Lower the bar

July 30, 2021 |

Conversational gambits

Jim Carroll is dedicated to high quality conversation.

July 29, 2021 |

The absence of ambivalence

This is familiar. I love a crisis. Or a to do list:

"I have the reputation, at least among some friends and family, of being 'good in a crisis' – such as (to give a somewhat minor example) the day last year, deep in lockdown, when a shard of flying flowerpot ended up halfway through my partner's hand, sending her to hospital and upending our finely calibrated work and childcare plans for the week. In such circumstances, I never get stressed by having to change my plans, or add to the anxiety of the situation by freaking out. I just get on with whatever needs doing, calmly and resourcefully.

Naturally, I'd love to attribute this to my being a stunningly compassionate, courageous and flexible person. But the real explanation, I've come to realise, lies in the contrast with what I'm like the rest of the time: prone to second-guessing myself, wondering whether or not what I'm doing right now is what I ought to be doing, and whether I'm trying hard enough – to the general irritation of myself and anyone else involved.

In an emergency, that whole tangle of self-absorption lifts, because "what needs to be done" is usually so obvious that nobody, not even my inner critic, could reasonably disagree. For a certain kind of person – and I'm definitely one of them – this total absence of ambivalence feels freeing, even disconcertingly elating, never mind the fact that what's unfolding around me is unquestionably bad."

Oliver Burkeman

July 28, 2021 |

Different not better

"A talent for speaking differently, rather than for arguing well, is the chief instrument of cultural change."

Richard Rorty

July 27, 2021 |

Good streams: Irenebrination

A correspondent asked me if I could share 'what I follow' because they were interested in spreading the range of their own reading. My instant thought was to just issue a dump of all the RSS feeds I follow. But glancing through it so much was defunct or hijacking I thought perhaps I shouldn't.

Instead I've decided to try and notice when I come across a bit of stream that delights me and write about it here.

Here's one: Anna Battista's blog about fashion, design, architecture and whathaveyou.

Here's a great post about the Olympic opening ceremony.

July 26, 2021 |

My captain

I was in the newsagents, a postal worker came in. An obvious Grateful Dead fan. "Hello Captain", he said "is there a cash point nearby? I want to check my balance."

July 25, 2021 |

Nice bit of letterpress

July 24, 2021 |

Organisations

July 23, 2021 |

Divide it into 3

July 22, 2021 |

Messy desks

Voila

July 21, 2021 |

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