Out the Back Door
Charles Conley Charles Conley

Out the Back Door

Sometimes we can’t see the beauty just out the back door because we’re lazy or distracted. But sometimes we can’t see it because if we did it would break our hearts.

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Glimpses of a Mind in Process
Charles Conley Charles Conley

Glimpses of a Mind in Process

It’s not exactly true to say that I always envisioned the Corona Lectures as a method of two-way communication. I never expected a direct response to the work. What I hoped, instead, was that the Corona Lectures might inspire or encourage other people experiencing the disorientation and weirdness of life in the time of COVID-19 to reach out in their own way, to project across the chasms between us, chasms that were always there but which became more obvious under lockdown (whether externally- or self-imposed) something art-ish, art-like, that felt perhaps new, perhaps different, but most importantly appropriate to the situation in which we found ourselves. And that there would be enough people doing this for it to feel like a conversation.

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Hunched Against the Wind
Charles Conley Charles Conley

Hunched Against the Wind

Maybe you can imagine what effect a view like this might have on a kid. And if you can, then maybe you can imagine how easily it pulls the adult who used to be that kid back into that same mood. A yearning, a sense of what’s up ahead, a weird modulation of perspective. That I caught this photo with just that one lone walker was serendipity. There was no plan to it, and if I remember correctly, I was annoyed that they were there when I shot the photo. But now I think the walker makes the photo.

That walker feels like me.

As a kid, looking ahead to my life, I thought I would’ve made it to the oasis by now. It turns out, I’m still not there, still hunched against the wind, hands in my pockets, putting one foot in front of the other.

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Interesting Times Continue
Charles Conley Charles Conley

Interesting Times Continue

The pandemic is worse than it’s ever been. The political situation is extremely volatile, even relative to an exceptionally volatile four years. If the days are getting longer, it’s hardly noticeable. I don’t have anything intelligent or interesting to report this week. So instead, I’ll post this photo, which my niece sent me. I think it’s beautiful, and the more I look, the more I think so.

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Janus-Faced Haruspex
Charles Conley Charles Conley

Janus-Faced Haruspex

Midway between Christmas and New Years Eve, I took a walk at dusk and encountered some rather heavy-handed Halloween-esque imagery, and it has me thinking about augury and the interpretation of signs.

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Lecture 8: A Machine for Escaping Doubt
Wave Machine Charles Conley Wave Machine Charles Conley

Lecture 8: A Machine for Escaping Doubt

The eighth Corona Lecture, and the third Wave Machine, has been released. As we stand on the threshold of the new year, we call on the Trickster to attend our crossing. When either/or has us stuck, perhaps the paradoxes of the wise fool can help us slip the trap.

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