gratitudes, literary open mic, my packing list, scenes from the shit show, john yuyi, queer modernism, solid gold toilet, art in the hudson valley, socialism and barbarism

09 Nov, 2025

yesterday i was grateful for dinner with holly at wonderbar, emily, our beautiful and attentive waitress, and litlit, run by our friend donna...

today i am looking forward to getting together with my cousin jan...

saturday morning in the local coffee shop... bursting at the seams with little kids... was wondering if there was disco coffee this am... i think there might be... i am not feeling great this morning... was it the two manhattans and glass of red wine i had last night?...

we went to lit-lit... a literary open mic our friend donna organizes... we haven't been for a long time... not one of holly's favorite things to do... i have told her i don't mind going by myself... she hasn't taken me up on the option... i dressed up in a white knit maxi dress... the one i think of as a bit slutty because of its deeply scooping neckline that would display a lot of clevage if i had it... i have a little, but not much... still, i have come to appreciate the boobs i do have and think of myself as a flat chested womanly man when i wear such dresses... thing is, i look remarkably good in the dress if i do say so myself... nobody would take me for a woman, my face is too masculine... but i am very feminine in an appealing to me way when i wear it...

i read my packing list piece... i developed it as packing list before feminine me emerged... and packing list after feminine me emerged... it's quite a contrast... i think the contrast was appreciated... still, reception of the piece was lukewarm... it's a work in progress and i am thinking that i will do more with lists in my writing...

scenes from the shit show...

heather cox richardson

Since Tuesday, President Donald J. Trump has tried to reinforce the idea that he is, in fact, in control of the country, no matter what voters say. He has doubled down on his demand that the Republican senators end the government shutdown by killing the Senate filibuster, enabling them to pass legislation without any Democrats. Then they could pass the continuing resolution the House passed on September 19, the last day the House was in session to work. ...Republican senators don’t want to get rid of the filibuster. It serves their ideology of slashing the government. Democrats want to pass legislation that changes society, while Republicans want to stop such legislation. The current exceptions to the filibuster enable Republicans to fund the government and even to get tax cuts, but the wide swath of legislation that can be stopped by the filibuster generally neuters Democratic policies. ...Trump said there was no need to worry about future Democratic control because by getting rid of the filibuster, Republicans could pass legislation that would guarantee they would “never lose the midterms and we will never lose a general election” again.

this makes me pretty angry... that there are people in the world who don't believe anyone but themselves should have a say in how the world works... having been privileged to grow up in an, until now, functioning democracy, my normal is that we have competing ideas and ideologies and the voters decide which prevail... i don't understand an intense will to power over other people...

i found this article in anothermag.com interesting...

The Trends of the Season, Seen Through John Yuyi’s Self-Portraits | AnOther

The Trends of the Season, Seen Through John Yuyi’s Self-Portraits

Rebecca Perlmutar shows us another way to wear the season’s trends – lime, lace, velvet and hoods, with self-portraiture by John Yuyi in the streets of London

of particular interest is the photographer and model are the same john yuyi... and they are decidedly womanly... trans woman?... gender fluid man/woman?... it isn't clear, though the prevailing impression is that a woman artist has a masculine name...

i am thinking i would like to add this book to my library...

Queer Modernism: 1900–1950 | Feminine Moments

Desire, eroticism, playing with gender – these qualities in the works of queer artists are not regarded here as external to the creative process, but rather as foundational. By approaching the art through a perspective of queer aesthetics, the aim is to discover the visual worlds of hitherto little-known figures of international Modernism, from Eastern and Western Europe and from North and South America.

and in the realm of lavish great gatsby themed parties and the gold plating of the whitehouse...

Madison Ave Gets New Luxury Store: Sotheby’s 

The auction house's new headquarters in the iconic Brutalist building includes private showrooms, jewelry sales, and of course, Maurizio Cattelan's solid gold toilet.headquarters in the iconic Brutalist building includes private showrooms, jewelry sales, and of course, Maurizio Cattelan’s solid gold toilet.

i wonder if 47 will direct the federal government to purchase the solid gold functional toilet for his bathroom remodel at the white house?...

meanwhile the shutdown continues and the administration refuses to provide snap benefits to those dependent on them, which includes my niece, though she is fortunate to have parents and aunt-uncles able and willing to help...

"let them eat cake"...

and, if you live in or near the hudson valley, as i do, this might be of interest...

10 Exhibitions to See in Upstate New York, November 2025

We cherish the seasons for their charms and endure their agonies, and as the cold rains and political races come and go, we scurry to art as a steadfast shelter from the storm. This month, the Hudson Valley invites you to explore exhibitions across the map.

an interesting article in literary hub taking on the new you times...

Literary Hub » Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani

For some time I’ve been saying that the storied choice between socialism and barbarism was made exquisitely clear a good many years ago in the United States, and both major parties chose barbarism. They are obviously and consequentially different barbarisms—one had reproductive freedom, vaccines, and trans health care in it, at least for a while—and I can tell you why I have sincerely preferred one to the other. But we oughtn’t to kid ourselves. From the perspective of a world of increasingly unimaginable maldistribution of resources, cascading ecological collapse, a genocide cheered on by a putatively liberal order, both are barbarisms. Mamdani seemed to me a small glimmering break in the wall of all that. A part of me wanted to do him a solid.

i have gotten pretty suspicious of all legacy media... i tend to agree that they all serve the interests of the status quo, albeit from different perspectives and points of view... none of them are going to support the revolution that may be needed to save the planet and humanity itself...

i will leave you with a moody interior photograph to contemplate...