David Seaton's News Links There are different strategies for confronting the crisis.
Me, I use what Woody Allen calls "the old Indian trick", (crying and begging).
I am simply accepting all work of any kind that comes my way and that is within what is (still, for the moment) my usual pay scale.
The idea is that it can't (it certainly could) all dry up at the same time, inshallah.
Lot's of irons in the fire seems to me the best way of facing the multitude of uncertainties the present situation holds. What seems to be a wonderfully solid client can go belly up from one day to the next these days... better to have several.
Mister Micawber's strategy: "something will turn up" is only workable if you scratch around, chicken fashion, leaving no worm unturned.
This does have its price in wear and tear.
Since I began blogging, I have tried to write something nearly every day, but I am getting the feeling that so much multitasking has recently been draining some of the quality out of my work.
This dawned on me the other day, when instead of a thought provoking observation about world politics, I posted a recipe for "tortilla española". It came to me as a revelation, "Davey old son, you are getting a bit punchy, time to get one's doodoo together. Method and organization are needed!"
Studying my schedule, I saw that Wednesday afternoon is when I have the most time available to devote to writing something decently researched, reasonably well crafted and with some solid analysis in it.
So barring flashes of irrepressible inspiration (and a few hours off) I shall endeavor to write a long weekly piece, for which I shall be making notes the rest of the week. I'll probably post this little polished gem on Wednesday evenings sometime around 20:30 hours (8PM) Madrid time.
I'll probably lose some readers with this, but I think that if I keep being reduced to posting recipes I would lose them anyway.
I thank you in advance for your kind understanding. DS
10 comments:
There is no "myth" of Sysiphus.
It's true the way it's told to us:
Tho life take it's daily, deadly toll,
We know it's only rock and roll.
David,
Thrilled with the idea and will be patiently awaiting Wednesday gems.
Philip,
Buenos Aires
I thought your recipe to be evidence that you're certainly a person of broader curiosities than I. Not at all a bad thing, and this house is going to try the patatas, even before poverty rolls in. Thank you, and see you wednesday.
Mr. Seaton,
Your resolution is perfectly understandable and requires neither justification nor explanation. I, too, eagerly await your Wednesday missives.
As for the patatas recipe, many thanks for it: I will be having a go as soon as I sharpen my chef's knife (having once lost a fingertip to a potato and a dull knife.) I think the quiet comforts of hearth and home are everything one could hope for in these unhinged times.
Not quite being old yet, I am old enough to sense we are in the midst of sea change for human civilisation, and one not for the better. Thomas Homer-Dixon has had a big influence on my thinking on these matters and it is hard not feel uneasy about how the financial/economic financial crisis we are in the midst of is going to play out as energy and environmental problems become more severe.
But enough of the doomer stuff...where is that bloody whetstone?
Agog
Listen dear David, it'll work to your benefit, you can now travel effortlessly from weekly strength to strength rather than distract your writing with recipes.
I'll wait patiently for Godot as I have my own petite mignon Godot, in the form of a papillon. It'll take the edge off till Wednesday.
Makes sense anyway, now you'll have oh so much more content to support your thesis re Obama. I wonder if they’ll refer to him as Mr. Uh O; after all, that's the state of that union, n'est pas. Merde.
btw, loved watching your petite film, they fit, adroitly vous.
But I loved your little pensée on "tortilla española"!
Are you sure this is the proper use of your time? Martha Stewart never writes any cogent political analysis and she is doing very well with just the recipes and other homey clutter.
If you've a trove of these gems, why not make the most of it? Pundits and sages are alright for an antipasto, but soon, the meal must commence in earnest. The political and economic realms promise to be dreary, pathetic and depressing for years to come. Why not join the ranks of the food devotees now, and if in the near future your own cupboard begins to
go bare you can always farm yourself out doing restaurant reviews in exchange for, well, the meal you are reviewing. Perhaps the pay scale will have edged toward the desperate by then, but it is a marvelous fact of life that on a full belly happiness seems so much more within reach.
Buen Provecho!
Just want to say how much I enjoy your blog and writing and look forward to it.
ditto what Jim just said.
Thank you all for your kind words!
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