Niels Joaquin
@nielsj.bsky.social
Finished Exile and the Kingdom by Albert Camus
"And what about you," said Rateau, "Do you exist, then?"
[...]
"No, I'm not certain I exist. But one day I will, I'm sure of that."
(Reminds me of this Thoreau sentiment)
"And what about you," said Rateau, "Do you exist, then?"
[...]
"No, I'm not certain I exist. But one day I will, I'm sure of that."
(Reminds me of this Thoreau sentiment)
November 15, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Finished Exile and the Kingdom by Albert Camus
"And what about you," said Rateau, "Do you exist, then?"
[...]
"No, I'm not certain I exist. But one day I will, I'm sure of that."
(Reminds me of this Thoreau sentiment)
"And what about you," said Rateau, "Do you exist, then?"
[...]
"No, I'm not certain I exist. But one day I will, I'm sure of that."
(Reminds me of this Thoreau sentiment)
Pynchon in 1963: Let's goooo!
November 11, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Pynchon in 1963: Let's goooo!
Finished V. by Thomas Pynchon. Right out of the gate, he was already so brilliantly imaginative, lyrical, hilarious. It's intimidating to think about the intellect and creative power it took to conjure these narratives out of the horrors (and occasional joys) of the 20th century
November 11, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Finished V. by Thomas Pynchon. Right out of the gate, he was already so brilliantly imaginative, lyrical, hilarious. It's intimidating to think about the intellect and creative power it took to conjure these narratives out of the horrors (and occasional joys) of the 20th century
Trafic (1971), in 35 mm. The absurd camper van is the funny version of this thesis from The Society of the Spectacle: "glorifying the latest commodities at a time when increasingly extensive campaigns are necessary to convince people to buy increasingly unnecessary commodities"
November 6, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Trafic (1971), in 35 mm. The absurd camper van is the funny version of this thesis from The Society of the Spectacle: "glorifying the latest commodities at a time when increasingly extensive campaigns are necessary to convince people to buy increasingly unnecessary commodities"
¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!
October 31, 2025 at 10:27 PM
¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!
The Castle of Purity (1972). My first Arturo Ripstein—had never even heard of him until this BAM series!
October 25, 2025 at 3:25 AM
The Castle of Purity (1972). My first Arturo Ripstein—had never even heard of him until this BAM series!
Finished The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, as well as Comments on the Society of the Spectacle. Shout-out to lint_ax (on Twitter), from whose posts I learned about Debord
October 20, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Finished The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, as well as Comments on the Society of the Spectacle. Shout-out to lint_ax (on Twitter), from whose posts I learned about Debord
Marty Supreme (2025). Good Time to Uncut Gems to Marty Supreme is a legendary filmography in the making. As intense as those films (if you can imagine), with a complex role for Timmy, delusional and despicable, charming and scrappy. What a team (Khondji, Fisk!) across the board
October 7, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Marty Supreme (2025). Good Time to Uncut Gems to Marty Supreme is a legendary filmography in the making. As intense as those films (if you can imagine), with a complex role for Timmy, delusional and despicable, charming and scrappy. What a team (Khondji, Fisk!) across the board
The Fence (2025). Just as in his first collaboration with Denis, Isaach De Bankolé shows his immense power even in characters who have to hold back their emotion
October 6, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The Fence (2025). Just as in his first collaboration with Denis, Isaach De Bankolé shows his immense power even in characters who have to hold back their emotion
Finished Panegyric: Volumes 1 & 2 by Guy Debord
September 28, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Finished Panegyric: Volumes 1 & 2 by Guy Debord
I had this question about VistaVision several years ago, and now that the format is back, I was wondering ... When Vertigo was in its original theatrical run, did the great majority of people just see it projected in standard 35? How many theaters could show a VistaVision print?
September 25, 2025 at 10:57 PM
I had this question about VistaVision several years ago, and now that the format is back, I was wondering ... When Vertigo was in its original theatrical run, did the great majority of people just see it projected in standard 35? How many theaters could show a VistaVision print?
Finished Joseph Conrad's "Youth" & The End of the Tether. Tether is a stark depiction of what money is like with no assets to your name: you gamble what little you have on yourself, and a life of labor is rewarded only by the terror of making money in old age to fund your old age
September 25, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Finished Joseph Conrad's "Youth" & The End of the Tether. Tether is a stark depiction of what money is like with no assets to your name: you gamble what little you have on yourself, and a life of labor is rewarded only by the terror of making money in old age to fund your old age
Hot Pepper (1973), DCP. As always, Les Blank distills so much wisdom and audiovisual poetry and life into < 60 min
September 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Hot Pepper (1973), DCP. As always, Les Blank distills so much wisdom and audiovisual poetry and life into < 60 min
Finished A Smile of Fortune by Joseph Conrad, from the 1910s like "The Secret Sharer" and The Shadow-Line, and written with the same melancholy (beautiful) voice. He casually starts sentences like: "But, living in a world more or less homicidal and desperately mercantile ..."
September 16, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Finished A Smile of Fortune by Joseph Conrad, from the 1910s like "The Secret Sharer" and The Shadow-Line, and written with the same melancholy (beautiful) voice. He casually starts sentences like: "But, living in a world more or less homicidal and desperately mercantile ..."
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), in 35 mm. I continue to collect these Fassbinder compositions!
September 15, 2025 at 1:38 AM
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), in 35 mm. I continue to collect these Fassbinder compositions!
Belle of the Nineties (1934), DCP. Who else could deliver "His mother should've thrown him away and kept the stork" but Mae West?
Also, was looking at what I've seen in McCarey's filmography. A great reminder of the range!
Also, was looking at what I've seen in McCarey's filmography. A great reminder of the range!
September 13, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Belle of the Nineties (1934), DCP. Who else could deliver "His mother should've thrown him away and kept the stork" but Mae West?
Also, was looking at what I've seen in McCarey's filmography. A great reminder of the range!
Also, was looking at what I've seen in McCarey's filmography. A great reminder of the range!
Man Ray: When Objects Dream, @metmuseum.org
September 13, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Man Ray: When Objects Dream, @metmuseum.org
Finished Balzac's The Girl with the Golden Eyes. Bold to spend the 1st 20% on a detailed outline of the class system! "Almost all these men are shriveled in the furnace of affairs. And a man who lets himself be caught in the gears of these immense machines can never become great"
September 12, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Finished Balzac's The Girl with the Golden Eyes. Bold to spend the 1st 20% on a detailed outline of the class system! "Almost all these men are shriveled in the furnace of affairs. And a man who lets himself be caught in the gears of these immense machines can never become great"
Source: How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and His Changing Times, 1961–1964
This is the first traveling exhibition from the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa. It's now at NYU. It's a tiny exhibit, but to see that sheet of paper up close! 🫶🫶 bobdylancenter.com/visit/exhibi...
This is the first traveling exhibition from the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa. It's now at NYU. It's a tiny exhibit, but to see that sheet of paper up close! 🫶🫶 bobdylancenter.com/visit/exhibi...
September 4, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Source: How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and His Changing Times, 1961–1964
This is the first traveling exhibition from the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa. It's now at NYU. It's a tiny exhibit, but to see that sheet of paper up close! 🫶🫶 bobdylancenter.com/visit/exhibi...
This is the first traveling exhibition from the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa. It's now at NYU. It's a tiny exhibit, but to see that sheet of paper up close! 🫶🫶 bobdylancenter.com/visit/exhibi...
Written by Bob Dylan
in Mills Bar on Bleeker [sic] St in
New York City on 14th day of February
for Woody Guthrie
🥹
in Mills Bar on Bleeker [sic] St in
New York City on 14th day of February
for Woody Guthrie
🥹
September 4, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Written by Bob Dylan
in Mills Bar on Bleeker [sic] St in
New York City on 14th day of February
for Woody Guthrie
🥹
in Mills Bar on Bleeker [sic] St in
New York City on 14th day of February
for Woody Guthrie
🥹
Finished Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky (tr. P&V). In the first section, I thought that this would be a book that only moody teenagers would enjoy now. It was partially redeemed by all the moments in Part II where I was like Ahhhhh shit he just like me fr
August 31, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Finished Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky (tr. P&V). In the first section, I thought that this would be a book that only moody teenagers would enjoy now. It was partially redeemed by all the moments in Part II where I was like Ahhhhh shit he just like me fr
I never knew this building in the West Village was a branch of NYPL: the Jefferson Market Library. I was looking for a branch open on Sundays (and closer to me than the flagship locations in Midtown)
Like Anthology, the building used to be a courthouse and has a spiral staircase
Like Anthology, the building used to be a courthouse and has a spiral staircase
August 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
I never knew this building in the West Village was a branch of NYPL: the Jefferson Market Library. I was looking for a branch open on Sundays (and closer to me than the flagship locations in Midtown)
Like Anthology, the building used to be a courthouse and has a spiral staircase
Like Anthology, the building used to be a courthouse and has a spiral staircase
the philosophies that preceded those ideas all the way to our current conditions—where corporations continually cut workers in profitable times, and where all but the superrich feel desperately unstable in their employment prospects
(Also, bonus points for the Sebald epigraph)
(Also, bonus points for the Sebald epigraph)
August 24, 2025 at 7:06 AM
the philosophies that preceded those ideas all the way to our current conditions—where corporations continually cut workers in profitable times, and where all but the superrich feel desperately unstable in their employment prospects
(Also, bonus points for the Sebald epigraph)
(Also, bonus points for the Sebald epigraph)