Hello again, Austin. It was about 3500 miles round-trip, driving to New York and back. Good couple weeks but glad I won’t have to be on the road tomorrow.
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Towering falls and tiny Firecrests
I woke up feeling like I’d been steamrollered. I took my creased face to one of the prison showers and blasted it for 5 minutes, then met folks for breakfast. With the forecast suggesting this might be the last beautiful day for a while, everyone felt inspired to head out early. While most went in groups, I prefer to walk alone – setting my own pace, wandering off on side missions, and talking to myself. I also thought I’d move slower at alpine altitude, and I was right.
After another brief piano tinkle, I packed up and left the village, taking the pleasingly mossy but punishingly steep GR10 segment that climbs alongside the tumbling river through dense forest all the way to the big prize: Cascade d’Ars.
I only started capturing hike data when my watch reminded me, so I estimate that it was something like 11km with 600m elevation gain. Apple considers my hike “Hard,” and Apple is right.
But the main stat I have for you is: holy shit, what a waterfall that is. I’ve seen the big ones in Iceland and a few other places but I like Cascade d’Ars because not only is the main event a spectacular three-part wonder, you also feel like you’ve walked up the falls for several miles, climbing alongside the white water from the village all the way up the mountain. Big waterfalls can feel distant, but this one felt like a companion.
Soaked in spray but happy, I’d earned a slow descent and really took my time. The sun-dappled woods had woken up and Merlin Shazammed yet more Blackcaps (which seem to be everywhere) plus a new bird for me: a tiny Firecrest singing out for a long stretch of my walk. I also enjoyed the company of delicate mountain flowers and fluttery butterflies.
I had much better luck with my Oaka waterproof contact mics today, focusing on isolated drips and currents, or dragging the unit along wet rock, trying whatever came to mind. I did receive some strange looks from people wondering why I was wedged in a stream or lurking behind a tree.
Back in the studio garden with a thirst-quenching La Brouche sour, I reviewed today’s recordings and the contact mics material is great. I invited a couple of folks (consider them sound pros with extensive experience) to listen and they too were excited by the fascinating and quite eerie percussive noises.
I gather these sounds both for their authentic connection to the place and their potential as rhythmic inspiration, and also to create new sound layers as a way to “fill the air” and give a tangible dust to songs about memories. These recordings will definitely spark something.
Scripting News: Friday, May 2, 2025
Spent the day in NYC, had an idea and it was a gorgeous day, and I decided to be impulsive. See you back here tomorrow, Murphy-willing. #
A different kind of normalcy
The 1980s were a crazy decade for sure, and, despite my fond nostalgic memories, it was indeed a dangerous time to be alive. However, every time I stumble upon this photo, I get lost in the beauty of such a normal moment, so beautifully captured. Stewart asleep holding a book about Edith Piaf, Lennox focused on a then futuristic device, in a train that looks cozy and comfortable (maybe not yet privatised).
What's not to like?
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The line from Lord Summerisle, which I’ve used of myself before, applies again today: “A heathen, conceivably, but not, I hope, an unenlightened one.”
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So tired of gatekeepers. Only realized this week that the Micro.blog web browser extension was removed from the Chrome store. Re-submitted some verification documents to Google, hopefully can get it back within a few days.
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Once apps like Spotify, Kindle, and many others are officially approved with external payment links, I don’t see Apple putting the genie back in the bottle. The company needs to let this go. Developers have had to put up with Apple’s tax and convoluted rules for too long already.
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I disagree with Ben Thompson’s update today that Apple might have a legal right to charge for their “intellectual property” by using external link payments. They already do charge developers with the developer program! The judge is saying you can’t take a cut for simple links. I think this’ll hold.
