<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br class=""></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><img apple-inline="yes" id="C21D80BD-9AE0-43A9-9375-964F3BF91A80" class="" src="cid:49712056-388D-4534-9B68-C41D9D908AB5@Home"></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br class=""></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br class=""></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Dear all,</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br class=""></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Thingist? Really?!?</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Yes!</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214); min-height: 29px;"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">In the midst of already spotting a misleading light at </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">the end of the tunnel (it’s fake, it’s a wall of LEDs) for </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">many of us the isolation has triggered an interesting </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">output of writing - Weltschmerz, self isolation side-effects, </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">midlife-crisis-ridden disaster-monologues, and other noble </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">insights transformed into short essays, of which some </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">are probably really worth sharing.</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214); min-height: 29px;"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">If any of you do have some works that originate from </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">this exceptional moment of an unraveling present, </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">and consider sharing them, please do!</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214); min-height: 29px;"><br class=""><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Yes, it’s “the current thing”, because we thought it’s </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">probably a smart idea to stay away from titles like </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">“crisis journal”, “corona diaries” and other oh-so-fitting </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">ways of romanticizing disaster (and turning it into kitsch)</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">In fact we originally wanted to propose that all writings </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">should refrain of including the notions “pandemic”, “corona” </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">or going even further and propose an OuLiPo challenge </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">by a call for texts that are written without using the letters </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">C, O, V, I, D, as well as the numerals 1 and 9. </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">So we rather talking about the thing.</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214); min-height: 29px;"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Of course we are also talking about THE THING. </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">As old THING members I though it might be a great </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">occasion to make use of this sleeping mailing list, in order to </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">reconnect with old and new friends and colleagues which were </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">–and maybe still are– loosely associated with THE THING.</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">(hey: or not)</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br class=""></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The outcome will be an fanzine-style online journal, published </span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">far, far away </span><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">from social media, </span>designed closely to </div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);">a physical counterpart, an issuu-style page-turner.</div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214); min-height: 29px;"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214); min-height: 29px;">So…whoever is interested, </div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214); min-height: 29px;">pls send texts, images, drawings, gifs, videos.</div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214); min-height: 29px;"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Publishing deadline now! April 30th</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br class=""></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br class=""></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);"><span class="" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Yours,</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(88, 86, 214);">THE THING</div></body></html>