We’ve settled for the time being in a different hotel, gray instead of beige, much larger, and boasting a complimentary breakfast. I’ve been lucky enough to procure a large coffee thermos, which I refill on regular trips down the stairs to the lovely and chatty front desk clerk. Hotel living is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds, but it does have its moments.
This week has been rife with ups and downs, but life steadily marches on.
Here is what I want to share with you this week:
Iconic American buildings re-imagined as Gothic structures. The Air Force Cadet Chapel is the most dramatic change, in my opinion.
Egypt paraded their mummies through the street this month. In celebration of the opening of its National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade traveled three miles from the Egyptian Museum transporting twenty-two mummies to their new location.
Inside the Digital Sensorium. “Every day, thousands of strangers upload little slices of their consciousness directly into my mind. My concern is that I’m prone to mistake their thoughts for my own — that some part of me believes I’m only hearing myself think.”
A related, though shorter, essay by Scott Young on the benefits he’s experienced being away from social media the past few months. “If withdrawal seems hard in the short-term, but barely noticeable in the long-term, it seems unlikely to me that our collective social media use is entirely derived from us getting value from the activity.”
I loved this piece by Brad Stulberg at the Growth Equation on labels and categories, and when they stop being useful. Categories are often helpful in explaining why something may not work or may fall outside the average, but they don’t define a person. They can not encompass a person’s identity, yet, for many, the labels they accept become a sort of prison to which they limit themselves.
Currently Reading: Collected Essays of George Orwell
Have a refreshing weekend.
