Attention Inventory: Fever dreams, plum seed oil, Norma Kamali, the path of resistance

5 of February's preoccupations

Nothing succeeds without taking stock—Attention Inventory is an assemblage of 5 recent fixations.

Amidst February, notes on: aspirational working setups; a waltz that’s haunting me; an intoxicating oil that evokes (the idea of) a Sicilian orchard; opting into rigor; and other odds and ends.

Tile toothbrush holder by Shane Gabier

1. A Sight:

Had to pick a few…

• Sheila Heti’s Alphabetical Diaries

• Claire Oswalt at Overduin & Co. 

• A 1980s Norma Kamali coat that looks like a wearable marshmallow paired with this accidentally matching ottoman.

• I want innovation to look like this.

• Maybe I will be productive at this desk.

Title sequences in Sleeping Beauty

Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck

2. A Sound:

My dentist’s office has one of those soul-crushing setups where they position your chair directly in front of a jumbo TV (hung at the most cursed diagonal angle).

Normally I request the TV be turned off; I am a child whose eyes immediately become glued to the screen. This time, the hygienist asked if she could turn something on. I was a little concerned (please look at the electric drill you are yielding) but instead I said…sure.

Plot twist! She turns on the original 1959 Disney “Sleeping Beauty.” 

Maybe I’ve never actually seen this movie or maybe it was the novocaine but like…this film is wild. The title sequence is incredible. And since then, I have been absolutely haunted by the musical theme, set to an 1890 Tchaikovsky waltz (which has since been playing on repeat in my head).

Knowing little about Tchaikovsky, I did a bit of a dip. Mostly I took away an account of his epistolary relationship with the arts patron Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck. The two exchanged over 1,200 letters but intentionally never met (for reasons that are a little opaque, but one account references Meck’s desire to think of Tchaikovsky more in the abstract or idealized state, a la Nietzsche’s Übermensch. If that is the case, good on her to essentially say, “I like the idea of you more than you.” May we all know this discernment.) 

And yet, this moment:

“The two did meet each other on one occasion, purely by chance, in August 1879, while Tchaikovsky was staying at the Meck estate at Simaki. He had gone for his daily walk in the forest somewhat earlier than usual, unaware that she was late for her daily drive through that same area with the rest of her family. As a result, they came face to face for a few moments; he tipped his hat politely, she was nonplussed, but no words were spoken.” (via)

3. A Taste:

A life renewing, simple savory porridge-y thing for rainy days…