Wednesday, August 31, 2016

An Annoying Autobiographical Interlude, Part I: We Leave New York

We left here....

Well, last week marks a three-month absence from these pages.  Concerned readers have asked, where have you been?  Where, indeed.

Your Correspondent has spent the last three months in an epic move from Gotham to Southern California.  The move was a long time in coming, and completely necessary.  However, amassing a 40 year (and counting) collection of books, autographs, historical documents, pictures, paintings, art materials and curiosa for selling or packing and shipping was no easy task.  (We won’t even begin to talk about packing 50 hats…)  We have been safely ensconced here for three weeks now, and things have settled down to the usual state of fevered activity.

Nor are our adventures over.  While we have settled into Huntington Beach for the next few months, that is only the first step prior to finding a new, permanent home, exploring professional opportunities, reaching out to the various artistic communities, and generally getting on with life.

During the past few months, I haven’t been able to give The Jade Sphinx the attention it so richly deserves.  However, I’m delighted to find that my readership has inexplicably increased (some 12,000 reads in July alone!), and that the total number of reads has reached an impressive 363,512!  That number amply demonstrates that the public is hungry for an in-depth examination of great books, theatre and art.  To each and every one of you who regularly reads these pages, I thank you.  For those of you who are new here, keep coming – there is more on the way.  (Or, better yet, start reading earlier posts.  This blog has covered a broad array of topics, and there is something of interest for most everyone.)

.... For here!

In the coming weeks, we will return to book reviews, art analysis, and thoughts on our current culture (or lack of it).  We will also make a comment or two on the efforts of two hard-bitten New Yorkers to become laid-back West Coasters.  The change in lifestyle, quality of life, and overall enrichment of experience is staggering.  When people in New York ask what Southern California is like, I say, “remember the view outside my window, and imagine the exact opposite.”  It is quieter, cleaner, the people friendlier and more polite, there are no undercurrents of anxiety and aggression, and the endless stream of perfect-weather days provides a sense of timelessness.  I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.

So, while my life has fundamentally and happily changed, The Jade Sphinx will be providing the mixture as before.  Let us know what parts of this blog you most enjoy, and what needs work.  Remember that while The Jade Sphinx largely exists as a mode of developing and exploring my intellectual and aesthetic appreciations, it is an experience that I want to share with you.   

Tomorrow: Getting Settled In Southern California