny for me, ha ha!).

in writing-related news i'm back to fiction and am nearly done with a short story i think i'll post here before 2024. also getting a reading wrap-up for the year together (speaking of have you seen dennis cooper's 2023 wrap-up? this will inform my media consumption for the next...3-6 months at least)

above are a few of my favorite film photos from czechia whose absolute desolation should get you in the holiday spirit

finally i wanted to thank you all very much...this place has made everything better...i feel this new wide open freedom to experiment and a motivation to see things to completion and a stability that makes it so much easier to focus on the work...i can't tell you how much i appreciate your being here. happy days to you all and speak to you soon

sav x