Here's my thoughts…

I'm puzzled by the grieve of a comics nerd when he saw Superman be killed in a movie “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.” You know it's all made up, right? So why the real emotions? 🤔

One would expect a unique perspective to be considered a plus, but, in my experience, many opt for a familiar view on life, seeking confirmation—perhaps even absolution—of one’s life choices. It’s like ideals are considered more important than practicality or the laws of physics.

I always thought that an author should remain unseen, in the background of a written story, but it seems that even cantankerous authors are loved, perhaps even more than bland scribes. Common wisdom is that an author should be as specific as possible, including—as it appears—their biases, both positive and negative.

It's almost like storytelling is more like meeting a person (persona?), less like listing facts in a fancy way. How it is told seems more important than what is told. This implies authors should have people-skills, perhaps not while meeting readers in a real life setting, but certainly as a voice, 'talking' through words on a flat surface. Observing people other than yourself, without judging, may be essential if you want your words to have entertainment value (read: not bore the reader by the characters being all the same—basically, the author).

Authors don't disappear behind a wall of text; they seem to emerge through it. However, no one likes a sermon, being told what to think. The restraint of show-don't-tell feels like the author remains in the background, yet they are quite in front of the reader, in plain sight, conveying meaning through imagery in the reader's mind. The author simply doesn't hit the reader over the head (much) with descriptive and repetitive text, although some repetition is necessary, to update the majority of readers of certain facts, when and if it makes sense. It's just that most readers aren't stupid, and even if some of them are, they don't want to be treated as such.

Good to know as someone who hasn't published work, ever. Please take my words with the appropriate amount of salt.

The idea behind an Internet without tracking, in my opinion, is to create more personal freedom, to observe the world without a need to explain oneself what is observed and what isn't.

I remember how disjointed different public transport systems used to be in the Netherlands, especially finding platforms. Those are obvious to find by regulars, but first-time users need more handholding. Luckily, much has changed for the better. Ready for my marathon in 8 days 🏃🚋🚊

Yesterday, November 14, 2021, I ran a 15 km race in Zoetermeer, near The Hague, the Netherlands. My result (1:11:29) was more than good enough to aim for 4 hours marathon in two weeks. Based on my 15 km result, I could even go for 3h36m, but I won't push myself that hard 🏃

Currently, there’s a 3-week lockdown in place in the Netherlands, in order to lessen the risk of infection with COVID, even for vaccinated. Races are canceled as you read this, as was one of mine, next Sunday. I expect my marathon race two weeks later to be canceled as well 🏃☹️

Tonight, November 12, 2021, there'll be another press briefing by the Dutch government about new measures against the raging pandemic. A temporary lockdown of 2 weeks is expected, which could cause my upcoming marathon on November 28 to be cancelled. Exciting times, indeed 🏃

After the recent press conference by the Dutch government, where for amateur sports there'll be a mandatory QR code and ID check, the Spijkenisse marathon committee is reevaluating their protocol and a possible cancelation. Will I have trained for naught, or not 😬

I suppose if my T&F club isn't going to give personalized training if I'm too slow, I should get faster, mostly by training more, yet slower on average. I'm adding short junk distance runs, so I'll be running daily. No idea if that'd even work, though. I'm an experiment of one 🏃