Malaise

Quick post today. I’ve been in a funk, a malaise. Nothing coherent to write about, but I wanted to check in and see how folks are doing. It’s July, and it doesn’t feel like we’re any closer to getting out of this COVID mess. I know that I’ve let myself get stuck in a bit of a rut. If you drop by my little corner of the internet, I’d love to hear some of the things you’re working on or looking forward to. New hobbies? Safe adventures? Reading?

I think one thing that has been hanging over my head is that as a flailing, wannabe documentary photographer, I haven’t settled on any projects for 2020. Back in 2019 I was dreaming of ways to leave the United States. I believed the country was more divided than I’d ever seen it, I thought Trump was on track to another term, and I thought there was a chance that we’d see full-blown political violence.

I should clarify political violence. I believe that a lot of people experience violence in the system all the time. I’m talking about domestic political violence on a level that affects everyone. It even felt like people were hoping for that level of violence.

For the first time since 2016 I think there’s a chance Trump might lose. If you’re new to the site, I’m not a Trump fan, and I’m happy to discuss why. At another time, another place.

But I realized that if one claims to be interested in documentary photography and visual storytelling, the story was 2020 America. And I was thinking that before COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests. But here we are, July 2020, and I don’t feel any closer to figuring out my small part in it. I’m not hoping to be the next Alexis de Tocqueville. I have simple ambitions on this front. Unfortunately the ideas have remained vague, unrealized. Fingers crossed I’ll sort it out.

That was a little heavier of a topic than I intended when I opened the blog tonight.

I recently finished watching After Life, starring Ricky Gervais. I really enjoyed it. Sometimes it pulls a bit too much at the heart strings and can be overly sentimental, but it’s a nice change from all the other shows and their sameness. The characters actually seem to exhibit some growth. There are two seasons, and I’ve read that they’re proceeding with a third.

I’ll leave it at that for tonight. I hope everyone is well. Stay safe and healthy. Wear a mask. Do something nice for yourself.

Oh, one more thing. There was a sighting the other day of an old dude walking around Capitol Hill talking to himself. Here’s the audio evidence. I’m really enjoying audio. It’s challenging, that’s for sure. My recorder cut off 1/2 way in this one, which is great news for anyone who listens. I’m not sure if the memory card ran out of room or if the stop button got pressed in my bag. Regardless, I really was talking to myself for a good 20 minutes. Don’t worry – the track is only about 10 minutes. It’s really boring, and I didn’t plan on posting it, but I ended up liking the ambient sounds. Crows, snippets of conversations, footsteps on gravel. I also realized how the air traffic has returned to normal. I cut most of the airplane noise out, but it was steady. Unfortunately there’s also a lot of camera strap clicking against the camera.