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On a recent trip to Paris a friend invited me to an after-party at a place called Silencio aka “David Lynch’s Nightclub.” I got there early, and descending the 6 flights of black carpeted stairs that’s only signage read “no phone use or photographs” became increasingly aware I was entering something special - the carpeting continued into what felt like a sound-proofed underground bunker where every detail - the lighting to the furniture, to the bar, the bathrooms mirrors - was considered which such deep precision that I felt transported into Lynch’s vision in a way that none of his films, writing or music ever has. I stood at the bar drinking an uncannily delicious coca-cola from the bottle in dumbfounded awe. This was not a movie set... it was the real thing. I later read that Lynch’s goal was to "induce and sustain a specific state of alertness and openness to the unknown.” Mission accomplished. I can say with conviction that no interior space that was designed with intention has ever made me *feel* the way Silencio does.
Dec 21, 2021
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all 3+ stream of consciousness hours at the roxie in SF (spooky and weirdly proportioned venue, see photo) and the 4k remaster still looked like shit (i.e. as good as you can remaster early 2000s digital camcorder footage) and there was one dead pixel of green hanging out for the whole movie and somehow it was still the most immersive and unsettling experience cinema has ever given me and walking back to the parking garage in san francisco at 1am (which was closed and we had to call the garage for someone to come open) made me feel like i was in the movie FFO: browsing r/liminalspaces, psychological horror video games, eastern european swag/horror, being confused
Apr 10, 2025
Jan 19, 2025
Never fails to take me to a place where everything horrible is faceable and experiencing life is beautiful.
RIP Mr. David Lynch
Feb 6, 2025
Top Recs from @asher-penn
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I met Jon and Allie briefly at the Los Angeles Sex Magazine launch. They introduced themselves and volunteered to trade me copies of their respective debut novels, which they signed. I was happy to find that both their books were awesome and completely different and that the connective tissue between them seemed to be a love of writing and each other that made me want to become friends with them both.Talking to Delicious Tacos about Jon Lindsey’s Body High, he described it as the ultimate Al-Anon book ; the story of a protagonist, Leland that is perversely attracted to and desperately wants to save the self-destructive people in his life - his dead mother and step sister - as a way of avoid any sane behavior… And Leland’s unmanageability is psychotically inspired, as a legendarily fucked up series of situations of his own making unfold in front of him.By contrast, Allie Rowbottom’s Jello Girls is a relatively traditional memoir, where the family's history is directly intertwined to the economics of processed food, and the intergenerational curse it propels both in the mind and body. Given that the food in question is a pioneer in artificial nourishment the themes of cancer and eating disorders are uncannily poignant, especially as Rowbottom’s voice channels the dark irony of Karen Carpenter in her prose.
Dec 21, 2021
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They say that the best design is no design, and I can’t think of a better example than No Frills, a low-cost supermarket chain in Canada that since the late ’70s has been easily recognized for its iconic simple in-house branding. Operating on the premise that making graphic design decisions is a major unnecessary expense No Frills follows a strict style guide of Pantone Yellow C combined with large bold Helvetica Neue 75 for all its interiors and packaging: pickles, dark chocolate, hummus, evaporated milk, olive oil all get the same point-blank treatment. The closest I’ve ever seen to this aesthetic is on that TV show Lost where all the food comes from The Dharma Initiative. Walking down their aisles can feel dystopian and autistic but also timelessly chic - a ridiculous marketing concept leaned into with a commitment that I hope they never abandon.
Dec 21, 2021
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Eugene Kotlyarenko’s debut film 0’s & 1’s is still my favorite - and it’s heartwarming to know that it’s only been a decade after its premiere at a tiny Brooklyn theater that it’s finally getting the big screen screenings that it truly deserves. The simple story of a guy retracing his steps trying to find his lost computer - Slacker meets Dude Where’s My Car for the first generation of terminally online. But it’s the film’s relentless art direction that truly sets it apart - a multicam extravaganza framed within dozens of custom interfaces that rival both Hackers and The Net in channeling and elevating the aesthetics of the moment with painstakingly detailed easter eggs to be found on every fleeting frame. I’d also like to give a shout-out to We Are, my second favorite film by Eugene. Self-released almost a year ago, We Are is a continuation of his romantic comedies about breakups A Wonderful Cloud (2015) and Wobble Palace (2018) starring hapless losers mired in technological detritus - in this case, the employee of a pathetic virtual reality arcade. But unlike its predecessors We Are is Eugene’s most casual film to date, made with a whimsical looseness echoed in the character Stick’s XL tourist t-shirts and the soft soothing pace of his fidget spinner. It’s a funny movie, but it’s also sad… when Eugene breaks the 4th wall and slates a scene with Dasha, there is a self-accepting effortlessness that really feels like letting go. We Are is just a movie and that’s all it needs to be.
Dec 21, 2021