I was following links this morning and came acros this site: https://alongtheearth.com/ and followed parts of the journey of the Swiss blogger and photographer as he cycled from Switzerland to Vietnam. In one section in particular, Iran, I found myself feeling strangely optimistic, despite all that’s going on around us.
I also looked with a fresh eye at the breeze-block and corrugated metal housing that covers a lot of the world, and began to reflect on perspectives and privilege. That may crop up here at some future time.
This video is by the same bloke, Fabian Kappeler, on a different trip. It is a tourist point of view, but there are hints of something else, something about the persistence of human culture. That too is likely to crop up in a future post (or possibly slip into a novel somewhere). It isn’t credited, but music is World of Dreamers by Jhukane Bada and Dawn in Rajasthan by Emilio Merone
My only real regret about watching this stuff is the melancholic realisation that I will probably never cycle across central Asia or through India.
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rptnb
Writing: I put up several 1970 music posts today, most of them tending in a negative direction. I also wrote a little fiction, though not as much as the two sessions a couple of days ago. I’ve managed about a thousand words in the last two days.
However, I’ve given up on writing for the evening and plan to spend my time catching up on last week’s magazines that are sitting here glaring at me. I won’t get them done tonight, but putting my feet up and making some headway is an attractive prospect.
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I mentioned that I’ve been issued with a home blood pressure monitor, that I’ve been using for a few days. I’m getting into the swing of it now, although I think I need the next size up of cuff. My routine, before breakfast and at the end of the day, is to find a quiet spot, relax, and take three readings. I then text in either an average of the three readings or the lower of them, depending on how far apart they are.
Just how far apart they can be has been something of a surprise. The conditions when I take them are exactly the same and I take care to run through a relaxation exercise before I begin. Nevertheless, three readings, each taken three to five minutes apart, can be very different and I’m beginning to wonder just exactly what is being measured, and how valuable any single reading can be.
What has pleased me, though, is that the constant number is my resting heart beat, which is consistently between 55 and 60bpm. I think that’s down to the amount of walking and stuff I’ve been doing through lockdown, and the cycling in spring/early summer.
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Music: Tonight’s random LP selection from the shelves is Ivor Cutler’s Jammy Smears. I couldn’t be more delighted. Here’s two tracks, Barabadabada and Life In A Scotch Sitting Room Vol. 2 episode 11
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