Attention Inventory: John Cage, sleep elixir, herbal sorbet

Noteworthy preoccupations of recent relevance...

Nothing succeeds without taking stock — a list of five recent preoccupations that have been clocked, noted, archived. Weigh in with your own in the ~ comments ~ should you like.

John Cage foraging at Stony Point, 1965

Hobbyist Value (& Near-Death Mycology)
Apropos of nothing I’m reading a book of letters by John Cage. There’s no zeitgeist-related hook attached, nor any reason other than randomness. And yet! It has felt like a personalized creative balm; exactly what I have been needing. No fanfare, only timing. In one segment Cage recalls an appearance on an Italian TV quiz show called “Double or Nothing” (Lascia o Raddoppia) where a specialist answers rapid fire questions on a topic of their choosing; Cage’s topic was mushrooms. Through his life mushrooms were a constant (despite nearly poisoning himself on various occasions)…when he got into macrobiotics in the 1970s, he was known to serve friends oysters, chanterelles, and morels sautéed in sesame oil. The point being: tend to your ho…