Excursions

I cringe when someone uses the phrase “normal people” while describing a section of a service’s users. Is that the best usage of the phrase? What does it make me, one who doesn’t use the service in the “normal” way? Abnormal? Why would you call your user that?

My daughter has been reading short storybooks since she was 5. She likes to read – she would find a comfortable corner for herself and start reading her books. I was a bit cautious introducing her to a full-length novel, though. I didn’t want to dampen her interest in reading by the usual wordiness of the novels.

But recently, she asked me for some big books – “I am bored with these small stories,” she said. “I know them by heart now.”

So, I did give her a couple of “big” books last week, and she hardly goes anywhere without her book since then. She carries a pencil and an eraser, underlines words she doesn’t understand well, bookmarks pages. Ah, I’m so happy to see her so engrossed while reading. I wish I had started reading sooner; I’m delighted to see my daughter has.

Oh, recently I have seen another habit of hers. She likes to copy small stories into her notebook, then read them in her handwriting and out loud in her voice. Yay!

I wish she keeps her interest in reading intact as she grows and would assist her in whichever way possible. To start with though, I need to choose the right books.

Who is Ghost targeted at? Why is everything around this service so pricey? I understand that it provides the self-hosted option - but that ain’t cheap either. When all such services charge anywhere bewteen $5-$10, why are most options for Ghost around $20? What’s so premium?

I’ve removed all the custom fonts, something that I’ve been extremely picky about, from my site now. This has drastically improved the load times across the pages, at times loading within a second. Sure it does lose the personality, but I’m ecstatic with the benefits.

Wow, there has been a deluge of Hello messages written to the “world” today. The world must be feeling overwhelmed, wondering what ruffled us earthlings today 😬

Hello Friend,

It’s been a while since I published the last issue. For me, neither 2020 signed off on a high note nor 2021 started with a blast. The many unwanted bumps through the challenging past three months forced me to push the reset across my projects.

Anyway, I plan to revive this newsletter, and I intend to call this an unrelated sequel to the original run. The first volume was about and for the writers, whereas I target a slightly wider audience with this reincarnation.

Each new volume of anything generally diverges on the theme; this one is no different. I’ve covered all the aspects I’d planned for the first volume of this newsletter, the one I had tagged as “a writer’s toolkit”. It is disrespectful on my part then to publish something that does not excite me - it cannot be engaging for you, the reader.

What changes can you expect, then?

Well, the soul stays the same. It’s the content and the context that changes. Each issue will still feature three fantastic works of writing, but I won’t restrict them to be only about and around writing. They will be curious at most times. At times, they will be profound. But engrossing they will be every single time.

With that said, here are the three featured writings for this week.

"Advice to Youth" by Mark Twain →

Always obey your parents, when they are present. This is the best policy in the long run, because if you dont, they will make you. Most parents think they know better than you do, and you can generally make more by humoring that superstition than you can by acting on your own better judgment.

"Joy" by Zadie Smith →

“You’re being the dog,” our child said recently, surprising us. She is almost three and all our private languages are losing their privacy and becoming known to her. Of course, we knew she would eventually become fully conscious, and that before this happened we would have to give up arguing, smoking, eating meat, using the Internet, talking about other people’s faces, and voicing the dog, but now the time has come, she is fully aware, and we find ourselves unable to change. “Stop being the dog,” she said,“it’s very silly,” and for the first time in eight years we looked at the dog and were ashamed.

"Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Roger Ebert →

“Kindness” covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.

Postscript

Have any recommendations or feedback for me? I’d love to hear from you. Just hit reply, or you can even email me.

Thank you for reading and sharing.

-Amit

It happened again as I was on my morning walk today, passing through the familiar lanes. I have become habitual to communicate mutely, through smiles, with the folks I have acquainted with over such daily walks.

That uncle who ambles but never forgets to straighten up somewhat every time he sees me. That guy jogging with his headphones on yet makes a point to slow down to acknowledge my presence.

And I connect with many such folks (who I know I don't "know") daily for months and years now. Or at least I try to.

You see, it was easy to do that when we weren't living our life through this dreaded pandemic. When masking the major part of our face wasn't necessary. When we could spread our lips in a smile at someone, and say so much unsaid.

I am struggling to do that these days. I do smile, but I am not confident that the feeling touches the person. Or he or she reciprocates it.

I have heard our eyes convey our feelings. Convey if we are smiling a happy smile. Or are discomfited. Or are pained. For that matter, they unveil even if we are unaffected, disinterested.

But how am I to know for sure if mine did? Or even if the eyes did, my "friend" could sense it? The whole situation is unfortunate. We were thrown blind into this pit without being armed with the proper knowledge to live through such limiting lives.

With our masks always on, we now have put our eyes under undue expectations.

Me, Reading →

No! How can this be?! I’ve read only fifty-two per cent of this damn book?

No! How can this be?! That’s exactly me, reading.

Is there a threshold of word count that when hit, and only then, an essay or a book will be considered notable? Or what is communicated be taken seriously? If not, why do I see authors unnecessary lengthening the prose?

Come to the point, make it with conviction and sign off.

Just a few pages in and I was excited to read Factfulness by Hans Rosling. Given the times we are living in today, whoever claims that “the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think” has my attention.