ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
another day of indescribable, unfathomable beauty
Continuing with the sky/clouds theme from my last newsletter update, I really enjoyed Jenny Odell’s recent meditation on cloud-watching. I replied by email with a link to the Cloud Appreciation Society, in case she was unfamiliar, because it seems like the kind of thing she’d be into. And she responded that she had not in fact been aware of the organization, so that was cool.
Like so many ecological phenomena, clouds are lessons in complexity — in how to see a world where everything is always about to turn into something else.
Reading Rosa Luxemburg’s letter from prison made me think of the reality t.v. series Alone. We’re currently watching the Australia season that aired in 2023. Without spoiling anything (and I don’t actually know yet who “wins” that season but should in another night or two) my favorite contestant is Kate, who successfully avoids hunting or trapping any mammals, and has not only a kickass shelter, fire pit, and knowledge of local flora, but also a really positive attitude and appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds her, even in a place where basic human survival is extremely challenging. Like Rosa, I can imagine Kate exclaiming, “Here again today was a day of indescribable, unfathomable beauty.”
If you don't love, your heart won't break. If you don't venture out in the world, taste life, you won't make mistakes, fail or break. But the good stuff, the evolution, happens in the fractures, in the mess, in the getting up.
As the kids say, we are so back. Back to riding bikes on dirt, that is. I’m coming up on 8 weeks recovered (ICYMI, I fractured 2 ribs in a MTB crash on May 18th) and still have a little soreness and general lack of fitness/skills compared to mid-May, but I’m making progress and feeling better with every ride. Above is a quote that really resonated with me for all the obvious reasons as I was preparing for my 6th podcast interview with former Emeryville Poet Laureate Sarah Kobrinsky. I have a bit of a break now until the final batch of interviews in August, but I’m hoping to get started on editing so that I can release a trailer/teaser in early September.
We spent July 4th in Sacramento and visited the Crocker Art Museum, where we recreated the above photo of my daughter in front of the Artomat machine outside the gift shop.
That’s it for this edition. I’ll leave you with this image of salt water taffy in a candy store in Old Sacramento. Some things don’t change much at all, I guess.
Glad to learn you're back--on the bike, on the podcast, and here.