bits & bobs_01

02 in praise of old stories (and new)

In Praise of old stories, Grapes of Wrath has finally turned a corner. So far, it has been as grueling as migrating across the American West in 1850 - crammed into a backseat next to members of the Joad family, equally as confused about where we are going, when we are going to get there, and why we left in the first place. I think this was intentional?

As the fates would have it, this turning point converged with the not-so-old story called Interstellar. Re-watching the 2014 film with family in Oregon shed light on the fact that the entire intergalactic space mission was to escape a blight causing global famine. Society had regressed from a time where an MRI scan could have saved Cooper's wife from cancer, according to his rebuttal as the school Principal told him his son was destined to be a farmer.

Both journeys begin with a forced migration, from scarcity to the vast unknown. I have not finished Grapes of Wrath - currently the Joad family is encountering countless other pioneers that have migrated to California under false pretenses. Will they be as industrious as Cooper when he learned they were sent on their world-saving mission under false pretenses? Will the Joad family return to home as a failure, discover a new home on an alien planet, or die trying?

Either way, I'm walking the earth between Grapes of Wrath and Interstellar with as much comfort and luxury as civilized man has ever known. Not only with MRIs to detect cancer, but with Artificial Intelligence that might cure it, drones that make clouds rain, and food from around the world about 12 minutes down the road. I'm walking the earth with old stories and new stories inside me, with the pre-internet Joads and the post-MRI Coopers, trying to be mindful of the things that matter in times of scarcity and times of abundance. I'm no scholar, but the contradictions of the Sermon on the Mount seem to have a place in this conversation.

03 some notes on writing and living

In order to write well, you must live well. The collection of quotes below remind me that creativity never exists in a vacuum. Nor does it exist in a work-from-home office or the exclusivity of a study, or the isolation of remote work.

• Most good writing happens beyond the page. Gathering experiences, observing the world, letting ideas take shape. By the time you sit down to write, you’ve already lived through the material. Even if the exact words have yet to come.

• Depending on the type of writer you are, reading is also critical. Being social and engaging with others is important. So is solitude and quiet reflection while engaging with ideas.

• “Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested only in writing you will never be a writer, because you will have nothing to write about…).” -- C.S. Lewis

• More importantly, the whole point of even writing an essay is to attempt to make sense of something that matters to you. This means truth-seeking is baked into the process, and the reader is invited to join in the sensemaking.

• The essay is unique, compared to the article, because it packages insight into a scale you can relate to. It’s less about the facts and stats; more about ideas you can transpose into your own life and try out. 

• “Experiences become shareable creations the way tree sap becomes maple syrup. It takes 50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. So whenever I feel like I don’t have enough ideas to create something meaningful, I go collect more experiences and spend time processing them by writing and talking to friends."

• Even full-time writers spend the majority of their time away from their computer. You don’t log 40 hours a week typing away at your keyboard. Doing so would leave you with nothing of substance to say.

• Seinfeld says that becoming a good standup comic requires you to live life, pay attention to your surroundings, have lots of experiences, and speak with interesting people. Then you take all of this material and convert it into art. Seinfeld goes on to say “This is a writer’s game. If you can write, you succeed. If you can’t, you will not make it. The performing, being funny onstage, that’s great. Any comedian can be funny onstage. But the bullets are the writing.

• Jerry Seinfeld again: "Chris Rock is the smartest person, maybe, I’ve ever met…I was with Chris a couple of weeks ago, and he was talking about a young comic. He was asking the comedian about what he did that day. And the guy said, “Nothing. But I’m going to do a set tonight.” And Chris explained to him, “You make money during the day. You collect it at night. During the day is where the money is made.”

Collected from Hendrik Karlsson, Rob Henderson, C.S. Lewis

04 the beginning of Means & Meaning

If you peeped the rebrand of this here publication, read my latest post, or for some reason stumbled across grahamcepica.com/meansandmeaning - you'll notice I'm trying to narrow my voice to technology and vocation and have thoughtful conversations with real people. It's less exploratory and apologetic... more bold and convicted. I really believe in the ideas, however infant or abstract they may seem. I think it has potential to be a gift for someone. Especially in light of the quotes above.

05 the heart of Oregon

In the spirit of getting "out there," my wife and I took a trip to Oregon to see some of her side of the family. The time with people was just as beautiful as the nature, and the nature was breathtaking.