breakfast, mirrors + (some) thoughts

Babes and bots, 

Hello! How are you doing? I am drinking coffee with an egg, vegan sausage, and two delicious pieces of toast sitting in front of me. It was 0° outside this morning. I went for a run. Now I'm waiting for my students to take advantage of all their resources, which actually means that I'm waiting on zoom for someone to show up to Office Hours, which actually means I'm writing this blog. Later, I'll grade some shit. 

Here's what I've been working on: a piece about mirrors, a piece about my mother, my usual bird garbage, and a piece about my dad's first wife! It's wild. This is one of the earliest mirrors on record: 


You might also argue that water is the earliest mirror on record, but that is far less exciting. However, the fascination with finding these artifacts is interesting to me. Perhaps it is not the artifact but what it represents. 

In the summer in Minnesota when I'm surrounded by trees and teenagers, I have little to no interest in my appearance. I am confident, strong, fearless. Those days keep me on my toes and distract me from any self-conscious thoughts I might otherwise have in the summer months when legs and arms are readily exposed, or swimming is a novel suggestion. Few people in their daily life wear the same clothes for 24 days without changing, bathe themselves (clothes and all) in the Boundary Waters, and lay in the sun to dry off completely before stepping once more into heavenly dampness. In my day-to-day life outside of those summer months, I find myself in the midst of something far more dangerous: a mirror. 

Looking at oneself is a common human fascination, though I can't be sure enough to say it's always been that way. I'm sure self-image comes along with a number of frustrating social conduct codes that emerge depending on culture, gender, location, and era. Why it is that the first mirrors were found in Turkey despite obsidian and water being accessible substances across the globe is far beyond me. One would have to study quite a few cultures, time periods, the politics of archaeology, and artifacts both covered and uncovered to form an argument about that. 

Perhaps early humans just used water, satisfied with ripples or warped faces because they knew, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they were staring at a reflection, not themselves. 

That's all for today, folx. Thanks for taking a bite out of the sandwich with me! 

xoxo 
BLT

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