#32 The Next Chapter, Desert Art, Bad Words, False Faces, and the Big Wait.

Throw these into the conversation.

Nov 18, 2024

Burned trees and abundant growth on the Carlton Ridge trail in Montana, several years post-fire.

Kamala was right about one thing: the page is turning. As much as Trump wants to take us back to some imagined fantasy moment, we’re hurtling forward whether we like it or not. The question is… forward into what? The initial signs are not good.

Possibly like you, I’m finding it hard to engage with politics at the moment. It’s all so dire and my mental health needs a break. I’m tuning out and I’m not alone. Some might say it’s a privilege to simply go on as if nothing has changed when so many people’s lives stand to be negatively impacted by the Trumpocalypse. A fair point.

That said, I can’t see how rabid consumption of moment-by-moment political news, leftwing podcasts, outraged Twitter threads and foreboding substacks will do anything but erode my mental stability. So I’ve complied the following 100% biased list of things to do instead of doomscrolling. I hope it helps.

These are just a few of the ideas that came to mind while I stared into space for fifteen minutes. Who knows what you’d think of if you put down your phone and did the same thing?

Unfortunately, while staring into space, I was also reminded of my friend Nicole. She grew up and found success in Deng Xiaoping’s 70s/80s China, an era so thoroughly discredited by the rise of Xi Jinping’s political thought that she ultimately had to flee China for London. Is that the fate for those of us whose core values are so decidedly ‘out-of-fashion’ in Trump’s America? Maybe.

One thing seems certain, the disrupters have seized control and old structures are destined to fall. The media, the job market, academia, our institutions of government, even global alliances - everything is now in flux, not just thanks to Trump but AI, crypto and climate change. “May you live in interesting times’ indeed.

In forest management catastrophic fires occasionally level acres of dense overgrowth. At the same time they clear the way for new growth destined to bloom into the next generation of towering greenery.

Time to start cultivating green shoots. (And cooking with soil.)

2. Forever is Now (but not right now)

In my attempt to blank out terrifying thoughts of our current political dystopia, I came across these amazing images from the recently closed, Forever is Now sculpture festival hosted by Art D’Égypte. With the monumental Pyramids of Giza as backdrop, the exhibition focused on links between the past and the present through a dozen site-specific sculptural artworks.

Innovative creatives including British light artist, Chris Levine, Italian tech / science / data artist, Federica Di Carlo, American-Korean artist, Ik-Joong Kang, and Indian Magic Realist, Shilo Shiv Suleman, among others created site-specific installations to challenge our perceptions of the dramatic surroundings.

We Will Meet Again in the Sky, Jake Michael Singer

Desert Waves, Jean Boghossian in collaboration with Gilles Libert

What would the architects of the monumental pyramids think of these technologically sophisticated exhibits? What does their juxtaposition against the majestic Pyramids say about human progress? How has that progress enriched us while simultaneously impoverishing us? Will any of these contemporary pieces even be remembered in fifty years time much less still stand after centuries? DISCUSS!

The 4th iteration of Forever is Now implies that a fifth is not far off. Must start saving now for a desert art getaway to contemplate the questions above.

3. Bad Words

Words fail me. How does one describe the heinous and villainous characters that seem ubiquitous in contemporary life? From the asshole who gets in the lift with his dog off leash, to people who throw trash on the street — ‘bad’, ‘evil’, ‘dastardly’, just don’t cut it any more. My rage and loathing demand more descriptive descriptors. So I was thrilled to come across this list of obscure words that have fallen out of fashion but were previously used to describe the wicked. Here are a few of my favourites:

Mixship

Mixship is a rare, old word for a villainous deed. If mixship seems opaque, that’s because it sprang from the Old English sense of mix - a word for dung or other filth. So calling something a “mixship” is like saying “What a total pile of crap!” or “That’s BS” today.

Skelm

As far back as the early 1600s, a skelm was a villain or other rascal. The word comes from a German term that could refer to the devil. By the 1600s, skelm was also being used as an adjective, like in a 1673 mention by English poet John Dryden of the “Skellum English.”

Facinorous

The Oxford English Dictionary’s definition leaves little to the imagination: “Extremely wicked or immoral; grossly criminal; vile, atrocious, heinous; infamous.” ‘Facinorous’ was big in the 1700s but has faded since then, though it has spawned a few amusing derivatives. In George Borrow’s 1841 book The Zincali, he wrote that Constantine the Great “condemned to death those who should practise such facinorousness.”

Remember these the next time you come cross a facinorous skelm practicing mixship!

4. Masks in the Wild

More wanderings online brought me to the incredible work of Atlanta-based artist Jym Davis, who goes by False Face. He describes his distinctive work as ‘a personal mythology filtered through ancient folklore.’ He uses ribbons, bells, flowers, horns, and vibrant paints commonly used in British folk traditions with echos in traditional American craft. He sees his work as ‘an alternate reality, where old festivals splintered into new forms with different fables. Variant stories informed by science fiction and an increasingly apocalyptic-looking future.’ I’m obsessed!

5. The Big Wait

Life in the centre of Manhattan will make anyone dream of living off-grid. I recently came across The Big Wait by filmmaker, Yannick Jamey, and now I’m more torn than ever. Life in some remote fantasy outpost still appeals, but could I actually stand the unrelenting emptiness? Below, a short summary.

Welcome to Forrest, Australia, a small town isolated in the flat and treeless Western Australian desert. Population: two.

Greg and Kate maintain Forrest’s emergency airstrip. As they wait for an emergency landing, they keep Forrest’s one street and six vacant houses in pristine condition by mowing the green front lawns, blowing the leaves, and vacuuming the red dust. Ready for visitors at a moment’s notice. At the same time, they find themselves enjoying the inherent freedom of Forrest by indulging in increasingly wild activities. But in the face of uncertainty and the ever looming shadow of madness, how long can they keep up thier fragile balance between play and routine before something finally cracks?

Small Print:

Check out previous issues of QUALITY TIME here.
This occasional newsletter of curated content doesn’t just happen, so if you like it, why not throw me a few shekels? Simply donate via Venmo (@DavidMillsDept), PayPal (@DavidMills351) or Ko-fi.
Questions or feedback? Email: qualitytimewithdm@gmail.com.
Final word from MRCY