Happy 143rd Spurs

Fools and Crackpots

I am continually awed (and frightened) by Hannah Arendt’s insights.

Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.

Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

Good Lord, Deliver Us

Alan Jacobs:

The passive acceptance of utter cruelty… has become the most characteristic feature of our cultural moment.

This headline makes my brain twitch

Scientists just created spacetime crystals made of knotted light

Researchers have developed a blueprint for weaving hopfions—complex, knot-like light structures—into repeating spacetime crystals.

Stephen Shore, Photographer

The NYTimes has a superb article about Stephen Shore’s recent publication of phenomenal photographs he took as a teenager. I love this quote:

I wanted to make pictures that looked like seeing and not pictures that look like photographs.

Lending Out Books by Hal Sirowitz

You’re always giving, my therapist said.
You have to learn how to take. Whenever
you meet a woman, the first thing you do
is lend her your books. You think she’ll
have to see you again in order to return them.
But what happens is, she doesn’t have the time
to read them & she’s afraid if she sees you again
you’ll expect her to talk about them, & will
want to lend her even more. So she
cancels the date. You end up losing
a lot of books. You should borrow hers.

Archie, Saturday afternoon

Look at that sweet face.

Two - Nil

Spurs very solid v. City. Consistently in control. Great performance after a miserable transfer week. COYS!

A Discovery

Last spring, I planted fennel plants, thinking they would produce bulbs. Not so. I’d planted “herb fennel,” a related, but different, plant. It produces anise-flavored seeds, which I’m adding to sandwiches, salads, tostadas, and just chewing on. Utterly delightful. I can’t get enough.

What a POTUS POS