Contradictory thoughts
My ‘specific’ ‘impressions’ on Kyiv and using the wrong words
“If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know.”
Louis Armstrong
I had such a wonderful time in Kyiv last week that I’ve decided to return right away. I can’t stay away too long from the place. As I’ve said many times before, “I love you, Kyiv, warts and all.” Nowhere is perfect, but Ukraine is just…something special. My friend Yuhan likes to refer to things as “something else” when he’s not quite sure how to put it diplomatically (I think). When talking about Kyiv, for me there is no ambiguity.
Words often fail us. We’re trying to say something but lack the right language to do so. It’s like Louis Armstrong’s response when asked to define jazz.
Students will often say they had “a lot of impressions” after returning from a trip. This is one of those unnatural sayings in English with no straightforward ‘correct’ way to say it. We could say that “it made an impression on me,” but that’s not capturing the same sentiment. Perhaps “it was a memorable trip” works, but it’s still lacking a certain something.
Teachers are often stumped when asked to give students a more natural way of saying something. When I hear “I love to spend time in the nature”, I think the best way to rephrase that is “I love to spend time in the outdoors” or just “I love to spend time outside.” I’m not going to quibble over the use of the article here, I’m just stuck on this idea of “nature” and whether or not it needs to re-phrased. “Nature” is more of a topic or subject than a destination or a place to visit.
Another classic is this: “British humour is very specific.” This is one teachers hear often, but we wouldn’t usually use specific to refer to humour. One possibility is to say British humour is “an acquired taste,” similar to olives, whisky, certain film directors or writers, art, fashion, my writing style (haha). A more accurate way to describe British humour would be dry, subtle or self-deprecating. But that is still missing the intention of the person saying it’s “specific.” Unusual, strange, odd, weird…these words can work as well, but…(there’s always that but…)
The lesson here? It’s not always easy to explain ‘why’ and there’s not always a nice, smooth, easy equivalent in another language.
I have so many thoughts swirling around in my head about my return to Ukraine, my first since February 2022, and I’m flattered that so many people want to hear my ‘impressions’ in more detail. You’ll have to be patient – I’m still processing them and am also writing a longer piece for publication elsewhere. Perhaps I’ll share that when done, or at least a condensed version.
For now, I’m trying to prepare for my next stops on the book tour: Prague on 18 and 19 August and then back to Kyiv from 21-29 August. I’m taking my book tour to Lviv for the night of 30 August before returning to Vienna. Also on tap: autumn trips to Riga and Bucharest. I might also organise something in Vienna and/or Bratislava as well.
In between that, as some of you will have noticed, I’ve dived into the murky world of Instagram and have started trying to be more visible on social media (cringe – us GenXers aren’t cut out for Instagram and TikTok or are we?). Three weeks ago, I had yet to post a photo on Instagram, hadn’t even downloaded the app, and followed a handful of people, but I rarely checked it. Now I’m slowly adding followers, following other people and just getting the hang of it. My first attempt at posting video stories garnered mixed reviews. I’ll keep at it.
Last thing about social media before I share some further contradictory thoughts – I feel like a younger, slightly less salty version of Bill Belichick. Bear with me here, for those who don’t know him. He was the legendary coach of the New England Patriots [American] football team, known for his grumpy and cantankerous attitude. For fans of the team, he was a cranky but loveable figure. Others hate[d] him. He was well-known for his aversion (or rather, intense dislike) to media in general, and social media in particular:
“I don’t really know or care anything about social media. I don’t even know what’s out there ... But it doesn’t matter. We played football before there was social media. It didn’t matter then either…I don’t Twitter, I don’t MyFace, I don’t Yearbook…[a] Twitter account, InstantFace, I don’t have any of that….I don’t know. MyFace, YourFace, InstantFace…Not on SnapFace, not too worried what they put on InstaChat.”
There was debate about whether this was intentional or not, but…that’s irrelevant. (Do any readers, I wonder, even remember MySpace?)
I’m going to share three thoughts about writing, marketing and productivity from three excellent writers. I’m slowly learning about marketing my book, which I think is pretty good (the book, not the actual marketing - though I’m biased), but I’m also eager to get cracking my next one:
“When you finish writing a book and move to the part where you’re trying to spread the word about it, you swap one kind of battle with overwhelm for another. Instead of grappling with one big, daunting project, and wondering if you can pull it off, you’ve now got endless little tasks demanding your attention, and you wonder how you’ll possibly get through enough of them. All of which is to say that this has been a good moment to remind myself of a question I think almost everyone could do with asking themselves each morning: ‘What would it mean to be done for the day?’ As the psychotherapist David Maloney explains…it’s vital to be able to ‘reach a point in the day when you feel finished.’”
Oliver Burkeman, ‘What would it mean to be done for the day?’ The Imperfectionist
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I once asked a successful author how to market a book. He waved me off and said, ‘If the book is good you don’t need to market it. If the book is bad, no amount of marketing will help.’ He was exaggerating: I think his advice is like 80% true. But it’s definitely 80% true. And it applies to almost any product. The best marketing is a good product.
“Charlie Munger once talked about how sensational Costco founder Jim Sinegal’s career was. Podcaster David Senra asked Munger: ‘Why are there so few speeches or interviews with Sinegal?’ ‘He was busy working,’ said Munger. The most impressive people don’t spend their lives on social media or managing their publicity.”
Morgan Housel ‘A Few Little Ideas and Short Stories’, Collaborative Fund
I’ll be seeing you very soon once again, my dear Kyiv!
Follow me on Instagram @doctorputzo and on my site danielpuzzo.com
Bucharest? Awesome!