Everything and everyone is saturated to the gills with political commentary, hot takes, discourse, and pissed-off snark. People and the internet are so filled with all of this they don’t really have time or space for anything else. Longtime followers know that I think this whole culture and drift is toxic and erodes the human spirit and the possibility of culture and life. You also know I am most interested in writing about, talking photos of, and exploring life in our modern world. Trying to make, and document, (honest) life as art in our age of clickbait-algo spectator reactive discourse. For the past six months I have been working on compiling a collection of short essays and vignettes I have written over the years into a single print volume and I am thrilled to share it with you. In curating this collection for print I was adamant about a few things. I wanted a classic, simple, beautiful design inside and out. I wanted a book that you could carry around, toss on your bed, put in your pocket, shove in your bag, manhandle on the beach, write in, write on, and everything else in-between. For me, the point of this collection isn’t to produce an epic hardcover tome. It’s something more informal and approachable. Something simpler and relatable. I’ve always loved those little paperbacks. You know, the ones they say they aren’t going to make anymore. Well, I want to still make them or something similar to them. I wanted this collection to be as close as possible to that rugged, personal, carefree spirit. The book itself is about 5 in. X 7.75 in.. About as small as you can get these days. The design is simple and (hopefully) timeless, the font is warm, the margins are ample, and the pieces honest. There’s a link in my linktree / bio to Amazon where you can Buy Modern Lives. Or of course, just search Amazon as we all so often do and that will work just as well. No politics, no hot-takes, no reaction, no discourse; just life.

The astonishing number of beautiful clear lakes in the deep northern regions (Michigan, Minnesota, Canada, Scandinavia etc...) that are products of the glaciers are the gifts we get for suffering such difficult winters in the far north. There is always a balance and you can never have it all. Was talking to a friend from a southern state with few natural lakes and he was surprised to learn there were inland lakes within the upper peninsula of Michigan. There are over 4000. The Great Lakes are of course the most incredible example of fresh water seas whose size isn't really even comprehensible until you see them. For some reason our minds don't really get it on the map. I've heard this from multiple people. Michigan has so much coast that we don't even know what to do with it.

Kids have so much confidence in themselves. The way they interact with one another or when they explain themselves to you. They are uninhibited in a certain kind of way. We then get more self-conscious as we get older and understand how we are seen. In some way, getting back to childhood confidence is the aim we are driving to.

"This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper."

This era of cellphone case was crazy. It was basically like the plastic covers on couches era. Totally insane and made using the thing ridiculous but still it was a thing.

I'm this old.

When I was 25 I didn't want to be younger at all. No way. I didn't wish I could stay that age. I didn't regret aging. I don't even think I thought about aging. I was just living and having a good time, moving forward. Everyone I knew was like me. The zoomers obviously have a really weird relationship with age and youth if 25 year olds are getting bent out of shape about being 25. But aside from that, on a serious note, there is no reason to fight time or aging. It's futile. It's impossible and just embarrassing if you try to. Just live life when you have it.

Bergamo, Italy 35mm film

A good week, a productive week, work on the backend, and connecting with great people. Much to be thankful for, though I often forget. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Signing off.

The world changes and we have to change with it. We don't have to change in the same way with every new turn. Sometimes adaptation takes on different forms. But the ways we work, the ways we raise good families, the ways we live a good life - they change a little and that's okay.

One of the most important things moving forward will be intentional technology use. As tech only gets more immersive it's up to us to use it intentionally. To choose when to use it and why to use it. To take time away etc... Otherwise we will be consumed without choosing.

Welcome

Went to a birthday party with the kids the other day and they had some of these there. We never had them as kids, nothing even close to this was in a backyard. But now they are getting really common at birthday parties. Was just talking with a friend who thought the same thing. It's interesting how these things change. How this kind of stuff which would have been something you saw in a crazy movie back in the 90s is now much more commonplace. For a lot of us growing up in the 90s life was much less grand.

There’s beauty everywhere

It's not helpful to compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yourself, compare yourself today to who you were 5 years ago. That's a better picture of where you are and where you are going.

Life looks better on film.

Helpful nostalgia is remembering stuff that you can resurrect and incorporate in your life today for the better. Toxic nostalgia is dwelling on things that are gone forever and impossible to bring back.

The more big stuff you have going on the less the little stuff matters. It’s why when you are busy with kids you stop worrying about a bunch of stuff you did when you were single. Same with there being a death in the family or some other tragedy. Your attention is automatically allocated to the most pressing stuff. It’s good to be busy.