Welcome Distractions
A better way to waste your weekend.
books | music | short stories | rambling
Hi! You’re here! Thank you.
I’m writing this on a train, on my way home from a business trip that was a grind. Like 18 hours a day of Doing Business, so I didn’t get much time to read or write. I’m a pretty big introvert, so I’m fried. Plus now my shoes are suddenly too small? wtf
Anyway, that’s the reason this is a pretty light week. It’s why I want to find someone to partner with me on this site — so that when my life gets in the way, the site doesn’t suffer. (Is that person you? Do you want to write about music, or books, or collect short stories for the Shortlist? If that sounds like fun, you’re weird. Say hi!)
Also there are so many interesting things happening with the website! I’ve got a whole bunch of artist interviews setup — I never thought of myself as an interviewer (hence the Backstory), but it turns out that when you get to a certain level of output it seems people want to actually talk to you, so now that’s a thing I’m going to be doing. No idea what the final form of it will be, but watch out for a bunch of them in the next few weeks.
Apparently I’m now “the media” which is somewhat hilarious, since a year ago at this time I was amazed that someone sent me a record before it was released. Maybe someday the site will pay for itself.
Anyway, look: you really need to listen to the Setlist this week. There’s so much weird shit on there, I think it’s the best one I’ve put together so far. Good headphones if you got ‘em, probably best at night. I listened to it over a long night drive and it absolutely rips.
And now:
Offsite: links you shouldn’t miss
This thread about hippopotamuses was without question the best things I read all week. It starts with “Oh by the way hippos have migratory testicles” and gets better from there:
Per The Quietus, a new report from Fair Play finds that “Only 36 Percent of UK Club Royalties Go to the Right People”. Shocked, not surprised, etc.
AI scams in journalism! This is a pretty good story, and it reminds me of a story from a few months ago about an editor tracking down one of these scammers IRL. I can’t find that original story. It was better than this one, though this one’s pretty good:
I asked her where in Toronto she was based. “Bloor,” she said cheerfully...If she was just naming one of the first streets that comes up when you google “Toronto streets,” I couldn’t help but appreciate the effort.
Elora Riverfest is shutting down. That’s a bummer, it was an amazing event in a really great small town. I saw Bully play there in the rain in 2024, it was great.
By the time you read this, the Lit Hub literary twitter bracket might be done. It’s been a lot of fun to follow along with.
If you haven’t been following this Olivia Nuzzi stuff, it’s juicy and pretty funny. Glamorous young journalist blows up her life by having an affair with RFK Jr. Catch up here if you want. The Vanity Fair excerpt from her book is unreadable, and the substack post from her ex has some hilarious bamboo metaphors. The lawyers are gonna make a mint on this.
Do you want to know about the World Sauna Championships? You don’t think you do, but neither did I. You do: Here you go.
This interactive piece in the Washington Post about “Take On Me” is fascinating. My sister is a HUGE a-ha fan, and she LOVED this.
How is the AI integration into kids toys going? About as well as you’d expect. This story makes Little Eyes seem like a best-case scenario. A teddy bear asked about styles of kink responded with:
…people might pretend to be different characters or scenarios, which can add excitement. Sensory play. This can include using blindfolds or feathers to heighten feelings and sensations…What do you think would be the most fun to explore?
Wall Street Journal: The Ultrarich Are Spending a Fortune to Live in Extreme Privacy these people need to be publicly shamed. I’m antisocial, but these people take it to a new level.
The new book by Andrew Ross Sorkin about the end of the 1920s sounds pretty good, I didn’t know of it until now.
I have the third installment in the Solvej Balle series, but I haven’t read it yet (that changes the second I’m home). Then I plan to read all these pieces about it. You should pick up On the Calculation of Volume Part 1 and Part 2. Easy reads that’ll hook you hard.
We haven’t had pennies in Canada since 2012, but now that the US is doing it, we get incredible articles like this one: Pennies Are Trash Now. This is an actual quote from the piece:
Wow—you are talking like a baby angel raised by puppies in a beachfront palace with no right angles, who has never attempted to wrench useful information out of a government agency’s public-affairs officer.
What got your attention this week? Got a hot take on something? Hit reply and let me know.
On the Blog
Listening:
Seaside does 00s inspired alt rock as well as anyone. Hooks for days.
Lunch Break featured EPs from Lip Filler, Deep Bleak and Sleepers Club.
The Setlist: Holy shit it’s good this week. Headphones + darkness + The Setlist = perfection. All over the map - electro, techno, punk rock and a little Sublime-ish reggae in there. Listen now. Apple Music or Spotify.
Reading:
Turns out the new M.L. Rio book Hot Wax was not for me. Bummer.
I ran a new short story this week, it’s super quick and you’ll like it. It’s about murder: Claire’s Choice
There are two other books I meant to write about this week. Didn’t get to. Next week’ll be a doozy.
The Shortlist don’t get me started. I plan to spend this weekend catching up. Look at the tabs in the browser window I call “READ THESE”:
Something I should read or hear? Send it my way
Next week: A LOT, I think. I want to finish November wiht a bang, then slow things down for year-end lists and stuff. So expect maybe 4-5 books (including Book 3 of the Solvej Balle), plus music from Emmeline, Sleepazoid, the deluxe Honeymoan record, and a whole bunch more. At least two Backstories as well.
-hugh
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