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The day after tomorrow

by MAÔ, posted in Thoughts

In a crisis situation, it may be more pertinent to focus on the present rather than the future. The future can look awfully far away when you’re dealing with the day-to-day changes that seem to keep popping up.

However, what the future may show us is that this virus, as well as our response to it, fundamentally changed how we live our lives, conduct business, and interact with each other going forward.

What I’m thinking of specifically is the dissemination of information across the internet, how we can utilize it more efficiently for education, business, and entertainment, and what that flow of data will look like.

Comcast report usage up 32 percent on March 30th. Gaming platform Steam saw traffic up 25 percent since February. Internet conferencing and preferencing a computer over a cell phone have also increased during this shutdown.

I believe that once the country is able to revert to more normal circumstances, we’ll see some interesting data regarding how the internet is being used, at least in the short term. Many are learning new tricks for their computers, including video conferencing and distance learning.

Additionally, people are going to want to spend time together. More than they had previously. While some introverts may find this time in seclusion refreshing (I count myself among them), the whole will likely feel a push towards renewed intimacy. Maybe dinner table conversations without a cellphone screen.

One idea I’ve always loved is that of a salon, “a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation.”

Maybe when we reopen, you’ll consider hosting a salon-style party, sharing stories of all you learned online while you were staying home.

Weekly Rundown

by MAÔ, posted in Travel

All about Ketchikan, Volume 5.

The Tongass National Forest:

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Sign for Signal Creek Campground at Ward Lake, in Tongass

Tongass is the largest National Forest in the US and covers most of the Southeast of Alaska. Seventeen million acres, to be nearly exact.

The Tongass National Forest stretches about 500 miles along the SE Alaska coast covering an area equal in size to Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. It was designated a national forest on September 10, 1907, by proclamation of the President, Teddy Roosevelt.

image

Tongass is the point of some controversy recently, in the question of whether to allow logging in some of its areas. Today it is home to two national monuments (Misty Fjords and Admiralty Island) and nineteen designated wilderness areas. Which is part of a larger question of ecology vs. economy: how do you decide what’s of value?

Environmentalist (and huge Alaska fan) John Muir noted as he watched federally protected lands across the U.S. come under threat, “Nothing dollarable is safe.” And that is a conundrum that has faced man since the industrial age. What portion of land needs be preserved and what should be developed?

Sitting here, in Southeast Alaska, I’m glad there is still wilderness outside the door. In this country of ours. People from around the world come here in hoards to see Wild Alaska. Not this summer, maybe. But other summers, those in the past. And next summer, I estimate the largest tourist season yet here.

1920px-Tongass_NF_-_map_of_wilderness_areas

 

Building routines in solitude

by MAÔ, posted in Organization

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

The past five weeks or so have been hectic, to say the least. Routines are either strengthened in such circumstances or fall apart.

Personally, I’m only now coming into a routine I’m getting happy with. And mostly I’m stealing it from other suggestions, or I choose to fall back on old habits.

Every morning I write my morning pages (MP), a la Julie Cameron. I’ve been doing this on and off since Nov. 2015, and this year I’ve been fairly dedicated to it. In quarantine, it’s been no problem.

The challenge I’ve had is actually waking up and doing the pages first thing. I’ve unconsciously built up a routine of checking my phone first thing in the morning. Well, that had to stop.

In Dalio’s Principles, he says it takes about eighteen months to change a habit. I’d always heard it was twenty-eight days, before reading Dalio. While a little research may enlighten my understanding, I’m going to wait a bit before running down that rabbit hole.

Following my MP, I do a morning meditation. I either use my Insight Timer app, or I’ll use one of the guided meditations I have from the CDM Spiritual Center.

Then I sit down to write. That pretty much makes up my morning, other than coffee and something to eat for breakfast. Coffee actually comes first once I shamble out of bed. The food comes in at about 11 am.

I’ve actually set this out on the calendar app, and try to follow it as closely as I can. The afternoon routine will come in a later post. I’m still tweaking that one.

Some interesting things for quarantine

by MAÔ, posted in Social

Some interesting curatorial things have popped up over the last few days:

First, Bookshop, a marketplace for books from independent booksellers around the country. I love bookstores. I love bookstores, and libraries, and any place where the smell of ink and old pages seems to blend into something ephemeral.

However, I also like the convenience of shopping online, coupled with the availability of just about any book, in print or otherwise, given you’re willing to pay the price. And, often, the prices tend to be a little cheaper on Amazon.

The price factor may not sway towards Bookshop’s favor, but the sudden increase in online availability could be a boon to struggling booksellers during this COVID-19 crisis.

I’ll explore some of the elements of competition between Amazon, Bookshop, and brick-and-mortar stores at a later date. That’s a lot of info to cull through. But, if you’re interested in buying books, give Bookshop a chance.

Second, if you’re not in a place financially to purchase new books (hello unemployment waiting period…), visit The Internet Archive for their National Emergency Library! I love this place. I haven’t done a lot of actual reading, beyond just browsing digital collections. But, wow. There is so much material here that it’s amazing. And right now, it’s complete access to library collections due to the crisis.

Third, this hefty article on productivity from Stephen Wolfram. The man knows his stuff. Back around 2014, I was introduced to a lot of the neat features of the Wolfram Alpha programming that helped my iPhone’s Siri function.

I’m constantly trying to improve my productivity and routines, partially because it’s so easy for me to fall back into bad habits. At times, it’s difficult for me to… SQUIRREL!

But seriously, making little improvements to how you spend your day is in your best interest, always.

The Procrastination Trap

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

There’s a saying: “Why put off to tomorrow what you can put off altogether?” It’s a riff off the more popular: “Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can get done today.”

In the age of doing so much, staying on all the time, busy schedules and busier inboxes, it’s easy to procrastinate.

What I’ve realized is, the longer you put it off, the less likely it is to get done. Regardless of your intentions.

There is a cumulative power in putting this off, and two days postponed is greater than one plus one: it compounds.

Of course, this applies to work without deadlines. That’s a different form of procrastination, and any of us who have jobs or went to school recognize putting things off until the deadline looms.

Most of this insidious form of procrastination – putting off until it’s a vague notion in the back of your mind – spring up from personal projects. Things you might actually like doing. Yet, it put them off for the more “important” things.

If that’s the case, maybe it’s time to reprioritize.

Where it comes from

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

I’ve been somewhat isolated up here in Alaska. I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve gotten a lot reading done, worked on a couple of projects, though not nearly as many as I should have (yet). But while I’m writing now every day, I’m wondering how much “water” is in the well.

That is, how many ideas can I pull out of my current situation?

Here, or anywhere, that can sometimes be a difficult thought.

I don’t recall which Seth Godin book I read this in, but Johnny B. Truant said: “You don’t hear plumbers complaining about plumber’s block.” (Found this quirky counterargument that, yes, plumbers can get plumbers’ block…).

People using creativity can get stifled. It happens. Stephen King doesn’t let it happen, by setting up his time to write in routine. Every morning he sits down and writes. The thoughts don’t get in the way.

Neil Gaiman also: when he sits down to write, he can either write or do nothing. By nothing, he’s talking about any other tangible task. He’ll sit there and think, stare out at the scenery, and basically let his mind wander.

And that’s what shower ideas are so damn useful! And sometimes annoying, because, you know, if you want to write that idea down, you’re in the shower and paper and pen aren’t really nearby. And you’re wet.

There was a podcast I listened to at some point, could have been three years ago, or eight, or anytime between. I don’t remember when. But the guest was talking about writing music. And how the muse would strike at the most inopportune times, like driving down the road. The tune would just fully form. But, the guest was driving, and at the time this was happening I’d assume there weren’t recording devices on cellphones.

So this guest made a deal with the muse. I’ll paraphrase what I remember, but it went like, “Muse. I’ll give you ample time to lead me in creativity. But it has to be the times that I’m able to use what you’re giving me. So, no more coming to me when I’m driving. I’ll sit down and open myself up to you every day, and that’s when you’ll visit.”

And it worked for the guest. (No, I don’t recall who the guest was, or even if it a male or a female. Only that it was a songwriter.)

All that is to say, the ideas can come from anywhere. As long as you’re open to them.

 

Easter

by MAÔ, posted in Holidays

This year, especially, it seems that families will be close for the holiday. We’re in lockdown across the country, restaurants are predominantly closed, and we’re able to be with each other in ways that seemed impossible just last year.

It used to be that most places closed on holidays. Until they figured out that there was a market for shopping on holidays. For eating out. Then, as one or two started opening, others followed suit. Pretty soon, the holidays were just another set of days.

But this year, that’s not possible. We’re inside. If lucky, we have the outdoors to wander about in. And if we’re lucky, we have our family. Someone to spend this time with. To grow closer with. To drive crazy, as families tend to do when cooped up together.

Still, view this time together as an opportunity.

Be Excellent To Each Other | Keanu reeves, Funny pictures, Ted

The Book Catch Up

by MAÔ, posted in Books

This is going to cover December, January, February, and I might as well include March. I’ve done significantly more reading over the past two weeks, owing to a nation in lockdown.

Books Bought:

  • Alchemy & Mysticism – Alexander Roob
  • Basketful of Heads #2-5 – DC Comics
  • The Dollhouse Family #1-3 – DC Comics
  • The Low, Low Woods #1-2 – DC Comics
  • Alaska – James. A Michener
  • The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe– Kij Johnson
  • Certain Woman of an Age – Margaret Trudeau (Audible Original)
  • The Science of Sci-Fi – Erin MacDonald (Audible Original)
  • Caffeine – Michael Pollan (Audible Original)
  • Alaska: The Harriman Expedition, 1899 – Burroughs, Muir, et al.
  • Coming into the Country – John McPhee
  • Children of the Raven: The Seven Indian Nations of the Northwest Coast – H.R. Hays

Books Read:

  • Light the Dark – (unfinished)
  • Horizon – Barry Lopez (unfinished)
  • Arctic Dreams – Barry Lopez (unfinished)
  • An Innocent Abroad: Life-Changing Trips from 35 Great Writers – Editor, Don George (unfinished)
  • Walden, or, Life in the Woods – Henry David Thoreau (unfinished)
  • Tip of the Iceberg – Mark Adams (unfinished)
  • Children of the Raven: The Seven Indian Nations of the Northwest Coast – H.R. Hays (unfinished)
  • Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo
  • Basketful of Heads #2-5 – DC Comics
  • Wild – Cheryl Strayed
  • The Call of the Wild – Jack London
  • The Modern Minimalist Budget – Brian Night
  • Principles: Life and Work – Ray Dalio
  • Locke & Key, Vol. 1 – Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
  • The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern
  • The Ballad of Black Tom – Victor LaValle
  • Vagabonding – Rolf Potts
  • Storm Front – Jim Butcher
  • Fool Moon – Jim Butcher
  • Grave Peril – Jim Butcher
  • Summer Knight – Jim Butcher

December 2019

I almost did it. I almost went a whole month without purchasing a book. Alas, I didn’t make it. This month is a new month, a new year, some may call it a new decade, even though it’s kind of, technically the last year of this current decade. (If you want to debate that, I’d just ask to please consult the Farmer’s Almanac.) ¹

Anyway, my purchases were limited to a few comics, one esoteric edition from Taschen, and a couple audiobooks begotten by credit rather than cash. Audible credit, that is, of which I had a few left, as I subscribed last year.

I didn’t read as much as I had intended. Not nearly. Working an extra gig during the holidays ate into my free time, and I was a bit more tired than I expected.

The only “book” I purchased was Alchemy & Mysticism. I found a special edition on Easton Press, but then tracked down a Taschen copy for significantly less. Again, trying my best to not be frivolous with my money. I didn’t have time to dig into it, but it’s an art book showing the advance of early Western imagery and mysticism throughout the ages, from Pythagoras to William Blake. Is it a practical book to add to my collection? One I’ll read while sitting fireside and absentmindedly scratching my dog behind his ears?

No. No, it’s not. Yet, one of these days I will sit down and write out some of the things clunking around in my head, and a book on philosophical and alchemical history would, at that time, prove very useful. Plus, it’s nice to look at.

Joe Hill’s Basketful of Heads, on the other hand, I did read. I really enjoyed it.

January 2020

January introduced me to the writing of Cheryl Strayed. Wild had been on my radar as a movie since it premiered in 2014. I’ve still yet to see it, but the Reese Witherspoon project garnered a lot of attention, and I remember being vaguely aware that it was based on a book. But, 2014 was a busy time for me, and I didn’t think much about traveling until nearly two years later.

So I got ahold of this book, and the first thing that strikes me is how open Strayed is. Actually, the very first thing is that she chucks her remaining hiking boot over a cliff after the first one fell down into the woods below. Now, I’ve always liked my hiking boots – they are pretty comfortable, a pair of Merrells I got for my first long-distance trip. But I couldn’t imagine walking anywhere without the boots on while I was traveling, especially not with my pack on. It just didn’t seem practical.

So, that was a good introduction to the book. Got me interested right away. Moving on from there, it was how open she was regarding her grief, her inability to rationalize decisions, acting instead on impulse. And how those decisions had reverberating negative effects attached to them, all in an attempt to get her life back on course. Or, perhaps, onto a very new course that would take her to a better destination.

The solo trek was the vehicle of that recorrection. I can understand that intimately, and while this book may have been more useful to me several years ago, it certainly came into my life at a good time – right as I was preparing to spend six months in Alaska for my own bout of reorientation.

Coincidentally, in 2018 I had purchased The California Field Atlas, which I wrote about for that books post, and in it were contained some watercolor maps and highlights regarding the Pacific Crest Trail. Another coincidence: that books posting had also been delayed, and I condensed several months into one post again. You’d think this was a common occurrence for me… ²

Another book I looked at was An Innocent Abroad. I didn’t read much. Don George’s introduction about love and innocence and France; Strayed’s contribution about her trip to Andorra, Spain; and one or two others. I’d had the eBook for I don’t know how long. It was only after checking it out from the library on one of my visits and cycling through my digital library did I know I had it.

With as much as I love to travel you think I’d be a voracious consumer of travelogues. Yet that hasn’t been the case. I’ve tended to steer towards episodic fiction or fantasy (Butcher’s Dresden Files, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels, Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey, etc), or I followed an author who I admired (such as Neil Gaiman, Tim Ferris, or Seth Godin).

I suppose that I would rather experience the destination myself, or, more particularly, the journey to get there. Somehow reading about travels never really holds up.

For instance, writing this now I’m watching a juvenile bald eagle fly over the woods by the Tongass Narrows. You can tell it’s a juvenile because the crown of its head has yet to develop the white feathering, maintaining a youthful dark color. Probably three years old or younger. And I could describe the spread of its wings, feathers parted at the tips as if to reach out to thermal blasts; the looping, soaring pattern it’s taking as it either hunts or is taking a leisurely flight to a perch; or the majestic nature of birds in flight, their long-ago inspiration for us as a species to try and take to the skies. But it’s not a good enough description for me. I feel inept in giving it, and don’t visualize well when I’m reading it.

All that being said, when I read Draft No. 4 last year, I sort of got inspired by McPhee’s writing. He’s got a book on Alaska, Coming into the Country, which I found at the local bookstore. It was on my to-read list, so I decided to get it. I haven’t started it yet, as there is a great deal of local interest information I’m supposed to read before the season starts – for my job up here. When I’ve become proficient in that information, then I’ll branch out into other Alaska tomes, starting with McPhee.

Another book of Alaska, Call of the Wild, got finished this month. I don’t remember if I’d read it before. The ending of the tale didn’t seem familiar to me at all. And I struggled to get through some of these parts.

I build up emotional attachments to well-fleshed characters. Buck, the protagonist, is a dog. For some reason, either my general love-of-animals or the fact that I have a goofy dog back home, Buck was instantly likable for me. And he went through some terrible things. Some of the other dogs had it worse than him.

From London’s perspective, it wasn’t easy been a sled dog. Life in the Klondike wasn’t easy for man, so how could it be for an animal? London had a long enough experience as a gold-miner to develop scurvy and nearly be killed. And he was horrified by the dead horses up by White Pass. I believe he saw the treatment of animals and knew that connection with them was better than abuse.

February

Mark Adams’s Tip of the Iceberg was what I was trying to finish. I didn’t. But, I got a gist.

Adams decided to retrace (as best he could) the route of the Harriman Expedition, an 1899 voyage that the railroad tycoon Edward H. Harriman put together. “His plan was to outfit a large steamship as his private yacht and survey the coast of Alaska… His steamship would sail up the Inside Passage and visit its best-known spots: lawless Wrangell; Skagway, epicenter of the Klondike Gold Rush; the old Russian capital, Sitka; and Glacier Bay…” ³

I learned from Adams about the fur traders (which I learned more about from Barry Lopez’s Arctic Dreams, including the habit of old-world whalers to trade goods and services with the sturdier indigenous natives of the arctic regions), the gold rush, and the oil pipeline: Alaska’s three booms that brought much attention to the area from the outside world.

The State of Alaska could encompass Texas, California, and Montana (size-wise, the second-, third-, and fourth-largest states in the Country), as well as having room left over. Including to fit the whole of New England. It’s 663,300 sq. miles, or roughly 1.16% of the Earth’s above water terrain. With a population of less than 800,000, it’s impressive to think about. Acres per capita, it’s about 1 person every 468 acres. Until the tourist season.

Pandemic notwithstanding, “each summer a million cruise ship passengers make the same scenery hajj as the Harriman Expedition. The most recent data [Adams] could find showed the Inside Passage had catapulted over Las Vegas and Orlando to become America’s number-one tourist destination.” 4 

Watched Locke & Key on Netflix, so got my hands on Volume One of the graphic novel, collecting issues #1-6. It’s a compelling story, told by a capable storyteller. The illustrations by Gabriel Rodriquez add tone and ambiance to the story, and I read through it pretty quickly. As I said before, I didn’t put the Stephen King/Joe Hill – father/son dynamic together until I started doing some research.

Black Tom is a novella that had also been on my list for a while, crunching into the Cthulu mythos. It’s the tale of Horror at Redhook told from the point of view of a Harlem Renaissance jazz guitarist and flim-flam man. He knows some of the eldritch elements within the city and is taken with a summoning of one of the old ones.

There’s a lot here for such a short story. Racial tension, class divides, horror, and suspense. This interview with the author on Fresh Air reveals some of the issues with racism that this story dives into.

Which led me into…

March

I had two choices to start: Principles by Ray Dalio or The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. In 2014 I had read The Night Circus, and I remember it pretty vividly. I was in DC reading it, and then I got sick, and I was in West Virginia staying with a friend of mine. Anyway, that feels like a lifetime ago. But I enjoyed its looping narrative and was excited when Starless Sea was released. I opted for that one.

It kind of defies interpretation. As it says, “He is a metaphor. And sometimes a pirate.” What I can say about it is that it feels like a love letter to books and reading, which sits well with me. I too love books and reading and can appreciate that aspect of it. There are also cats, and bunny pirates, and more that defy explanation.

I then decided to break open Principles. This book came highly recommended, and I’d heard Dalio speak before. It’s not a traditional business text, but it is chocked full of information that made me think. I think some key takeaways were:

  • Think for yourself to decide 1) what you want, 2) what is true, and 3) what you should do to achieve #1 in light of #2.
  • …develop your own principles and ideally write them down, especially if you are working with others.
  • Dreams+Reality+Determination=A Successful Life
  • You must be willing to do things in the unique ways that you think are best
  • Pain+Reflection=Progress

There’s a systemization of problem solving and idea generation that is advanced and unique. If that kind of thing interests you, I recommend the book. The way is segmented makes it easier to read than just straight theory, which helps its digestibility. But there is a great deal of information contained in it.

And, of course, after two weeks of work preseason, we went into lockdown mode. In this time I’ve been writing and reading; generally just messing around. With Jim Butcher’s new Dresden novel scheduled to release on July 14th, I decided to reread the series. I put down the first four books in the last week of March, while also studying about Ketchikan, Alaska, and generally investigating anything I found of interest. This much free time has been a boon for my imagination, if not for my wallet and, perhaps, my overall sanity.

They tell me it’s okay to talk to myself. And, well, who am I to argue…?

And there you have it. Much of the last four months of my reading life. I set a personal goal this year to read a book a week. I haven’t been doing well with that, what with the busy schedule I was keeping back home. All this time in seclusion in The Last Frontier is allowing me to catch up.

Plus, I’m kind of cheating since I’ve read the fifteen Dresden novels before. But I’m also revisiting Walden, the writings of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, a few screenplays, and some of the collected early writings of Neil Gaiman. In April I have a few books on Alaska to add to the reading list, which I hope to have finished in the next few weeks. And in May, I will post the April reading information, and not wait another four months.

At least, that’s what I keep saying to myself. Out loud…

  1. Afternote: This train of thought was relevant four months ago. Not so much now. I still hold we’re in the last year of the decade, however.
  2. This had me thinking a lot about procrastination, and time management, and, you know, doing things you like doing because you like doing them. I’m going to be posting on that topic over the next few weeks.
  3. Harriman was also responsible for the theft of numerous totem poles from here in and around Ketchikan, which I have learned a little about, but I am continuing my research and will write about at length later.
  4. “A whopping 47.9% of domestic tourists take an Alaskan cruise each year. This stat might be a bit surprising, given the time and effort it takes to get all the way up to Alaska, but a quick look at photos changes everything. The glaciers and stunning ice formations are well worth the trip. Next in line is Orlando, the “Theme Park Capital of the World,” and Las Vegas is a step behind Florida.”

Weekly Rundown

by MAÔ, posted in Travel

All about Ketchikan, Volume 4.

There are three groups of native people who live in this area, in and around Ketchikan, Metlakatla, and on several other islands here in the Alexander Archipelago.

“The Tsimshian were relatively late arrivals to Southeast Alaska. For thousands of years, the islands of the Alexander Archipelago had been primarily the territory of the Tlingit [prounounced clink-it]. (A third group, the Haida, arrived from the south in the eighteenth century. … Tlingit society at the start of the nineteenth century was made up of approximately sixteen tribes, called kwaan.” – Mark Adams, A Tip of the Iceberg.

“The Tlingit, originally fourteen tribes, spoke a language related to the Athabascan Indians of the interior and occupies the coast of Alaska from Yakutat Bay down to the Prince of Wales Island. Ther were pushing the Eskimo off Kayak Island in the beginning of European contacts and had begun to enter the Copper River.

The Haida, who spoke a similar language, yet one which differed somewhat from that of the Tlingit, lived on the coastal areas of the Queen Charlotte Island and the southern part of the Prince of Wales Island in Alaska.

The Tsimshian lives on the mainland from the Nass to the Skeena River and down to the area which is the modern city of Prince Rupert.” – H.R. Hays,  Children of the Raven

These are the three native nations of Southeast Alaska. Two others – the Inuit, to the North, and the Aleuts, to the West – call Alaska home. The common belief is that native populations of Alaska (and the rest of the Americas) arrived across a landbridge.

“The easiest way to get here is on foot. The Bering Land Bridge has been the longstanding theory because that’s the clearest connection between Asia and North America, up in the Arctic, and it only appears when ice is locked up on land and sea levels drop. It’s the only place where you could walk from one side to the other.” – National Geographic

 

A quarterly update

by MAÔ, posted in Pathfinding

Checking in after the first three months of 2020. Where do those pesky resolutions rate?

I’m following my two focus words: Adventure & Bravery. In Alaska. During a pandemic. Well, we’re all being a little bit brave, aren’t we?

All in all, three months in, life is progressing – though admittedly on hold until the threat of COVID-19 subsides. When the world starts turning again we’ll be well underway into the second quarter of the year.

I’ve been reading a great deal, looking at potential creative endeavors, and reworking some projects that I’ve put off during this downtime. When this clears up, it’ll be a great time to hit the ground running!