Gary Campbell
@heygaryc.bsky.social
Visual artist, author, filmmaker, inventor, record producer, and publisher
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-book" didn't initially do much for me, but then later my wife was asking me to summarize the story for her. As I was recounting it, there were so many details to convey, and by the time we got up to the latter parts, we both had chills! Great start to #pleasingterror 😱
October 3, 2025 at 3:37 AM
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-book" didn't initially do much for me, but then later my wife was asking me to summarize the story for her. As I was recounting it, there were so many details to convey, and by the time we got up to the latter parts, we both had chills! Great start to #pleasingterror 😱
Excited for the October #bsbookclub daily read-along! This month, we’ll be reading “Ghost Stories of an Antiquary” a 1904 collection of scary stories by M.R. James. I found a copy at Powell’s in Portland. Join us! The full reading schedule is at #pleasingterror or 😱
September 19, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Excited for the October #bsbookclub daily read-along! This month, we’ll be reading “Ghost Stories of an Antiquary” a 1904 collection of scary stories by M.R. James. I found a copy at Powell’s in Portland. Join us! The full reading schedule is at #pleasingterror or 😱
I thought the book group might be interested to know that in 2015 Seattle rap group THEESatisfaction wrote an entire album called "Earthee" based around the concepts and themes from "Parable of The Sower." #earthseed 🌰 Here's the music video for the title track: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr1M...
THEESatisfaction - EarthEE [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
YouTube video by Sub Pop
www.youtube.com
August 23, 2025 at 9:53 PM
I thought the book group might be interested to know that in 2015 Seattle rap group THEESatisfaction wrote an entire album called "Earthee" based around the concepts and themes from "Parable of The Sower." #earthseed 🌰 Here's the music video for the title track: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr1M...
Thank you to @sosomanysarahs.bsky.social for organizing the Borges short story extravaganza in July. I’ve been meaning to tuck into “Labyrinths” for years now and this was the perfect excuse finally read it. 🪞
July 28, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Thank you to @sosomanysarahs.bsky.social for organizing the Borges short story extravaganza in July. I’ve been meaning to tuck into “Labyrinths” for years now and this was the perfect excuse finally read it. 🪞
A Borges checklist:
1) Is this story set inside another story or story fragment?
2) Is the protagonist about to be assassinated, executed, or otherwise killed?
3) Does a delay—such as waiting for a train, for morning, for a firing squad—give this person ample time to contemplate their mortality? 🪞
1) Is this story set inside another story or story fragment?
2) Is the protagonist about to be assassinated, executed, or otherwise killed?
3) Does a delay—such as waiting for a train, for morning, for a firing squad—give this person ample time to contemplate their mortality? 🪞
July 22, 2025 at 5:08 AM
A Borges checklist:
1) Is this story set inside another story or story fragment?
2) Is the protagonist about to be assassinated, executed, or otherwise killed?
3) Does a delay—such as waiting for a train, for morning, for a firing squad—give this person ample time to contemplate their mortality? 🪞
1) Is this story set inside another story or story fragment?
2) Is the protagonist about to be assassinated, executed, or otherwise killed?
3) Does a delay—such as waiting for a train, for morning, for a firing squad—give this person ample time to contemplate their mortality? 🪞
Where to start with “Deutsches Requiem”? Like “Judas,” the story attempts to comprehend a reviled figure. Nice sly reference to Raskolnikov, another reviled literary character from Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.” Today’s reading inspired me to spin a favorite Brahms clarinet quintet.🪞
July 21, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Where to start with “Deutsches Requiem”? Like “Judas,” the story attempts to comprehend a reviled figure. Nice sly reference to Raskolnikov, another reviled literary character from Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.” Today’s reading inspired me to spin a favorite Brahms clarinet quintet.🪞
Re “Judas,” only sort of. I visited Lund University in Sweden in September. It’s home to the Skissernas Museum, a cool and unique art museum that focuses on the artistic creative process. It has the world’s largest collection of sketches, cardboard models and prep work by international artists 🪞
July 15, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Re “Judas,” only sort of. I visited Lund University in Sweden in September. It’s home to the Skissernas Museum, a cool and unique art museum that focuses on the artistic creative process. It has the world’s largest collection of sketches, cardboard models and prep work by international artists 🪞
Really enjoyed “The Shape of The Sword.” Straightforward story, unexpected twist that kept me thinking about it afterwards. “Theme of Traitor” had a “reality is fiction, fiction is reality” flip-flop. Is Borges himself dictating the first paragraph? Another layer of story? So much in so few pages.🪞
July 14, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Really enjoyed “The Shape of The Sword.” Straightforward story, unexpected twist that kept me thinking about it afterwards. “Theme of Traitor” had a “reality is fiction, fiction is reality” flip-flop. Is Borges himself dictating the first paragraph? Another layer of story? So much in so few pages.🪞
Borges’s “Funes” story offers many interesting insights on the reflection of mirrors and memory. “Two or three times he had reconstructed a whole day… but each reconstruction had required a whole day.” And later, “his own face in the mirror, his own hands, surprised him every time he saw them.” 🪞
July 9, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Borges’s “Funes” story offers many interesting insights on the reflection of mirrors and memory. “Two or three times he had reconstructed a whole day… but each reconstruction had required a whole day.” And later, “his own face in the mirror, his own hands, surprised him every time he saw them.” 🪞
I see what you did there, Jorge! The “Library of Babel” story lays out a bunch of arbitrary BS—shelves, hexagonal rooms—and argues with certainty that this is the universe. As your brain says “nope,” you notice how most of what you actually believe to be reality is also mostly arbitrary BS, too. 🪞
July 4, 2025 at 9:34 PM
I see what you did there, Jorge! The “Library of Babel” story lays out a bunch of arbitrary BS—shelves, hexagonal rooms—and argues with certainty that this is the universe. As your brain says “nope,” you notice how most of what you actually believe to be reality is also mostly arbitrary BS, too. 🪞
Yesterday I read an essay called “Partial Magic in the Quixote” by Borges and it really helped me understand his work better. (It’s in Labyrinths.) I’ll post a couple of quotes in the comments. He was fascinated by the idea that Cervantes is both a character in the work and also the author, too.🪞🫏
July 4, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Yesterday I read an essay called “Partial Magic in the Quixote” by Borges and it really helped me understand his work better. (It’s in Labyrinths.) I’ll post a couple of quotes in the comments. He was fascinated by the idea that Cervantes is both a character in the work and also the author, too.🪞🫏
Throughout “Tlön” I had a weird déjà vu that I’d read these ideas before. In 1989, in Doom Patrol #20, writer Grant Morrison lifted Borges’s ideas for “Orqwith” an imaginary world created by philosophers who wrote a fictional encyclopedia that later started invading into the “real” world. Hmm… 🪞
July 3, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Throughout “Tlön” I had a weird déjà vu that I’d read these ideas before. In 1989, in Doom Patrol #20, writer Grant Morrison lifted Borges’s ideas for “Orqwith” an imaginary world created by philosophers who wrote a fictional encyclopedia that later started invading into the “real” world. Hmm… 🪞
Borges’s “Pierre Menard” story probes the value of creating an exact reconstruction through repetition. It reminded me a lot of the HBO show “The Rehearsal.” Can we gain new insights through recreating the steps of another? 🪞
July 2, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Borges’s “Pierre Menard” story probes the value of creating an exact reconstruction through repetition. It reminded me a lot of the HBO show “The Rehearsal.” Can we gain new insights through recreating the steps of another? 🪞
Ooph! After a couple of enjoyable page-turners from Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith, reading Borges is a tough slog. Why say something plainly when you can use a dozen eight-syllable compound words, go on a philosophical digression, and reference in footnotes a few made-up historical works? 🪞
July 2, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Ooph! After a couple of enjoyable page-turners from Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith, reading Borges is a tough slog. Why say something plainly when you can use a dozen eight-syllable compound words, go on a philosophical digression, and reference in footnotes a few made-up historical works? 🪞
Excited for the July #bsbookclub daily read-along! For this month, we’re reading a bunch of short stories by Jorge Luis Borges. The majority of them can be found in “Labyrinths.” (That’s the book I have, so that’s what I’m reading.) Join us! The full reading schedule is at 🪞 or #borges
June 30, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Excited for the July #bsbookclub daily read-along! For this month, we’re reading a bunch of short stories by Jorge Luis Borges. The majority of them can be found in “Labyrinths.” (That’s the book I have, so that’s what I’m reading.) Join us! The full reading schedule is at 🪞 or #borges
LOL. Duolingo for Eleanor. 🌌
June 18, 2025 at 2:43 PM
LOL. Duolingo for Eleanor. 🌌
Last night, we watched the 1999 movie adaptation of "Hill House." The first half an hour or so is somewhat faithful to the novel before the movie gets silly, goes completely off the rails, and turns the action up to 11. Still a fun interpretation, though. 🌌 www.youtube.com/watch?v=byjA...
The Haunting (1999) Theatrical Trailer
YouTube video by Amblin
www.youtube.com
June 16, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Last night, we watched the 1999 movie adaptation of "Hill House." The first half an hour or so is somewhat faithful to the novel before the movie gets silly, goes completely off the rails, and turns the action up to 11. Still a fun interpretation, though. 🌌 www.youtube.com/watch?v=byjA...
Chapter 7 of “Hill House” had me considering how disjointed their reality has become. Arthur insists on inspecting all the bedrooms. I waited for him to witness the Green Room’s “Eleanor Come Home” written in blood, and see Theo’s torn clothes. He reports “all clear.” Did this even happen? 🌌
June 12, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Chapter 7 of “Hill House” had me considering how disjointed their reality has become. Arthur insists on inspecting all the bedrooms. I waited for him to witness the Green Room’s “Eleanor Come Home” written in blood, and see Theo’s torn clothes. He reports “all clear.” Did this even happen? 🌌
Chapter 6 opens with Eleanor and Luke in conversation. In her thoughts, she accuses him of vanity but then spends the next few pages entirely self-obsessed. I immediately read this as deep immaturity, thinking to myself oh, right, she’s really young. Except Eleanor is 32 years old! Interesting… 🌌
June 11, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Chapter 6 opens with Eleanor and Luke in conversation. In her thoughts, she accuses him of vanity but then spends the next few pages entirely self-obsessed. I immediately read this as deep immaturity, thinking to myself oh, right, she’s really young. Except Eleanor is 32 years old! Interesting… 🌌
In “Hill House” throughout chapter 5, I found it disturbing how abruptly and yet calmly Eleanor’s attitude towards Theo shifts. On p92 she spoke so adoringly, “how lovely she is.” Twenty five pages later, on p117, “I hate her. She sickens me.” 🌌
June 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
In “Hill House” throughout chapter 5, I found it disturbing how abruptly and yet calmly Eleanor’s attitude towards Theo shifts. On p92 she spoke so adoringly, “how lovely she is.” Twenty five pages later, on p117, “I hate her. She sickens me.” 🌌
Today’s scheduled reading, about the second night in the house, should include a warning label: Do not read this alone in a dark room late at night! The writing was so vivid, I was hiding under a blanket. The descriptions of the biting cold and the knocking at the door left me with goosebumps! 🌌
June 7, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Today’s scheduled reading, about the second night in the house, should include a warning label: Do not read this alone in a dark room late at night! The writing was so vivid, I was hiding under a blanket. The descriptions of the biting cold and the knocking at the door left me with goosebumps! 🌌
Winchester House in San Jose, CA is mentioned on page 77. Designed by the widow of the rifle magnate, it’s a maze of 160 nonsensical rooms, doors to nowhere, stairs that stop at the ceiling, etc. She claimed to be directed by the ghosts killed by their firearms. I saw it in 2018. Worth a visit! 🌌
June 6, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Winchester House in San Jose, CA is mentioned on page 77. Designed by the widow of the rifle magnate, it’s a maze of 160 nonsensical rooms, doors to nowhere, stairs that stop at the ceiling, etc. She claimed to be directed by the ghosts killed by their firearms. I saw it in 2018. Worth a visit! 🌌
“Hill House” is such a compelling page-turner it’s hard not to read ahead! On page 55, the story of Mr. Crain away in Europe and a governess overseeing his two little children at the house feels like a knowingly subtle “Turn of The Screw” reference. 🌌🪛
June 4, 2025 at 3:15 PM
“Hill House” is such a compelling page-turner it’s hard not to read ahead! On page 55, the story of Mr. Crain away in Europe and a governess overseeing his two little children at the house feels like a knowingly subtle “Turn of The Screw” reference. 🌌🪛
The first chapter of "Hill House" reminded me so much of the opening of the movie "Psycho." A lone woman, in posession of stolen goods (in this case, a car) drives out of the city and into an unfamiliar countryside. Same 1959 setting. I kept picturing Eleanor played by Janet Leigh. 🌌
June 2, 2025 at 3:19 PM
The first chapter of "Hill House" reminded me so much of the opening of the movie "Psycho." A lone woman, in posession of stolen goods (in this case, a car) drives out of the city and into an unfamiliar countryside. Same 1959 setting. I kept picturing Eleanor played by Janet Leigh. 🌌
Excited for the June #bsbookclub daily read-along! This month we’re reading 1959 horror classic “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. Join us! 🌌 #cupofstars
May 29, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Excited for the June #bsbookclub daily read-along! This month we’re reading 1959 horror classic “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. Join us! 🌌 #cupofstars