History as usually written is quite different from history as usually lived. The historian records the exceptional because it is interesting.
~ Will Durant
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On this day
August 6thWhy someone else writes
From a very early age, perhaps the age of five or six, I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer. Between the ages of about seventeen and twenty-four I tried to abandon this idea, but I did so with the consciousness that I was outraging my true nature and that sooner or later I should have to settle down and write books.
~ George Orwell, from Why I write
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Back in 2021 I added this quote to my collection. (I have an ever-growing collection of ~1,500 quotes, which are available as a daily, random, quote-by-email from https://littleboxofquotes.com.) Anyway.
I found it interesting that here I am, 3 years later and my instinct was to pick this exact same bit of text to quote. It feels reassuring that my “what should I pick?” process is reproducible. Also interesting: What I’ve quoted are Orwell’s opening words. For most things I quote, it’s something in the middle that leaps out at me. So perhaps, in addition to showing us why he’s also making a point about how he writes: Start with the good stuff, and then get on to the even better stuff.
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32 — Walking
(Part 15 of 46 in series, Level 52 countdown)
Active recovery day. Oof, pebble wrestling always pays off. Tomorrow: A loop of our usual trail run.
August 06, 2023 — #44
Reading time: About 5 minutes, 1100 words
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This issue is https://7forsunday.com/44
Graphic
I’ve been stumbling more over graphic depictions and graphic novels. There’s this fun book Out on the Wire by Jessica Abel which describes the storytelling secrets of the new masters of radio. I’ve read another graphic novel about finance and the visual element really brings the stories to life. (See Craig learn, sorry.) In hindsight, I don’t understand at all why this would have surprised me. I spent gobs of time reading comics like Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County in book form and they’re graphic novels if you read the entire arc in one go.
Our thoughts are a composite process. We really do think with our entire bodies.
~ Alex Pavlotski from, Habit Change and the Embodied Mind | alexpavlotski
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Pavlotski is another example. I had a wonderful conversation, Ethnography, leadership, and trajectory, with him for the Movers Mindset podcast. He is probably best-known for his work visualizing Parkour, but there’s much more to his work than just the drawing portion. This is not just a guy who does parkour, who also happens to draw kewl cartoons.
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Perspective
Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
~ Miyamoto Musashi
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Character
Character—the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs.
~ Joan Didion
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Dynamic societies
What’s often left out of those criticisms of dynamism is what a dynamic society actually means that’s truly positive, and that is when you have a society where people are thinking up new things and starting them, you get the benefits of those ideas all the way downstream: better jobs, more better jobs, jobs that people are happier with, and the like.
~ Ryan Streeter from, Embracing Dynamism: My Long-read Q&A with Ryan Streeter | American Enterprise Institute – AEI
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This long-read goes deep into society, economics, and even politics. It’s a little different than things I generally post. The particular point quoted above feels like a non-zero-sum-game feature of trade among individuals. In a good trade, everyone separately agrees that they are better off after the trade. There’s net increase in “better off”—however we manage to measure that, be it in dollars, or smiles. (Aside: Coercion of any sort disqualifies a trade from being “good” in my estimation.)
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Spiritless men
Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks.
~ Baldwin
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Quotations are difficult
Most of my blog posts are either a quotation which I leave to stand on its own, or a usually-longer-length pull-quote with a citation and my commentary. Things around here are very intentional. The freestanding quotations are meant to leave all the context and analysis to you, Dear Reader, without any of my thoughts coloring your thoughts. You may very well try to learn more about me based on my selections, but I’m trying to recreate—for your enjoyment—the experience of discovering the quotation. The pull-quotes both expose the seed of my reflections and try to lure you to something in the world I’d like to highlight.
Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men.
~ Baldwin
But there are the vanishing rare two-fer posts like today. There. Have a quote. And…
I discovered this quote in a book, (p17 of Get Together, 2019 Richardson et al if you must know.) I know this will surprise you, but I have a well-practiced process for “capturing” quotes. In this case, the vague attribution tickled a memory; “I’m pretty sure I have a quote from James Baldwin…” I checked, and I do. “I wonder if this quote is that Baldwin…”
What’s the simplest thing that could possibly work? Just type the quote, in quotes, into a search engine… and Quote Investigator has a page for it. (Going directly to Quote Investigator is step two, by the way, if the search fails. I search generally, first, because it often finds the phrase in the original source material right out of the gate.) It turns out that this quote has a second sentence!
Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks.
~ Baldwin
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Oh, nice! I like that even more than the one I stumbled on. But who is this “Baldwin”… and then I read the Quote Investigator page. Their conclusion is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . It’s been attributed four different ways for nearly 90 years. And now I’m wondering if my James Baldwin quote— which is #380 in my collection of 700+ so it’s pretty old, although I think I recall where I got it, from Gaping Void . . . but don’t go there! It’s a wonderland rabbit hole of decades of cartoons. I digress. And I’m having images of the book authors doing this same rabbit hole deep dive.
Fine, executive decision: I’ll stick with “Baldwin.” But that makes for this wonky entry in my slipbox index of people… Now I have “Baldwin, James” and “Baldwin.” But you know what? I’m never going to forget about this now, if I ever look at that index slip again.
So now you know: When you see me casually drop a freestanding quote here, it’s not in truth casually.
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You know what you should do?
Years ago, I would often say, “you know what you should do?” followed by some suggestion. When I started reading various things in the, “having skin in the game,” vein, I realized how useless—annoying even—my suggestion were. (For example, to a café owner, “you know what you should have on the menu?” is not going to be useful.) Over time I came to understand that it’s only in areas where one has deep knowledge are suggestions going to have any chance of being useful. (Don’t confuse that with observations—”the door to your bathroom is broken,” is definitely useful to that café owner.) By paying close attention to when I heard myself say, “you know what you should do,” I slowly learned to keep such comments to myself.
Aside: I wedged in a new behavior, as a sort of software interrupt. When I feel the urge to say such things, instead I find a compliment, swap out that text, and then resume speaking. If you’ve ever heard me seemingly-randomly whip out a compliment—to a waiter, to a shop keeper, a manager—that’s often, (but not always,) what just happened.
Unfortunately, although I made great strides in reducing the advice-giving all I’ve actually done is narrowed the area where I give advice. In too many instances I’m still trying to exert my influence. Then when things invariably, (since it’s not my thing it’s someone else’s that I’m giving advice about,) don’t turn out as I wanted I get frustrated. Go figure.
Note to self: Continue to root out the urge to exert influence.
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Incessant
I’m on a streak about my problems and weaknesses, and today I have another one: Incessant, incremental improvement. I need to learn that sometimes it’s best to leave well-enough alone. My drive for continuous improvement causes me problems in two ways.
First, not every conceived improvement turns out to be so in the end. It’s more like a random walk experiment; One step forward, one step forward, one step forward, two steps back! The setbacks stick in my craw and I get fixated on the thing I was tinkering with. I had good enough, better, ok wow, awesome… and the setback to ‘better’ just feels unbearable. My favorite though is the setback to now it’s totally broken.
Second, I expend huge amounts of mental effort and time looking for incremental improvements. I can take this quest to batshit-crazy levels. Sometimes I manage to see or experience something and not start thinking of ways to change it. Sometimes. It’s rare. There’s no peace nor serenity when your mind is always ticking looking for improvements.
As usual, more questions and observations than answers today.
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Where am I
(Part 5 of 11 in series, A Tracer's Manifesto)
( In late 2016 I began a small discussion with a few friends about an idea. Eventually the project became a web site [now gone] and this series contains the posts from that site. The project continues in the Parkour Forum. )
Originally published Dec 22, 2016
Label
We’ve discussed a bit about the “identifier” component. Let’s talk about the other part. Is it a “code”, “code of conduct”, “ethics of”, “ethics for…”? And here I’m going to propose something specific, and grand: Let’s name it a…
Manifesto
In support of which I offer this definition and description which I’ve lifted from a web site. (When this all goes up on some web site/blog, I’ll attribute it. ;^)
The word manifesto traces its roots to the Latin manifestum, which means clear or conspicuous. A manifesto is defined as a declaration of one’s beliefs, opinions, motives, and intentions. It is simply a document that an organization or person writes that declares what is important to them.
A manifesto functions as both a statement of principles and a bold, sometimes rebellious, call to action. By causing people to evaluate the gap between those principles and their current reality, the manifesto challenges assumptions, fosters commitment, and provokes change.
edit: Here’s the attibution, How and Why to Write Your Own Personal Manifesto
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Sebastien Foucan (Part 1 of 3): Explorer, evolution, and adaptation
What is the role of exploration in achieving personal growth and self-mastery?
Sebastien Foucan joins Craig for the first of a three part interview. Sebastien is best described – in his own words – as an explorer. Craig and Sebastien talk about what he means by explorer and how his journey of exploration has evolved over the years.
The purpose of it is liberation and self-development.
~ Sebastien Foucan (6:00)
Sebastien Foucan discusses his evolution as an explorer, emphasizing how his experiences with Parkour, freerunning, and L’art du Déplacement reflect a personal journey of discovery. He describes the origins of freerunning as an extension of Parkour, influenced by his desire to create a distinct approach that resonated with his personal philosophy. Sebastien outlines how these practices connect the mind, body, and environment, explaining their importance in fostering growth and transformation.
The conversation highlights Sebastien’s perspective on the maturity stages of development, from roots to fire, water, and air. He explores concepts like the cyclic nature of life, energy balance, and the distinction between training and practice. By emphasizing mindfulness and understanding one’s limitations, Sebastien illustrates how individuals can navigate their unique paths toward achieving their potential.
Takeaways
Exploration as a core identity — Sebastien views himself as an explorer who continually seeks growth.
Origins of freerunning — Freerunning emerged as an evolution of Parkour, focusing on self-expression.
Mind-body-environment connection — These three elements form the foundation of Parkour’s transformative potential.
Maturity system stages — Growth is seen through phases of roots, fire, water, and air.
Energy management — Recognizing cycles in life and balancing energy enhances longevity.
Training versus practice — Training is goal-oriented and intense, while practice is holistic and sustainable.
Philosophy in movement — Martial arts and other disciplines inform freerunning’s broader philosophy.
Cultural impact of Parkour — Parkour redefines boundaries and offers new ways to engage with the environment.
Universal truths — Exploring various disciplines uncovers shared principles applicable to life.
Holistic journey — Self-care and sustainability are integral to long-term practice.
Resources
James Bond movie — A film featuring Sebastien’s performance in freerunning sequences.
Madonna tour — A high-profile project Sebastien participated in.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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Day 5/100 – 2 hr class
(Part 6 of 104 in series, 100 Days of Training (2017))
Regular Sunday class with @pkgenlehighvalley , some climb-up practice at end #artdudeplacement #100days https://constantine.name/100days
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A Philosophy of Coaching
All coaches carry out their role based on combination of their experience, knowledge, values, opinions and beliefs, likely with most unaware that they are doing this at all. This melting pot of factors amounts to what can be described as the coach’s philosophy. The question is – do you actually know yourself well enough to understand how these elements are combining to produce your own philosophy of coaching? Do you understand what your core coaching approach and methods are?
~ Dan Edwardes from, A Philosophy of Coaching – Dan Edwardes
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Korean War Veterans Memorial
NYC East River
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It is use cases all the way down
The center of your application is not the database. Nor is it one or more of the frameworks you may be using. The center of your application are the use cases of your application.
~ Bob Martin from, Clean Coder Blog
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