HYPOCRITE IDLER 3Q2025

By: HILOBROW
September 29, 2025

To idle is to work on meaningful and varied projects — and to take it easy. The title of the series refers to this self-proclaimed idler’s inability to take it easy.

HILOBROW is a noncommercial blog. None of the below should be construed as an advertisement for one of my various, more or less profitable projects. This series is merely intended to keep HILOBROW’s readers updated on the editor’s doings and undoings.

I am grateful to the talented and generous folks with whom I’ve collaborated during 3Q2025.

MORE HYPOCRISY: 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 1Q2025 | 2Q2025 | 3Q2025 | 4Q2025.

Also see: HILOBROW 3Q2025

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS

I’m cofounder of the semiotics-fueled consultancy SEMIOVOX. Our methodology provides insight and inspiration — to brand and organization strategy, marketing, design, innovation, and consumer insights teams, as well as to their agency partners — regarding the unspoken local/global “codes” that help shape perceptions of and guide behavior within product categories and/or sociocultural territories.

During 3Q2025, our projects included (but were not limited to) the following.

BEVERAGE UPLIFT CODES (USA): On behalf of a multinational beverage company, we analyzed US energy drink, soda pop, and RTD coffee codes. A combination of semiotic analysis and (via our sister agency, Consumer Eyes) concept development. Innovation, brand positioning, marketing optimization, pack design.

BEVERAGE UPLIFT CODES (GERMANY): On behalf of the same multinational beverage company, we analyzed German energy drink, soda pop, and RTD coffee codes. Innovation, brand positioning, marketing optimization, pack design.

BEFORE SUPERMAN

In August, the MIT Press published Before Superman: Superhumans of the Radium Age, an anthology that I’ve edited featuring Radium Age superhuman-themed stories and novel excerpts from the likes of Gertrude Barrows (aka Francis Stevens), George Bernard Shaw, H. Rider Haggard, Alfred Jarry, Marie Corelli, Hugo Gernsback, M.P. Shiel, Karel Čapek, Thea von Harbou, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jean de La Hire, and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

As I write in the anthology’s introduction:

Via the stories and excerpts presented in this volume, you’ll encounter a colorful panoply of literature’s earliest and uncanniest supermen and -women… heroes and villains alike. As with every installment in the Radium Age series, the purpose of this anthology is two-fold: to explore how science fiction rapidly evolved (like a superhuman, if you will) into the genre we’ve come to know and love; and to offer sf fans a few thrills and chills.

The Before Superman anthology draws on years’ worth of reading and research into the topic, on my part, dating at least as far back as this 2009 installment in a series I wrote for io9.com. It’s been a labor of love; I even translated the Jarry and De La Hire excerpts from French. I’m so pleased with how this project has turned out, and of course I’m thrilled by Seth’s cover art. More info on the book here.

Lucy Sante, BEFORE SUPERMAN launch, 8/21 at O+ Exchange (Kingston, NY)

I’m grateful to HILOBROW friends Lucy Sante, Annie Nocenti, Emma Tourtelot, and Drew Broussard — for reading from Before Superman at the book’s launch party!

GIVE IT UP

For over 15 years, Rob Walker and I have investigated (anthropologically) what objects mean — and also (semiotically) how they mean what they mean — via fun, engaging story telling projects, both fiction and nonfiction. After the 2023 publication of Lost Objects (Hat & Beard Press), which developed out of our 2017–2021 nonfiction PROJECT:OBJECT endeavor, we took a brief hiatus from our collaborations.

The goal of our latest project, GIVE IT UP, was to explore what (and how) objects can mean to us, share our objects’ stories with one another… and develop tactics for letting go of our meaningful stuff.

This was our first place-based and interactive project. We staged it this August and September in Kingston, New York. It was a lot of work, and a lot of fun!

Julian Richards and his role of undeveloped film. PHOTO CREDIT: Bridget Badore

We recruited 11 interesting Hudson Valley denizens to participate:

Writer, Lit Hub podcaster, and bookstore manager Drew Broussard was willing to be persuaded to give up his… WOODEN SCIMITAR
Writer and artist Karlie Flood was willing to be persuaded to give up her… BROKEN BARRETTE
Author and music critic Will Hermes was willing to be persuaded to give up his… HUMILITY PLAQUE
Midtown Kingston Arts District (MKAD) Board of Directors president Maggie Inge was willing to be persuaded to give up her… EVENING BAG
Writer and editor Halimah Marcus was willing to be persuaded to give up her… NYC BICYCLE
Journalist, filmmaker, and writer Annie Nocenti was willing to be persuaded to give up her… THUMB-PUMP OILER
Writer and photographer Julian Richards was willing to be persuaded to give up his… UNDEVELOPED FILM
Camp Kingston founder Samuel Shapiro was willing to be persuaded to give up his… BIRCH BARK
Musician and author Adam Snyder was willing to be persuaded to give up his… PROTECTOGRAPH
Rondout Valley Middle School librarian and author Emma Tourtelot was willing to be persuaded to give up her… MARRIAGE DISH
Community organizer and Good Neighbor cofounder Adriana Wong was willing to be persuaded to give up her… LOVE-LOST NECKLACE

Karlie Flood’s Broken Barrette on display at the wine bar Brunette. PHOTO CREDIT: Bridget Badore

Their significant objects and stories were on display in 10 Kingston venues from Aug. 15th–Sept. 1st.

During this period, the general public was invited to persuade our participants to give up their objects. We received nearly 75 thoughtful responses, and passed these along to the project’s participants.

Drew Broussard and his Wooden Scimitar at Camp Kingston. PHOTO CREDIT: Bridget Badore

From Sept. 3–10, all objects were put display in a group exhibit at the cafe / bar / social space Camp Kingston.

Rob Walker (left) and I interview Maggie Inge about her object… and the most persuasive response to her story. PHOTO CREDIT: Bridget Badore

The most persuasive responses were announced at the project’s literary event / party on Sept. 10th, at Camp Kingston. Josh offered commentary on the typology of object-meanings (totem, talisman, tardis, etc.), and Rob commented on the responses we received to the object stories. The well-attended event was (or so we’ve been told) emotional, amusing, and entertaining.

Annie Nocenti transfers the Thumb-Pump Oiler to persuasive respondent Linda Fite

Rob and I are grateful to: the project’s participants, the story respondents, the participating venues, and to our Kingston team: Karlie Flood, Bridget Badore, Tommy Sullivan, and Susan Roe. To learn more about the GIVE IT UP project, check out its website / newsletter.

PS: Books chronicling the PROJECT:OBJECT team’s material-culture investigations include: Josh and Rob’s LOST OBJECTS (Hat & Beard Press, 2022) | Rob’s THE ART OF NOTICING (Knopf, 2019) | Josh and Rob’s SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS (Fantagraphics, 2012) | Rob’s BUYING IN (Random House, 2008) | Josh’s TAKING THINGS SERIOUSLY (Princeton Architectural Press, 2007).

RADIUM AGE PROTO-SF

I’m editor of the MIT Press’s RADIUM AGE proto-sf reissue series.

In August we published the following titles: Marietta S. Shaginyan’s Yankees in Petrograd (translated and introduced by Jill Roese); and (as mentioned above) Before Superman: Superhumans of the Radium Age (anthology edited and introduced by Josh Glenn).

We also sent our Spring 2026 titles to press, during the summer. These are: Irene Clyde’s Beatrice the Sixteenth (introduced by Lucy Sante); and E. and H. Heron’s Flaxman Low: Occult Detective (edited and introduced by Alexander B. Joy).

For recent press about the series, see this post’s GOOD VIBRATIONS section.

RADIUM AGE SERIES UPDATES: 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 1Q2025 | 2Q2025 | 3Q2025 | 4Q2025. FULL SERIES INFO.

Here at HILOBROW, I’ve continued to share my Radium Age-related research. For example, via the series RADIUM AGE POETRY, I’ve reissued overlooked proto-sf-adjacent poems from the years 1900–1935.

Rodchenko’s “Superimposed Triangles” (1918)

Here’s a sampling of the 3Q2025 RADIUM AGE POETRY lineup:

To see the full RADIUM AGE POETRY lineup, organized thematically, visit this page.

HILOBROW

HILOBROW is published by King Mixer LLC; I’m the editor. To see everything that we’ve published recently, please check out the post HILOBROW 3Q2025. Here, I’ll just mention one series.

During 3Q2025, HILOBROW published ENDORA YOUR ENTHUSIASM, a series of enthusiastic posts, contributed by 25 HILOBROW friends and regulars, on our favorite… sympathetic villains. Here’s a selection of the lineup:

Heather Quinlan is the DEFER series editor. She is very grateful to the series’ contributors, many of whom donated their honoraria to Hearts & Bones.

To see my solo HILOBROW series and posts from 3Q2025, please check out the WRITING (HILOBROW) section of this post; to see what’s coming up soon, please see the post 4Q2025 SNEAK PEEK.

SEMIOVOX.COM

SEMIOVOX, my branding consultancy’s eponymous website, is published by SEMIOVOX LLC; I’m the editor. For a full update on what we’ve published recently, please see the post SEMIOVOX 3Q2025. Here, I’ll just mention a few highlights.

MAKING SENSE is a long-running series of Q&As dedicated to revealing what makes semioticians tick. Here’s the 3Q2025 series lineup:

During 3Q2025, SEMIOVOX wrapped up the series PHOTO OP — to which we invited our semiotician colleagues from around the world to contribute photos that they’ve snapped while “off the job.” Here’s the 3Q2025 series lineup:

MEDIA DIET is a new series exploring the media “input” of a group of people — our commercial semiotician colleagues, from around the world — whose “output” we admire. Here’s the 3Q2025 series lineup:

SEMIOFEST SESSIONS

I’m coordinator for SEMIOFEST SESSIONS, a series of online get-togethers — intended not only to share best practices among, but to nurture collegiality and friendship within the global semio community.

For a full update on recent Semiofest Sessions, please see the post SEMIOVOX 3Q2025. Here’s one example:

SEPTEMBER: NARRATIVE SEMIOTICS. Narratives influence our beliefs and actions, even our perception of reality. So when it comes to influencing global perceptions, driving social change, and consolidating symbolic and political power, it’s crucial to use the tools offered by narrative semiotics. Serdar Paktin, host of this session, invited Sarah Dodge (Ellen MacArthur Foundation) and Laura Jordan Bambach (Uncharted) to unravel the semiotic strategies behind impactful narratives across diverse domains — social activism, design, advertising, marketing, politics — thus allowing us to grasp their profound implications.

WRITING (HILOBROW)

During 3Q2025, I wrote the following HILOBROW series and posts.

For the ENDORA YOUR ENTHUSIASM series, I contributed an installment on JOEL CAIRO. Excerpt: “Unlike most other villains, Lorre’s Cairo is seeking more than wealth or power — something that he’ll likely never find. What is it? A clue can be found in the way that Lorre enunciates the word ‘idiot,’ twice.”
For the SEMIOPUNK series, I wrote about Don DeLillo’s WHITE NOISE. Excerpt: “Murray finds deep significance in ordinary, everyday events and locations; channel-surfs the TV for signs of ‘American magic and dread’; and roams the aisles of the supermarket, soaking up ‘psychic data’ (one of the author’s proposed titles for the book) about the coercive and transcendental messages encrypted in product labels.”
For SEMIOPUNK, I also wrote about R.F. Kuang’s BABEL. Excerpt: “Commercial semioticians have found a way to leverage the uncanny nature of meaning in language to our client’s benefit and our profit. So have Kuang’s silver-working translators. The difference being that while Kuang’s translators are exploiting the energy sparked in the meaning-gap between words in different languages, semioticians will tell you that innumerable meaning-gaps exist within any given language, or culture, or semiosphere.”
For SEMIOPUNK, I also wrote about China Miéville’s EMBASSYTOWN. Excerpt: “Human language is a medium of signification, of meaning-making. Which, as has been discussed several time in this series, is (for semioticians in particular) highly pleasurable. This helps us to understand why the Hosts, for whom signs have always only offered access to unmediated reality, become dangerously intoxicated when the myriad possibilities of signifier/signified connections are revealed.”

Outtake from an impromptu portrait photo shoot that I did with Maggie Inge, a participant in this summer’s GIVE IT UP project.

ALSO: I’ve continued to add installments in the solo series SCREENSHOTS, PHOTO DUMP, NOT TODAY, EBAY, and HERMENAUTICA.

WRITING (ELSEWHERE)

During 3Q2025, at SEMIOVOX, I continued to contribute new installments to CASABLANCA CODES, an eight-part series via which I’m offering a semiotic analysis of the underlying meaning-structure of Casablanca. Here are the final two installments:

RICK. Excerpt: “As an antihero, the RICK paradigm straddles the line between the dominant discourse (associated with WAR and BUSINESS, in this semiosphere) and the counter-discourse (associated with PEACE and PLEASURE). He refuses to choose.”
RENAULT. Excerpt: “Renault tells Laszlo, regarding Ugarte: ‘I’m making out the report now. We haven’t quite decided whether he committed suicide or died trying to escape.’ It’s a telling admission, from this semiosphere’s anti-antihero, that he has confused his ability to perceive the semiotic structure of the narrative in which he finds himself with the ability to author that narrative. A fatal flaw for any and all anti-antiheroes.”

GOOD VIBRATIONS

Getting the word out, during 3Q2025…

GIVE IT UP

The GIVE IT UP experiment in Kingston, NY (August 15 through September 10) received some nice local publicity, including…

Cover story in the HV1 Almanac. Excerpt:

“These significant objects can be extremely hard to let go,” Glenn told me, “so you need new ideas, new thinking about ways to let them go.” Glenn and Walker’s conversations led them to wonder if a person’s community could lend a hand in the letting-go process. Since we know that its story and meaning make objects significant, what if a person’s community suggested new stories for the object — for example, by ensuring that the object went to a meaningful place, or found a new life.
Feature in the Kingston Wire. Excerpt:

Kingston, according to Rob Walker, became the perfect setting to explore [Josh and Rob’s] idea of decluttering our lives. Walker describes the experiment as a combination of The Moth meets Marie Kondo. “We decided to zero in on objects you own, things that are like, ‘Why do I still have that?’” Walker said.

Josh was interviewed on the Radio Kingston show Kingston Happenings

Feature in HV1’s Fall 2025 LIVING supplement.

HERMENAUT

HILOBROW friend Chad Post sent this shot from the annual conference of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing (SHARP), which was hosted this year from July 7–11 at the University of Rochester.

Jolie Braun, curator of modern literature and manuscripts at The Ohio State University’s Rare Books & Manuscripts Library, who has recently developed a very gratifying interest in Hermenaut, the intellectual zine/journal that I edited and published for many years, presented on the topic of 1990s zines and small magazine distributors.

RADIUM AGE SERIES

For a full update on recent Radium Age series publicity, please see the post RADIUM AGE 3Q2025. Here are a few examples.

“I’m looking forward to digging into this one,” says Andrew Liptak of Transfer Orbit, of Before Superman. “This collection pulls together short stories written between 1902 and 1928, by such authors as Francis Stevens, H. Rider Haggard, Hugo Gernsback, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more, all examining the ways that humanity could be transformed in all sorts of terrifying ways.”

I was interviewed by Paul Semel about Before Superman — the Q&A was posted on publication day, August 19th. Excerpt:

PAUL SEMEL: Do you think any of the stories in Before Superman could work as a comic book? Or a movie?

JOSH GLENN: These superhuman stories and others would make terrific comic books or movies. Perhaps only now is the world ready for Jarry’s André Marcueil, a Bruce Wayne-like gentleman scientist who trains his body to be superior to ordinary mortals… and who develops a super-sexual capacity.

For the August 29 episode of the Lit Hub Podcast, I was interviewed about the Before Superman anthology, and the Radium Age series in general, by host Drew Broussard.
“Provides essential background on the rise to dominance of superhumans in our own pop culture.” — From a Toronto Star review of Before Superman.

TAKING IT EASY

In July, Susan and I sold the home where we’ve lived (in Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood) for the past 25 years. We turned in our Massachusetts IDs and license plates. We are officially New Yorkers now…

In August, we stuck fairly close to Kingston. Hiking, biking, swimming, socializing with friends new and old. We were quite busy with the GIVE IT UP project, but that sorta falls under the “taking it easy” category.

September was jam-packed with GIVE IT UP-related activities, a home repair project, out-of-town visitors, etc. — but Susan did find the time to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Feeling very fortunate!

***

On to 4Q2025…

MORE HYPOCRISY: 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 1Q2025 | 2Q2025 | 3Q2025 | 4Q2025.

HYPOCRITE IDLER 3Q2025

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