That's How It Happened

While I'm on the subject of David Foster Wallace and having a day off, I thought I'd quote him from a speech earlier this year on the nature of adult life:

"Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful, it's that they're unconscious. They are default settings.They're the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that's what you're doing."

I'm taking that advice from a very smart man, and having a great day off; doing things I never normally find time for, like casual reading; finding value in things I usually overlook, like vanilla milk; and indulging in a little harmless solipsism. Hooray for (possibly subclinical) bird flu!