Mark Larson's blog — writing, culture, design, and more since 2006.
We got a new rug! Never underestimate what a rug can do to reset the vibe in a room. Art The Return of Odysseus (Homage to Pinturicchio and Benin) , collage by Romare Bearden. “Sunday School Picnic” Quilt , by Jennie C. Trein. An ancient Roman mosaic floor panel depicting an almond cake . Composition in a Circle , collage by Jean Arp. Books Emma . Finished! Of the Austen novels, I've read, I'd put…
I recommend: every so often to pick a random date, March 26th or whatever, and flip through all the things you did on that day over the years. Ideally you've keeping a journal to make this easy. I did a similar exercise while baking recently, paging through memories while licking batter off the spoon. This week I played shuffleboard for the first time, on a long deck with the big sticks that you…
A very educational week to start: doctor visit, webinars, trainings, reading. I was glad for the change of pace on the back half, a more gentle slope into the weekend. We moved some furniture around the house and reset the energy a little bit. Friday night fingerpainting on the roof. Saturday snoozing after a long hard run. I wish Spotify were more adventurous and opinionated in its…
The weather lately – temps consistently over 90º, AQI at 150+ for several days – was really dragging me down. So much mental health and motivation comes from stable routines to click into, and a huge part of that is getting outside. When that's taken away, or just more annoying to do... things get tricky. But then Sunday morning was crisp and clear and all was right as rain. Went to Lincoln Center…
I've been thinking about a new role in my company. I never consciously declared "this is my path and my passion", but building up expertise over time, identity sort of forms itself. So it feels weird to even consider it, opening up deeper and longer-term questions than when I was first toying with the idea. We'll see! A problem of affluence: muffins and cupcakes today are too tall. Food is better…
What's happened lately... Had rainy date night in the city – starting very grumpy, but I came around – where the rained-delayed outdoor dance performance made a good excuse to pop into a library exhibition on Martha Graham . Took an online class. Spent a whole Sunday on my laptop on a project for work, and loved the happy buzz of relief when I got it all done and went to bed late. Got an idea on a…
This week I had to adjust to getting back to work, and having opportunities fall in my lap. After my time away , definitely noticed myself just being nicer than I was before – saying hello, being more willing to detour into office patter, less rattled by distractions. I was riding on a vacation high... and then Friday I fell face-first into a rut. Too much time on the phone aimlessly scrolling,…
Back from a trip to the west coast. A week off came at a good time. Found myself becoming a keyboard warrior at work. I'm usually on the more diplomatic side of the spectrum, so when I'm coming in hot on a regular basis, good sign to step away. It helps to have good colleagues who can hear you grumble and rumble but refuse to feed your worst instincts. The trip started with a wedding out in Pajaro…
Said goodbye to friends and neighbors last week, as they prepped for a move across the country. What a weird feeling to look over your friends' house from a stoop sale perspective. Trying their life on for size. This week I tried some basic plumbing tasks that started with excitement, entered into a flow state, detoured into quiet fury, to desperation, and quiet calm resignation to try again…
According to my notes this week, I had a good idea for something to write here and I forgot it. "Jotting this in case it comes back...?" It did not. But for the record, it was "pretty good". Holiday weekend, don't waste it! Art 1/24/80 #2 , color monoprint by Lynda Benglis. A 19th century grass basket from the Congo . A Lady , watercolor on ivory. Woman in flowered dress sitting with hands clasped…
It can be very nice to have family nearby, whatever the occasion, however long or short. Took my first trip to Cape Cod last week. It's pretty much exactly what I imagined: beautiful, pleasantly boring, charming. I took Amtrak there and remembered that I don't use it enough. It's so very nice to sit by the window with your book or laptop or whatever and just zip across the landscape with zero…
Hitting a patch of seasonal depression, I realized a few weeks late. Tally up the symptoms and recognize I've been through this before. Remembering when to ignore myself , to keep doing the good things that get me to the other side in one piece. We took the train up to Greenwich, CT this weekend. Breakfast at Méli-Mélo hit the spot. The main destination was The Bruce Museum , which was more than…
Had a bit of a minor reset this week: new glasses, new shirts, new pants on the way. Reinvention by acquisition! I managed to unblock myself a bit at work recently. Brain feeling too bottled up, fragmented, sludgy. I think it happened because – I'm mildly ashamed to say – I made myself focus more and also let go of knowing about other things. Always pride myself on having my finger on the pulse…
Last week I traveled to the Bay Area, adding layers a place I know pretty well (4-5 trips?) but not deeply. Time in Palo Alto, and San Ramón, and Oakland, and SF. Managed to visit five museums visits and two public libraries while we were out there. Libraries in particular are a good way to get a sense of the community. (Oakland is not happy with ICE right now!) I also got sick a few days after we…
I've gotten back into coding more recently. Well, vibe-coding. Maybe that's the right speed for me. I coooooooouuuuuuld learn more, and incrementally I do, sniffing around the edges. But lately a more mercenary approach from zero to one. Did some work to update a browser extension and other tools for work stuff, updating my white noise app from late last year , and moving this blog to 11ty for no…
I went to the eye doctor and faced mortality. I don't right now, but someday in the next year or two or three, I will need bifocals. Art Wild Beast Wood , painting by Sidney Sime. Basketball (Convention Hall, Philadelphia) , 1935 watercolor by Michael Leone. Monuments at G. , gypsum and watercolor on canvas by Paul Klee. Moomin and the Mymble paint an Easter egg by Tove Jansson. Collages made from…
Some highs, some lows, forward we go. Art This weekend: various Keith Haring artworks at the Brant Foundation . Bank of the IJssel near Hattem , painting by Jan Voerman. Books War and Peace. 87% through. So close. Around the Web I should build a Superchair . On expanding awareness around emotions . For the love of God, learn to paragraph and Why LLMs are good editors but bad writers . Music Suzy…
One of the highlights of the last week is "hobby night", where we took a couple hours just to scratch a creative itch. I pulled out my new loom and weaved a couple inches of progress. Then pulled out my old guitar, basically the first time in several years. One thing that struck me was just more awareness of my body, in a different way than the everyday stuff I can do on auto-pilot – laptop work,…
Last week I went back home. Visited old friends, bopped around Atlanta, got my Waffle House fix, sat for an impromptu photoshoot, walked by a lake, walked in the woods, worked for a few days from my parents' house, ate too much, slept too late, went on gentle hikes, and explored some parts of the state I'd never been to before. Hadn't had a proper museum visit this year, so we fixed that thrice…
Last week was Sunday afternoon reggae into Sunday evening blizzard. It's nice to feel cozy inside while outside is chaos. But you have to take care to get back out again. Last year I went to a weaving workshop . This year I got a loom. Just a small one to scratch the itch. Now the question is figuring out where this thing fits in my life. I feel like it'll be a great evening time-passer. My latest…
It's amazing how much difference a solid chunk of time can make. A couple days I had frustratingly chopped up calendar – doctor appointment, mid-day transit, meetings on and off every 30 minutes. And on another day: early morning, empty office, nothing on the calendar 'til after lunch. Blank slate for complete thoughts. Each draining in their own way. Last week I found myself returning home…
I love surfing the web. On a long holiday weekend, a perfect way to slosh around and almost-but-not-quite totally waste a few hours. Over the last couple weeks, I've seen more and more posts referencing nostalgia for the Old Web™. If you're over 30 years old, you have a better sense of it. Before the big social platforms, when all the sites were personal or academic, or even the corporate ones…
Hmmm. No deep thoughts? Too many long days leading to too many short nights. Art Exquisite corpse paintings by Kerry James Marshall. ( via ). Paper flowers from the Tang dynasty era . Mende artist helmet mask (ndoli jowei) . Abdullahi Mohammaed with Mainasara , photo by Pieter Hugo. Face Holding a Leaf , oil on canvas by Léopold Survage. Untitled Donut Drawing , colored pencil with graphite by…
We have a whiteboard on our fridge. Most weeks, we update the whiteboard with what's happening that week, along with doodles, quotes, competitive nonsense, bragging rights, etc.. My wife is great about photographing it before we erase and start the new one, and had built a nice historical archive. So I made a photobook of the whiteboards from the last few years. I'm growing to love…
I read (kinda sorta, mostly, sometimes DNF'ed) 31 books in 2025. A drop in total count but I leaned into longer ones a bit more. I think this was a good change overall. Not my best reading year, but the highs were high, and very British! My top two, call it a tie: Middlemarch (Eliot). Fictional story of a town in rural England, early 1800s, and its various inhabitants – sons, daughters, doctor,…
Interesting moment to the visit the doctor this week. A routine visit, fill out forms, take some blood, quiet typing and clicking, off you go. But ambient stress from a frustrated patient, at wit's end, nearby at the reception desk seeped in for a few moments. It's such a vulnerable space. On Friday, we had friends over for coffee and breakfast and early morning chit-chat. And since we all have…
I watched 127 movies in 2025, on par with last year. Of the first-time viewings, these are the ones I'd be most happy to watch again. Just like my write-up of movie favorites from 2024 , I'll excerpt previous posts for the best of the best. Listed chronologically, in both the tippy-top-tier and the contenders. What I see in common for the top four is a compassionate, affirming spirit – whether…
Started my long weekend with a bit of journaling, now I sit by the big window watching the snow fall. Life is good. Art La Cadie Diaspora , mixed media textiles, stencil, collage, embroidery, stiching by Merill Comeau. Embers , quilt by Barbara Danzi. Thar , sculpture in porcelain, earthenware, glaze by Kathy Butterly. The Boating Party , oil on Canvas by Mary Cassatt. Paysans Sortant et Allant au…
Last week was my first full week back to work, post-holidays. I was surprisingly at peace on Sunday night, ready and accepting that it was time to get back to reality. Sometimes vacations can feel too short; sometimes, too long. Felt like this one was dialed-in. Lately I feel like I have more space in my weekends somehow. Something has shifted. It's like there's just 2–4 hours that weren't there…
And so the last chunk of holiday break comes to a close. A few highlights: Sunday morning walk to a cafe to read, and then to a diner. A brief return to the office for a couple of days, and blasting country music all afternoon on Tuesday. Making red beans & rice on New Year's Eve. Re-arranging the furniture and refreshing the apartment for another year. Playing Breath of the Wild for too long.…
Two-day work week last week, and another one coming this week. Highlights of the time off so far: reading breaks, catching up with family, coffee every morning, playing Switch again, morning runs, movies and TV, walks in the neighborhood, "study hall" to learn more coding stuff, making end-of-year charitable donations, and making gumbo for Christmas dinner. I vibe-coded a white noise app this…
At some point I decided to stop being depressed. That might not be scientifically or clinically valid, and it took longer to see it through, but that's about roughly how I experienced it, or at least remember it. I remember immiserating in bed one Saturday morning, spiraling darkly, stagnant. And then a mental sigh, and: "I'm tired of this." I got up. I got dressed. I went for a walk. I felt…
For a team event at work, we went to an axe-throwing place. I was terrible to start, and didn't mind being terrible. Something was off, not my night, oh well. I was happy to throw up bricks, and see if I got better results every few minutes when it was my turn again. Low stakes, low investment. And then I switched to a different hatchet, and suddenly I was consistently thunking metal into board.…
Last week I wrote thank-you notes to writers whose books I really enjoyed over the last year or so. It's an exercise I started a few years ago . I usually end up sending out a dozen or so. I'll get a handful of messages back, which is cool but very much not the point. Remember: "This will be easier, psychologically, if you don't want to be a writer, don't ask questions, don't need advice, and…
Thanksgiving is the best holiday of the year and it's really that simple. Art Man Conquers the Cosmos , mosaic by Fritz Eisel. Portrait of Elisabeth Bellinghausen , painting by Bartholomäus Bruyn the Elder. Pleas and Thank Yous: 100 True Stories , lacquer on aluminum by Gwendolyn Knight. Standing male cupbearer , Sumerian sculpture in calcite with lapis lazuli and shell inlay , ca. 4500–1900 BCE.…
Thinking about disappointments lately, and the opportunity to double down on what I want regardless. Renewing efforts, aiming for maximal success helps minimize regrets. Fun exercise: get a big sheet of paper and tape it on the wall. Turn it into a calendar. Add sticky notes for all the travel you plan and want to do in the coming year. Dream it into existence! A few moments at my favorite burger…
I put in a lot more hours at the office and wonder, where does motivation come from? Why does work feel like so much fun sometimes, and how do you know whether or not it's fulfillment or a substitute? Art This weekend I saw a nice collection of Faith Ringgold works at Jack Shainman Gallery . Especially liked Coming to Jones Road #2: Sunday Evening on Jones Road , acrylic on canvas with pieced…
Back to work in full this week, and back to the office. So nice to get warm welcomes and questions about my travels. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? The ability to work from home so often is priceless. Full-time WFH, though… not for me! Art Perils of the Sea Traveller , color stonecut on paper by Pitseolak Ashoona and Mary Pitseolak. It's Not A Dream If You Will It , mural in the Brownsville…
Sick for most of the last week. Travel catching up to me, or something I caught on the last leg of travel. Coughing and coughing and coughing. The cabin fever is excruciating. But with 20/20 hindsight, I'm glad my norms have shifted. Better to be sick at home and working than going into the office and blithely infecting people. Noticing a new acquisitiveness since I got back from Japan. I think…
I spent the last two weeks traveling in Japan. The trip started from NYC to Tokyo, then quickly relocated to Osaka for a few days, and to Okayama for a few (day trips to Imbe, Kurashiki, Hiroshima, Naoshima), and then the last few back in Tokyo. Very different from my only other trip there, where I spent most of my time in Tokyo with brief visits to Hakone and Kamakura. I'm going to dump some of…
A week of winding down, shifting focus, senioritis gradually reaching a crescendo. Art Wake , oil on canvas by Lee Mullican. Ancient Flutes , turned bowl in cocobolo wood by William Hunter. Nature Sets Her Hound Youth after the Stag (from The Hunt of the Frail Stag) , Netherlandish tapestry in wool and silk. Expo Mouth #10 , oil on canvas by Tom Wesselmann. Books Mistborn . DNF. Breakneck: China's…
This weekend we celebrated our anniversary. A highlight was a trip to the Metropolitan Opera, on my local bucket list. I love that we still have grand occasions and spaces like this: tuxes, chandeliers, gold, red velvet, broad curving staircases. Rituals and visuals that dial up your expectations, call your attention to share something outside yourself. As for the opera itself, we saw Mozart's Don…
Last week I went bouldering for the first time in 6 years or so. So great! I need to work that back into my life. For me it's one of those pleasures like playing guitar or videos, where I never got very good, don't particularly care, and find a lot of satisfaction in re-learning the basics every now and then. Books Sense and Sensibility . Things I'm appreciating: mixing dialogue with summary of…
Last week I was out of town for 3 days, out in San Francisco for a work conference we were hosting. I've been there maybe a half-dozen times now, and I think it's gotten better each time. Or I'm just different, finding it a bit easier to get on its wavelength. On the day of the conference itself, I didn't have formal responsibilities. So just tried to be a welcoming and friendly presence, using…
Last weekend felt like I barely had any time. Felt good to get back to routine, and by comparison, feels like I've been luxuriating in vast expanses of time to work with, happily filled. A good feeling. Art Polaroid-style paintings by Edward Cushenberry . Untitled (Harlequin), paper and box construction by Joseph Cornell. Wise Elders Portraiture Class at Centro Tyrone Guzman with En Familia hay…
Last week I went to Los Angeles. My first time back since I moved here to Brooklyn. Took some trips down memory lane – my old apartment, favorite coffee shop, neighborhoods and restaurants with good memories – and also remembered what a lonely and strange time it was. I'd arrived there just a few weeks before the first inklings of a new virus, and a couple months later, lockdown. Happy to be…
Last weekend we made gumbo. Today, pralines. Rounding out the repertoire from my New Orleans side of the family. I've been making the oyster dressing for family holidays for a good while now, and I've got a decent handle on red beans & rice. These treats used to be reserved for special occasions, or the summer vacations down to Louisiana. Now as an adult, good reminder that I can… just cook them?…
Art Moses and the Burning Bush , acrylic on canvas by Keith Haring. Stahlwork , aerial photography of steel production by Bernhard Lang. Books Wolf Hall. DNF. Good read, but I lost my momentum somehow. Maybe just need more plot, less character? On the Calculation of Volume , Book 1. Boring in the details it covered but somehow mildly addictive. (Maybe a little bit like My Struggle ?) I think I'll…
This morning I spent a couple hours listening to Bach, loudly, while I puttered around the house. As good as earbuds or headphones get, there's nothing that can replace big speakers moving the air, recreating the space and reverb and texture from when it was recorded. (Of course, the extension of the argument is to go to a more live shows…) I'm enjoying cooking as a creative outlet lately. I think…
Last weekend I went back home to Atlanta. After a 6am flight, the first order of business: breakfast order at Waffle House. Felt good – and strange – to be back in my old stomping grounds downtown. Second mission: a visit to the High Museum for their exhibition Faith Ringgold: Seeing Children , which was just about perfect. Especially liked the low-mounted art on the walls, and the storytelling…