Or: Goodbye to all that!
did it even make sense to compose an anti-technology manifesto on an internet-connected device? Would I be able to resist the pull of email, news, and “research” in a time of unbearable stress? No, I needed to write my book the old way. I needed to prove it was still possible. The artist and writer [ ]
I just read Black Bag by Luke Kennard. It is funny and good. The book s about an actor who must wear a black leather bag over his whole body (except for his feet) after precariat desperation leads him to take work as the subject of a psychological experiment. Anyway, these quotes aren t particularly representative of [ ]
Well then. I ve just updated our lists of stockists (places you might be able to buy New Escapologist in the wild) and contributors (people who write or draw for us). This was a fiddly business and I probably made mistakes. If I ve missed you out, misspelled your name, used the wrong link to your website, [ ]
Oh, this is wonderful. Reader K writes to us: On reading your June 19th email exploring the lives of back-to-back cruiseniks, I was reminded of these passages from The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst , which elegantly combines Escapological ideas with the desire to live differently. Moitessier a contestant in the 1968 race to [ ]
Heather Delaney of the Dirtbag Dao has a great piece about US vanlife in Issue 18 and a review of a classic 1982 text on the subject, Blue Highways, in Issue 19). Check out these pics taken by Heather. They make a decent case for it. * New Escapologist Issue 19 and the anniversary edition [ ]
Further to yesterday s post, here s Dickon Edwards (in his diaries) on work: I ve tried Normal Life on so many occasions. By which I mean, doing a job you utterly feel at odds with purely for the money. It seems to work for many people, and I admire them immensely. But for me it s living a [ ]
A gem from Dickon Edwards diaries: A frequently asked question: Why don t you just get a job? Answer: Because I ve got too much else to do. Answer: Because I m too busy to get a job. Answer: Being unemployed is a full-time job in itself, involving skills and time in order to survive. So I do [ ]
Friend J, who is travelling in Kyoto, sends this with the single sentence, saw this and thought of you. * New Escapologist Issue 19 and the anniversary edition of Escape Everything! are both available now.
A moment from a brilliant sitcom called Such Brave Girls. Mum: Good morning! Time for work. Josie: I don t think I m up for it. I m just not creatively fulfilled in retail. Mum: Josie, we ve talked about this. Work isn t about fulfilment. It s about making money to buy stuff that will make you feel fulfilled. Josie: [ ]
This comes from Étienne de La Boétie, boyfriend of the essayist Montaigne: You can deliver yourselves if you try, not by taking action, but merely by willing to be free. Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him [ ]