Last-Minute Roadtrip Day
June 28, 2023
Current location: Door County, Wisconsin, USA
Reading: Momfluenced by Sara Peterson
Listening: Gorilla by Little Simz(if you have a moment, reply with your own 3-item status via email or in the comments)
Last-Minute Roadtrip Day
As of yesterday I expected to be at home in Milwaukee this morning, but I had a last-minute opportunity to roadtrip north to Door County, Wisconsin and stay at the Dome House for most of the rest of the week and decided to take that opportunity.
I stayed at the Dome House once before; my girlfriend did an artist residency here and is periodically invited back (she invited me to join her this time, too).
It’s a strange, beautiful, tucked-away-in-the-trees sort of place that’s a front yard-walk from a Great Lake beach, partially underground, shaped like a dome, and filled with beautiful artwork and thoughtful/unusual architectural touches.
It’s a bit cold and damp because of that underground-ness, but that adds to the charm; it’s an experience.
One of my policies to is try to take advantage of these sorts of random adventures whenever I’m able, even if it’s a bit inconvenient to do so work-wise or otherwise. I pass on them occasionally when it’s simply not feasible, would be too agonizing to make work, or when I have responsibilities I simply cannot fulfill if I step away—but I’m usually able to make them work with a little adjusting and rethinking.
So I’m up here in a nature-y place and I’ve set aside One Sentence News for the rest of the week (the only one of my projects that’s super time-sensitive and would thus interrupt the vibe I’m aiming for out here) to focus on spending weird, cold, artsy times with my girlfriend and to do the kind of deep-work that’s encouraged by these sorts of surroundings.
I’ll be back with a more complete newsletter next week, but in the meantime I’ve got some other things you might want to read, below, along with some links to interesting things.
Some things I’ve written recently that you can read while I’m away (since the above isn’t an actual essay):
Problems as Solutions / Aspiring Generalist
The Brand-Value Ladder / You Probably Don’t Need
Self / Brain Lenses
Value Metrics / Climate Happenings
Reverberations / Notes On the News
Interesting & Useful
On the Bathysphere and Voyages Into the Abyss
“What might someone descending into the depths of the ocean hope to encounter? Undersea cities? Phosphorescent monsters? Aquatic mutants? Mislaid divinities? Sea cucumbers? Caverns leading underneath the earth’s crust? Wrecked liners and battleships? The souls of the drowned? Barren waters? Eternal darkness?” (Uncomfortably relevant piece at the moment, but still very interesting).
The Surprising Origins of the World’s Most Misunderstood Cards
“The Empress. The Hanged Man. The Chariot. Judgment. With their centuries-old iconography blending a mix of ancient symbols, religious allegories, and historic events, tarot cards can seem purposefully opaque. To outsiders and skeptics, occult practices like card reading have little relevance in our modern world. But a closer look at these miniature masterpieces reveals that the power of these cards isn’t endowed from some mystical source—it comes from the ability of their small, static images to illuminate our most complex dilemmas and desires.”
Interactive lessons and visuals related to asteroids from NASA.
Outro
I’m out here in the sticks, but you can still jot me a message if you’ve got something on your mind, are keen to share something you’ve been working on, and/or just want to say hello!
Reply directly to this newsletter or send a fresh email to colin@exilelifestyle.com. I respond to every message I get and would love to hear from you!
Prefer tangible missives? Send me a letter, postcard, or some other physical communication at: Colin Wright, PO Box 11442, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Or hit me up via the usual methods: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or banal items in papier-mâché.
How the Pentagon comes up with code words and secret project nicknames.