Here's To Something New

I sit here typing this dispatch from Olympia, Washington, on the verge of a ten day silent retreat.

For the next several hundred hours, I'll be a few miles off of I-5, meditating and delving into something new. I could elaborate, - and I plan to - but I must hit the road.

I'm excited. I'll be back shortly to tell you how it went.

Planking Across America: Planking Reaches the Top of Texas

Two unexplained phenomena you can find in West Texas: The Marfa Lights and a rabid appetite for world-class planking.

Planking Across America

Planking the Curvature of the Earth or Collapsed?, Self-Portrait

Such plank heights, Self Portrait

I dedicate these inaugural Lone Star plankings to three of my oldest and dearest friends: Taylor, Kivett, and Chris. The four of us made a visit to this same planking location six years back, and while some things have changed since then, my love for the absurd has only deepened. This plankings for you, guys.

Body of Work: Right Ankle

I'd like to introduce you to the latest section of WIDWINW,

Body of Work

In these posts, we're going to showcase a particular facet of my body that warrants some consideration.

Today, we're featuring my right ankle:

The yellow part is not the ankle. The ankle is under the white, cottony part.

Ol' Righty has recently been making his way back from a bad high ankle sprain. Usually, he quite enjoys running with his pal Lefty, occassionally jumping, either for a rebound or to avoid a stream of water, and not being in pain. After the sprain, however, Righty wasn't able to do any of the things he loved, aside from shambling along like a deflated balloon*.

After a bit of time, though, it appears as though Righty is back on the... right track. These days, he's been up to some good adventuring, including running in the sand, maintaining his composure when my center of balance shifts, and slimming down to his usual svelte self**.

Here's to you, Righty. In the words of John Lennon, "Long may you run".

---

*Actually, like an overinflated balloon. He was getting his swell on.
**Two words: swimsuit season.

Introducing: Planking Across America

It's time to write a post I've been putting off for a little while now.

To be frank, I didn't know quite how to go about introducing this section of the blog.

"Am I manic enough right now to do justice to this inaugural planking post?", I wondered, sitting here in the side yard of Oren's place in Monterey.

And, "While this blog has embraced its fair share of the absurd and asinine*, do I really want to go whole hog on that front**?"

But then I thought back to when I first heard about planking***, and I became inspire to push forward with vigor.

If you have heard of planking, yes, sadly it's become a feature of this blog. If you haven't, then I encourage you to click on the link above.

The origin:
At a bachelor party for my dear friend Peter a couple of weekends back, I was introduced to the idiot's Theory of General Relativity. In something that only Australians could have come up with, planking entered into my world like a terrible vision to some half-witted prophet.

After sitting there for a weekends worth of gestation, this superlatively stupid idea emerged out of the other half of my brain, like some sort of moronic butterfly.

So, without further ado, and in the spirit of all of the great fools that have graced our world through the years, I'm pleased to share the ne plus ultra of inanity, the latest contribution towards the ultimate decline of culture within Western civilization,

Planking Across America:

Planking the front porch of 3946 Davis St., Departing Portland, Self Portrait

My god, look at that exquisite form. Like a horizontal Ken Sailors, I lay and ply the trade of the honest.

This inaugural planking post is dedicated as a bachelor party gift to the man who inspired this section, Peter Olah. This one's for you, Pete.

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*Hm... new masthead?
**Irrelevant point as of this typing. The truth is I was already too deep to get out when I began this post.
***"Potentially dangerous". Let the sensationalism commence!

One or More Things I Did Today

And Let It Be Known, that on July 4th, in the year of 2 thousands and 11, I was up to this:

• After shaking off the previous night, I rose and packed up my provisions, said goodbye to Brian and Shelly, and hit the road heading south. An excellent drive, punctuated by a fertile stream of consciousness and a appetite for the jams that were trickling out of my iPhone and into the stream like tributaries into a river.
  
• The destination: Monterey.
• The gracious host: Oren, a friend I met while working for Barama back in '08. Unfortunately for me, Oren is currently rafting in Idaho, so we were like two ships in the night. Fortunately for me, I still had a place to stay, and a tour guide for Monterey in Oren's roommate, Anna (and good conversation in the form of the other roommate, Deme).
• And it might have been the 4th of July, but I didn't manage to participate in any Independence Day fun: the Monterey fireworks display met with another year of not occurring. Oh, ye silly budget cuts!
• A new addition to "One or More Things I Did Today": Daily Picture

The letters on this sea-side mural are hand-painted. Such precision. Most impressive.

As they say, "It was a Day".

Dr. Seuss Trees

If you're like me*, you often notice flora in the world that would appear to fit in well within the world of Dr. Seuss**.

Well, if that's the case, you're in luck.

Because we're rolling out a new feature to the blog.

Dr. Seuss Trees

Dr. Seuss Trees will feature trees, bushes, plants, flowers, etc. that we encounter in the real world that ol' Theodore Geisel would have been proud of.

And so, to kick things off, we have a double dose of Dr. Seuss Trees to share in this initial installment:

**

Both of these specimens were documented in Monterey, California, sitting right up against the Pacific Coast.

Thus concludes Dr. Seuss Trees.

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*And if you're really like me, you'll think that referring to trees as being "Dr. Seuss Trees" is fairly cliched and overused at this point. But this blog doesn't keep track of whose jumping over which shark, so let the posting continue!
**Or perhaps these trees actually came here from Dr. Seuss. It's like Intelligent Design, only it makes more sense.
**Some day I'll remember / investigate how to place these pictures side by side instead of awkwardly stacked on top of one another. Unfortunately, this is not that day.

One or More Things I Did Today (last Friday... a bit backlogged on this front)

And Let It Be Known, that on July 1st, in then year of 2 thousands and 11, I was up to this:

• Dang, y'all, this were a GOOD DAY*
• I took a day off to head out to the Point Reyes area of the Bay, just north of San Francisco. Having received a number of good leads on Bass Lake and some waterfall that apparently comes right down to the Pacific Ocean (this one). A lengthy post can only do this experience justice, so look to see that in the near future. In the immediate timeframe, though, suffice it to say that if you've got a day or so to spare, a car, and are in the Bay area, go check out this area. Bad. Ass.
• Speaking of experiences that absolutely warrant full-length posts, I was lucky enough to take a trip down to San Jose Friday evening to be a guest of my friend Shelly's family, the Kambojs. Here's where I would utilize some shorthand, contrived means of emphasizing that this was a singularly cool experience. Not being one to buck convention: Um, Dang. Until the post that I will write on that evening, please accept this Beatnik** poem to sum up how amazing that was:

Daaang, man,
That food was
So good!
I can't believe
, well, actually I can,
how much I ate!
Indian food.
Delicious.
Snap, rap
flim flap,
Do dap.
Thanks!

As they say, "It was a Day".

---

*Like our subsidiary, Google, we're always rolling out new products here at WIDWINW. Feast your hungry eyes on this inaugural use of big ol' blue font to express something of unusual significance.
**More to come soon on this blog about Beatniks. The short of it: I've recently had a minor epiphany about Beatniks. I'll leave it at that for now.

This Blog, or "Why This Blog Came to Be"

I've been putting off writing this post for about, oh, 13 posts or so, but it's high time I wrote it. No time like the present, and all that.

You probably already know the story, but it goes like this:

I recently left what from the outside looking in was a pretty appealing job*.

I did this in an economy where many people that share many of my characteristics and qualities are struggling mightily to find a job.

There are times when I couldn't be happier with my decision.

But, the truth is there are times when this freedom and beautiful recklessness** is alloyed with the bittersweet circumstances under which I left Portland, my home for the past 4 years.

I won't go into explicit detail, but due to a number of factors, one of which I've alluded to above, I decided to pack up and ship out.

And that's when this adventure began.

Which is why this blog exists.

Deep stuff.

But anyway, once I decided to do what I've done - a decision, by the way, that I considered for about half a year, making it likely the most diligence I've ever paid a decision in my life - I began planning for the trip that was to come.

The most important portion of that planning, in my mind, was sending an email to very nearly every person I've met over the past 10 years, roughly since I graduated from high school (though some high school chums were in there, too). These people ranged from dear friends I've known for years and have a wealth of experience with, to people I've met only once before, but for some reason must have made an impression on me.***

This email amounted to basically this: "You may not remember me, but I remember liking you, and I'd love for you to share your knowledge and/or time with me in the form of adventures or recommendations". I've pasted the full text of the email below, in case for some reason you didn't receive it****.

It felt good to write that email, great to send it, and wonderful to receive the replies.

I concede that it was a bit of an unusual email. You can take that as you like.

But I truly believed, and believe, that it was a good email to send, that no harm could come of it.

And I was surprised and delighted to receive the replies, which ranged from one sentence recommendations or "congrats!", to multi-paragraph, bulleted treatises on friends-of-friends I could stay with, national parks I should visit, festivals I should attend...(etc. you can get a feel for the sort of responses one might receive if they sent the email below). That being said, I know I shouldn't have been been surprised, considering the caliber I believe I've noticed at some point in the recipients of the email. Perhaps grateful is the more appropriate word.

So, that's basically the story of how this blog got started, why it existed, and why I'll probably keep writing it for the foreseeable future.

Again, thanks for the replies. I cannot say that enough. And even if you replied and you never read this, it feels good and right to give thanks. I will endeavor to repay the time you gave me in some way, somewhere, sometime.

Next blog post: what I'm actually doing***** with my time since I quit my job.

The unabridged email, entitled "This Summer"******:

Friends and Acquaintances,

Good news - I've quit my job, and plan on enjoying the summer while gainfully unemployed and on the road.

I may have already spoken to you about my plans, and we may even have begun scheming for adventures.

If not (or if you want to further elaborate on our previous chats), please let me know how things are looking on your end:

• Want to grab a beer?
  
• What are you up to this summer?
• Any adventures on the docket?
  
• Are you looking for adventures to add to the docket?
• Want to join forces for a bit?

I've set up a loose framework of tentpole events, places, and scenes that I plan on visiting this summer. This, like so many of the good things in life, is a very loose list, and gleefully subject to improvisation. My goal is to make detours, stay extra nights, and bring folks along for the ride when the mood strikes.

To that end, I hope to shoot out an email every couple of weeks or so to reap what I hope this email will sow: new leads. If you've got a friend I should have a beer with in Topeka or a great-aunt I can crash with in Des Moines, let me know. If you're planning on hitting up a Zydeco festival in July, let me know. If I absolutely can't afford to miss some state park / national park / festival/ seasonal phenomenon / brilliant road book / tiny town/ backwoods campground / Midwestern city I would never think to go, let me know. And if you're planning on flying to Halifax for no conventionally-good reason, that's my kinda plan! And: I want in.

I'm hoping this mass email will result in more adventures for not just myself, but a summer enriched by the insights, inspiration, and inclinations of my friends. We may have not seen each other for years, or we may have drank too many beers just last week in Portland. Either way, I look to you because I've known you to be awesome, and I figure you can add something awesome to the pot.

To something I've been wanting to do for a long while. Thanks for reading. Have a great summer.

Cheers,

John

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*******

*I was working as a media planner on the Electronic Arts business for Wieden+Kennedy, a renowned, independent ad agency based in Portland. I'd been there for just over 2 years, the longest I've ever stayed at a place of employment.
**In some sense; time will tell.
*** Okay, not really "must have". More accurately would be to put it at "clearly did", because I bothered to include them in that email. If you're curious, ask me about that impression. I've got a good catalogue in my head for those sorts of things.
****Shit. If you didn't receive it, my bad. I still think you're cool.
***** Besides writing this inane blog, of course.
****** Yes, I may be either a latter day hippy, beatnik, or space-child, depending on how you want to sum it up. Figuring it all out is one of the goals of this summer.
*******Yes, this is a horizontal line. It demarcates the footnotes from the main blog content. Yes, I used fancy HTML coding to make it. Cue the Jeffersons' theme song, because I'm moving on up!

One or More Things I Did Today

And Let It Be Known, that on June 28th, in then year of 2 thousands and 11, the original "One or More Things I Did Today" was published in John Griswold's blog.

And so:

• Began reading Big Sur by Kerouac. So far, so good. Never could get into On The Road, so I'm pleased to find I'm getting into this showing of Jack's. 40 pages in, I'm struck by how something written nearly 50 years ago could feel so fresh. And I'm making the typical mistake (or typical stroke of brilliance, depending on how you look at it, or if you care to look at it) of seeing shades of myself in the subject matter, things that ring truer and more familiar than I would have expected.

As they say*, "It was a day".

*Or rather, as this blog will say going foward. Remember: this is the first (and in all reasonable likelihood, only) installment of OoMTIDT.

Book Club: Deep Economy

Welcome to the inaugural post of Book Club, the posts where we look at books that I'm reading.

In this case, it's a book I'm finishing, which is to say it's a book I just read. So it fits the bill of book club. But I digress...

Deep Economy

Wow. A fascinating book, one that brings this question to the table: is too much never enough? Which is to say, is More always Better?

If you've read any of Thomas Friedman's books, it's incumbent on you to read what amounts to a counterpoint, found here in Deep Economy.

The book in a nutshell:

• The current growth model the rest of the developing world is following is that of the Western world, and primarily that of the US
• Based upon what is accepted as gospel in liberal circles*, the consumption of natural resources this growth requires - as well as what is currently an average individual level within the US - will continue to push us as a planet down a road we cannot afford to go down

In certain ways, Al Gore beat McKibben to the popular punch here. You've seen/read Inconvenient Truth, this is not new to you.

But where Deep Economy goes beyond, in a very compelling manner, is painting a picture that provides some very reasonable alternatives to the model with which most of us who would ever come across this post are currently familiar. These options run the gamut from "Go Back to Portland" to "Hey, that seems to make sense", though honestly the methods themselves - as well as the tenets that inspire one to pursue them - will likely be a tough pill for a lot of folks to swallow, at least initially.

Other points:

• We (Americans) have much more on as average individual (seems like a contradiction in terms - sorry, I'm keeping it in here) now than we did in the early post-war boom years, and yet, based on some convincing (I'm not going to list them here. go read the book if you're curious) metrics, we're less happy now than we were then. We've got more, but it feels like less, in some sense.
• There is a range we can consider between having too little and too much. This is happy medium we can shoot for.
  

The good news (at least according to McKibben)? We can still change. It's not hopeless.

Added bonus: McKibben, like Michael Pollan, is a wonderfully polished writer. His sentences are enjoyable to read.

If you're interested, here's more on Bill McKibben.

Until the next Book Club,

Yours

*One that, for the purposes here, I'm certainly cheerfully sitting Indian style within

Update: Just checked out McKibben's website. Deep Economy was published in 2008. Between then and his latest book, we apparently missed the boat on making substantive changes. Crap.

Planking

More on that later.

Song Corner: Bonnie Prince Billy

Alright, I've settled down a bit. Time to start posting for real*.

One of the finest feelings of my life is sitting in a coffee shop / friend's living room / my bed when I've got a moment, high on coffee, and vibing on a wonderful song.

There's a lot of time for that now, so it would seem this is an excellent forum to share some of those songs I've loved.

Here's the first one:

Bonnie Prince Billy: I Called You Back

One of my favorite artists, I'm sure we'll see more from Bonnie, né Will Oldham, on Song Corner** going forward.

Listen to the tune. One of the most tender songs I've ever heard. Moves me every time. The simple, almost droning beat that sets the table for the tiny flourishes, the vulnerability, and Oldham's shaking voice.

I hope you enjoy.

Like it?*** Here's more.

Until next time,

Song Corner.

*I realized that I don't have to keep a particular voice or tone throughout this entire blog. I can dabble, I can experiment. I can write whatever I damn well please (case in point - I would never say that in real life). And here's the kicker, what compelled me to go ahead with it: the more I write, the more of a sample size we'll have. And then we'll be able to take this body of work as a whole, rather than a outlier from one particular manic, lonely, inspired, or hungover morning.

Minor epiphany.

** Going to have to think about this name. Might need to go back and change these at some point, but for the immediate future Song Corner will work just fine.****

***Everything in red here? Not a formatting mistake, though that's a good guess. No, this is all of the text I thought I had lost to the Angel's Share of blogging (see "Getting Over It" post). Turns out it hadn't been lost to the ether after all, but rather just made invisible! Wonderful news. My day has been made. And best of all? Yep - an opportunity for another footnote! God, I love this blog.

**** I love footnotes. So much fun. Expect these to be a mainstay on WIDWINW.