The There There Letter: Attention, Aligoté, and Also-rans
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I pen, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Attention …
"Attention must be paid!" My theater friend said this many times. I was slow to connect her words to their source (they're from a line in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman"). Something else always claimed my attention. So many things clamor for it. Most of that clamor is in my own head. Inanimate objects and intent ideas all compete to distract me. Then there's real life: emails, calls, texts from real people wanting real attention to their needs. Add to those the insidious siren calls of the attention economy. From my computer, from my tablet, from my phone, all insisting with almost no authority that attention must be paid. Horrors! I admonish us to pay attention with the closing words of this weekly missive. But, really, it's OK to be selective responding to demands for attention.
The attention economy: what it is, what it’s doing to you
Second up this week, Aligoté …
I expect few of you are familiar with Aligoté, the white grape of Burgundy that runs a distant second behind Chardonnay. I've tasted some nice Aligoté white wines from Burgundy and from Oregon but I've never sought out the varietal. They are occasionally brought to my attention. I occasionally appreciate them. I occasionally remember that the varietal even exists. The linked story below suggests that Aligoté is a rising star. That's hyperbole. Or maybe just wishful thinking. We all want to think the next big thing has caught our attention before it becomes the next big thing. We can then shout at our friends that attention must be paid. If I were an Aligoté winegrower I might well shout about my lesser-known wine grape. But I'm not and I won't. I think Aligoté is a star I'll notice only on rare nights.
Why Aligoté is Burgundy’s Rising White Star
Third up this week, Also-rans …
Any time there's a leader there's at least one also-ran. That striver from behind, never to catch up. Yet they often keep on, despite their also-ranness. It's both sad and heartening. Everyone and everything can't be first in our attention. There's always more to discover. And, sometimes, the also-rans are more than worthy, adding richness and delight to our lives. I myself grow tired of striving. But I can admire the striving of others, and turn my attention to them now and then. When they catch my fancy, perhaps when I'm musing on a starry night with a glass of white Burgundy.
Harold Stassen
And a bit more, by Langston Hughes …
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem "Sometimes" …
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I pen, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Attention …
"Attention must be paid!" My theater friend said this many times. I was slow to connect her words to their source (they're from a line in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman"). Something else always claimed my attention. So many things clamor for it. Most of that clamor is in my own head. Inanimate objects and intent ideas all compete to distract me. Then there's real life: emails, calls, texts from real people wanting real attention to their needs. Add to those the insidious siren calls of the attention economy. From my computer, from my tablet, from my phone, all insisting with almost no authority that attention must be paid. Horrors! I admonish us to pay attention with the closing words of this weekly missive. But, really, it's OK to be selective responding to demands for attention.
The attention economy: what it is, what it’s doing to you
Second up this week, Aligoté …
I expect few of you are familiar with Aligoté, the white grape of Burgundy that runs a distant second behind Chardonnay. I've tasted some nice Aligoté white wines from Burgundy and from Oregon but I've never sought out the varietal. They are occasionally brought to my attention. I occasionally appreciate them. I occasionally remember that the varietal even exists. The linked story below suggests that Aligoté is a rising star. That's hyperbole. Or maybe just wishful thinking. We all want to think the next big thing has caught our attention before it becomes the next big thing. We can then shout at our friends that attention must be paid. If I were an Aligoté winegrower I might well shout about my lesser-known wine grape. But I'm not and I won't. I think Aligoté is a star I'll notice only on rare nights.
Why Aligoté is Burgundy’s Rising White Star
Third up this week, Also-rans …
Any time there's a leader there's at least one also-ran. That striver from behind, never to catch up. Yet they often keep on, despite their also-ranness. It's both sad and heartening. Everyone and everything can't be first in our attention. There's always more to discover. And, sometimes, the also-rans are more than worthy, adding richness and delight to our lives. I myself grow tired of striving. But I can admire the striving of others, and turn my attention to them now and then. When they catch my fancy, perhaps when I'm musing on a starry night with a glass of white Burgundy.
Harold Stassen
And a bit more, by Langston Hughes …
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem "Sometimes" …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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