OPENING MONOLOGUE

POP CULTURE MUST DIE

I’m still working on getting my office redone. I added another bookshelf to accommodate my new Stephen King books (look, it’s not a problem if I admit it), repainted some walls, hung up some new pictures, and threw away a lot of junk. There’s been a massive amount of reorganization.

Since I work from home, I spend at least eight hours daily in this room from Monday to Friday. This is why it’s so important that it’s a space that inspires and makes me feel good.

Here are some rules I follow to make this work:

• Have a checklist of things that must get done every day, week, etc.

• Keep the clutter to a minimum.

• Light a candle at the start of the day.

• Listen to music in the background.

• Clean the office on Fridays when you’re finished.

• Do not use the office in the evening or on weekends.

• Keep the door open when you’re not in a meeting.

Pop Culture Must Die is the official newsletter for Christian A. Dumais, an American writer and freelance editor living in Poland. His books include Smashed, Killing It, and Go West.

NPR said, "People get paid a LOT of money to write comedy who are not one-tenth as funny as [Christian]."

Your mileage may vary.

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A RERUN.

AT THE DESK

Slow Apocalypse

Here’s something I wrote back in 2022:

At the time, I was trying to communicate that we were in the process of a slow apocalypse and that things would get much worse.

I’m reminded of the Kali Yuga, an idea I learned from writer and theologian Alan Watts. Here’s how he describes it in one of his lectures, with the usual wink at the end:

Despite all this, I remain an optimist. I subscribe to Superman’s “There’s always a way” philosophy, but I admit that it’s become a daily challenge to maintain. So I get why people are giving up.

I’ve been in some seriously low points in my life, and in all of them, I literally had to stop and say aloud, “This is temporary. It’s going to get better.” I do this act like I’m breaking the fourth wall of the show that is my reality to let my audience know that I’m tired of their needy bullshit. It’s me digging in my heels and saying, “You’ve had your fun, but that’s it.”

It’s a hard mental reset.

Inevitably, it does get better, even when it seemed impossible that it ever would.

(Continues in THE OUTRO)

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A BOTTLE EPISODE.

READING PILE

Side Road to the Tower II 

I decided to reread King’s Hearts in Atlantis, which was published in 1999. The book is a collection of three novellas and two short stories that interconnect in fun ways. On one level, the book is about the ripple effects of childhood trauma and how it shapes the course of these characters’ lives, and on another level, it’s a scathing indictment on Baby Boomers and how they fumbled the ball.

The book’s first novella, "Low Men in Yellow Coats”, plants seeds that will bloom in Black House, From a Buick 8, and future DT books. The novella was also made into a 2001 movie with Anthony Hopkins but took the book’s title. Much like The Dark Tower movie, the Hopkins film removed everything that makes the Dark Tower interesting and fun.

I like this book a little less than I did on the first read. I remember loving “Low Men in Yellow Coats” and “Hearts in Atlantis” (the second story) and not enjoying the rest of the book as much. This time around, I appreciated the other stories more and liked the first two stories less. What are you going to do?

The real meat of the book is “Low Men in Yellow Coats” — a story about an unlikely friendship between a mysterious old man (Ted Brautigan) and a young boy (Bobby Garfield). It’s got the Amblin energy I love, the introduction of a significant Dark Tower character, and some fun world-building.

It also has one of the most interesting characters in King’s work: Liz Garfield. She is Bobby’s mother and a constant source of tension for her son and Brautigan. She’s needlessly rude, untrusting, and enormously frustrating. But if you can get past the frustration, King lays the groundwork for making her into a multi-faceted character without spelling things out. It’s easy to miss because she’s designed to be the story’s main obstacle. It’s something I didn’t process on the first read.

“Low Men in Yellow Coats”, along with its epilogue ("Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling"), is probably the easiest part of the book. The other stories are a bit more challenging because King seems more interested in commenting on Baby Boomers with the usual highlights (Vietnam, the peace movement, Reaganomics, etc.) that play like uncut scenes from Forrest Gump.

Unfortunately, a lot has changed in the 26 years since the book’s publication, and the “crimes” King cites feel tame compared to today’s political landscape:

I’d be curious how King would tackle a book like this today. I suspect he wouldn’t be so nice.

I like parts of Hearts in Atlantis, but as a whole, the seams show (for instance, “Blind Willie” was previously published and rewritten to fit into the book’s overall narrative).

Honestly, I wouldn’t have read this one again if not for the DT connection, but I’m glad I did.

PREVIOUS BOOKS FROM THE READING PILE

THE OUTRO

This is Temporary

I don’t know who needs to read this. If it is you, I see you. You’re not alone. Time is getting faster — it’s not just you, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Yes, there are powerful people seemingly hellbent on making reality as awful as it can be, but that doesn’t mean they get to win in the end. And you’re loved and appreciated because there honestly isn’t anyone else like you in this reality or the next.

Yeah, this apocalypse is slow, but that means there’s still time to change it.

This is temporary.

It’s going to get better.

Until next time,

This has been Pop Culture Must Die.