Bureaucrats

 

Dutch photographer, Jan Banning, captures bureaucracy's poetry in this series of portraits from eight different nations.

Not the work humans were built for, and yet here we are. Wild times.

The Writing Tho

 

Recently, I picked up books by two authors who were new to me and was delighted to discover their way with words. Both capture the sacred in contexts easily dismissed as profane or mundane.

Laurie Colwin died four years after writing this slim novel in the 1980s. It's an unexpectedly lovely and refreshing take on an affair.

 Niall Williams' subject is a forgotten (and imaginary) Irish village. His work steeps me in the unfamiliar while stopping me in my tracks with descriptions of the universal.

Our Story

Dr. Roy Casagranda plays loose and fast with history in this lecture and doesn't completely nail the details, but I like his message.

And, big picture, I don't think he's wrong. In fact, the story he tells makes SO MUCH SENSE.

He highlights two human tension points:

We are the only species we know of experiencing menopause in a patriarchy. He believes widespread cultural misogyny is a recent development brought about by the advent of agriculture and war. 

Primates are primarily prey species and yet we find ourselves in the role of planetary apex predator. Our fears coupled with our tools have made us uniquely dangerous.

In both cases, our innovations have outpaced the evolution of our wisdom.

"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder." -- G. K. Chesterton

My Cat Era

 

I mean. They are perfect. Just don't tell my twelve year old self who really, really wanted this dog:

These days I am simply charmed by the self sufficiency of cats. Their purr. That soft fur.

Wouldn't have called it for myself, but so glad I'm here for it.

Autumn Leaves

 

            this season

            in a woman's life

            is vivid

            beyond repair

Wonders

 

Legit found in a London sewer.

Relevant

 

This is a beautiful documentary about being human:

What it means to be completely honest about who we are and share with the world the parts of ourselves we fear are unloveable. What it means to be trustworthy and support those we love as they risk the profound vulnerability of fully revealing themselves. What it means to wholly love ourselves.