Life Notes

I hate it when I come up with what I imagine is a great idea, only to discover that someone I despise has thought of it also. How many good ideas have I killed for this reason?

Life is like a soggy, greased electric eel. I want to hold on, but ELECTRIC EEL!

I skim through Nietzsche’s Zarathustra, then listened to Strauss’ tone poem based on it, then listened to Wagner, then went down a deep rabbit hole about why Hitler was obsessed with Wagner. My main take-away? I should have my copy of The Portable Nietzsche on my night stand in case I die in my sleep, people will think I was deep in the end.

An Observation from the Movie Wild

by The Usual Suspect

In the movie Wild, Cheryl Strayed, a real person portrayed by Reese Witherspoon, has decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Every night, she writes in her journal, then immediately burns the pages.

The genius, I thought, to take the first step, then go directly to the last one.

The genius, I thought, of writing words to the sky and soil, instead of to an audience.

The genius, I thought, of casting ideas above and beyond.

The genius, I thought, of mixing fire and ink and paper and ideas, then inhaling them.

The genius, I thought, of disappearing forever.

As is often the case, I made these images with my 1980s-era Nikkor 85mm f/1.8, a lens that seems to have a “just right” quality for events like this.