James Nevius

Reading Macbeth Out of Order The virtue of fragmentation

Another installment in my irregular attempt to write a Substack newsletter. (The main article is free; there are some fun links behind the paywall, which you can access with a free trial.)

I guess there *is* a hell.

Blast from the Past When 10MB could be had for a mere $3400

I’m back at it on the Substack: open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...

Who’s watching the livestream of “Good Night and Good Luck”?

"That's the Thing About New York City" Incitements to Reverie #3 - an occasional series of photos of NYC

Have a favorite NYC film? I’d love to know what it is. Bonus points if it was made more than 20 years ago and/or features good footage shot south of 14th Street.

Abraham Lincoln in New York Remembering the 16th president on the 160th anniversary of his death

Remembering our 16th president on the 160th anniversary of his death. This post is for paid subscribers, but you can get a free trial if you’d like to read the whole thing!

Wrenley? Really?

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire March 25, 1911

Today is the anniversary of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Read more about it my newsletter and, if you are interested in all things NYC, consider a subscription.

A.T. Stewart's Short-lived Railway Connecting the City to the Garden to the Sea

I’ve been reading about outmoded railroads today. There are probably more pressing matters in the world, but I’ve been studying A.T. Stewart’s Garden City, instead.

*this is a post for paid subscribers, but free trials are available to everyone.

Vintage Vinyl, Stroh's, and Grape Jelly The relative value of goods is hard to measure

What does Bing Crosby have to do with the price of grape jelly in Kenosha, WI? Read on…..

I’m voting for #2

The Pictorial Review Celebrating the golden age of print

Some brief musings on a new-to-me magazine from the early 20th century

ChatGPT is Not Your Friend Some thoughts on hallucinations

This post is one of the longer essays I share with paid subscribers of “History Will Teach us Something.” If you’d like to read it—and support my ongoing work—consider a free trial or become a paid subscriber today.

Our deceased wonder cat was named Zora—after Zora Neale Hurston—and every time I see anything of Hurston’s pop up in some random place, I take it as a sign.

The Voyage to the Moon Just something to add a bright spot to your day

Until today, I’d never watched the full version of Méliès’s Voyage to the Moon. It’s a delight.

I'm knee-deep in more films that I can process, but here goes nothing: do you have a favorite film

a) set in NYC
b) depicts a historical period that is not the era in which it was made. (So, for example "The Great Gatsby" works; Lights of New York (from 1928 and set contemporaneously, does not.)

I am working in tandem with you on corn chips. Thankfully, there are no photos.

12 Albums for a Penny! A look back at mail-order music

Did you sign up for 12 albums for a penny? If so, do you remember what you got?

The Mall, Central Park, 1858 Before there was the Mall...or even a park.

The Mall, Central Park, 1858
open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...

Flow and Ebb and Flow and... The beginning of a musical odyssey

Flow and Ebb and Flow and...

I bought a bunch of classical records sight unseen. Join me as we listen to them….

Edward Hopper's Mythical New York I’m giving a talk later this week about the painter Edward Hopper (1882-1967), looking at his cityscapes and how he created in his art a New York City that is both real and unreal at the same time.

Talking about Edward Hopper later this week.

The Ball Drops in Times Square The origin of our December 31 ritual

Why do we drop a ball on New Year’s Eve? Read on….

Four Thoughts at Christmas Looking back at NYC as the center of Holiday Shopping

Four Thoughts at Christmas -- join me over at Substack, as well.

What a good song inspired by Shakespeare (play or poem)?

For the sake of the project I’m working on, let’s leave off operatic adaptations, but everything else is fair game.

Thanks!

Jean Dujardin at the world rugby cup

Emma Stone

Drop the last two portraits of a man and of a woman in your saved pictures and add "it's never too late".

It's never too late.

Haha. So much for the video. Let's try again:

I don't share the projects I've been working on very often (or very well), but I have a dance suite called "On the Nile" that's recently been released and here's a snipped of a video from the project. #Egypt #AmbientMusic #DIYMusician #Luxor #ValleyoftheKings

linktr.ee/james.nevius...

However, Cheating and Skullduggery is my new band name.