Greetings!
We’ve reached Colorado after three weeks of family, research, and history in Western Maryland and West Virginia. Travel has kept the pace slow, but we’ll arrive in Arizona tomorrow, so expect a lot more posts as I will have more time to process everything. I’ll be focusing on Pillars of Salt — there’s so much I’m looking forward to sharing with you all!
Since I’ve finished the first part of Pillars of Salt, which leaves us at Appalachia’s doorstep, I thought I would include a link to every post in the sequence so far. You’ll find a partial “table of contents” at the end of this email. There’s more to come, but it might be convenient to have all the links in one place and in order.
But first… what’s new:
In the Pillars of Salt sequence, we have these new posts:
Troubling Numbers
The first post that grapples with Appalachia and delves into the shocking numbers behind the opioid crisis. We passed through the epicenter in southern West Virginia and I reflect on my own critical relation to the region.
Big Walker Look Out
We stop at a small country store, take in the scenery, and things get philosophical in a longer post that blends travelogue and philosophy in a way I think exemplifies what I’m hoping to achieve with The Thinking Log.
In addition to the above posts in the current sequence, we have a free Rumination:
The Technosocial Transformation
A playful philosophical post on what I’ve called the “technosocial.” We’ve got Deleuze, Balzac, dating apps, and making the distant into the near.
Finally, you can find a link to every post in the Pillars of Salt sequence so far. We’re a long way from the end, but here’s where we’re at:
Post 1
Turns
Post 2
A Long Drive Into Night
Post 3
A Stop in the Night
Post 4
Contingent Faculty
Post 5
Bubbles
Post 6
Smoked Meats and Cigars
Post 7
Gradual Roadsides
Post 8
Labor Disputes, Bombs, and the Fair
Post 9
Disappointed in Memphis
Post 10
Somethings Recognizable As Home
Post 11
Troubling Numbers
Post 12
Big Walker Lookout
Once again, thank you all so much for your support and patience as I work my away across the country with the family! I’m so excited for what’s to come!