“Night falls. Or has fallen. Why is it that night falls, instead of rising, like the dawn? Yet if you look east, at sunset, you can see night rising, not falling; darkness lifting into the sky, up from the horizon, like a black sun behind cloud cover. Like smoke from an unseen fire, a line…
Year: 2024
Off the Wagon
“A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is visible labor and there is invisible labor.” Victor Hugo Thursday Back to work. I fluctuate between enthusiasm and blasé. Tonight I made the most tasteless pasta in history and ate three serves. Justifying binge eating good food is one thing. Gorging on…
Al Qusais
Drifting on the torrid breeze, morning foul stench from the mountain ascends unyielding with trash Heat in blue skies, now brown Red sand lost Ocean desert, now concrete bitumen, plastic, steel, glass, refuse Heat, dust, stench. Nothing more. Thursday “If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the…
Back in the Grind
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Plato Thursday I have been back at the gym for three days. I feel so much better. I have not gained weight—a deceptive conclusion. The muscle mass I have lost…
Reframing in Budapest
“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.” Franz Kafka Sunday It is a beautiful day. There has been quite a bit of doom and complaining recently. After some meditation, it is time for a paradigm shift. We make our way…
Return to Budapest
“The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable.” Nietzche Saturday It rained overnight. Every time I woke, the sound of rain put me back to sleep. Something so simple, so common, holds so much value…
Reading Lists
“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” Oscar Wilde Friday Breakfast at Beňovský Bistro & Market and numerous coffees to shake the fog from my brain. With a few hundred pages to go in the Lonesome Dove series, it is time to think…
Poprad, again
“He liked to get off by himself, a mile or so from camp, and listen to the country, not the men.” Larry McMurtry A strange night’s sleep. Maybe I have forgotten how to sleep sober. Breakfast at Beňovský Bistro & Market and then for a much needed barber appointment. Not a bad trim but a…
Auschwitz-Birkenau
“But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.” Viktor E. Frankl Wednesday Today we leave Šumperk. Breakfast and I am a little tired. My skin is blotchy from drinking and a bad diet. My body has started…