Wheels Up, Baja Sur, 2023
This past autumn, I went to an indoor concert. For the first time in three years, I opened myself to all manner of what might normally be standard fare for the nostrils. Having been hidden from their own inhales and exhales, they were in for a surprise. The mask came down (or across, because I still wasn't sure, opted for quick access).
I experienced the olfactory rainbow:
Breath of a stranger, minty albeit unflossed
Deodorant, natural and unisex - lemon verbena
Old floors with embedded whiskey, touch of mens room
Barbecue from two hours ago, gas
Deteriorated velvet on chairs, cedar or mothball (unclear)
And thank you for: fresh laundry
Being kept so long without exposure sure did tune my frequencies for the smellin' sense. I was suddenly aware of how close we are, again. I put my mask back on, procuring just a few more moments of distance.
There's been a lot of thinking about distance. And proximity - the nearness in space, time, or relationship - to ourselves, each other, the land, and specifically what we taking in and putting out.
Now, that perception of closeness and distance, when it comes to the world from which we felt so distant, is officially taken a huge dose of (therapeutic hopefully, but likely not) acid. Drake is singing with the WKND again, and now I get the opportunity to sing backup, too- as long as the music companies don't get to me first. And we thought that art program Middle Journey would be the kicker. Not so much. And then… the AI guy pulls out of Google. The one who invented it. It feels like we can smell the bomb smoke already, and it hasn't even officially blown (or has it?).
Thing is, we've got some good things on our side, including adversarial patches, which I would clearly adopt in my own wardrobe if it wasn't 560 euro for one hoodie. On close inspection and funny enough, they look like the very matrixes that appear when in deep ceremony with the psychedelics, keeping us connected. Nascient thought: that which is emerging is the very antidote to the problem of overwhelm. Just don't spiritually bypass or appropriate, and we are good to go.
If you've gotten to this part of the letter, it's likely either because you get it and are laughing, or you don't. And there's good reason for the latter. For those who do not “get” it (and don't worry, you will one way or another) is because you've saved yourself from media, perhaps even for just the last 2-week cycle. No, this isn't a conspiracy theory, or anything close - just a report of this day-to-day contemporary existence, which feels, these days, like it's far away. Far off. And honestly, far gone.
My dear teacher has been telling us for years we can't biologically handle this amount of information. We aren't built for it. Only AI is.
Maybe we actually are prepared… and it's our imagination that allows us to vision and set the paving stones that will shorten the distance between each other is truly one of fuerte, strength and dare I say.
In defense, we can always wear adversarial patches.
Folks have been coming to me to talk about how to connect the old pieces to the new pieces of their endeavors and work life. And how to reduce the overwhelm. The goal becomes to get closer in proximity between what we understand, and how we can activate to those we want to connect with. In that way, we get to take the silo'd pieces, and create in a dynamic and effective iteration of ourselves. Sometimes we just need to map it out, check on our tools, remember our works, and set the first foot forward.
If you are looking for a constructive conversation to relocate yourself in the center of your work amidst the psychedelia of society, please do not hesitate to give me a hoot.
Original Caption:
If you know what this is, you know that we've got a situation on our hands.
Here's the deal: You've got a rear wheel vehicle, and decide to park in such a way that does not allow one of said rear wheels to touch the ground. You are thus what we call SOL. It will take an hour, four Santos (aka Santenos), and a Gringo Santeno, to get you out, so the wheels can be in closer proximity to the ground, so you can be in closer proximity to your home. El próximo año… GEO Tracker. Got a lead? Holler at me.