Joe McHugh Exists
April 3rd, 2013 by Kyle BrodzkyThis has qualities of an open letter about Joe McHugh, who is a tangential element to my group of online friends.
This is not quite an open letter to Joe McHugh, because shining a direct light on his fleeting modes of existence (from my point of view) would be less productive than what this is.
This is, really now, an exercise in imitating certain traits or qualities or themes. A series of unexceptional notes with exceptional sustain.
I enjoy telling people things from my life that I feel overlap with their life.
As a gift recently I received a very comfortable blue sweater. It is simple and thick, and it has a shawl collar. It is warm, and overall it is a cluster of details that signify certain things about me, wearing it. I enjoy this, because it indicates these significations in a way that might alter people’s perceptions of me in a tiny way that I shouldn’t really care about. I enjoy that potential it has but really, I enjoy it because it’s a very nice sweater with a shawl collar, and its physical attributes make it suited for its role as a piece of clothing. It can feel good to own something worth taking care of.
When I was in New York, I visited “Chinatown”, and at a store there, I purchased a bag of bulk candy.
- Don’t place under direct sunlight
- Store in a dry & cool place
- Consume as soon as it was open
This is a candybag I have in my room now, and it is a powerful set of temptations. The candy within the bag is varied, and suitable for most occasions and even sharing with guests whose dispositions with regard to choice of confection can not be easily surmised, or guessed at in advance. It has utility, along with being, mostly, a tool of hedonism. It’s a real charmer.
Joe McHugh we played a video game once, and you didn’t know what you were doing and I assured you that your confusion was fine. Our mutual friend tried to explain concepts to you, and though I filled in gaps between his sweeping points here and there, I feel that the attempt to correct your course (running around and dying as you were) was detrimental to the ‘playing’ of the game. I was enjoying your noises a lot.
I sent you an invitation on Steam to be my friend.
It would have been significant if I had waited fifteen more days to take the above screenshot but I feel like I’ve put off this exercise enough. We should play more games.
There are a lot of things we should do more of.
Let me quote you from November 1st of last year: “My friend Kyle, whom I have never been in the same room with, sometimes asks me why I don’t write here anymore. My answer is I don’t know. I like doing it and, due to the fact that every goddamn first-world eye blinks in rhythm with the internet, it’s easy. Right now, I am lazily dragging my finger across a plastic light source and it is telling me what I mean to spell, not unlike a spirit controlling a hand on a ouija board. I think I avoid it because I’m tired. I mean tired in a lot of ways, none of which will be explained right now.”
I agree with this dilemma, if not your mode of arriving to it.
It’s been three months since you’ve updated your website. It’s only been a month and a half since I’ve updated mine. It’s not a competition but we could both do better.
The ball is in your court, friend.