a great speech

One of my favorite scenes in literature is in Dostoevsky's The Demons. There was a man who pretty much everyone respected, and this radical group was trying to court him and get him on their side, because he would be a powerful asset. So, after a period of time and getting to know each other, he agreed that he would come and speak at one of their meetings. 

They were stoked. It was a real coup. So, he arrives at the meeting and gets up to speak, and there are hundreds of people intently listening and ready to hang on every word. It's a crowd of true believers. 

He begins by talking about how he has really closely observed the group and thought deeply about his observations - really reflecting on the meaning and essence of the group. Then he tells them what he came up with - what he sees as the meaning and essence of the group. He says, it's really about (and everyone is expecting him to say something deep, but he says....) stupidity. 

It's one of the funniest and most memorable lines I've read. 

generations

We can learn about historical events and periods, but we will never know what it was like to actually live through them, unless we actually did live through it. 

One of my favorite quotes is from William Wordsworth's 'Preface to Lyrical Ballads':

For a multitude of causes, unknown to former times, are now acting with a combined force to blunt the discriminating powers of the mind, and, unfitting it for all voluntary exertion, to reduce it to a state of almost savage torpor. The most effective of these causes are the great national events which are daily taking place, and the increasing accumulation of men in cities, where the uniformity of their occupations produces a craving for extraordinary incident, which the rapid communication of intelligence hourly gratifies. To this tendency of life and manners the literature and theatrical exhibitions of the country have conformed themselves.[1]

It's so interesting because, looking back at the period of time he's talking about, from the 21st century, his time seems so slow and primitive. In our age, through the internet and computer technology, we can and do communicate with anywhere on earth virtually instantaneously. Wordsworth's was the era of the telegraph, the newspaper, and the train. 

It's like when you were in primary/ elementary school and you made the jump from 2nd grade to third, so you were no longer an infant, and things got a lot more serious. As an adult you look back on that and remember what it was like but still, compared with other life changes, it's very minor. 

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[1] Wordsworth, William, Preface to Lyrical Ballads, 1800, Bartleby.com, section 8

inside out

Inside it's warm and comfortable. It's a haven. But appearances are deceptive, for inside is stagnant and dead, but outside is vibrant and alive. 

doors

I used to think that self-help and popular psychology books had some kind of special secret, but I eventually realized that that's not exactly true. They can be helpful, but I think it's usually more in the way of drawing out what you already know. 

lego poetry

There are lots of things that I can write about.....a session I had with a psychiatrist, Dostoevsky vs Tolstoy, a video I watched applying Susan Sontag's distinction between camp and chic to modern social media trends, but the beautiful thing is that I can create something new. I can write something that has never been written before, something not modular and pre-packaged. 

changing channels

For a while I was thinking that I would cycle through Medium, my blog, substack, patreon, and linkedIn. So, I'd write a post on Medium then after that on my blog, then substack, etc. But that just doesn't work for me. For me, it's very hard to switch and the kind of writing I want to do on each platform is so different. 

So, the way it has worked out is that, I write on Medium for a few months, then my blog for a few months, and so on. When I'm immersed in each project, I have no....what's the word? 'Interest' doesn't quite fit. 'Momentum' maybe....in the others. 

I've only made it to the second step - this blog. It's going to be a while before I get to substack, Patreon and LinkedIn, because I'm in no hurry. I'm content to write my blog for the indefinite future. But when I get to each of them, I will write something good. 

mirage

There's always a difference between the idea of doing things and the reality. At school, when I first got an assignment or essay, it seemed like I had so long to work on it and I pictured myself doing all this good work, but then it wouldn't eventuate. I would end up doing it at the last minute.