On this day

December 12th

Social animal

December 12

It is all very well to insist that man is a “social animal”—the fact is obvious enough. But that is no justification for making him a mere cog in a totalitarian machine—or in a religious one either, for that matter. In actual fact, society depends for its existence on the inviolable personal solitude of its members. Society, to merit its name, must be made up not of numbers, or mechanical units, but of persons. To be a person implies responsibility and freedom, and both these imply a certain interior solitude, a sense of personal integrity, a sense of one’s own reality and of one’s ability to give himself to society—or to refuse that gift.

~ Thomas Merton

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The open internet lives on

December 12, 2022

But, there are always tradeoffs. Relying on someone else’s platform is often just much easier. It doesn’t involve having to maintain your own site, and it’s also often where the audience is. The issue with blogs is that you had to attract — and then keep — an audience. Tools like RSS acted as a method for keeping people coming back, but… then Google became the de facto provider of RSS reading tools, and then killed it. To this day, that move is still considered one of the defining moments in the shift from a more distributed, independent web to one that is controlled by a few large companies.

~ Mike Masnick from, The Internet Can Still Be Small And Nice, But It’s On All Of Us To Make That Work

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My pull quote is really just a small side trail in the article. But I’m quoting it because it reinforces my point (possibly on purpose by the author, possibly by coincidence). Even a maneuver by the giant Google hasn’t killed blogging. Blogging continues. (Hey thanks for reading my blog!) And the same is true for everything else.

Because it all runs on the internet. The walled gardens referred to as social media? …they actually run atop the internet. The current darling-child that is Mastodon? …it uses a protocol called ActivityPub which was invented to enable federated networking of social activity. And ActivityPub runs atop the good ‘ol web… which of course runs on the internet. The true gift is the open internet.

Also: I’m on Mastodon :) just look for @craig@constantine.name to follow this blog, or you can even look for @craig@moversmindset.com to follow the Movers Mindset project.

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Language

December 12, 2021

It’s incredible—meaning not credible, not something one would think one should take as true—that we can push air through a tube, finely modulate tension of some fibrous bands attached to flaps, manipulate the shape of a bunch of things it seems were designed for eating . . . and presto! some idea appears in your mind, generally, in the way I intended. It’s incredible but so blasé, right?

And it’s not even incredible, at this point, that the whole “process” has different “languages,” with dialects, jargon and local slang. No. That’s all yawns-ville.

It’s not even interesting that I can smashcrastically make up “words” and it still works. The right idea still appears in your head. And a word can have multiple meanings. Does it have the same several meanings in another language? Meh, interesting, but not brain melting.

What explodes my noodle every time is the thought of homonyms. Words in one language that sound the same that have different meanings. To. Too. Two. Homonyms! …why aren’t those words also homonyms in another language? (‘au’ or is it ‘a’? …and ‘deux’?) Are there in fact any homonyms in one language that are also homonyms in another language? If so, or if not, does that tell us anything about language itself? …or about the origins of language? …or about the common ancestry of those particular languages, or about those particular words? …or . . .

yeah no sorry wat? Mrs. Peters just always thought I wasn’t paying attention in French class.

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Winter gave Spring and Summer a miss…

December 12, 2020

A year passed. Winter changed into Spring. Spring changed into Summer. Summer changed back into Winter. And Winter gave Spring and Summer a miss and went straight on into Autumn. Until one day…

~ Monty Python from, The Holy Grail

Some things just stick with you. If you know me well, you know I’m particularly fond of linguistic turns where the sarcasm comes back ’round to flip the original. “This is actually pretty good. [said of anything or anyone] It really grows on you.” Me, “yeah, like fungus.” Etc.. Anyway, that line from Monty Python has always stuck in my mind—something to do with the cutesie animation that goes with it, something about the rapid-fire delivery, and probably just mostly how it stomps all over our deep seated human love of the “seasons” metaphor.

“And now for something completely different.”

I was watching a movie about Ip Man last night. (Grandmaster on Netflix; Chinese-language film, it’s a kung fu film. Anyway.) Ip is narrating in various parts as the movie tells his story. At one point he says, “If life has seasons, the first 40 years of my life [where he was happily married with 3 kids] was Spring…” and all of the above popped into my head at, “…and the Japanese invaded in 1930 and things jumped straight to Winter.”

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Is movement an integral part of my life?

December 12, 2019

It certainly is an integral part of life, in general. But the vast majority of my life does not involve movement. I probably move more than the average American my age. I certainly moved a lot more in my 20s when I had a job that involved doing things. (Make this, move that, go over there, etc.) But today, movement is something that—I don’t quite have to make time for it, but I definitely have to be mindful of it. I generally plan to do something every day. Usually that’s a multi-mile walk, a leisurely bike ride, an hour wrestling with firewood, etc..

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Marcus Lincoln | Parkour Concepts

December 12, 2018

On Castbox.fm — Marcus Lincoln | Parkour Concepts

What is the relationship between movement patterns, environmental constraints, and personal development in Parkour practice?

Discovering how Parkour integrates with everyday life and personal values.

What positions and what movements do I want to shape my body with? Or what do I want my body to be shaped by?

~ Marcus Lincoln (16:15)

The conversation considers the nuances of visualizing movement in Parkour, using concepts such as the “movement continuum” to break down and analyze motion. Topics include the biomechanical and environmental constraints on movement, as well as how practitioners can interpret and adapt to these factors. The discussion emphasizes how understanding patterns and positions can lead to both creative expression and refined techniques.

The second part focuses on actionable insights for practitioners, encouraging self-awareness and exploration of daily movement patterns. Suggestions include varying tempo, rhythm, and technique, while aligning movements with personal values and goals. The conversation highlights how Parkour principles extend into broader life practices, advocating for continuous improvement through awareness and incremental changes.

Takeaways

Visualizing movement — The concept of a movement continuum helps practitioners analyze patterns and improve their techniques.

Environmental constraints — How the environment shapes the potential for movement and influences decision-making.

Creative exploration — Using unfamiliar techniques or combining patterns to expand movement vocabulary.

Integration with daily life — Recognizing how Parkour principles affect broader aspects of life, including health and habits.

Incremental progress — The value of small, deliberate changes in movement and practice.

Biomechanical analysis — Breaking down movements into sub-phases to improve efficiency and adaptability.

Awareness of patterns — Identifying repetitive actions to build a foundation for varied and creative movements.

Potentiality in movement — Exploring the interplay between constraints and choices within a given environment.

Resources

Parkour Generations — A global organization dedicated to Parkour training and education.

Art of Retreat — A leadership and education conference for Parkour practitioners and enthusiasts.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Forgotten super-powers

December 12, 2018

Today we use tools without even thinking about it. Without a doubt, you are at this moment surrounded by (and draped in) all sorts of tools, equipment and technology. There are probably at least a dozen items in operation right now that are making your moment much better than it would otherwise be: clothing, writing utensils, computers, chairs, clocks, desks and eyeglasses for starters.

~ David Cain from, How to Enjoy Your Forgotten Superpowers

This is definitely an aspect of my Art du Déplacement, and self-improvement journey. I regularly—almost automatically now—run the train of thought he’s describing and it invariably serves me well.

In early 2018 I attended a winter retreat. On one morning, we all went out to hiking trails along a stream and water falls. It was snowy, cold, icy and sunny. I intentionally went in wool socks and my usual, minimalist running sneakers—with the insoles removed so there’s 2mm of rubber and nothing else between my socks and the world. I intentionally set out expecting wet feet (knee-deep snow in places), and my goal was to manage frost-nip and to enjoy the day. Result: Insane amounts of fun; New friends; Lessons learned; No injury; and I experienced a true winter-wonderland in a way I had never before.

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Infrastructure, suburbs, and the long descent to ferguson

December 12, 2014

The short version is that as the climate degrades and fossil fuels become simultaneously more expensive and less useable, each generation inherits from its more prosperous ancestors an infrastructure that it can’t afford to maintain. Society muddles through from year to year — sometimes even seeming to advance — until some part of that poorly maintained infrastructure snaps and causes major destruction. The destroyed area may get rebuilt, but not to its previous level. The resulting community has less infrastructure to maintain, but is also less prosperous, and so the cycle continues into the next generation.

~ Doug Muder from, Infrastructure, Suburbs, and the Long Descent to Ferguson

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He draws heavily from John Michael Greer’s The Long Descent.

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