Chris Pratt

*San Marino (ducks)

nope, haven’t even started yet! i’m still nowhere near a town of any size, much less Paris or Berlin. this is advance planning for the long trip back to the Camino from Berlin.

A screen shot of a French train booking showing I’ve been assigned the bottom bunk in a sleeping car

Why yes, I do prefer the bottom bunk

I love the choice of locales 😊

Another 11 days’ walking until I reach Cahors; then, I’ll take time off to visit Bergerac, Paris, and Berlin. Back to the trail for a few weeks after that, mostly in Spain, and then I’ll declare myself done.

It’s Sunday morning. I woke up in a convent. I hit the 500 km walked mark on the Camino yesterday; I don’t have the (visa) time (or frankly the inclination!) to walk all the way to Santiago de Compostela, but I feel like I’ve proved the point already, as it were.

Nice! How was it?

wait, how many gecs are we at again?

that is EXACTLY how that worked prior to legalization, I’m told

(Not really complaining here, but this is another reason this trail isn’t for me. I like nature best when I have it to myself; it’s exhausting having to be friendly and social in a language I don’t really speak 24/7 !

Just experienced a kind of “listen to your weed dealer’s terrible demo tape” moment when checking into lodgings at a convent - really just wanted a shower and a nap and access to a washing machine, but had to chat politely about the Camino for fifteen minutes first

It’s also in my mind tangentially related to the whole BS around “DEI hires” being undeserving of having jobs white dudes are supposed to just get without trying. Sorry fellas, you have to work in order to get stuff you want

Speaking as a gay man I'm always baffled by straight dudes who think women will just magically fuck them. It takes work, my dudes, there's a value proposition at play here! Be the kind of awesome person you'd want to hang out with and trust me, the fucks will come

Love ya too, Ray!

I've come to realize that that's the case for most of us tbh - I feel lucky that there isn't much difference between what I feel I should look like and what I actually do look like!

Oh man! Sounds awful. Hope this summer lets up soon...

I have very specific ideas about what I should look like "in gear" - be that the mechanic's outfit I wear or my leathers - both of them are de minimis. Not a fan of too much or too complicated; I try to keep the signifiers to a minimum.

Alternatively, as Liberace said: Too much of a good thing is wonderful!

(I'm firmly on Team Coco here, FWIW.)

The Klee quote is mentioned in La Vie mode d'emploi, along with « Regarde de tous tes yeux, regarde ! » - they've been stuck in my head since the 1980s. It's one of my favorite books.

I hadn't heard the Vreeland quote before, but that makes sense!

Shout out to Bob Wilson, who left us today - he was responsible for some of the greatest artistic experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Such a remarkable artist.

As Paul Klee wrote: “The eyes follow the paths that have been laid down for it in the work.”

Gear should reveal something about the wearer, not obscure them.

i couldn’t agree more, Sir!

Hey, just because most of us can’t use this information doesn’t mean it isn’t helpful for those who can!

My favorite leatherfolk are the ones whose gear subtly enhances them – so many people are lost in their gear that it’s hard to see the person underneath it all. Others, though, shine through all the more brightly

Damn!! Go you!

Maybe… but can you imagine me showing up at New Action looking like this?

I am suddenly tempted to attend Folsom Europe in Berlin this August… but as I only have hiking gear with me, that seems like kind of a bad idea. Hard to imagine showing up at Woof dressed like it’s your Dad just back from a shopping spree at Decathlon…

I think it’s actually just one of those “one weird trick” things - find something Japanese/French/whatever that’s widely known to the locals, then talk about it as a foreigner. Like telling an American they need to go see Winnetou at the Karl May festival because it’s sooooo German 😂

Accidentally smiley face as seen in Le Puy-en-Velay, France

I suddenly realized that I’m kinda doing the same thing right this minute - enjoying an off-the-beaten-path part of France (that’s only if you aren’t French) 😬