Prowling the streets of Sofia, life lessons from Aristotle and Musashi, moments from memory, and the first sight of Greece.

Well, since the holidays are long gone, it’s time to get back to our regularly scheduled programming. December was just about reading till my brain melted anyway, so let’s talk about January.

My favorite project of the month was most definitely my first impressions of Sofia, Bulgaria. That place has an energy to it that’s hard to articulate, so I used my camera instead. I got into a nice groove as soon as I arrived, and I think that’s because I’d never been. Bulgaria was a new country for me, and it’s been a while since I’ve been to one of those. Years, even. So I had an extra pep in my step upon arrival. It’s not the prettiest city, but there’s a ton of, for want of a better word, character, and the people are some of the friendliest I’ve encountered in quite a while, and for some reason that’s surprising. I guess we don’t get much exposure to Bulgaria/ns in the states.

Aside from that, I started a new creative thing(?) called Community Projects, where Patreon supporters work with me on a quarterly basis to think up, shoot, and create their own personal projects, ultimately to be shared on my website for all to see. It’s hard to succinctly explain it, so either reach out to me personally or head to my Patreon for more information. Only time will tell, but I think this will be an exciting experiment. In addition, I shared the second edition of Lost Frames, this time highlighting Mexico. Click or tap the images above to check them out.

The Nicomachean Ethics. I didn’t need to read this, and I’d say the same goes for most people. In this day and age, information like this feels like common sense. Maybe that’s why more of us should read it. The Nicomachean Ethics is Aristotle’s thoughts on the overarching aim we have as human beings, something like happiness or fulfillment, something called eudaimonia. It’s described in different ways depending on the translation, but it amounts to something like flourishing. Aristotle goes on to extensively break down character virtues and their opposites, and what exactly we should be striving for, among other things. Some of it felt unnecessary to dive so deep into, but that’s more than likely due to a blind spot on my end. I’ll need to reread this, even though I probably didn’t need to read it in the first place. With all that, I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would, thankfully, because I imagine it to be the first step of many.

Fat City. I loved this book. It has a dark and futile tone to it, similar to Stoner, and that was one of my favorites of last year. Fat City is kind of about boxing, but only secondarily. The primary focus is about, as the Goodreads description says, “the indestructibility of hope, and the anguish and comedy of the human condition.” It’s also a bit noir-ish, which basically sealed the deal for me. Not much else to say, this one was great.

The Talented Mr. Ripley. I need to stop listening to strangers on the internet because so far they’re 0-2. First, it was The Fellowship of the Ring, and now this. I love the film adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, so when I realized it was based on a novel, I considered picking it up. I don’t know what I read or where I read it, but I remember people saying that the book was worthless compared to the movie. Like an idiot, I listened. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I decided to listen to some other strangers on the internet who said the book was great, compelling me to finally give it a shot. Just like Fellowship, they were wrong, and the novel was fantastic, maybe better than the movie. Why do I do this? Who are these people? I need to delete the internet once I send this out.

The Book of Five Rings. Similar to Nicomachean Ethics, but maybe even more emphatically, I really did not need to read this book! The Book of Five Rings is a martial arts book written in the seventeenth century by a samurai warrior. Why did I read this? Because it’s awesome, and stuff like this is captivating, and maybe I’m just a nerd, ok? The book is literally about swordsmanship, leadership, and keeping one’s cool under pressure, among other things. I haven’t deluded myself into thinking I’ll need to know how to properly handle a katana, but I do feel as though the versatility of these lessons shouldn’t be neglected. Whether you’re a philosopher, a martial artist, or a nerd who thinks swords are cool, this might be an intriguing read for you.

Photo: Armin Tehrani

I don’t know the first thing about Armin Tehrani, because I stumbled upon him a few days ago, but I hope to change that soon. To me, Armin’s photography is like a visual representation of what it feels like to remember a memory. Something old and hazy, but still up there bouncing around. The photos feel aged, yet fresh. It’s like I’m seeing them on paper, but on my screen. They’re almost gentle. However one would describe them, because I’m clearly having a hard time, these photos are a treat to look at. That’s all I’ll say. Check them out for yourself.

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Since we last spoke, I’d only recently made it to Sibiu, Romania. I already told you about Bulgaria, but now I’m in Greece. We arrived in Athens only a few days ago, and we’ll be here for just under one month. Trying to stay on the move, apparently! It’s also my first time here, so I have that same eager sense that I had in Sofia. Athens holds so much historical weight, and I’m going to do my best to soak it all up. I’ve begun by photographing every day, and I hope to keep up that momentum.

Speaking of photographing every day, I happen to be doing so primarily on my iPhone. I’ve never put much stock into mobile photography, but having finally upgraded from my trusty iPhone 7, I’m giving it a shot (pun intended, pun always intended). It seems to be pushing me outside of my comfort zone, and I’m feeling much more creative because of it. I started a new Instagram account for exactly this purpose, so give me a follow if you want to see where it goes.

One last plug: in the GIF above, you’ll see some lovely postcards cycling away. Those were from Sofia and are long gone, but I pick some up every month for my postcard-tier patrons, so if you’d like a personalized postcard from somewhere in the world, wherever I happen to be, consider signing up. Anyway, that's all for this month. I hope you enjoyed this issue of Recollect. If you did, or if you didn’t, let me know. Hit the black box below to send me an email with your thoughts. I’m all ears. Thank you for your support. I’ll see you next month.