BANDCAMP UNION WINS

Very glad to see this:

“Bandcamp United and Bandcamp management are committed to working together to continue to advance fair economic conditions for our workers and the artists who rely on us. We look forward to negotiating with an open mind and working in good faith to promote the best interests of all of our staff and the artist and label community we serve.”

More here.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

I haven’t posted anything to Twitter since May 8th.
Haven’t posted to Instagram since April 11th, aside from some Stories here and there.
I don’t remember the last run or bike ride I posted on Strava.

So when I saw this from Sara Eckel, something clicked:

If my husband and I go for a hike with our dog, Polly, nobody is making any money. If I snap a picture of Polly and post it on Instagram, I have turned this into an economic event. I’m providing Meta with personal data to sell to other companies, and free content to place alongside advertising.

If I asked you to send me all your photos and I would post them on my site, and then place banner ads on the site so I could make money, you’d tell me to piss off.

Well, that’s what social media platforms do, though with much bigger technology, and making a shit ton of money in the process.

Read the rest of ‘The People Who Don’t Want You to Sleep‘ for more.

PAIN

Seen tonight on a nice adventure run. Got dropped off 2.5 miles outside of town, had to run back home on some sketchy roads with no shoulders. Wasn’t too painful, but always on edge when dancing on the pavement with multi-ton vehicles.

IRONTON TRAIL

I guess I really ramped up my half-marathon training, as I ran eight miles yesterday on this gorgeous, if a bit noisy, paved trail through the suburban landscape. The Ironton Rail Trail is about 13-ish miles of paved path.

Part of this trail goes right next to a shooting range. Like, DIRECTLY next to it. It’s sort of terrifying, since, well, this is America.

Continue reading “IRONTON TRAIL”

MAYBE DON’T DO THE WORK

From Devon Ellington, via Substack:

“If you’re constantly reluctant to show up and do the work, maybe this isn’t really what you want and need to do. Maybe you need to explore other disciplines, and see what flares your creativity with a stronger passion.”

This was regarding writing, but like any good writing, it applies to more than just writing.

Some people just can’t get into running, which I understand – I’ve been running for seven years now, and that first mile still sucks.

But eventually I muscle (or shuffle) through, and by mile four I’m like, “I don’t ever want to stop running.”

And I can’t remember a week where I haven’t ran like, every other day.

Unless I’m injured and can’t run, I don’t know, I’ll always get in a run. It might not be pretty, it might not be three miles, but I’ll do that work.

Core work?

Replying to my bookkeeper?

Playing bass?

Yeah, I just can’t show and up do those things most days. Whatever.

ZENMOJIS

I often think of closing my Twitter account, but then something like this finds its way onto my timeline, from Anne Fine:

“I used to make a lot of emoji art through instagram stories when I was bored, but then they changed the UX of stories and it was no longer possible for me to make these.”

Anne called these “zenmojis.”

TWO COFFEES, TWO SCONES

There’s an older couple here at this Starbucks I’m at right now.

Two tall coffees. Two scones.

No phones. Just sitting there, sharing a little moment.

Are they a couple? Is this a date? I have no idea.

It’s two people sitting there, seemingly enjoying a meal. At this Starbucks, on a warm day, on a spring day.

DON’T STOP MOVING

Since I signed up for a half-marathon and haven’t really been training for a half-marathon, I’ve been doing my best to figure out how I’m gonna run this damn thing and not injure myself.

I’ve alway believed in the power of “time on feet,” so I’m prioritizing the amount of active time I’m on my feet. Been trying to walk at least two intentional miles per day, which means breaking a little bit of a sweat.

On this day I walked two miles in the morning, then set off for this adventure.

Basically I ran for one hour up the trail at an easy pace, so I made it about 4.25 miles, stopped my watch, and turned around to walk the same route back to my car.

The walk took me around 90 minutes, but it was great. I could literally see zero humans for half a mile in front of me and behind me, so I took the time to talk to myself and manifest some good shit in the coming months.

Is this a sure-fire plan to make it through the half-marathon? Maybe. But I guess I’m more just training for the hurt, the discomfort. I know I can run the four of six or maybe eight miles at an easy pace, but it’ll be fun to see how everything else comes together, which is why I’m just spending as much time on my feet as I can.

LET’S RUN A HALF MARATHON

I signed up a half marathon at the end of the month. It’s on an abanandoned highway and goes through two pitch-black tunnels. I’m not exactly in half-marathon shape (my PR was in 2018 at about two hours and 20 minutes), but I haven’t… stopped… running.

The plan for this month is to just get used to moving for two and a half hours. I’ve done a lot of hour long runs, and a few 1.5 hour runs, but I’m just gonna try walking for two hours here and there, just to get the bones and feet and back used to the movement. Not looking for fast, just don’t wanna be dead by the end of 13.1 miles.