The Grey Ledger Society (Page 39)

The Grey Ledger Society

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Wasting Away Again in the New Margaritaville

Notes on Consumption, Constraint, and the Stories We Swallow There was a time when "consumption" meant the wasting sickness. Now it means something else entirely. It means bumper stickers on electric cars and coffee orders that double as moral positioning. It means curated playlists, and algorithm-fed cravings, and

Neon Delica Minivan: TiGGR Hits Neo-Tokyo

A TiGGR Drift Log I saw Akira on a bootleg VHS—no subtitles, no dub, not a goddamn clue what was happening. It didn’t matter. There was a boy, and he was expanding like a waterbed the size of a stadium. The city screamed. The bikes howled. The sky

The Audio Necromancer’s Notes on RSD Eve

Shelves, Static, and the Songs That Find Us Again I. Shelves That Hum When the Lights Are Out The CD shelf still remembers what I forgot. Early pressings from Japan. Peel-off price stickers half-erased. A voicemail from a Japanese grocer announcing the arrival of TEA. A jewel case cracked from

Classroom Catastrophe! A TiGGR One Shot

The Quiet Bell Still Rings There was something radical about Azumanga Daioh that snuck in under the radar—disguised as silliness, delivered as softness. A classroom of chaos, yes, but not cruelty. Idiosyncrasies weren’t punished. They were cherished. No bullying arcs. No breakdowns. Just a circle of sincere, absurd,

Who’s Having More Fun These Days? (A Galaxie 500 Divorce Retrospective)

What started as a snarky question—“Who’s having more fun these days?”—turned into a reflection on creative survival, divergent paths, and the lingering hum of a show I saw thirty years ago. Dean Wareham is touring ghosts with a grin. Damon & Naomi are holding down the analog monastery.

Plate of Shrimp: A Repo Man Setting for TiGGR

A TiGGR Drift Log I saw Repo Man in college, part of a quad feature stitched together by a friend with exquisite taste: Suburbia, X: The Unheard Music, the Motörhead episode of The Young Ones, and Alex Cox’s apocalyptic punk noir. Four transmissions. One night. The wires have never

The Four Rules of Borderline Inappropriate Humor

A Companion to the Four Rules of Firearm Safety 1. Treat every joke like it could misfire. If you're not sure it’s funny, unload and lock open the slide. 2. Never point your punchline at something you're not willing to disarm. Audience included. 3. Keep

The Tutor with One Arm: Shigeru Mizuki and the Curriculum of the Holy Fool

Before the lemur filled their basket as the flood waters rose. Before Wile E. raised his parasol. Before Joseph built the granary with no Pharaoh in sight— There was a man with one arm, drawing yokai in the shade of a crooked pine. Not to warn. Not to profit. But

The Bootstrap Games

Horatio Alger Was the First Tribute Horatio Alger’s boys always made it. They started poor, stayed virtuous, and caught the eye of a benevolent patron. Their stories—churned out in the late 1800s—became the founding myth of American meritocracy: if you work hard and stay good, someone will

This Is Why You Lost in 2024

A reflection from someone who wasn’t at the protest—but was watching for the signal I wasn’t in the streets on April 5. I was miles away, eating barbecue on a sunny afternoon, trying to follow what was happening. But the feeds were quiet. The networks were quieter.