On inactivity

As "regular" readers (to sound presumptuous) of NE can recognize, we haven't exactly been the most prolific blog-keepers of late. Early on, we set an ultimately untenable precedent of 15-20 postings a month. That we probably would not be able to stick to such a rate of output was in the back of our minds when NE took off--but we remain confident and ambitious.

At the time of writing, NE's contributors are preparing for a transatlantic rupture, half of which has begun, and which culminates in one month, when one can find half of NE in Bloomington, Indiana (one can already), and half in London, UK. While the expected communication lag may make the idea of continuing this project seem daunting, we feel that it can only bring our work to better, and more unexpected, places.

We've begun to feel that the work we've done here so far, while exciting for us and hopefully of some greater services to those who read it, has become somewhat constricted and, dare we say it, even predictable. The "Well-Made World" series, an urgent and challenging part of NE (as well as subtle tribute to B.C. Gilbert), has been predominant here, and while it will continue to be a cornerstone of the project, our perhaps-overweening focus on it has caused the overall "diversity" of what we would like NE to be to suffer. All by way of saying: we're not getting too comfortable (or at all comfortable, really...), and we're going to push this thing a whole lot further in the coming weeks and months.

On a more exuberant note: No Empires has recorded a three-song cassette (two originals and one cover; total running time approx. 4 1/2 to 5 mins.), mixing of which will continue over the next few weeks. A (very) limited edition of this tape will hopefully be available this winter.