Esoteric & Based ft. ALEX MIDDLEBROOK
Guest memo #5
Guest Memo #5: Alex Middlebrook
Alex is a sculpture artist, theatre practitioner and recovering Londoner.
🌠 14th May 1996, Taurean Princess 4 lyf 📍Cape Town, South Africa
OO: What is your relationship to your phone, and how do (or don’t) you set boundaries with it/social media/doomscrolling?
AM: I am fully addicted to TikkyTok, like I will get into bed at 9:30 PM and have to release myself from a hunched over foetal position with burning dry eyes at 12 AM to eventually try and fall asleep (healthy, I know). But then I sleep with my phone on aeroplane mode, and in the mornings I have my first cup of tea while still in that mode, and for most of the morning, remain in do-not-disturb so as to let my mind wander and process the endless dialogue of the morning. So yeah, balance is key, right?
1. A Book
Helter Skelter: The True Story of The Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi, 1975
All about the dude who successfully prosecuted Manson and his clan and sent them all to priz. Read it, you will be shook. Dripping in information and shocking revelations, it’s like a big chocolate cake filled with the summer of love and moist with the blood of some pretty heinous crimes.
I can’t remember if his angle is super anti-LSD (boring), it might be, cus he writes extensively of Manson’s use of acid within his family, but what I think is basically just be careful who you take acid with <3
[Editor’s Note: If you’re into this kind of stuff, may I also recommend your follow-up read - Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, by Tom O’Neill, 2019]
2. An Artwork
Elf Riding Swan, one of my childhood clay creations from when I was about 5/6/7 years old. This little guy is the perfect representation of the 49 bizarre and incredible pieces I rediscovered at the beginning of this year. The collection, which I called FAIRYLAND, helped me reconnect with my inner child. I was able to tend to him, love him, and listen to him by virtue of spending time with the wonderfully fascinating creations I made as a generally very happy and joyful child.
3. A Quote/Poem
“I only know myself, anymore, by your attendance in my soul”
- Barbara Kingsolver, from The Poisonwood Bible
This one has never quite left me, ever since I first read this most beautiful and moving epic story when I was a teenager. It represents how I like to think about the women in my life: the women who have and continue to shape me, even when they’re thousands of miles away.
4. An Audio
Song: Sara by Fleetwood Mac, 1979
No explanation needed. If you don’t know, light an incense, roll your preferred leaf to smoke, maybe a cup of tea (or something stronger), lie back and enjoy the wings this masterpiece will bestow upon your heels.
5. A Place
Any body of water where you can fully submerge. Preferably salt water, if you’re like me. Swim more! But avoid chlorinated pools.
6. A Film
Cinderella, by Robert Iscove, 1997
Cinderella, 1997 made-for-TV version starring Brandy and Whitney Houston (like, are you actually joking). Also, Bernadette Peters, for the gays. This film is one of the most tantalising examples of whimsy I can remember from my childhood. The songs are a tonic, the costumes are camp beyond the BEYOND, and the visual design was inspired by Klimt. It’s just pure magic, simple as that.