Yo Erik, happy to have you re-surface. I trust you are collecting all these adventures to the point you can share them with us in a new book eventually. Keep on truckin'. Charlie
Well I have always read you as a genuine wordsmith, I hope you find a good framework to keep those sunbeams and turds singing. It is incredible to consider that something like a UBI is actually possible, and to imagine all the good (and no doubt bad) that might come from that. For me, the subscription proved too transactional, but there was no concrete "agreement" so I always felt like I should be doing more, to get more subscribers, to write more, etc...I think we were all born in the wrong world but this is the one we got so its love amongst the ruins time!
Hey folks. It turns out I fucked up. There is a reason you don't know what Earl looks like, and I should have checked with him before posting his visage. His image has been removed from the static post and hopefully will not be spread too far abroad -- something you all can help in assuring by not sharing, especially if you respect Earl's work! My bad though...
Welcome back Erik, nice to hear from you again. The Alembic sounds like a great hang. And thanks for answering the question, “What does Earl Fontainelle look like?” I imagined younger, smoking a pipe to make up for his baby face. :-D
Brian, good to hear from you. I stumbled into your podcast recently, somehow I had missed it. Very thorough stuff, I appreciate all the effort you are putting into it! If you are ever making a West Coast jaunt, let us know and I would love to host you and your serpentine yoga at the Alembic.
That's nice to hear Erik. I've got a standing invite to do a residency just north of SF...If we manage to make it down there in the spring I'd love to stop by.
interesting, you might like anna von hausswolff. go good buster, nice to see u soaking up some UK with the homie merlin recently. brother looking like some mountain elk in a garden of gnomes in that pic
Dude. Glad to read ya again. Literary birdsong. I really dig the Doric stuff.
I don't have a career in writing, but I've waywardly, slackardly, explored ways to perhaps find a way over the past 10 years. I can write, but writing something good, something that sings, something that creates a magical space...well, that requires appealing to unseen and greater forces. Monetization has always been the gremlin along my journey (as it is for most, I assume). Time waits for none, and when cross-bred with money, oh the babies are devils.
Coercion comes in a tangle of flavors in this world... I like the idea of the tip jar. It's humble. Voluntary. A threshold (altar?) for the exchange of offerings. A give-take-give spiral. A way of being.
I wonder a lot about what humans would be and do if their basic needs were secure, unconditionally, cradle to grave. It's possible. No more tech or saviors needed. It's not a pie-in-the-sky, it's right here on the ground.
Maybe I was born in the wrong world. I dunno. Writing is my weird dance in the corner. I'm a flailing and free vessel for voices unheard. A forgotten turd on a dead suburban lawn, a sunbeam through angry leaves, a bird bleating in the trees simply because it can.
Seeds for the songs, songs for the seeds. Wayward!
If you can ever traverse along the River Dart, there are wonders, absolute wonders. Stoke Gabriel's Church with its ancient Yew tree, that has been danced around for 2 thousand years, The Redwoods planted to the east of Kingswear on the cliffs. Totnes, with the Brutus stone. I would live there again at a drop of a hat if I could.
I do nurse fantasies about living in Devon or Cornwall, at least for a summer and fall! The churchyard Yews were a special focus of this trip, but I have not seen the Brutus stone. Luckily many circles and stones and synchronicities have come my way in these magic lands. Hopefully we will cross paths there sometime!
My condolences for your loss, what a fascinating man, I didn’t know about him, thanks for sharing. I always loved the ocean, immigrating from Cuba to Miami in 1965 and having a father who was a fisherman by trade half his life, was great. My ocean research was nerd observation. Miami Beach, and the Florida keys changed drastically since the 60s , glad I got to see it in a more pristine day.
Nice pics again! The only wizard without a complete grin in the first pic is Merlin😂
While you were away I read and thoroughly enjoyed your Led Zeppelin IV book. Bless you brother!
Great update, Erik! Love it. Thanks so much for sharing. Definitely checking out Headless Vase based on that description. Curious - did you read Greer’s Kumano Kodo? I’ve been deliberating on that one for too long and would love to see someone whose opinion I value give it the thumbs up!
Great question Chad, and further nudging me. This will be featured in the next Burning Shore post for sure. Christian is a pal and I respect his work tremendously. His riffs on pilgrimage are a marvel and I am sure this one will be a beaut, the portions I have read were deeply inspiring in a convulsive way...
Hi Arthur. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think there are two different concerns here. One is the decision to not record or stream the event, and to do so with the express purpose of getting people to commit to attending in person. The other is the language I used. I would like to separate these here.
1) Believe me, as someone who does events online and in person, and sometimes a mix of the two, I am well aware of the arguments here about access and convenience. I used to hold my Dharmanaut Circles/Psychedelic Sangha groups in person, and I loved that, but I always posted the recordings as well for folks who could not attend. With the pandemic I went to Zoom, and now I am going to keep the monthly Circles to Zoom, mostly because the regulars are now distributed all around the country (and sometimes the world) and it would be mean to go live again. Unfortunately mixed events (where in person and distant folks are both "live" and interacting) don't work in my experience. But why not record you might ask?
One of the most lasting effects of the pandemic is the Zoomification of the world, in work, culture, and communication. We now realize how inconvenient it is to get together in person, how irritating to commute, and how gross and vaguely dangerous it feels, and of course is often impossible. Many many institutions, churches, groups, and individuals have been pulled into a mostly online existence because everyone has gotten used to the convenience and safety of Zoom. But it is an inferior medium for most things I care about, and in some ways an actively distorting and--forgive the pun--debilitating one. As a teacher I distinctly notice the difference between the energy and spontaneity and communitas that happens online and in a room.
But here's the rub: While I like the idea that everyone who can come in person would do so, and that everyone who can't but wants to attend can enjoy it virtually, the sad reality is that lots of local folks don't make the effort because they know they can always watch it later. Convenience wins. Given the huge shift towards virtual communication, and the normalization of this inferior (for many purposes at least) form of fellowship, one that even seems to me sometimes to have depleted some of the juice from Reality Itself, Christian and I wanted to push back in this little itsy bitsty way. By making it exclusive, we are hoping to coax those who *can* physically attend to do so, at the acknowledged cost of incoveniencing them and denying distant folks or folks physically unable to attend. And it may be a very stupid idea! We will see...
2) With my language I could have been more sensitive, given the sensitive, charged, and vexed feelings around Covid and the pandemic. I am hardly insensitive to the costs of Covid. Not only do I have a few lingering long C effects from my bout -- and have friends who have had much worse times -- but my father essentially died of Covid (plus complications). My tone, at least in intent, was going for some of that "whistling in the graveyard" vibe--which works for some people, and definitely not for others. (My deep spiritual belief is that levity and dark humor are alchemical balms and that one should be able to laugh at death and God)
By "pandemic casualties" I had intended to refer more to the general way in which all of us have been wounded, changed, saddened, and made cautious--perhaps overcautious--by Covid. I have some friends who have made similar decisions to you, and are still highly cautious because of their concerns about long Covid, but while I respect their decisions, I have made different ones, and strongly hope that the legitimate concerns about Covid to not lead to a generally Zoomified society.
However, now I can see the obvious literal meaning of the phrase "casualties" is potentially hurtful. I was not referring to specifically disabled people in any way. I just get mouthy sometimes.
Well done! Great to see all those pictures too!!!
Yo Erik, happy to have you re-surface. I trust you are collecting all these adventures to the point you can share them with us in a new book eventually. Keep on truckin'. Charlie
What a delightful return! A digestible digest. Condolences about your father, Erik.
Well I have always read you as a genuine wordsmith, I hope you find a good framework to keep those sunbeams and turds singing. It is incredible to consider that something like a UBI is actually possible, and to imagine all the good (and no doubt bad) that might come from that. For me, the subscription proved too transactional, but there was no concrete "agreement" so I always felt like I should be doing more, to get more subscribers, to write more, etc...I think we were all born in the wrong world but this is the one we got so its love amongst the ruins time!
Glad the shore still smolders!
Thanks for the update, Erik.
Like Brian, I am also pleased to see Mr Fontainelle's face, and his workspace.
Hey folks. It turns out I fucked up. There is a reason you don't know what Earl looks like, and I should have checked with him before posting his visage. His image has been removed from the static post and hopefully will not be spread too far abroad -- something you all can help in assuring by not sharing, especially if you respect Earl's work! My bad though...
Welcome back Erik, nice to hear from you again. The Alembic sounds like a great hang. And thanks for answering the question, “What does Earl Fontainelle look like?” I imagined younger, smoking a pipe to make up for his baby face. :-D
Brian, good to hear from you. I stumbled into your podcast recently, somehow I had missed it. Very thorough stuff, I appreciate all the effort you are putting into it! If you are ever making a West Coast jaunt, let us know and I would love to host you and your serpentine yoga at the Alembic.
That's nice to hear Erik. I've got a standing invite to do a residency just north of SF...If we manage to make it down there in the spring I'd love to stop by.
interesting, you might like anna von hausswolff. go good buster, nice to see u soaking up some UK with the homie merlin recently. brother looking like some mountain elk in a garden of gnomes in that pic
Dude. Glad to read ya again. Literary birdsong. I really dig the Doric stuff.
I don't have a career in writing, but I've waywardly, slackardly, explored ways to perhaps find a way over the past 10 years. I can write, but writing something good, something that sings, something that creates a magical space...well, that requires appealing to unseen and greater forces. Monetization has always been the gremlin along my journey (as it is for most, I assume). Time waits for none, and when cross-bred with money, oh the babies are devils.
Coercion comes in a tangle of flavors in this world... I like the idea of the tip jar. It's humble. Voluntary. A threshold (altar?) for the exchange of offerings. A give-take-give spiral. A way of being.
I wonder a lot about what humans would be and do if their basic needs were secure, unconditionally, cradle to grave. It's possible. No more tech or saviors needed. It's not a pie-in-the-sky, it's right here on the ground.
Maybe I was born in the wrong world. I dunno. Writing is my weird dance in the corner. I'm a flailing and free vessel for voices unheard. A forgotten turd on a dead suburban lawn, a sunbeam through angry leaves, a bird bleating in the trees simply because it can.
Seeds for the songs, songs for the seeds. Wayward!
Nice to see this. You illustrated a couple of my favourite places in the UK, Dartmoor (which we lived on near North Bovey) & Wiltshire.
Keep up the beautiful work. It is always a pleasure.
Gwyllm
Thanks Gwyllm. I do love those parts of the world fiercely. SW England is like India to me, I keep stumbling into marvels and wizards...
If you can ever traverse along the River Dart, there are wonders, absolute wonders. Stoke Gabriel's Church with its ancient Yew tree, that has been danced around for 2 thousand years, The Redwoods planted to the east of Kingswear on the cliffs. Totnes, with the Brutus stone. I would live there again at a drop of a hat if I could.
I do nurse fantasies about living in Devon or Cornwall, at least for a summer and fall! The churchyard Yews were a special focus of this trip, but I have not seen the Brutus stone. Luckily many circles and stones and synchronicities have come my way in these magic lands. Hopefully we will cross paths there sometime!
I’m very happy that you are back!
My condolences for your loss, what a fascinating man, I didn’t know about him, thanks for sharing. I always loved the ocean, immigrating from Cuba to Miami in 1965 and having a father who was a fisherman by trade half his life, was great. My ocean research was nerd observation. Miami Beach, and the Florida keys changed drastically since the 60s , glad I got to see it in a more pristine day.
Nice pics again! The only wizard without a complete grin in the first pic is Merlin😂
While you were away I read and thoroughly enjoyed your Led Zeppelin IV book. Bless you brother!
Thanks Juan! Glad you have had the opportunity to get in deep with the sea. Here's to more nerd observation!
Great update, Erik! Love it. Thanks so much for sharing. Definitely checking out Headless Vase based on that description. Curious - did you read Greer’s Kumano Kodo? I’ve been deliberating on that one for too long and would love to see someone whose opinion I value give it the thumbs up!
Great question Chad, and further nudging me. This will be featured in the next Burning Shore post for sure. Christian is a pal and I respect his work tremendously. His riffs on pilgrimage are a marvel and I am sure this one will be a beaut, the portions I have read were deeply inspiring in a convulsive way...
Hi Arthur. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think there are two different concerns here. One is the decision to not record or stream the event, and to do so with the express purpose of getting people to commit to attending in person. The other is the language I used. I would like to separate these here.
1) Believe me, as someone who does events online and in person, and sometimes a mix of the two, I am well aware of the arguments here about access and convenience. I used to hold my Dharmanaut Circles/Psychedelic Sangha groups in person, and I loved that, but I always posted the recordings as well for folks who could not attend. With the pandemic I went to Zoom, and now I am going to keep the monthly Circles to Zoom, mostly because the regulars are now distributed all around the country (and sometimes the world) and it would be mean to go live again. Unfortunately mixed events (where in person and distant folks are both "live" and interacting) don't work in my experience. But why not record you might ask?
One of the most lasting effects of the pandemic is the Zoomification of the world, in work, culture, and communication. We now realize how inconvenient it is to get together in person, how irritating to commute, and how gross and vaguely dangerous it feels, and of course is often impossible. Many many institutions, churches, groups, and individuals have been pulled into a mostly online existence because everyone has gotten used to the convenience and safety of Zoom. But it is an inferior medium for most things I care about, and in some ways an actively distorting and--forgive the pun--debilitating one. As a teacher I distinctly notice the difference between the energy and spontaneity and communitas that happens online and in a room.
But here's the rub: While I like the idea that everyone who can come in person would do so, and that everyone who can't but wants to attend can enjoy it virtually, the sad reality is that lots of local folks don't make the effort because they know they can always watch it later. Convenience wins. Given the huge shift towards virtual communication, and the normalization of this inferior (for many purposes at least) form of fellowship, one that even seems to me sometimes to have depleted some of the juice from Reality Itself, Christian and I wanted to push back in this little itsy bitsty way. By making it exclusive, we are hoping to coax those who *can* physically attend to do so, at the acknowledged cost of incoveniencing them and denying distant folks or folks physically unable to attend. And it may be a very stupid idea! We will see...
2) With my language I could have been more sensitive, given the sensitive, charged, and vexed feelings around Covid and the pandemic. I am hardly insensitive to the costs of Covid. Not only do I have a few lingering long C effects from my bout -- and have friends who have had much worse times -- but my father essentially died of Covid (plus complications). My tone, at least in intent, was going for some of that "whistling in the graveyard" vibe--which works for some people, and definitely not for others. (My deep spiritual belief is that levity and dark humor are alchemical balms and that one should be able to laugh at death and God)
By "pandemic casualties" I had intended to refer more to the general way in which all of us have been wounded, changed, saddened, and made cautious--perhaps overcautious--by Covid. I have some friends who have made similar decisions to you, and are still highly cautious because of their concerns about long Covid, but while I respect their decisions, I have made different ones, and strongly hope that the legitimate concerns about Covid to not lead to a generally Zoomified society.
However, now I can see the obvious literal meaning of the phrase "casualties" is potentially hurtful. I was not referring to specifically disabled people in any way. I just get mouthy sometimes.