#1 - Living close to your friends, AI photography, and how we can't scape neoliberalism
Welcome to the first edition of The Substacker!
Hey there, glad to have you here.
This is the first edition of The Substacker! I hope it's the first of many.
The Substacker will be a small online magazine filled with great writing from Substack. The idea is to bring mostly unknown writers to the forefront so more people can enjoy them. Also, make it easier for readers to have a single place to go for great writing.
The articles presented here are all free to read, so enjoy.
You'd Be Happier Living Closer to Friends. Why Don't You?
A few theories why
A recent article in The Atlantic made the case for doing something that a lot of us — particularly those in our 30s and 40s, especially those whose careers (or whose partners’ careers) have led us to live in places where we wouldn’t necessarily choose to live — spending a lot of time thinking and dreaming about. Specifically: moving closer to your close friends.
Find the book you know you could write
The importance of attainability and role models
I was talking to a writer friend this week about a book they were reading. I asked if they liked it. They said it was okay and added, “…it feels very attainable, like I feel like I could write something like this.”
It's not photography
Or is it? The medium is evolving. Again.
Have you seen this image?
By now, I’m guessing that you have. I quite like it. It’s a beautiful picture — evocative and weird in a wonderfully cinematic way. The image is from Boris Eldagsen’s PSEUDOMNESIA: Fake Memories series. Is it photography? Not quite.
I'm just sick of government greenwashing & I want you to know what they're doing
This is kind of a Big Deal.
I went home, I think. Not sure. The UK looked the same. Streets led to the same place. Same creaking old beautiful awkward polite arrogant country I remember.
But the supermarket shelves, they lie empty. And the trains - they don’t run much. That wasn’t familiar to me. And the politicians on TV don’t sound like us, don’t think like us, and know that we didn’t vote for them.
Is Substack a Neoliberal Hellhole?
Kind of!
Wikipedia, CC
“We think the internet's powers, married to the right business model, can be harnessed to build the most valuable media economy the world has ever known,” Substack declares, “an economy where value is measured not only in dollars but also in quality, in good-faith discourse, and in creating an internet that celebrates and supports humanity.”
Intention. Interpretation. Impact.
Who decides what art means?
There’s a part in a Talking Heads song when David Byrne yell-sings, “You’re talking a lot, but you’re not saying anything!” I tasted this particular flavor of irritation while watching a YouTube video in which a prospective MFA student described her portfolio, which was then critiqued by two art instructors.
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Thanks so much for the shout-out and such a great idea!
I love this, Luiza!