An Update for Subscribers

"Then stirs the feeling infinite, so felt In solitude, where we are least alone." - Lord Byron, British romantic poet and satirist (1788–1824)

Dear Reader,

First of all, let me begin by addressing the herd of metaphorical elephants in the room – it’s been an almost literal eternity since last I uploaded. For my long-term subscribers, please accept my sincerest and most suitably shamefaced apologies; I’ll get into the reasons behind my absence a little later. Sorry also to those who might never have had my newsletter pop up in your inbox before. Given the fact that several more popular (and prolific) writers on Substack have kindly recommended my work – writers who you presumably subscribe to – my email list has continued to expand even without input from my end. Naturally, I’d love you to stick around – we do some pretty interesting stuff here. If, however, you have no idea who I am or why you’re receiving this email, please feel free to unsubscribe via the link below.

That said, this update is primarily intended for those who’ve been with me for a while. Ever since launching Midnight at the Matinee, a legitimately humbling number of you have taken the time to express some very nice sentiments about what I do, and it really is no exaggeration to say that articulating what that means vastly surpasses my abilities as a writer. To my ongoing amazement, a few have even been generous enough to support me financially, a gesture for which I remain immeasurably and indescribably grateful, and as such, I feel I owe something of an explanation.

Without wading into specifics, it might be said that the past three years have amounted, on a purely personal level, to a series of emotional and psychological kicks in the gut. No doubt, there are many readers all too well acquainted with those periods in life when simply forcing oneself out of bed and attempting some semblance of a hygiene routine is just about all the energy expenditure which can be hoped for. In short, I was a semi-functional mess, scarcely able to navigate a successful trip to the laundromat, let alone piece together something worthy of your time and attention.

Mercifully and at long last, this chapter appears to be at a close. In a few minutes, you will receive a second email with my latest attempt at artistic output. Unlike what you might be used to, this is among my earliest efforts at video production, albeit a video based on an article I published a while back – just something I started to scratch the creative itch whenever an original, full-length project seemed so utterly unfeasible. In truth, I’m still getting to grips with both the equipment and the software (hence why my voice sounds a tad robotic in places), but nevertheless, I would greatly appreciate if you might give it a watch, while if you happen to find value in it, please consider making an offer to the algorithm gods in the form of a like, share, comment or subscribe.

But although it is my intention to make further such videos, my goal remains getting back to the kind of “conspiracy theorizing” and blatantly unqualified psychoanalysis traditional here at Midnight at the Matinee. I’m currently occupied with a piece on Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, and their alleged role in predictive programming, which, barring any more personal catastrophes or the eminently possible outbreak of World War III, I should have finished before long.

I hope you’ll stick around for that as well as a few other ideas I’ve been batting around while once again, thanks to any and all who have ever read my work.

Kind regards,

Carson