Greetings. Well it’s been a stop and go kind of week for me, with too much time spent hunched over a keyboard staring at this ridiculous screen. And if not this screen, then the black mirror that has taken over our minds and eaten our souls. But I digress. I owe you some notes…
And the Heavens opened up…
#29: The rain has been relentless today. I’m holed up in a cafe waiting for the 15:00 showing of the new X-Men movie - Dark Phoenix. It is the 13th film in the X-Men franchise. The question is out there if this will be the last. I thought I’d steal some time to scribble these notes. I know if I start now, I’ll be able to get these out to you by tomorrow (it’s Saturday as I write this).
It’s been just me and the cats this weekend. All the humans have gone down to Bristol for a fundraising event for Mission Direct. Ruth is headed to Uganda in September to help Mission Direct build three classrooms for the village of Kumi. If you feel so inclined, you can buy a brick or two on her Just Giving page.
I bought Bukowski along with me to the cafe. I like hanging out with the laureate of American low life. His writing is raw and real and makes my insides burn like a ghost pepper.
…that’s as far as I got yesterday, the dark phoenix was excellent by the way, although it was kind of hard to see Sophie Turner as someone other than Sansa Stark, especially running this close to the ending of Game of Thrones (which I hated btw) . I talk a little bit about Dark Phoenix in an #AudioMo post yesterday - i got chills - more on that below…
Sunday rolls around quick. Not that any day should be different than any other day, but that’s the rhythm of things isn’t it - toil 5 days a week, grab some R&R on the weekend, the weekend being Friday evening, Saturday, and half of Sunday. There’s a point in time on Sunday where you switch into ‘school night’ mode and start thinking about and getting ready for the week ahead.
I’m not at that point yet.
I’m out in the back garden reading Bukowski again. Now, not only are my insides burning, but mind is about to explode. If I don’t stop soon my mind will blow up or out or something. Maybe that’s a good thing. I could do with dumping the dullness and crap clogging my brain.
“Jesus. Jesus. Jesus,” Bukowski is off on one. He’s in the presence of saints. And oh damn. Jesus makes me think of Rob O and suddenly I remember I’m meant to be meeting him, Rob O, not Jesus, in 30 minutes to pick up the bikes I lent him before he heads off back to the States today!
another pause in the Notes to go pick up bikes…
Ok, now we’re caught up.
That thing that gave me the chills
Was this, the latest Nike commercial:
Don’t change your dreams. Change the world. The whole empowered woman vibe is awesome.
Bukowski on knowing without doing
#30: I’m so, so guilty of this. I pile a bunch knowledge into my head and then I do nothing with it. It just sits there clogging up my mental flow. Here’s what Bukowski had to say about the matter:
...knowledge without follow-through is worse than no knowledge at all. because if you’re guessing and it doesn’t work you can just say, shit, the gods are against me. but if you know and don’t do, you’ve got attics and dark halls in your mind to walk up and down in and wonder about. this ain’t healthy, leads to unpleasant evenings, too much drink and the shredding machine.
I feel like I’m on the verge again of an important evolutionary turn...no that’s me deluding myself again. This is no evolutionary turn. This is my Sisyphus moment. I’m nearly at the top of the hill. The question is will I have the strength and the courage to push this goddamn boulder up over the hill or are the gods just toying with me and I’ll soon be tumbling back down the hill again?
Montaigne warned me not to “hesitate too long at the moral crossroads.” Your soul will be crushed if you do.
soundtrack: Rockstar - Knickleback
If you love audio and making podcasts…
#Audiomo is in full swing. If you haven’t heard me talking about this online, it’s a 30 Day audio challenge for people who love making audio. The idea is you record and share on Twitter using the hashtag. The rest of the community will pick it up from there.
Here’s my contribution this week:
Day 3 - Did you work your body today?
Day 4 - Don’t forget to check which king’s head it is
Day 5 - The Anxious Mind
Day 6 - Thinking about the Internet
Day 7 - Getting rid of unwanted fat
Day 8 - I got chills
Instagram shenanigans
If you’re curios about what Instagram thinks you like, here’s what you do:
go to your profile (lower right corner), press the menu of the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner, enter Settings, then Security, Access data, scroll the list of options until you get to Ads Interests. This reveals an endless list of what Instagram thinks your interests are, based either on the photos you publish or what you search for.
Here’s what Instagram thinks (can an algorithm think?) my interest are:
Interesting…
Happiness. Oh happiness.
#31: Happiness is not something I’ve ever really overtly sought. But it seems to be what we all want. And yet it remains elusive enough to build a billion dollar industry out of seeking help to find it.
In the late 1930s, a team of researchers began tracking 268 Harvard graduates (why is it always Harvard graduates?) from the classes of 1939 to 1944. They also began tracking 456 young men growing up in inner city Boston around the same time.
The study is one of the longest studies ever - 75 years - and here’s the most cited insight:
"The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period."
Set that against the context of our eroding relationships due to spending too much time on our mobile phones and it’s no wonder we are all unhappy. Bold statement, I know. But be brutally honest with yourself, are you really truly happy in every way? If so, is today a good day to die? (something I borrowed from Hemingway)
This is the end, beautiful friend
Ok, that’s it for me this week. Hope these Notes find you well. I’ll see you out there on social and maybe even in real life. I’m always up for a good conversation so hit me up on email or messenger or let’s grab a coffee together.
Peace and love to you,
Clay
And if the spirit moves you, ‘like’ and share this issue of the Notes. Also let your friends know they can subscribe here.