Sunday
Working on a Sunday. Have been a bit sick this weekend, lots of resting.
Interested in this idea of polyphasic sleep (as opposed to the normal monophasic sleeping schedule we’re used to). ‘Interested in’ can also be read as ‘I just woke up from a nap’.
It’s 3.38pm. Gravity’s holding me back. I got out of bed late after waking up to watch the final qualifying from the Monaco Grand Prix. Sama and I then took Daisy for a walk, bought groceries, and had a late breakfast of bagels with cream cheese, tomato, spinach and rocket with a side of grapes and cucumber. Coffee, too. Was a good breakfast.
While we ate we watched the new Contrapoints video ‘The Hunger’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTRT794IQBg
The first like 40 minutes of ‘The Hunger’ is a dialogue on a fictional libertarian podcast (lampooning the likes of Joe Rogan) with host Jackie Jackson and guests Justine Tableau, a Marxist transgender woman, and Virginia Lamm, a pastor and self-proclaimed ‘recovering lesbian’.
Justine and Virginia hold a pseudo-debate about love, gender, sexuality and life’s meaning, with the latter presenting the solution to all of society’s ills as, you know, God.
Virginia is somewhat representative of the New Right – a new intellectual conservatism that is picking up some cultural cachet as documented by Vanity Fair’s James Pogue.
While Justine is a slightly cariactured Natalie Wynn (who has written the book about “capitalising on communism”) who is defending the position of identity, especially gender and sexuality, as an act of honest authenticity in opposition to the “sexual anorexia” of Virginia and who she refers to as a “five alarm lesbian dressed as a trad-wife”.
The final act – it ends with the ‘to be continued’ ellipse – sees Justine in her bathtub after the interview looking up her ex on social media when a masked figure appears claiming to be a fallen angel.
Her name is Luciferia and she offers Justine two potions to fix her problems: Hype (meth) or Void (heroin). Justine’s pain, Luciferia reasons, is a choice. She can always take Void and her pain will be gone. Justine assents and, after a warning not to take too much, feels the euphoria of her first hit.
Unsurprisingly, Justine descents into addiction and, after nearly drowning in her bathtub following an overdose, commits to giving up Void cold turkey.
The video ends with Justine and Luciferia making out in bed, a projection of flames overlaying them.
It’s an impressive feat, as Natalie Wynn’s videos generally are, expertly combining high quality philosophical and social commentary, drag, mise-en-scene, and editing which is accentuated this time round with the inclusion of dialogue between three characters seamlessly conversing about life, God, meaning, gender, etc.
Seriously, it’s impressive.
etc
Well that’s what I have to say about that. My thoughts aren’t really coherent enough to add anything else.
So anyway we watched the video and then started packing. Ended up filling like five boxes with books, clothes, and miscellania. Was a decent effort and, like all good moving, we’ve got plenty to give and throw away which is good. As an exercise in like cleansing life of its various objects, moving is pretty useful.
Still a long way to go on that front though. I have a lot of objects I’m wanting to keep, mainly books. But we’re veering toward a point where we have less, and I can’t see that as a bad thing.
Have to put out hard rubbish tomorrow night, just remembering.
After some packing we had lunch of toasted cheese sandwiches with avocado and vegemite and grapes on the side. Then I had a bit of a lie-down and read more of Mark O’Connell’s book on transhumanism To Be a Machine which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed for its prose and its content.
That’s where I was reminded about polyphasic sleeping which, I’ll be honest, I probably won’t do.
Heading out to Vivid tonight. Sam’s going to be back soon to see if I want to go to the gym. I really should just go along and ride the bike for a while. Get some exercise.
Can’t help but think of work though. Anyway, I’ll leave this here.
4.12pm