Ermenegildo Zegna

This photo does no justice to this stunning
sweater but you can see the silk lining that
gives it the "tuxedo" look. It is a cardigan
made of superfine Merino wool. I am in love.

Okay… so a guy walks into a store.

I am familiar with the strategy of dressing up to feel better, but this is new. I went into the Bay yesterday to look around … maybe for a nice shirt to wear for Dwight's birthday dinner at Pastis last night. I fell into the hands of a good salesman who guided me to shirts designed/made by Ermenegildo Zegna. Oh my God. When I put them on, with the glistening black tuxedo sweater of superfine Merino wool…. well, call me dandy.

I have never looked better. So now I have own Ermenegildo Zegna shirts, one stunning tuxedo sweater and I am going back for pants.

Regular visits to Hawsworth and other fine dining establishments and the hottest clothes ever; I am a changed man. I am renaissanced; I have no idea where this has come from, but I like it. I believe recent successes with the kind of writing I was always afraid to do is eroding my self-loathing and my change in behaviour reflects a first-time experience with …. dare I say it, pride.

Spending my hard-earned interest this way is more fun than travelling at this stage of my life.

Encore, les mêmes choses

A winter seawall walk as day broke. My down coat keeps me cozy warm. Overheard: "Oh look. Penguins!" (I think they might have been Murres.) And: "Why is this water so clean?"

Where the walls ooze water an ice blanket formed and as water dripped down behind the ice, it looked like little tadpoles swimming down the face of the rock.

Uncle Gus' Monkey keeps hitting its marks. The producer finished reading the script and wrote to Warren:  "Really liked it!" about the screenplay. And about the partners, he said: "Lots of potential." Ending with: "Lets talk." I suspect Warren and the producer will meet next week.

Pixel: Mélange de danse et projection

Nouvelle année; premier Jour

16,742 steps to Metrotown to meet Paula for lunch. It was thrilling to be out early on the first day of the year. Walking by the ocean was particularly pleasant due to the constant presence of the wonderful marine fragrance. The low light, however, makes walking south blinding. 

Church on Kingsway.

We went to Commercial Drive for lunch (a fabulous sushi place I will return to) and Paula got it into her head that she would take a form of Panacotta with her to Puerto Rico on Saturday so we went to this fabulous Italian deli (again, that I will return to).

Look at the ceiling.

De la "New Yorker"

C'est tout ce qu'il ya?

Alone: There’s the physical, intellectual and emotional state.

When I think of those who are physically alone, I think immediately of Robinson Crusoe and prisoners in solitary confinement—in both cases, of people for whom aloneness is imposed. And I am led to conclude solitude is dangerous: Solitary confinement is society’s greatest punishment and Crusoe is “saved” from madness by Friday. But in both these cases, aloneness is imposed.

When people choose solitude, their journeys are not easy but their anticipated outcome is enlightenment, not madness. Chosen solitude is tough but not dangerous.

When I think of intellectually alone, I think of Einstein, Beethoven, Stephen Hawking and savants. And I am moved to reflect on the price of intellectual greatness; nothing strikes me as sad and lonely as intellectual superiority; poor Stephen Hawking had to wait for his insights to be understood before the brilliance of his insights could be appreciated. Still, the expectation is that intellectual solitude is ultimately rewarded.

Emotional isolation is a hydra.

Twins who lose their sibling twin experience profound emotional aloneness. Those for whom physical isolation is imposed do as well, but they have hope; their isolation may or will end. People with mental health issues that alienate others may feel alone, but few understand their condition. Orphans—legal or psychological—also know profound loneliness.

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. I am swimming alone in a large, large sea.  I swim and I swim as lonely turns to angry and wanting to withdraw from everything. And then the circle is complete.

This is mid-latitude winter depression. Welcome to my world. Walk in the sun. Write it out. Walk in nature. Write some more. Use the gestalt chairs and walk some more. Walk until the long days of short shadows. 

Tout est dans le titre.

Hack" Chris Rock Files for Divorce."
Genius: "Rock's Papers Scissor Union"