Preservation
Just over a month ago, we spent a week in Italy: a little celebratory trip full of sightseeing, relaxation, and great food.
The focus of the trip was, of course, the food, but we did manage to spend a bunch of time looking at sights like ornate historical buildings and immense galleries of art. The art was, perhaps obviously, awe-inspiring; being in the urban centre of the Renaissance (we spent some time in Florence) gave us the opportunity to see pieces of creativity you usually just see in books or on a screen.
One thing that really struck me as we went through these galleries and museums was how much care was put into preservation. The works in these spaces were hundreds of years old, but still looked pristine—even the ones that had had some wear and tear over the years were well-kept and taken care of.
This kind of preservation is a work of love, dedication, and commitment to showcase the best of what humans can do.
L and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary last week. The trip to Italy was an early anniversary celebration for us.
Ten years of marriage is a monumental occasion. It marks a decade of being with someone who makes you laugh, makes you feel loved, makes you want to be a better person.
I am lucky to have found someone who brings such light into my life. This is a part of my life I will always work to preserve, as it is a testament to love, dedication, and a commitment to showcase the best of what two humans can do, together.
A poem
How to Do Absolutely Nothing
Barbara Kingsolver
Rent a house near the beach, or a cabin
but: Do not take your walking shoes.
Don't take any clothes you'd wear
anyplace anyone would see you.
Don't take your rechargeables.
Take Scrabble if you have to,
but not a dictionary and no
pencils for keeping score.
Don't take a cookbook
or anything to cook.
A fishing pole, ok
but not the line,
hook, sinker,
leave it all.
Find out
what's
left.
Some links
Enjoying original works of art in a gallery can relieve stress, reduce the risk of heart disease and boost your immune system.
The federal budget was announced last week, and Lucas shared this great link on how to read and understand a budget.
Great short rumination by Om Malik on why tech needs a personalization layer, and how our search for efficiency is dampening human experience.
This is ostensibly a piece in defense of picky eating, but really it is a beautiful essay on growing up, scarcity, and building who you are through the things you chose from the choices you had.
Are we on the precipice of the AI bubble popping? An interesting look at how the AI crash could happen.
It may not be my first choice of dish from an Indian restaurant, but I do love a good butter chicken. This is a great piece by Jaya Saxena on why the dish so maligned, and how some chefs are keen to bring it back into favor.
A first-person account of a fact-checker at a prestigious magazine, who happens to be Arab, in this time of global political tumult.
A poignant piece about how the adulation of famous young women often comes from a desire to control, rather than adore: “What they really want, besides the Fourth Reich, is a world in which women are either objects or invisible, disposable or essentially private.”
In recent years, psychologists and neuroscientists have begun examining more closely what many people have already learned anecdotally: that spending time abroad may have the potential to affect mental change.
A university professor and administrator reminds us not only to not talk to the NYTimes about Mamdani, but really just avoid talking to the Times, and the press in general, entirely.
My media diet for September and October.
“Outside sad is better than inside sad.”
A look at the “buy Canadian” movement in our grocery stores.
Why a gentle touch feels like love: