130.4 miles for November
November 30, 2015
November 29, 2015
November 28, 2015
November 27, 2015
rain shoes
Penny was saying, "shoes, shoes," and "outside." I told her it was wet and raining, and she said "rain shoes" and went and got her boots.
field notes, mmxv-xi-xxvii
For the first two-and-a-half days of the holiday weekend we had off-and-on rain and 70-degree temperatures; Ondine and I got caught a few times but it wasn't bad; it was the kind of rain people mean when say they like to walk in it. Cargo shorts, a t-shirt and a sunhat on Thanksgiving.
Until early this afternoon, when the cold front blew in. Cú and I were halfway through a two-mile walk that started under an overcast sky, silent and close and humid and still, when we heard a hissing noise and saw leaves falling from the trees ahead. We ducked under a red oak as a squall blew in and right back out again; the rain lasted no more than 30 seconds, but when we came out the other side the temperature had dropped ten degrees. We hurried home but had time to notice that the passing of the front had lined the streets and sidewalks in new layers of color, reds and golds and greens, like a royal rug marking the path from autumn to winter.
November 26, 2015
November 25, 2015
November 24, 2015
one or t'other, sure
Is this the famous death of empathy possibly caused by staring at an inanimate screen while talking to real people? Is it the masks we wear in cyberspace which allow us to act as if we have mislaid our hearts altogether, as if all that matters is the well-being of whichever group or theory we hold most dearly? And in counterpoint, is empty sentimentalism or patriotism the answer we assume if then accused of heartlessness?
I have come to believe that technology in fact humanizes us, and it creates space for interaction and engagement. It creates room for inquiry and a point of interception. It allows for a node where strangers can overcome awkwardness, or norms of respect for privacy and space, and reach out to each other. Is it possible that our use of technology has become so naturalized that it has displaced our sense of comfort and familiarity with other humans? It is entirely possible.
The great global headspace holiday: let's shut the world wide web down for a week and see what happens.
November 22, 2015
November 21, 2015
field notes, mmxv-xi-xxi
A chilly front blew in this morning - looks like we have a shot at our first freeze tomorrow or Monday.
November 20, 2015
snippets, 11-20-2015
...the enthusiasm of a brave mind is the only fire broader and brighter than that of a fanatical one.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Godolphin, 1833
November 19, 2015
November 18, 2015
a fair toddler
Before PJ left this evening she saw me putting on my walking shoes and said, a walk? A walk, a walk? I told her she was leaving now but that yes I would walk later and asked which dog I should take. She said Finn. I explained that Finn is Sarah's dog, which is why when grandma and grandpa and PJ go walking we take one of the other dogs, but she was insistent. I said Cú? She said Finn. Pan? Finn. Ondine? Finn. We looked at each other and then she turned and left the room and ran down the hall to the front door and came back with Finn's leash.
November 17, 2015
snippets, 11-17-2015
Did we but dread beauty less it would come about that nought else in life would be visible; for in reality it is beauty alone that exists. There is no soul but is conscious of this, none that is not in readiness...the soul is not exacting. A thought that is almost beautiful - a thought that you speak not, but that you cherish within you at this moment...
- Maurice Maeterlink, The Treasure of the Humble, 1896
November 15, 2015
November 14, 2015
November 13, 2015
snippets, 11-13-2015
Perhaps nothing brings into broader daylight the subtle bonds that interconnect all mankind than the little mysteries which attend the exchange of a few letters between two strangers. This is perhaps one of the minute crevices...in the door of the darkness, through which we are allowed to peer for one instant...
- Maurice Maeterlink, The Treasure of the Humble, 1896
November 12, 2015
snippets, 11-12-2015
How could you like that book? (NYR Daily, h/t plaeroma). "...it is exactly over my reaction to books that I tend to discover how completely out of synch with others I am." Heh.
In other news, Takins are cool (h/t shakesville).
In other news, Takins are cool (h/t shakesville).
November 11, 2015
November 8, 2015
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