The Current: Dec 8
A weekly selection shaping the former comet universe
Hello and thank you for reading! This week we welcome December with a dive into Susumu Yokota via NTS mix, a beautiful bizenware carafe, a trailer for a Thai Buddhist sci-fi, and an interesting take against the normalization of plastic surgery discourse amongst women by another substacker.
To Listen →
Susumu Yokota has been everywhere for me this year. Incredibly prolific across multiple genres like ambient, house, techno, electronic under multiple monikers, there is something for everyone. From the familiar Blue Sky And Yellow Sunflower to the groovy 2016 album metronome melody, his catalog deserves a deep dive. This NTS mix from 2017 is the perfect exploration.
https://www.nts.live/shows/in-focus/episodes/in-focus-susumu-yokota
The Object →
I’ve been on a bizen kick! Bizen pottery, an ancient tradition from Okayama Prefecture in Japan, has a textured, distinctive look and colors, and is so beautiful and collectible. This bizen carafe sold by Spoon and Tamago is the perfect upgrade to my emotional support metal water bottle that recently corroded because I’ve been putting too much salt and electrolytes in it (don’t do that!). This carafe would also make an excellent gift because who doesn’t need an elegant vessel that imbues your water with Japanese clay minerals? It comes in elegant grey and red and will certainly kickstart your bizen collecting frenzy.
To See →
The Trailer for “The Deer of Nine Colors” - a Buddhist sci-fi film and sculpture installation by Andrew Thomas Huang that premiered last week at the Thailand Biennale. It reimagines an ancient folkloric tale interpreted through a queer futurism lens, and looks absolutely breathtaking.
To Read / The Idea →
I found this essay on my Substack feed and while I have always been pro-women-doing-whatever-they-want I was interested to read a well-researched take against cosmetic surgery with 6k likes.
I too, have been swept away in the ‘Is 30 too young to get a facelift’ discourse and have found myself envious of the results of the latest ‘Why I got a neck lift at 41’ articles widely shared and discussed. There is so much to unpack here, what is considered ‘cosmetic surgery’ (I got LASIK when I was 19), whether cosmetic surgery is rebelling against the patriarchy or bending to its will, and especially whether people should do whatever makes them happy regardless of what anyone reads or writes online.
While the author uses humor (it did make me laugh several times) and strong anti-surgery language, I think if there is a discourse about a topic, it’s not truly discourse unless we entertain all sides of the argument. Let women make their own decisions about their bodies but also let them also read so they can make informed choices.
Also this article references Frances McDormand and in one of life’s many synchronicities shortly after I read this article she made an adjacent appearance in my own life as if to emphasize the points made here. Take from that what you will.
