Sacred Musings: January 2025
An exciting announcement and an offer
Bonjour à tous et à toutes,
I hope this finds you well, where ever you are, but especially if you are in Los Angeles. I am lucky to report that I am safe and home. Unfortunately, that is not the case for countless Angelenos, including several friends and a member of my family, who have lost their homes to the Palisades and Eaton fires.
The terror, grief and devastation of this natural disaster has been indescribable. It will take months to assess the true extent of the damage — physical, spiritual and psychological — and longer to rebuild.
It is not random that Los Angeles is called the City of Angels. I have seen Angelenos come together to support each other in ways truly moving, in ways that give me hope.
I have always and will always be proud to be a native of this city.
One of the most enduring institutions in Los Angeles is the Philosophical Research Society, which was founded by scholar and author Manly P. Hall. A haven for those curious about more esoteric subjects, it could only exist as it does in LA, where it has remained based in the same building since its 1934 founding.
Last September, I was honored to participate in a screening and Q&A event as part of their ongoing Surrealist Study Group series. It was really fun! Bringing Sacred Monster off of the internet and into a crowd of people is my favorite thing to do, and I am always impressed by the thoughtfulness, curiosity and beauty of the people who come to these events.
I am thrilled to announce that I’ll be back on February 13th, where we’ll be screening Orphée (1950). I started preparing for this event around the holidays, and was really struck by the enduring relevancy of the film. In the last month, it’s only compounded.
Tickets are available to purchase at the link here! Be there, or be square.
Finally, a couple of recommendations:
I have already written about FKA twigs’ Eusexua, and now that the record is out, I can say that she has surpassed my already-high expectations. Madonna’s Ray of Light is one of my all-time favorites, so I very much appreciate her collaboration with producer Marius de Vries on “Girl Feels Good.”
I can always count on my Spotify “Daylist” algorithm to unearth a long-beloved song that perhaps has fallen out of my rotation, and that was no more true than when it served me several songs from the 1991 Primal Scream record Screamadelica. Things are extraordinarily bleak out there, but not for the 3:46 of “Movin’ On Up.”
If you’d like to get in touch with me with any questions or comments; or if there are subjects you’d like to see explored, don’t hesitate to send me a message. My email lines are open at bonjour@chloecassens.com.
À très bientôt,
Chloë Helen America Cassens