A Night at Nationals Park

Dear All,

This is the latest episode of Don’t Press That Button, a newsletter about books and music and movies and cats and baseball and whatnot. As the name would indicate, we are very cautious about buttons around here. Like everyone else, I’ve been taking note of the conversation surrounding AI, and I hear the concerns. The button that leads to the Skynet timeline is one that we absolutely should not press.

Am I really worried about that? No, I’m not.

I’m also not too concerned about the threat of AI with regard to creative endeavors, because I honestly don’t grasp the appeal, either as a writer or a reader. As a writer, I don’t want any shortcuts; for me, the best, most satisfying aspect of the creative process is the careful mastering and shaping of the idea that inspired me in the first place.

In any case, I’ve investigated the button below, and all it does is subscribe you to this newsletter. The timeline will not be altered. None of this is a big deal. It’s just my newsletter, but I hope you like it. If you’re new here, and you’d like to stick around, you can safely do so by clicking on it.

Tigers 8, Nats 6

I drove to the Gaithersburg Book Festival a night early so that I could check another ballpark off my lifetime list

¹

and meet my buddy Nate to see the Nationals lock horns with the Tigers. It was, as it happens, bring-your-dog-to-the-game night. It was different! In a good way! Many of the dogs wore Nats gear.

What is the deal with dog night at the ballpark and dogs needing to go to the bathroom, you may wonder. (I had not wondered about this previously.) There were big patches of grass laid out here and there on the concourse for the convenience of the pups, and maybe that sounds gross, but actually it wasn’t. I mean, I didn’t walk across any of these oases, but people cleaned up after their pets and it was fine.

While the game was deeply unimportant in the larger scheme — neither team has much chance to make the playoffs — you can’t do better than a beautiful spring night at the ballpark. The Nationals kicked the ball around early, and Tigers lefty Matt Boyd threw well before the home team chased him in the sixth. The Nats hit two or three homers, Alex Call made a tremendous diving catch in center field, and all of a sudden Washington had made a game out of it, closing to within two late. By the time “Who Let the Dogs Out” came washing out of the stadium speakers, we had quite a compelling tilt on our hands.

Meanwhile, I should mention that Nationals Park is probably best known for conducting nightly races between giant-headed mascots of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Teddy Roosevelt.

This competition strikes me as deeply, appealingly American. Humility lies in wait for us all. Recall Bob Dylan’s words in “It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding”:

But even the president of the United States

Sometimes must have to stand naked

To put it another way, every person — even the Commander in Chief; maybe even especially the Commander in Chief! — will eventually have to run around a baseball field for the amusement of bleachers full of lightly sauced onlookers and their dogs.

Back to the game: closer Alex Lange emerged from the Tigers pen and abruptly settled down the Nationals. 8-6, Detroit.

I went to the book festival in Gaithersburg the next day, and it was a lovely event all the way around. I talked with the excellent novelists Jinwoo Chong and Craig Laurance Gidney about stories, signed a few books, and strolled around in the sunshine. If you happened to be there, thanks again for coming!

For that matter, thank you to everyone that’s taken the time to attend any of the events for The Curator or to pick it up at a bookstore or a library. Your enthusiasm for the novel is enormously meaningful to me.

The Latest

• I have one last scheduled event for The Curator, June 28th, 7pm at Newtonville Books. I’ll be appearing with Michelle Min Sterling, author of the acclaimed novel Camp Zero. I would love to see you there. If you can’t attend but would like either of us to sign a book for you, I believe you can order one at the link above and the bookstore will arrange to send it to you.

• Pandi Press announced that they will be publishing the paperback edition of The Drive-In: Multiplex, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene. I am thrilled to have a story in this collection based on Joe Lansdale’s classic novel.

• I can report that issue #1 of Self Help, my upcoming collaboration with Jesse Kellerman from Syzygy Publishing, has officially locked, and we are over the moon with the result. Marianna Ignazzi’s art is stunning, and Fabiana Mascolo’s colors are glorious. More news on that to come, but in the meantime, you should check out our editor Chris Ryall’s newsletter, Tales of Syzpense.

Recommendations

• Support the striking writers of the WGA!

• The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland is an enthralling historical novel that also happens to be a very dark vampire story. You’re going to be into it.

• I rushed to pick up the conclusion of Charles Soule’s Eight Billion Genies because I was afraid someone would tell me what happened. I was not disappointed!

• The Paranoid Style is making a rare public appearance at Twangfest on Saturday the 10th and it’s going to be good. I suspect that at least one or two of the burning hot new tunes they’ve been working on will receive a live debut.

  

• The Rubinoos’ From Home, produced by Chuck Prophet, is a few years old now, but it’s still a regular guest on my turntable. I hear that drum start on “Do You Remember” and I want to start jumping up and down. What a track! Like they song says:

This could be the last time

Better make it count!

As ever, my thanks for subscribing, and in case you ever have a question or a comment or just want to say hi, if you reply to the email, I will see it. I’m over on Instagram, too, if you’d like to follow along there.

All Best,

Owen

1. Birders have Life Birds, so I guess baseball fans have Life Ballparks.