Quick Questions with Jordan Castro, author of Supercomputer

By Josh Spilker » Interviewed by Audrey Allendale of Muumuu House, yes.

Here's the truth: Jordan Castro put out an e-chapbook called Supercomputer. It is free in PDF and ePub formats. Donations are being accepted. It came out on my newly formed small press, Deckfight Press.

It is desperately important that you know about this book, no matter if I'm standing in the way or not. So in a manner of 'objectivity,' I recruited someone else to interview Jordan and found someone worthy: Audrey Allendale. Audrey lives in New York City, has a Twitter account, works for Muumuu House, and has written for Thought Catalog.

Jordan Castro lives in Ohio and in addition to Supercomputer, has published several other chapbooks and articles across the Internet. He blogs at Animal Sorrow where all his important contact info can be found.

He's asking everyone to draw/create/write about their 'ideal supercomputer' in a contest to win sweet prizes. Check it.

Here's Audrey Allendale & Jordan Castro:

While reading Supercomputer, I often found myself feeling a sensation similar to that of watching an enjoyable, plot-driven film with vague, philosophical undertones and an existentially “fucked in an almost funny way” protagonist.  But the stories in Supercomputer, I noticed, seem to (with the exception of “Back To The Traphouse”) revolve around seemingly mundane, everyday activities, and are written matter-of-factly, like the protagonist is watching someone else experience the things he’s experiencing. What was the editing process like for these stories?  What, if any, were your goals while writing and editing them?

I wrote most of the stories in Supercomputer “very quickly,” then edited them repeatedly, for hours at a time, much later.  I felt like I was having a lot of fun while writing and looking at them.  Once I knew they were going to appear together, I edited them again, in terms of that, for consistency, re: tone/style and other things.

I think my goals included “having fun,” “writing something artistically satisfying, to me” and “conveying things in a manner I felt was ‘as clear and concise as possible, while still maintaining narrative flow and consistency of tone/style.’”

If you could trade your existence with any three people or things in Supercomputer, who/what would they be and why?

Gucci Mane – I like Gucci Mane’s music and the music he releases via his record label/”crew,” 1017 Brick Squad.  Ideally, I think I would like to create art in the same manner Gucci seems to create art – for himself and his friends – and also to have a lot of money, do a lot of drugs and feel self-confident.

Percocet – I think it would be good to be [any inanimate object], for various reasons, but I think Percocet would be a good one, because my “sole purpose” would be to either “ease people’s pain” or “get people high,” which seems sweet.

Twitter – I like using Twitter and I would, ideally, like to be “as useful” to people as Twitter is to Twitter users, while – due to the nature of Twitter and the internet – not imposing myself onto people who choose not to “use me.”

I found much of the protagonist’s internal monologue to be quite hilarious and surprising, especially in the context of what was happening externally.  One of my favorite examples is in “Pettibone,” where you write:

It is 4:46 a.m.

 I can’t fall asleep.

 I stand up.

 I drink a glass of water.

 I stare at myself in the mirror.

 I think ‘You are a piece of shit.’

 I think ‘Young Money, nigger... YME, nigger’ in a drastically exaggerated rapper’s tone of voice.

 I make my hand into a fist and I place it vertically underneath my mouth like a microphone.

 I angle my fist so that it’s tilted upwards.

 I whisper ‘Now check it.’

 I whisper ‘One, two.’

 I rhythmically whisper things about money.

 I look at myself in the mirror and lower my fist.

 My facial muscles do things.

 I whisper the word ‘bitches.’

 I walk toward bed.

 I stare at my bed.

 I lie down on my bed.

What inspired you to included thoughts like these?

I think I think things like that a lot.  I look at things and think things, then seem to “think unconsciously,” or something, for a period of time, until I “snap back” to “reality” and realize I’m thinking something like “Loopy lacka fuck la.”  I then usually think something like “just thought, ‘loopy lacka fuck la.’” Sometimes I “artistically express” said thoughts via Twitter, but the stories in Supercomputer are the first pieces of prose I wrote where I included them, I think.

Can you pick 1 - 5 “pop-culture” references in Supercomputer and write 1 – 5 sentences about them?

Neva Dinova – “Supercomputer” is a Neva Dinova song.  Other songs I like by Neva Dinova include “Get Back,” “I’ve Got A Feeling,” “Tripped” and “Poison.”

Organic Echinacea tea – I like “Traditional Medicinal” brand organic Echinacea tea.  I think I drink ~1-4 cups every day.

“King of Kong” – King of Kong is a movie about a depressed person who decides to beat the Donkey Kong high score world record then does things to accomplish that goal.  “His enemy,” Billy Mitchell, the world record holder at the time, does “shady” things in an attempt to stop him.  I felt “thrilled” and stimulated while watching “King of Kong.”  I’ve watched it ~4 times.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about Supercomputer?

There is a Supercomputer contest taking place on my blog from now until February 14, 2011.  One can potentially create art, support art, “win” things and increase traffic to one’s blog/personal website. Thank you.

Posted on February 04, 2011. More on: books, codex, supercomputer, jordan castro