PROMPT: Technology

What technology would you be better off without, why?

That’s a tough question. While not a Luddite, I do think there are a number of technologies that are out of control, figuratively (or may – literally – become so.) But that doesn’t mean I think they should be gone altogether (it just makes me wishful that people can find a way to moderate their use.)

I’ll go with nuclear weapons, the one technology whose only use lies in not being used. I choose them because they result in low-level existential dread and inflated tax bills. [There is the argument that they may have staved off a colossal Third World War, but one can also argue that two really shitty wars in rapid succession led to institutions (e.g. UN agencies & permanent alliances) and approaches (e.g. low-intensity proxy wars) to avert such a war as well (Those things also being extremely expensive, but not so much with the existential dread.)]

PROMPT: Procrastination

What have you been putting off doing? Why?

Answering this prompt, apparently. It’s been around several times now – I think.

Why? No good answer came to mind, before now.

PROMPT: Grown Up

Daily writing prompt
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

In retrospect, I’d say it was when I was on an airplane headed to Basic Military Training. I left a few days after completing high school classes, and a week or so before our graduation ceremony. That would definitely have been the point at which I had to realize whatever transpired, I was on my own. My problems were no longer distributed between myself and parents or myself and teachers, but it was all on me.

That said, I suspect that as a teenager I would have reported moments long before then, like my first solo out-of-state road-trip. I think a general feature of the adolescent condition is feeling grown up before one actually is in any real sense.

PROMPT: Hobby or Pastime

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

I don’t collect favorites. I like reading, hiking, writing, swimming, playing, exercise, traveling, cooking… each in its due time for its due time.

PROMPT: Hard Work

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

Presuming there is a product or productive outcome, therein lies the fulfillment.

If the work is Sisyphean, it chafes my preference for wu wei.

PROMPT: Athletes

Daily writing prompt
Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.

I generally leave admiration for professional athletes to others, as I feel — like other entertainment celebrities — they get an unhealthy level of adoration as it is.

That said, I have been impressed by grappler Mikey Musumeci for the intensity of his training regime and for finding his own way.

PROMPT: Time of Day

What’s your favorite time of day?

Mornings. I’m a lark. It’s when I’m at my highest energy level.

PROMPT: Blog – Change

Daily writing prompt
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world?

If I’m being entirely honest, everything that’s come out of this enterprise has been of selfish motive — even those activities that seem like they have broader purpose. For example, I started book reviewing because: a.) I found it disheartening how many books I read that I had virtually no recollection of a couple years down the line, and b.) because, while I felt I knew good writing when I read it, I couldn’t really say what it was that made it good or bad without taking a more analytical look into the matter. (And I was pretty sure good writing wouldn’t come to me osmotically — merely by reading good writing — if I didn’t understand why it was good writing.)

I started recording classic poems to get a better sense of the sound quality of well-crafted poetry (and to become more comfortable with the sound of my own voice.)

I guess the honest answer is that I hope to be smarter and more capable as a result of the practice. It is continuing education, a fostering of the Beginner’s Mind.

PROMPT: News & Life

Daily writing prompt
Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.

It is by no means uninteresting, nor did it require “scouring” (though it probably would have if I was in the US,) but Bangladesh is imploding (PM ouster, protests turn violent, all exacerbated by flooding, etc.,) and we were planning to visit later this year. So, much for that trip.

PROMPT: Bedtime

Daily writing prompt
What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?

Whenever I want. Now that I’m all grow’d up.

But I do tend toward the lark end of the lark – owl continuum.