blog / news
this is where I will post about things happening in my life, among other various updates.
"an update on soft city"
[2024/08/08 @ 3:45pm]
just moments ago I received a nondescript little parcel from UPS
containing a single unbound proof of my new book.
it is a very special feeling to be holding in my hand
the physical actualization of this years-long project. as if a chapter has closed and a weight has lifted.
I am quite pleased with the quality of the book. it looks beautiful, exactly as I had envisioned.
and now that I have seen and felt the difference in quality between a print-on-demand piece of junk versus
a professionally printed book, I have no qualms about the additional costs incurred
from working with this printing press as opposed to the nightmare that is amazon or ingramspark.
the full run of books should be at my doorstep within a week and be shipping out shortly
thereafter. not quite in time for my birthday on monday, but close enough that it still feels like a gift,
an accomplishment to close out what felt for once like a moderately pleasant year.
I will probably bring copies of the book to sell in person at the two bars I work at, like a shady
little side hustle. if you know me in real life, feel free to come by and I would be happy to give you one.
other than that, I have little else to report. I hope everyone is doing well.
that's all for now. thank you for your time.
——matt ♥
"a new home"
[2024/07/17 @ 4:04am]
I suppose this unhinged, rambling passage will have to serve as the first entry in my blog.
two days ago, I started teaching myself html and began coding this website.
I'm sure much of it will change with time and a refinement of coding skills,
but for now I am happy with its unpolished charm.
the initial impetus for its creation was to make a host site for
my new book, one that I am in full creative control of.
I don't have much interest in using these increasingly prevalent, increasingly bland prefabricated
websites like squarespace,
wix, etc. that are so devoid of any semblance of character or identity as to be inherently offputting.
I get a headache just from looking at those soft earthtone colors and that one awful font that reeks
of millennial yuppie-ism. you know that one they use in every subway ad to hock some useless product
that costs 5x more than the one from your
local value store because it has ~good graphic design~? I hate it. and it would be a disservice to the
time and thought and effort I put into my book to then host it on a site that lacks time and thought and effort.
at the same time, I would rather be hanged in the town square
than distribute my book through something
as deeply evil as amazon. amazon is a parasitic nightmare and I don't really have the time or energy at this moment
to go into any further depth on the irreversible damage they have done to the book industry, worker's rights,
or human society as a whole. sure, amazon could've printed my book for 1/4 the cost that I got from
my local printer, but even ignoring my disdain for their business practices, I've seen those on-demand printed
books and they look/feel like cheap garbage. I would feel much better from a moral standpoint
(and more justified in my disdain) if I were to pay a real business with real human employees to
craft something with care, even if it means comparatively breaking the bank.
and it breaks my heart to know that I am in the small minority of writers who hold this belief.
anyway, this revulsion somehow led me to neocities, where its freedom from the confines
of the ever-depressing modern web
felt almost revolutionary, like I'm in some rebel camp fighting against an authoritarian regime.
deep down I admittedly must have some nostalgic attachment to the lovingly hand-crafted websites
of the early 2000s, and so I have built my website to reflect this aesthetic
while still (hopefully) remaining somewhat usable, navigable, and informative.
that's all for now. thank you for your time.
——matt ♥
