You might want to check out Hirsh's video on the Turkish Get-up, something I've been doing for several years, along with some 40-lb squats and curls. Great overall body-strength-aerobic workout. I use a 15-lb dumbbell for the get-up, 7 reps per arm. I do 3 days a week, 15 minutes per workout total.
Thank you! Yes, I think that's true. I don't think it's possible to remove didacticism from art entirely (at least not from narrative artforms), but it shouldn't be the intention of the work.
On the topic of exercise: my wife and I were walking the other day and ran into an older man who stopped us and commented that we were a beautiful couple. We chatted with him, and he said to us something along the lines of “I’ve made a lot of money and have been very successful in life, but I would give it all up in a heartbeat to have my health back.”
You hear this refrain from nearly all elders. It made me feel that most people drastically underestimate the value of exercise. We know that decades hence we will look back and be willing to trade almost anything to achieve a level of health we would have already if we invested an hour or so per day. It is likely the best investment I can ever make in my life.
It’s not always easy, but it’s almost always worth it.
That's a good reminder to have, I need to keep it in mind. I've heard the same sorts of things - as people get older they really start to notice their bodies declining. Regular exercise when you're young helps to stave this off.
Great stuff Dan! I agree with a lot of what you've written here -- and I'm actually working on an essay about nearly the same topic at the moment, approaching it from a slightly different angle (with the process of writing fiction) but drawing a fairly similar conclusion ... I've been thinking about this quite a lot since your essay club installment anent George Orwell's 'Why I Write', so cheers for the thought-provoking conversations and essays like this!
Thanks Peter! I look forward to your essay, sounds interesting. Orwell was actually in the back of my mind as I was writing this one - he might be an example of the exception to the rule (don't do this...unless you're really, really good)
You might want to check out Hirsh's video on the Turkish Get-up, something I've been doing for several years, along with some 40-lb squats and curls. Great overall body-strength-aerobic workout. I use a 15-lb dumbbell for the get-up, 7 reps per arm. I do 3 days a week, 15 minutes per workout total.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpRbsl6A7ys
Enjoyed this. Reminded me of James Joyce's comments on how didacticism turns us away from the aesthetic experience
Thank you! Yes, I think that's true. I don't think it's possible to remove didacticism from art entirely (at least not from narrative artforms), but it shouldn't be the intention of the work.
On the topic of exercise: my wife and I were walking the other day and ran into an older man who stopped us and commented that we were a beautiful couple. We chatted with him, and he said to us something along the lines of “I’ve made a lot of money and have been very successful in life, but I would give it all up in a heartbeat to have my health back.”
You hear this refrain from nearly all elders. It made me feel that most people drastically underestimate the value of exercise. We know that decades hence we will look back and be willing to trade almost anything to achieve a level of health we would have already if we invested an hour or so per day. It is likely the best investment I can ever make in my life.
It’s not always easy, but it’s almost always worth it.
That's a good reminder to have, I need to keep it in mind. I've heard the same sorts of things - as people get older they really start to notice their bodies declining. Regular exercise when you're young helps to stave this off.
Great stuff Dan! I agree with a lot of what you've written here -- and I'm actually working on an essay about nearly the same topic at the moment, approaching it from a slightly different angle (with the process of writing fiction) but drawing a fairly similar conclusion ... I've been thinking about this quite a lot since your essay club installment anent George Orwell's 'Why I Write', so cheers for the thought-provoking conversations and essays like this!
Thanks Peter! I look forward to your essay, sounds interesting. Orwell was actually in the back of my mind as I was writing this one - he might be an example of the exception to the rule (don't do this...unless you're really, really good)