Chris DeLuca

One time, in college, I went to senior prom as Zoro.

Three young white men wearing suits and serious expressions. Me, on the right, is wearing an eye mask and hat and a sneer.

Just had a panicked moment thinking water could spoil, then realized I had accidentally drank from the kombucha glass.

It was once critics who helped shape cultural values – spotting a trend here, putting a scene on the map there – but now the process is driven by metrics. Context, the land of the artist and the critic, has been determined valueless (unless algorithmic) by the mainstream, which honestly never much cared for it to begin with.

A thoughtful piece on art and criticism that’s surprisingly hopeful in the face of change by Yancey Strickler.

Plus for visiting LA: being able to work outside in January.

A photo of me, a bald, bearded white man. I’m sitting outside near a tree, sun speckles lighting everything up. My expression is almost blank, with a weird-ass hint of a smile. I’m creeped out of myself in retrospect.

I learned the term “kazorcastra” at our company retreat, and I love it. It’s a group of kazoo players, and apparently it’s real.

I’m missing Godzilla Minus One Minus Color, but then again dogs permenantly suffer from the reverse so I think I’m doing okay. 🍿

A vivid splash of red and orange sunset over a bright blue sky, jet black mountains in the foreground.

Never let it be said that logs don’t have a sense of humor.

Exposed tree roots on a hill with googly eyes and sock tongues on two stumps.

Topanga is pretty nice.

I had such a wonderful time at the Lullabot retreat. You can’t beat relaxing with amazing humans while beating the cold.

A lamp in the foreground on a table with a green lawn and flower beds and peaked buildings in the middle distance. Mountains rise in the background against a bright blue sky.

So happy to be at the Lullabot retreat. It’s been a hard year, and it’s a joy to relax and have fun with my co-owners.

Photo of a white fence, the angle of a low white building with a peaked roof and string lights coming off it. Several massive palm trees stand behind the building. In the distance are smokey mountains. The sky is bright and cloudy.

Spotted two people flying with their cats this morning.

On my way to California for two weeks. I’m really excited but hoping this is my last trip for a while.

I found this seashell in the grating of the radiator (seen behind). I know the previous tenant must have accidentally knocked it in but my first thought was that the heat was an ancient seabed.

My white hand holding a classically scalloped seashell with dark red coloring in front of a baseboard radiator.

Another entry in the AI Novel covers series. Here’s the generating prompt:

Generate an image of a fake novel cover called “Illegal Touching by Jillian St. Basketball”. It is a sports romance novel.

An AI generated novel cover. It shows two attractive young people embracing on a basketball court. On the left is a dark skinned man with slicked back hair. On the right is a white woman, leg up, with flowing hair, as if in a breeze. The man grits his teeth strangely, and the woman's expression is skeletal somehow. The man holds a basketball over the womans butt, but the angle is all wrong. Two hoops are in the background, and they seem to melt, and are too close to each other. People with melty faces sit on the court. The book is called "Illegal Touching" by Jjlliain st Basketball

What is going on with that basketball? And why is the guy’s teeth like that? Melty hoops I understand.

Currently reading: The Last Colony by John Scalzi 📚

Started last night. Thought I’d take a break from the Old Man’s War series, but was feeling a light fun novel last night so keeping on!

A desk caddy corner in a bare walled room. The desk has two levels, one for the monitor, and another for the keyboard. It is light, processed wood. On the left is a mic arm and audio deck on the lower level, and headphones and canned air on the upper level. In the middle is a 26 inch acer monitor on the upper level, and an old magic keyboard and even older wired mouse on the lower level. The lower level also sports an abstract, colorful star patterned mouse mat. On the right is a mac book pro sitting on top of a laptop stand, clamshell closed. There are various dumb stickers all over it. A mug of coffee and a water thermos sit on the far right on the lower level.

I put my desk together yesterday. It’s missing a support beam underneath (I must have accidentally thrown it out in the frantic move), so the lower level wobbles, but I figure I can replace it with a two by four. In the mean time, I have a dedicated desk and large monitor for the first time in nine months!

Snow is sticking in New York for the first time time this year.

A three story brown stone building seen from a window on the third floor of the opposite building. A light dusting of snow coats everything. It’s especially visible on the fire escape. The sky is steel grey.

A great map of the independent web, assigned to categories you can look up by clicking. What you’re reading is part of the “Personal web” but there’s so many interesting nooks. Folder poetry? The feral web? Let’s go.

Susuru Ramen in Astoria is absolutely incredible. I had the garlic oil Kuro. Great broth, noodles cooked just right.

A bowl of ramen with garlic oil on the side, pork slices, a soy sauce egg, chives.

In defense of slowness.

Because the job is not to know; it’s to become. A sociopath knows what kindness is and how to weaponize it; a saint becomes it.

Finished reading: The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi 📚

The tri-boro bridge during the day, shot through a glass elevator shaft.

Stale cigarette smoke is a deeply nostalgic smell for me, even though I never was a smoker. I don’t get to smell it much anymore, which is probably a good thing, since it’s still pretty gross.

I’ve performed in countless improv shows, but tonight will be the first time I’ll host one. Wish me luck.