Some of my friends, often those in their late 60's or early 70's, show such energy and wisdom in their faces, that I feel I am looking at living examples of greater longevity and health than in previous generations.
I am still focused on the use of personal writing as a tool for examining one's life, thoughts and experiences. You may have heard of the Socratic saying The unexamined life is not worth living. I feel that writing is a superior tool for examining what happened in the world, in my head and what I feel about all that transpired over the last day. The book by Sarah Bakewell called "How to Live", an examination of the writings of Michel de Montaigne, is much about observational writing.
This is a time when many different businesses are attempting to create superior algorithms and intelligent machines. So far, I haven't personally run into any of these that strikes me as super smart. I saw a headline touting Netflix as unusual an producer of funded shows. The article went on to say that Netflix knows what I like. I think in truth neither Amazon nor Netflix knows much about my tastes. I don't know much about them myself. I change and at the same time, I persist and continue unchanged. Sometimes, my purchases and choices are dictated by Lynn's interests and sometimes not.
We do get unusual products these days. Chinese manufacturers, American entrepreneurs, money seeking to be made into more money, startups wanting to be big hits, all produce unusual products. Take Jane Austen socks. Don't be the only one in your neighborhood without a pair! You know Jane would be delighted to see you in a pair of socks celebrating her stories. Jane lived from 1775 to 1817 but we all feel better wearing Jane's socks, don't we? Wear them for Mr. Darcy if not for Jane.
