“Only a vision of the whole, like that of a saint, a madman or a mystic, will permit us to decipher the true organizing principles of the universe."
Buckle up, friends. This is the most epic edition of this newsletter in its thirteen years of existence...
I recommend opening this in a new tab to devour at your leisure, like my current long-game effort to assemble the Lego "Tumbler" Batmobile. :)
Happy Year of the Tiger!
NEW ART
"My Bright Companions"
acrylic paint on masonite panel
48"w x 32"h
My first big new painting since before the pandemic! This piece started as part of my science communication fellowship at the 2021 Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, live painting to amazing talks on evolutionary biology, cognitive science, cyborg experiments, animal intelligence research, and more — and finally came to a satisfying conclusion at my temporary retirement from live painting at a recent Mary Lattimore + Walt McClements + Michael Garfield show here in Santa Fe.
It's the sequel to my 2017 painting "My Dark Companion" and an exercise in visionary-art-as-science-fiction, paying tribute to Terence McKenna, biologist Michael Levin, and many others.
Here's more info about the piece on Patreon and a picture of it with human creator for size comparison on Instagram.
Oh! And I'll add: I still have just over a dozen paintings available, most of them rather large and pricey (but flexibly so). I also have two kids and all the patience in the world when it comes to paying off an exchange like this, so if you're interested in one of these, let's talk.
NEW MUSIC
Download in lossless audio at Bandcamp
Save & Follow at Spotify
Listen at Audius (where artists get 90% of streaming royalties)
Speaking of "the first in over two years," MY GOD how I needed a return to the stage! Musical performance has been woefully absent from my life over the last two years since my last public gig at Meow Wolf opening for Papadosio in December 2019 — even if you count my asynchronous collaboration with archaeologist Liane Gabora for her research on the paleolithic Löwenmensch sculpture and my livestream with painter Amanda Sage for the Mt. Tam Psychedelic Integration Jam.
I even got a (pre-show) write-up from the wonderful Adrian Gomez in the Albuquerque Journal!
AND I managed to get some decent concert footage. Here are two new live concert videos of my philosophy-complex-systems-protest song "Seeing Like A State":
And of my cyberacoustic guitar improvisation, "Wing It":
NEW PODCASTS
And of course I spend most of my time talking to people about important ideas. This last few months has been especially rich and rewarding. Just take a look at these (and then, hopefully, also, listen):
I've dropped these two excellent and soulful sessions as well for Patreon supporters:
MENTIONS
I am similarly honored that the Plutopia News Network (c/o my friend and low-key living legend Jon Lebkowsky) felt it similarly worthwhile to point people in my direction in THEIR newsletter, alongside the badasses John Coltrane, Bruce Sterling, and Marc Frauenfelder.
NEW MUSIC DISCOVERY PLAYLIST
Lastly, here is a link to the new playlist I'm starting for delicious musical discoveries. I don't really like Spotify as a company but it's nonetheless still a great place to turn other people on to music I enjoy:
