30 March 2026 Monday

when i got home from work, we finished putting 
the hinged lids and the doors on the video art 
gear case. we were trying to get it done before
dark but had to keep running back to the hardware
store to swap hinges and things. so night fell, and 
we dropped the (heavy) new cabinet we built as we were 
trying to wrangle it inside, and some yelping and brief 
minor ruckus ensued. shortly we had an episode with 
uniforms arriving at our door. a concerned neighbor 
had made a call saying a woman was screaming.
(screaming isn't the word i'd use.) 

we explained what happened, and apologized for the 
noise. they could see the case there outside where 
it fell. they said no problem, but asked for id "if 
you don't mind." i said if i don't have to, i'd rather 
not, thank you. they said okay, and left.

some months ago i stopped taking prescription medication
for anxiety. (maybe i'll get into the reasons, another
time.) i know that if i don't stay mindful of not
letting worry programs locomote freely through my mind
and body, i can hit troublesome tracks. i was already
feeling a bit overwhelmed today because i'm navigating
red tape related to an injury. official interactions just
make me feel tight. 

making the switch to matcha rather than coffee has been
a supportive shift.

this morning,  i came across mention* of M.C. Escher's 
wild "Print Gallery" lithograph, which led me to read about 
the droste effect. i've used shader effects called 'droste' 
in video art software, and knew it was related to recursion, 
but didn't know the origin of the name.

a dutch cocoa company named Droste had a print advertisement
in 1904, by Jan Misset, which depicts a nurse holding a tray
upon which is a cup and a can of Cacao Droste, which depicts
the nurse holding a tray upon which is a cup and a can of 
Cacao Droste...

unrelated recommended listening: 
Mamman Sani Abdoulaye, 
"Unreleased Tapes 1981-1984"    
the song "Arman Doley" is very moving, i think
and there is a beautiful cover (brought me to tears)
of the traditional "Five Hundred Miles"

be warned, these are (gloriously) old, lo-fi recordings.



* see gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2026 for the post
i read, which has more in-depth discussion and further links.