Anonymous Tantric drawing from 17th century Rajasthan. via
Hello all! It seems pretty crazy that it has been two weeks already since the last edition. I was just reading about how life in lockdown can also warp our sensation of time’s passage and I am definitely experiencing this. Even scarier to me is the fact that that means I started this little experiment ten weeks ago! Thanks for keeping me company for all or part of that time.
Having typed that, I also thought that since I had finished writing about the initial elements of the sutra I developed for Newtype, it would be a good time to pause and take stock. What do I hope to accomplish with this newsletter? Am I happy with the amount of detail I have put into each edition of this? Did I communicate well? Do these terms still resonate with me?
In order to answer these questions (and many more besides) I have decided to take a break to think about all these things before regular publishing resumes. The chances are high that I will probably update the format of the newsletter itself at the end of all this as I have been playing with speculative fiction a lot recently and I am tempted to experiment with using it to explore the Vocab entries. Nothing is set in stone though, but this is where my thoughts are leaning for now.
But, that is only one part of the puzzle. The other, probably more important part, is hearing from you all! The Vocab exists because I wanted to share these ideas and terms with a wider audience in order to not only propagate them, but gain insight from a wider diversity of viewpoints. Finding out what your impressions are so far would be invaluable for helping me develop this further.
Any thoughts on the format - does the idea of getting speculative fiction exploring these sorts of ideas roughly every fortnight appeal to you for example? Have the previous editions resonated or proven useful in any way? Critique? Feedback in general? Too complicated? Too simple? I would love to hear from you! You can simply reply to this newsletter or comment directly if you read this on Substack directly instead of in your email inbox. Or shoot me an email at yegwa@newtype.world and I will be sure to get it!
In related news, the first Virtua Playgrounds online meet-up was a really cool experience! I am hoping to do the next one in a few weeks (tentatively looking at the 24th of May) so stay tuned to the programme of events and dates etc. I think it could be a great opportunity to meet with other people exploring these topics and practices and I would also like to use it as an opportunity to host the participants in the Masses experiment (first talked about briefly in issue 3) and open it up to hopefully a larger audience. More news on this to follow.
I hope the intervening weeks have been at worst uneventful and at best enriching even despite or because of the circumstances. A friend of mine (hi Alexandra!) recently reminded me of the beauty of fragility and how simply acknowledging that, instead of trying to reinforce or make things stronger, can engage us in caring, focusing our attention and directing our way towards something sublime.
Stay safe and I look forward to hearing from some of you soon.
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What I am (thinking of) reading
Making by Tim Ingold
The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
What I am (thinking of) playing
Kentucky Route Zero TV Edition (PS4. Also available on WinPC/OSX)
Diablo 3 (PS4. Also available on other platforms)
4D Toys (iOS) - As a way of waiting for the larger, related game based on the concepts explored in this game
What I am (thinking of) watching
Tales From the Loop (Amazon Prime 😩)
The Midnight Gospel (Netflix)
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (Crunchyroll) - By one of my fave animators
Random Studio Ghibli movies (Netflix) - If you haven’t watched any (or most) of their films, please do. They will fill you with joy and wonder (well, apart from Grave of the Fireflies which will fill you with anger and despair - not recommended COVID-19 viewing 👀).
What I am (thinking of) listening to