rinsemiddlebliss
"At the mercy of the geography"
Secret vow or public proclamation
by AK Krajewska
Are you more likely to stick with your resolutions if keep them secret or if you tell everyone about them? Obviously people keep some resolutions to themselves because they're about private things, like sexuality, health, or religious beliefs. There might be other practical reasons to keep a... Continue reading (1054 words)
The New Year's Eve walk
by AK Krajewska
Every year on New Year's Eve, Paul and I go for a walk that, generally, goes up a big hill, then down, and ends with sunset at the beach. This was his tradition before it was our tradition and it's shifted a bit over the years. Early on, I only joined him after he came down Twin Peaks and we took... Continue reading (735 words)
Ideas aren't easy
by AK Krajewska
Ideas require a feeling of ease. Execution requires application and effort. The effort of effort is easy to perceive. The effort of attaining ease is difficult to perceive, especially from the outside. It's not true that ideas are easy, but it's an easy mistake to make. Continue reading (1664 words)
Yule nap time
by AK Krajewska
I'm so tired. Are you tired? I think we were probably meant to hibernate or at least sleep a lot more this time of the year. I think it would be restful to neither read nor write any words for a little bit... Continue reading (654 words)
What's a hero?
by AK Krajewska
In her introduction to the The Odyssey, translator Emily Wilson examines Odysseus' status as a hero. In the narrative, one of his interlocutors ask Odysseus if he's a pirate, which he denies although he doesn't deny the violent and treacherous acts attributed to him. What it meant to be... Continue reading (1446 words)
The state monopoly on violence
How it works and how it stops working
by AK Krajewska
If you enter into a contract with the Mob and fail to deliver the goods, they will send a representative around to break your knees. If you enter into a contract with an organization following the rule of law in a place where rule of law obtains and fail to deliver the goods, they will attempt to... Continue reading (1291 words)
It's peak Turrell skyspace viewing season
Go see The Three Gems by James Turrell at sunset
by AK Krajewska
Right now--the next two weeks--is the best time to go see The Three Gems, the James Turrell skyspace in San Francisco. The skyspace is like a little adobe house with a round hole in the roof through which you look at the sky. It's designed so that if you look at the sky as it's changing color... Continue reading (562 words)
Artificial wombs
A brief history of ectogenesis
by AK Krajewska
A conversation about uterine replicators in Lois McMaster Bujold's work made me curious about the history of the idea of artificial wombs. When do exo-wombs first appear in literature? And when do they first appear as a positive idea? I worked backwards from Bujold to the first mentions I could... Continue reading (845 words)
Plein air in San Francisco
Hills and the ocean
by AK Krajewska
It's been an exhausting week. I feel out of words because I've used up all my words doing my job which is a job about words. I'm also exhausted because I cope with anxiety about the state of the world by working extra hard. I'm pretty good at my job and generally it makes me feel in control--and... Continue reading (573 words)
The consolations of philosophy
by AK Krajewska
Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy in 523 while in prison awaiting execution[1]. In it, Philosophy, personified as a woman, visits him in his prison cell and talks him down from his despair. She explains where true... Continue reading (1155 words)
