VIKTOR FRANKL ON THE SEARCH FOR MEANING

"Being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself -- be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself -- by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love -- the more human he is."

SIDE CHARACTERS: PERSON OF INTEREST'S SHAW AND ROOT

Sameen Shaw and Root

To begin on a note of complete disclosure, I had zero interest in the show Person of Interest when it first premiered. Zero. Two men: one has the brains, one the brawn, working together. Sound familiar? On the one hand, it seemed to involve slightly more creativity than most other shows. It didn't revolve around the usual trifecta of cops/lawyers/doctors (shows so formulaic they have been driven into the ground, resurrected, and then ground down even further until there was absolutely nothing left to explore). It also wasn't a drama centered around a quirky family. These were positive elements in the show's favor - not enough to rope me in, but vaguely hypothetically interesting, like String Theory. One of a long list of concepts that you can't even be bothered to google.  

Now, shoot to this week: I'm channel surfing, and I've been feeling sexist. It's an unsettling feeling: that sense that you don't gravitate naturally towards your own gender. I don't like shows for women. I don't like quirky female characters that suffer romantic setbacks and have their relationships, their proximity to a man, as their defining characteristic. I've never discussed interesting female characters before, and this is a trend that needs to be broken. 

There are some good female lead characters out there: any of the clones on Orphan Black, Carrie from Homeland (although a little too emotionally overwrought). I want a female that leads with her head instead of following her heart. Towards a man. Towards a never ending series of sunsets and heartache (See The Bachelorette).

So, there I was, channel surfing on prime time because I don't have cable, for something that wasn't so offensive that I could make dinner without having to run over to change the channel. And there it was: women double fisting guns, women kicking ass. Two of them. One slightly sociopathic (Shaw) and one devoted to a computerized Messiah (Root). Both of them appear to be ambidextrous when it came to handling semiautomatics - this show is mesmerizingly violent - and this is key - they're fun to watch. They breathe life into the show, and it's because they're having fun. They're breaking one of the subtle female onscreen stereotypes, that women are always supposed to be serious. Hyper focused. On their work, on the crisis, on their careers, and basically on not having any fun. Do you ever notice that 99% of the time, female characters have rods up their bums? They're sensible, sensitive, ready to get the job done, always empathetic. In a way, that makes them predictable, and in the long run, that makes them uninteresting. 

I wish legions of people weren't getting shot all over the streets of New York every week on this show. That's a minor complaint. Ironically, I'm becoming more and more sensitive to violent imagery the more I'm exposed to it. But I'm glad Shaw and Root exist. 

SWITZERLAND PART II: ZURICH

Zurich from above

I wracked my brain and then my camera trying to find a picture that didn't look like every other picture anyone's ever taken of Switzerland and came up with this. It's not pretty, it needed a touch up, and it probably doesn't even look like Europe at this angle, but there you have it: Zurich. My home base.

Incidentally, upon my return, I read that "going to Switzerland" has become synonymous with saying you are going to have yourself killed, because euthanasia is legal there and banned here, so there you go. To be clear: this is not why I went. An opportunity presented itself, and I took it. More and more, I'm embracing the notion of doing more and contemplating less ahead of time. This way, I can avoid the trap of rationalizing my way out of doing things. There are always reasons not to do something. Always. It's too expensive, you don't have the time, the timing is wrong, and so on. You can contemplate these excuses afterward, after you've gone ahead and done the deed. The doing option might not always be there.

In comparison with Lucerne, physically, there is no contest, Lucerne wins in the looks department hands down, no contest. However, if you think about it, here is a distinction: Lucerne is a place to visit, whereas Zurich is where you want to live. It's much more practical. I get the impression (based solely on a day trip) that once tourist season ends in Lucerne, everybody leaves. You have a city built around a singular industry: entertaining visitors. There's nothing wrong with that, it just makes the city less appealing to me rather than a fully functioning city. Don't misunderstand me, pretty much every server working in Zurich was from out of town, and good looking to boot. I don't mind that at all.

Walk down by river

Zurich is a fully functional city. Public transportation is immaculate. Trains arrive constantly and will take you to every little corner of the city proper. It also operates - miraculously - on the honor system. As someone who is constantly being hustled awake on the bus by overly vigilant MTA* fare enforcers at ungodly hours (Sunday mornings, during rush hour), this is basically unheard of. You buy a paper ticket at the train stop, and then you just get on board. No flashing of paper, no clocking in. This is the way the honor system works. Upon boarding, other passengers are suspiciously courteous. Again, the contrast, where everyone in the US seems intent on staring down at their phones to the point of rudeness, the Swiss sense of social awareness is refreshing.

Feeding swans is a national pastime

Where to stay: Practically speaking, I would find a hotel in Central Zurich, because that is where everything is: the shops, the restaurants, the nicer parts of the river. I would highly recommend becoming a morning person as well because, like Lucerne, everything closes around 6:30pm, so the earlier you get up, the more you can see. Did I stay in this area? No.

What to do: To orient yourself, just go to the travel agency located in the train station, and treat yourself to a proper map. In English. Now the world is yours to command. This map will list pretty much any museum worth seeing, and there are quite a few, along with multiple points of interest. This is one of the joys of being in a well organized city: you don't need a guide, you can find your own way.  

In an ideal world, you would also make sure to find your way to Sprungli, which is a chain chocolate store. To go to Switzerland and not eat chocolate is the equivalent of going to Paris and taking a pass on the Eiffel Tower. It's just not done. You can purchase truffles here by the gram (metric system), just as you would any other precious commodity. 

Deer lamps

Day trips: Uetliberg, for one (see above). If you train out of town, the train will drop you at the base of a peak. From there, you still have to walk, only a trifle, past deer lamps (see above) until you reach the overlook. For an added adventure, there is also Rhine Falls (see below), a quick and dirty bus ride away.

Rhine Falls

Zurich Botanical Gardens

Now, a reality check. First, it rained all the time. Second, Switzerland is expensive. And you can forget about finding healthy snacks anywhere for the plane ride home. There's only chocolate and chocolate with nuts. I forget sometimes how San Francisco lives in a health bubble, one filled to bursting with  kale chips, protein bars and gluten-free vegan cookies that taste just like wood.  

A probably harsh lesson I'm still in the process of learning, is figuring out when to be rude on international soil. No matter where I go, whether first world or third world, I am still constantly being approached for money. Every time, I find it shocking. If they are good, they never lead with a request for money, they approach you with friendly conversation, and then the matter of helping them just comes up, usually after they have established that you are indeed a good person. In these situations, I have found, there is really no nice way of brushing people off, they will be insistent, and a firm "no," followed by a firm walking away is in order. I hate being rude, but when the alternative is feeling used, Miss Manners can turn the other way.

China Garden, in Zurch

*San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Authority

ANGELINA JOLIE'S ADVICE TO HER YOUNGER SELF

"Not to change anything. I would probably say enjoy the freedom as much as you possibly can before it goes away. Enjoy the walks in the park and the backpacking and traveling and living.  Which I did, but I would have liked to have done more before it became a little less easy to do so. You can never prepare for the future, because it's all those things that build up to who you are. You have to let your younger self be scared of things and attack things head on. Make bold choices and make mistakes, and it's all those things that add up to the person you later become."

FUN LINKS

Kathmandu, Nepal

Here you are: October 8, 2014. Proof of life. I'm still walking the earth.

I just finished reading the article provided thoughtfully below by Maria Popova (writer of the inimitable Brain Pickings blog) where she casually mentions how she used to work until midnight writing and perfecting three articles per day. When she cut back, she was still writing two articles, whereas I have been on internet hiatus and otherwise loafing about in Southeast Asia. 

Here's some articles until I can get my act together:

Maria Popova: Staying Present and Grounded in the Age of Information Overload

Here is someone who works to please herself first, and then for others, as a pleasant afterthought. That is my ideal, or one of them at least. That attitude indicates an inner resilience, that underlying mental foundation that has been built up over time and is key, I believe, to doing good work.

Nick Cave: The Creative Process Is An Altered State In Itself

You know what your own process is like, that weird fugue state, possibly frenzied, possibly miserable, but it's interesting to get into the heads of other people - preferably someone who is articulate - how others experience this unique process of creation. 

The Entreprenuer Who Wants to Save Paradise

So the theme this week is people who have the strength to follow their vision in the face of blatant adversity. Douglas Tomkins, the founder of Esprit and The North Face is building national parks. All by himself. The locals revile him for it, because he is not using the land. But Tomkins is laying the groundwork for when he believes his work will be appreciated - ten years down the line. That is his vision, and that sustains him. Do you have the same degree of unshakeable faith in your work? 

How Environment Can Boost Creativity

Apparently location matters to creativity. This is probably not the first time you've heard this bit of advice, but with all the other advice out there, maybe this will stick. 

Emu Oil: A Review

This is not about Emu. I don't use it and I don't care. What intrigues me is the writing style of this article. It's unique, whimsical, playful. I don't know how this works in longer bursts, but for this length, her voice stands out. 

MOMENTS IN ASIA

Moments In Asia - iPhone 5s 120fps from Markus Kontiainen on Vimeo.

Markus Kontiainen traveled through 11 cities throughout Asia. Here is what came of that.

TAKING A TRIP

Source

I had plans, I honestly did, to have posts queued up while I was gone, but I realize now that this is not going to happen. I'm leaving the country to a remote region in Southeast Asia. It's always been a dream of mine, to travel alone. Somewhere difficult. I've always traveled with friends previously, and that's a crutch. This solo trek is something that just needs to be done.  

One of the most difficult parts has been informing people. I'm using a smaller travel agency, and things might still go south. Until I'm physically trekking on foreign soil, I probably won't believe the whole thing is real. So usually, I prefer to do something, and talk about it afterwards. Just checked the weather report for the region, and there's nothing but thunder storms where I'm headed. I'm writing this post partly as an impulse, and hoping for the best.

What have you done recently outside of your comfort zone? 

I'll be back in two weeks. 

SWITZERLAND PART 1: LUCERNE

Lucerne: Chapel Bridge

For the sake of sanity and brevity, I'm going to divide this post into discrete, digestible parts. Here we have Part 1: Lucerne, or Luzern, as the city is also otherwise known.

If you have ever found yourself in the middle of a dream, in an idyllic town that borders a lake, the water crystal clear, swans dotting the waterfront, charming sloped and steepled rooftops...you were probably in Lucerne. One dead giveaway is the iconic Chapel Bridge, above, which I have caught at a bad angle under bad lighting, so you miss the flow of red flowers that run down its flank. As soon as you emerge from the train station, you can traverse this iconic structure and settle into any of a number of quaint restaurants that line the water. There, you can sip, eat, and otherwise take full advantage of Swiss hospitality.

It rained almost the entire time. The moment the rain stopped, I took pictures, but every picture looks as if it were taken on a different day.

What there is to do:

Lucerne is clearly a city meant for the wanderer at heart. However, if you don't want to lounge, or wander elegant streets, or savor rich food, there is also the Sammlung Rosengart Museum, which houses a staggering private collection of modern art, mainly by Picasso.  I would include pictures, but they were not allowed, and you'll just have to take my word for it. Just keep in mind, however, Lucerne sleeps early. All shops close by 6:30pm, and the museum closes around 5:30, so if there is a store you want to visit, get there early, it won't always be there.  

Alternately, you can take a tour of the lake by boat. While I was there, there were two options: 1 hour, or 3 hours. My ideal time: 2 hours. Nothing's perfect. However, if you remain in the city awhile, and you should, you may decide to stay in one of the charming hotels right by the water, where I saw people fishing, rowing, and enjoying life.

To and From:

My home base was Zurich. Lucerne is a one hour train ride away. Trains generally come every half an hour, because the Swiss don't just make excellent timepieces, they use them as well. 

I don't often include too many pictures, but I wanted to convey a sense of the place. That feeling you get from a city, that visceral immediate impression it makes on your memory through your eyes. It's the impression that stays with you, like an aftertaste, but in a good way.

FUN LINKS

Flowers at sunset

I don't have the wherewithal to manage complete sentences. I've been reading fiction. 700 pages of it, all moving continually in a blur, and I'm finally toward the end. Life has never been better. In light of my current distraction, here's a few interesting bits while I get my act together. 

10 Small Things You Can Do Everyday To Get Smarter

Here are ten things. I will maybe try one or two of them, because to try do everything is to make yourself miserable. Ten options is a nice number to choose from. You can think of it as choosing your own adventure.

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules On Writing

Here's a man who likes to write straight and clean. I believe in doing the same. You do not allow your reader to look up from the page. You do not punish your reader by making them take out the dictionary. You reward your reader, you bedevil, you enrapture, you capture, and you enslave. 

Book Publishing, Not Fact-Checking

Way back when I used to write papers, I had to include citations. The most reliable citations, the ones we were encouraged to use, were to books, while the least reliable were to wikipedia, or some sketchy website on the seventh google search page that may potentially also have been a link to a virus. There is an implied integrity in a book, it implies that someone, somewhere, took the time to thoroughly edit and fact check every tiny piece of minutia before it would ever be allowed the privilege of publication. Well, that assumption is wrong. We are all screwed. Books are like people. They can lie.

This Outfit, because I'm a fashion sheep at heart.

The Science of Depression

This is a video. You might want to relocate yourself to a more appropriate location for this. It's often thought that the creative mind is prone to bouts of depression. When you are creative, you move about on the fringes of the known (where the act of creation can take place, yes?) and as a result, I believe, are uniquely vulnerable. Hence, depression. That is my theory.

Inside the Strange and Seedy World Where Hackers Trade Celebrity Nudes

I have an empathy problem. Whenever I think about what it must be like to have naked pictures of yourself circling the web, I want to vomit blood. I hope people join together in a silent protest that involves not looking and not discussing, so that interest can die. I'd rather reflect the light onto the perpetrators instead.  

HAPPY LABOR DAY

China Garden, Zurich

In the true spirit of Labor Day, I am working, albeit at a "relaxed" pace. In my stead, is a reflection in water. If I were not working, a one day holiday would be ideal time for self reflection, which is both a rich world indulgence and absolutely necessary. 

There is usually so little time available in the set routine of the week, that you may find yourself subconsciously biding your time for a holiday, an extra day that isn't long enough to plan an full fledged vacation, but short enough that you suddenly have time to take a breath and take look around. Take stock of where you are. Make changes. 

I've been thinking about my own summer so far, and I can say without sarcasm that I'm pretty well satisfied with it. I've spent a lot of time outdoors, lost track of what's happening on TV, and I've somehow managed that small miracle of forging new friendships, which I've heard is nearly impossible to do as an adult. 

I hope when you take a look at where you are, you feel a sweet indulgent swell of pride.