wrack
@ccohanlon.merveilles.town.ap.brid.gy
vagabond. sea-dweller. diarist. wreck.
https://ccohanlon.tumblr.com/about
"So here is us, on the raggedy edge."
– from the film Serenity (2005)
#nobots
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://merveilles.town/@ccohanlon, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
https://ccohanlon.tumblr.com/about
"So here is us, on the raggedy edge."
– from the film Serenity (2005)
#nobots
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://merveilles.town/@ccohanlon, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Pinned
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
"I found God at a gas station in Nissedal
Now I’m siphoning gas here in Niflheim
There’s a radio tower on the heath
Amongst the cows with their GPS trackers..."
Just posted to Burning House Press, as part of my November gig as guest editor: three poems by fellow Merveillean @brisling, whose […]
Now I’m siphoning gas here in Niflheim
There’s a radio tower on the heath
Amongst the cows with their GPS trackers..."
Just posted to Burning House Press, as part of my November gig as guest editor: three poems by fellow Merveillean @brisling, whose […]
A dreich day in Cagliari — leaden stratus cloud, the mountains obscured by rain — but we've tidied the boat below decks, laundered an Ikea bagful of mouldy clothes (we'll do another tomorrow), and started packing for a week in Rome with our son and maybe our youngest daughter.
December 21, 2025 at 7:25 PM
A dreich day in Cagliari — leaden stratus cloud, the mountains obscured by rain — but we've tidied the boat below decks, laundered an Ikea bagful of mouldy clothes (we'll do another tomorrow), and started packing for a week in Rome with our son and maybe our youngest daughter.
Ho'i I ka piko ('return to the source'), a 2,700+ nautical mile voyage from California to Hawai'i in a 26ft wooden double canoe named ʻAʻā, a Wharram Pahi design, in 2024.
1/7 episodes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSJyYIsEGtI
1/7 episodes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSJyYIsEGtI
December 20, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Ho'i I ka piko ('return to the source'), a 2,700+ nautical mile voyage from California to Hawai'i in a 26ft wooden double canoe named ʻAʻā, a Wharram Pahi design, in 2024.
1/7 episodes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSJyYIsEGtI
1/7 episodes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSJyYIsEGtI
A furry black mammal, swimming purposefully close to breakwater rocks in Cagliari harbour: long tail, fearsome front teeth for gnawing, we initially thought 'weird local otter'.
Turns out it's a nutria a.k.a. coypu, a South American invader, distant kin to the muskrat.
Turns out it's a nutria a.k.a. coypu, a South American invader, distant kin to the muskrat.
December 20, 2025 at 4:20 PM
A furry black mammal, swimming purposefully close to breakwater rocks in Cagliari harbour: long tail, fearsome front teeth for gnawing, we initially thought 'weird local otter'.
Turns out it's a nutria a.k.a. coypu, a South American invader, distant kin to the muskrat.
Turns out it's a nutria a.k.a. coypu, a South American invader, distant kin to the muskrat.
Why did my wife and I move aboard Wrack in old age?
Being homeless and out of options was part of it but I was also haunted by my own words in this 2021 interview for Anna Iltnere's When I Grow Up project, in which I described myself as a 'castaway' […]
[Original post on merveilles.town]
Being homeless and out of options was part of it but I was also haunted by my own words in this 2021 interview for Anna Iltnere's When I Grow Up project, in which I described myself as a 'castaway' […]
[Original post on merveilles.town]
December 19, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Why did my wife and I move aboard Wrack in old age?
Being homeless and out of options was part of it but I was also haunted by my own words in this 2021 interview for Anna Iltnere's When I Grow Up project, in which I described myself as a 'castaway' […]
[Original post on merveilles.town]
Being homeless and out of options was part of it but I was also haunted by my own words in this 2021 interview for Anna Iltnere's When I Grow Up project, in which I described myself as a 'castaway' […]
[Original post on merveilles.town]
"Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about."
– […]
[Original post on merveilles.town]
– […]
[Original post on merveilles.town]
December 19, 2025 at 11:47 AM
"Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about."
– […]
[Original post on merveilles.town]
– […]
[Original post on merveilles.town]
Mary and George Oppen abord the small yacht that was their refuge (and means of escape) during late 1920s/early 1930s, sailing from Detroit, across Lake Erie to the Erie Canal, then down the Hudson River to New York City.
December 17, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Mary and George Oppen abord the small yacht that was their refuge (and means of escape) during late 1920s/early 1930s, sailing from Detroit, across Lake Erie to the Erie Canal, then down the Hudson River to New York City.
the thread
reverberates
in the unfinished
voyage loneliness
of becalmed ships...
– George Oppen, from A Political Poem, included in his last collection of poetry, Primitive (Black Sparrow Press, 1978).
reverberates
in the unfinished
voyage loneliness
of becalmed ships...
– George Oppen, from A Political Poem, included in his last collection of poetry, Primitive (Black Sparrow Press, 1978).
December 17, 2025 at 10:28 PM
the thread
reverberates
in the unfinished
voyage loneliness
of becalmed ships...
– George Oppen, from A Political Poem, included in his last collection of poetry, Primitive (Black Sparrow Press, 1978).
reverberates
in the unfinished
voyage loneliness
of becalmed ships...
– George Oppen, from A Political Poem, included in his last collection of poetry, Primitive (Black Sparrow Press, 1978).
"...How can we write ourselves out of feeling left out by the present? Perhaps the value of writing today lies in its potential uselessness. Embrace it: write in unproductive ways, slowly, allowing mistakes to creep in, and refusing to think of every written word in terms of profit. Write to […]
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
December 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
"...How can we write ourselves out of feeling left out by the present? Perhaps the value of writing today lies in its potential uselessness. Embrace it: write in unproductive ways, slowly, allowing mistakes to creep in, and refusing to think of every written word in terms of profit. Write to […]
It isn't the overcast skies that get to me at this time of year, nor even the drear days of anti-cyclonic gloom (which I didn't expect in southern Sardinia); it's the cold and dampness that seeps into your bones like rot as soon as the sun goes down.
I miss the Alboran Sea.
I miss the Alboran Sea.
December 17, 2025 at 12:18 PM
It isn't the overcast skies that get to me at this time of year, nor even the drear days of anti-cyclonic gloom (which I didn't expect in southern Sardinia); it's the cold and dampness that seeps into your bones like rot as soon as the sun goes down.
I miss the Alboran Sea.
I miss the Alboran Sea.
"...C.C. had convinced me I had something to offer and maybe, even had an obligation to see it through. I’d never truly believed I had something to offer the world until that day. I didn’t really grow up in a world that told you you were good at something or made you believe. No, the people I […]
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
December 16, 2025 at 12:43 AM
"...C.C. had convinced me I had something to offer and maybe, even had an obligation to see it through. I’d never truly believed I had something to offer the world until that day. I didn’t really grow up in a world that told you you were good at something or made you believe. No, the people I […]
A morning dealing with — in no particular order — an Italian tax issue, a search of old bank files (Italian, again), and a medical consultation for my youngest in Berlin.
Above decks, this afternoon, a near-gale and sepulchral grey.
Above decks, this afternoon, a near-gale and sepulchral grey.
December 15, 2025 at 4:03 PM
A morning dealing with — in no particular order — an Italian tax issue, a search of old bank files (Italian, again), and a medical consultation for my youngest in Berlin.
Above decks, this afternoon, a near-gale and sepulchral grey.
Above decks, this afternoon, a near-gale and sepulchral grey.
"The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters."
– Antonio Gramsci
[from his Prison Notebooks, 1929-1935]
– Antonio Gramsci
[from his Prison Notebooks, 1929-1935]
December 14, 2025 at 2:10 AM
"The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters."
– Antonio Gramsci
[from his Prison Notebooks, 1929-1935]
– Antonio Gramsci
[from his Prison Notebooks, 1929-1935]
Woke late to a cloudless sky and sun-dappled sea after a bad night of pain and gastric turmoil — possibly a diabetic reaction, despite an afternoon walking up and down Cagliari's steep backstreets — and a dank 4ºC below decks.
Now, the sun is descending and there's already a gelid edge to the […]
Now, the sun is descending and there's already a gelid edge to the […]
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
December 12, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Woke late to a cloudless sky and sun-dappled sea after a bad night of pain and gastric turmoil — possibly a diabetic reaction, despite an afternoon walking up and down Cagliari's steep backstreets — and a dank 4ºC below decks.
Now, the sun is descending and there's already a gelid edge to the […]
Now, the sun is descending and there's already a gelid edge to the […]
“Inequality is silent until it becomes scandalous”
1% of Indians take 40% of national income: latest World Inequality Report. Kavitha Iyer reports how such inequality entrenches unequal opportunities, worsen health & education outcomes for the poor […]
1% of Indians take 40% of national income: latest World Inequality Report. Kavitha Iyer reports how such inequality entrenches unequal opportunities, worsen health & education outcomes for the poor […]
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
December 12, 2025 at 3:14 PM
“Inequality is silent until it becomes scandalous”
1% of Indians take 40% of national income: latest World Inequality Report. Kavitha Iyer reports how such inequality entrenches unequal opportunities, worsen health & education outcomes for the poor […]
1% of Indians take 40% of national income: latest World Inequality Report. Kavitha Iyer reports how such inequality entrenches unequal opportunities, worsen health & education outcomes for the poor […]
"The moon and sun are travelers through eternity. Even the years wander on. Whether drifting through life on a boat or climbing toward old age leading a horse, each day is a journey, and the journey itself is home."
– Matsuo Bashō
– Matsuo Bashō
December 11, 2025 at 9:43 PM
"The moon and sun are travelers through eternity. Even the years wander on. Whether drifting through life on a boat or climbing toward old age leading a horse, each day is a journey, and the journey itself is home."
– Matsuo Bashō
– Matsuo Bashō
We finally got Wrack's 25-year-old Volvo Penta 20hp diesel back online this afternoon.
My wife, as the engine started and idled without a hitch: "The African Queen is BACK!"
Next up, some troublesome electrical issues — a rat's nest of old wiring behind an antique switch panel, an inaccurate […]
My wife, as the engine started and idled without a hitch: "The African Queen is BACK!"
Next up, some troublesome electrical issues — a rat's nest of old wiring behind an antique switch panel, an inaccurate […]
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
December 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
We finally got Wrack's 25-year-old Volvo Penta 20hp diesel back online this afternoon.
My wife, as the engine started and idled without a hitch: "The African Queen is BACK!"
Next up, some troublesome electrical issues — a rat's nest of old wiring behind an antique switch panel, an inaccurate […]
My wife, as the engine started and idled without a hitch: "The African Queen is BACK!"
Next up, some troublesome electrical issues — a rat's nest of old wiring behind an antique switch panel, an inaccurate […]
Me at the helm, as we set off aboard Wrack from Alicante towards Ibiza, a passage of 100+ nautical miles.
Photo by Finn O'Hanlon.
Photo by Finn O'Hanlon.
December 8, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Me at the helm, as we set off aboard Wrack from Alicante towards Ibiza, a passage of 100+ nautical miles.
Photo by Finn O'Hanlon.
Photo by Finn O'Hanlon.
Also from Bill Drummond, this —five lessons from Ken Campbell:
Lesson Five.
“WILDER!”
“What do you mean, Ken?”
“I mean WILDER! That is what you need your band to be. WILDER!”
“Have we just paid you £100 for the word ‘wilder’?”
“Yes. And it is probably the best £100 you are ever likely to […]
Lesson Five.
“WILDER!”
“What do you mean, Ken?”
“I mean WILDER! That is what you need your band to be. WILDER!”
“Have we just paid you £100 for the word ‘wilder’?”
“Yes. And it is probably the best £100 you are ever likely to […]
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
December 8, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Also from Bill Drummond, this —five lessons from Ken Campbell:
Lesson Five.
“WILDER!”
“What do you mean, Ken?”
“I mean WILDER! That is what you need your band to be. WILDER!”
“Have we just paid you £100 for the word ‘wilder’?”
“Yes. And it is probably the best £100 you are ever likely to […]
Lesson Five.
“WILDER!”
“What do you mean, Ken?”
“I mean WILDER! That is what you need your band to be. WILDER!”
“Have we just paid you £100 for the word ‘wilder’?”
“Yes. And it is probably the best £100 you are ever likely to […]
Pre-dating Gilbert and George's 10 Commandments, Bill Drummond, of KLF fame, offered his own 11 years ago to The Guardian newspaper:
No. 1 Don't make art for rich people.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/15/bill-drummonds-10-commandments-of-art-klf
No. 1 Don't make art for rich people.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/15/bill-drummonds-10-commandments-of-art-klf
Bill Drummond's 10 Commandments of Art
Artist provocateur Bill Drummond achieved success with the KLF. But ‘not resting on your laurels’ is one of his artistic creeds as he embarks on a 12-year world tour…
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Pre-dating Gilbert and George's 10 Commandments, Bill Drummond, of KLF fame, offered his own 11 years ago to The Guardian newspaper:
No. 1 Don't make art for rich people.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/15/bill-drummonds-10-commandments-of-art-klf
No. 1 Don't make art for rich people.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/15/bill-drummonds-10-commandments-of-art-klf
“What an optimistic animal man is!Imagine expecting the species to last for ten million more years — as though people were as well–designed as turtles!”
– Winston Niles Rumfoord, in The Sirens of Titan, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut (1959)
#theLibrary
– Winston Niles Rumfoord, in The Sirens of Titan, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut (1959)
#theLibrary
December 7, 2025 at 10:50 PM
“What an optimistic animal man is!Imagine expecting the species to last for ten million more years — as though people were as well–designed as turtles!”
– Winston Niles Rumfoord, in The Sirens of Titan, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut (1959)
#theLibrary
– Winston Niles Rumfoord, in The Sirens of Titan, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut (1959)
#theLibrary
The Ten Commandments for artists:
I Thou shalt fight conformism
yeah, and...
IX Thou shalt not know exactly what thou dost, but thou shalt do it
X Thou shalt give something back
https://designmanifestos.org/gilbert-and-george-the-ten-commandments/
I Thou shalt fight conformism
yeah, and...
IX Thou shalt not know exactly what thou dost, but thou shalt do it
X Thou shalt give something back
https://designmanifestos.org/gilbert-and-george-the-ten-commandments/
Gilbert and George: The Ten Commandments
**I** Thou shalt fight conformism
**II** Thou shalt be the messenger of freedoms
**III** Thou shalt make use of sex
**IV** Thou shalt reinvent life
**V** Thou shalt grab the soul
**VI** Thou shalt give thy love
**VII** Thou shalt create artificial art
**VIII** Thou shalt have a sense of purpose
**IX** Thou shalt not know exactly what thou dost, but thou shalt do it
**X** Thou shalt give something back
Written for the retrospective exhibition: _Gilbert and George_
Tate Modern | London | 2007
### Share this:
* Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
* Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
*
Like Loading...
designmanifestos.org
December 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The Ten Commandments for artists:
I Thou shalt fight conformism
yeah, and...
IX Thou shalt not know exactly what thou dost, but thou shalt do it
X Thou shalt give something back
https://designmanifestos.org/gilbert-and-george-the-ten-commandments/
I Thou shalt fight conformism
yeah, and...
IX Thou shalt not know exactly what thou dost, but thou shalt do it
X Thou shalt give something back
https://designmanifestos.org/gilbert-and-george-the-ten-commandments/
Me, too. I've lived a couple of years in southern Spain.
December 6, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Me, too. I've lived a couple of years in southern Spain.
I am ill — serious flank pain, fever and nausea, blood pressure up to 160/88.
Given wants me to go to a hospital but I can't be arsed so I'm curled up on my bunk reading a biography of Lancelot Capability Brown.
Given wants me to go to a hospital but I can't be arsed so I'm curled up on my bunk reading a biography of Lancelot Capability Brown.
December 6, 2025 at 6:08 PM
I am ill — serious flank pain, fever and nausea, blood pressure up to 160/88.
Given wants me to go to a hospital but I can't be arsed so I'm curled up on my bunk reading a biography of Lancelot Capability Brown.
Given wants me to go to a hospital but I can't be arsed so I'm curled up on my bunk reading a biography of Lancelot Capability Brown.
My wife's Dj-ing an early '80s set for our below decks' soundtrack this evening: first The Strangler's Golden Brown, now Soft Cell's Say Hello, Wave Goodbye:
"What about me? Well, I'll find someone
That's not going cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife who'll give me a steady life
And […]
"What about me? Well, I'll find someone
That's not going cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife who'll give me a steady life
And […]
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
December 4, 2025 at 4:21 PM
My wife's Dj-ing an early '80s set for our below decks' soundtrack this evening: first The Strangler's Golden Brown, now Soft Cell's Say Hello, Wave Goodbye:
"What about me? Well, I'll find someone
That's not going cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife who'll give me a steady life
And […]
"What about me? Well, I'll find someone
That's not going cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife who'll give me a steady life
And […]
"The wolves are still at the door; that’s a matter of course. But I continue buying into the idea that if we can just keep things flowing, depth charges at the ready, obstacles are swept away."
My friend, film-maker and writer Peter Bach, on...so much.
via [@counterpunch] […]
My friend, film-maker and writer Peter Bach, on...so much.
via [@counterpunch] […]
Original post on merveilles.town
merveilles.town
December 4, 2025 at 11:48 AM
"The wolves are still at the door; that’s a matter of course. But I continue buying into the idea that if we can just keep things flowing, depth charges at the ready, obstacles are swept away."
My friend, film-maker and writer Peter Bach, on...so much.
via [@counterpunch] […]
My friend, film-maker and writer Peter Bach, on...so much.
via [@counterpunch] […]