A Substack Essay About How To Confront Bad, Bad News But Still Leave Room For Joy

New Substack "Mercury News Magazine" By Tom Kudla

“After listening to Alex Jones all afternoon today, I saw the shadow cast into the “sky”-portion of the painting, not as a shadow, but rather, as a nuclear bomb mushroom cloud painted into the skyline… But, I’m left with this feeling only when I look at the digital rendered photo. In real life, I don’t didn’t see it; and, what I feel felt in real life is was, “Oh, I wish his shadow wasn’t in the way right now.” Is this a metaphor?”

—Tom Kudla

My friend, our friend, Tom Kudla, (also Executive Producer for Jon Rappoport) has made his Substack debut, with a Substack called Mercury News.

This piece, which he published today, is one I would really like to encourage you to take time to read. It speaks to the “vaults within vaults” of being alive in this time, not knowing what we “think,” only seeking to. in some way, stabilize and find new hope.

I told Tom it reminded me of a childhood neighbor, and close friend of my mother’s, who was back then an undiscovered, clearly brilliant painter. Her name was Paulina Peavy.

(I just discovered—heavens—Paulina is exhibited at major museums around the world. Not at all surprising.)

But I remember most of all, in those hours of staring at Paulina’s otherworldly paintings, as she and my mother talked, in her tiny kitchen—the layers. The way she layered all the translucent images, the faces had faces, kind of thing; Tom’s piece reminded me of that. Of Paulina’s light-layered paintings.

Read the rest here.