Sam M > Recent Status Updates

loooove Baby Suggs and her backstory. one of my fav things about how Morrison writes is her dialogue w multiple people, it flows between dif characters without evr feeling confusing. happy that finally the “benevolent” slaver (Garner) is under criticism from certain characters

i’m loving this so far! despite how formulaic the mysteries can be and how repetitive the dialogue gets, the mysteries are so enticing and scaryyy. the connections run deeep through these stories

we are fucking back!! ‘pictures’ was way better than ‘houses’, but Uketsu’s new ‘buildings’ book seems to be a vast improvement, condensing the architectural rerror into bite-sized, probaly connected, stories. file one was disturbing; the image of a boy being run over by a construction truck is… not pleasant,

damn. i thought Paul D might pull thru faithfully, but no dice. his chain gang story was fantastic but so horrible, Morrison appproaches this kind of thing in a no holds barred manner.

Denver… ur a lil freak. The paragraph where she talks about being seen by Beloved was perfect.

also, love how esoterical Beloved is becoming. freaky shit going on, especially with the zero footsteps or breaths

more freaky ghost shit!! the story of Sethe’s pregnancy with Denver was immersive as fuuuck, love how the white girl is surface-level “good” but still a racist shit. speaks volumes about the good nature of humans being corrupted by bigots. i loved how the story was interwoven with the three girls visiting the Clearing where Baby Suggs(, holy,) would do rituals and prayers with the other 124 residents.

at this point, Paul D has a grudge against Beloved simply for being at 124 and “shining”, but he opens up towards Sethe and tells her about how Halle witnessed the boys taking her milk. this was such a well-written and sensitive bit, especially with the “I’m less than a rooster sat on a tub” line.

Beloved is such a weird character in the best way, completely understated while clearly being a little freaky. the cracks between Denver and Paul D deepen, Sethe grows closer to the strange woman, and we learn a little more about Sethe’s mom and the people who raised her, as well as the “benevolent” (clearly being sarcastic if you cant tell) slave owner’s wife, who doesn’t punish Sethe and gives her a gift

Paul D has officially won Sethe over and is staying with her and Denver! i love the dynamic between the three of them, it’s a melodramatic situation thats fairly typical elevated that much more by Morrison’s brilliant and numerous layers and themes of humanity, femininity, the Black experience, and good ol ameriKKKa.

so far Toni Morrison’s prose is as luscious as everyone describes; each sentence has its own rhythm and flow, and she transforma sentences that could be unremarkable otherwise into these intensely memorable lines. the supernatural aspect is incredibly interesting, the idea of the house being haunted by Sethe’s baby or mother is terrifying; but perhaps not as terrifying as the men in the book!

motivating shit!! death to the machines that steal our jobs!!!

after i got sick in feb i’ve fallen out of the habitof reading! what used to be a part of my daily routine now takes effort to even consider again. i read a good chunk of this book, and it’s still in the infancy ofthe revolution but the parallels (esp of the reactions of any of the “elites”) to modern day Ai Stuff is crazyy

the absolute worst part of being sick is the fatigue; not just physically, but mentally. i havent been able to read in like 3 weeks but this morning, i forced myself to read a couple chapters. the writing is so efficient, never retreading steps but always very clear and explanatory. its also interesting seeing all the similarities between then and now concerning automation in the workplace

(i was on 47 last time, not 57—oops!!)

just finished George Mellor’s introduction; loving the use of the great comet of 1811 as a bad omen for the industrial revolution: burns bright and strong, though it helps absolutely nobody underneath. short section but i just wanted a short read anyways since its bene 16 days!!!! since i last read anything

intro done! we learn about Ned Ludd, the man who ignited the fire in every anti-machinists heart, Edmund Cartwright, a clerical poet obsessed with automating work, Richard Arkwright, who also brought forth a lot of machines that reduced manpower, among a few others. reading about everyones unified rage against these new machines is knd of reassuring but in turn twice as horrifying modern day, knowing we prob wont win

great stuff so far; incredibly insightful. i think this will b something im more likely to refer back to as opposed to just reading it once over. i like the writing, plus mayo is so easy make! who knew!!

very smart decision by the author to release something so applicable like this; he truly seems intrigued by the causes and results of the Luddite revolution, and already i can tell this is going to be a great read. you wouldnt have thought automated machines raking jobs away wouldve been an issue nearly 300 years ago, but it was! its crazy stuff, and i was also surprised to seeLord Byron and Mary Godwyn in the intro!

daguerreotypes finished! this was a large chunk of the book and interesting in the sense that the entire thing is different notes and photos not shown, but described in its entirety and accompanied by sardonic explorations of the implications of each action discussed. it’s very interesting, going back (briefly) to the 6th century, and now it’s time for the epilogue!!!

didnt read far this time, just practicing reading out loud to work on my speech but the whole thing about importing labor is nuts!

ch2! we met Benny Profane last chapter and this one is all about the other side of the same coin: Sidney Stencil. Profane doesn’t seem to care much about anything, and Stencil seems hyperfocused on finding V.. I love how Pynchon is def a jazz guy!!! anytime he talks about bands and music is dope

the Shah steps his game up; Mossadegh is killed; Ayatollah Komeini is arrested following his criticism of the Shah; a slaughter follows his detainment; brutality of the Savak; distrust caused by Savak’s inhumane procedures

wow, lots of information! i’ve never read anything that’s just descriptions of photos and other documents, but it helps attribute to its unbiased character.

ch1! Profane’s a weird little guy: he’s inexorably clumsy, and now he’s going to hunt alligators in the sewers with Puerto Ricans!

i finished all the poems! i’ll probably reread them after or while reading the notes. absolutely gorgeous work, mind boggling that this was thousands of years ago. Sappho is a tru Lover

(wrong %)

a new experience reading-wise! this is a collection of the surviving poems of Sappho, delicately put together in a way that presumably resembles the original work in a modern presentation. already the first poem is woefully romantic (“Who, O Sappho, is wronging you?”)

i love the brackets as indicators for illegible or destroyed text; it genuinely does elevate the experience a tad