Now, August 2026: Wrapping up Blaugust and other titbits These days, I’m unsure of how to reply to simple questions like How are you?. My default response is now something along the lines of, health issues aside, I’m okay. Recently, an acquaintance replied to my feeble attempt at an answer with the unexpected Well, at least you’re still alive, right?. Fair point, I guess. Brief Blaugust reflections This month, I’ve written thirteen posts for Blaugust, including this one. I wasn’t aiming for any particular number, but in the end it seems very fitting, as thirteen is also my favourite number (I was born on the 13th). Cliche as it sounds, I’ve written a lot more than my usual five-ish posts a month, and I’m ready for other activities besides writing in the coming days. Until I catch the writing bug again, of course! Overall, I’ve enjoyed the “challenge” and especially the community aspect of it: reading everyone’s posts, replying to them publicly and privately, exchanging songs, and more. My huge thanks to the organizers and all of the participants, who made this a lovely event and a great homage to the memory of the one who started it all, Mark Temple (Belghast). Blaugust really helped me get through an otherwise relatively uneventful month. I feel like I have a very mild case of reverse seasonal affective disorder, and I’m very happy to note that it’s almost Autumn again. Music I’ve written a bit more about music this month, and have the feeling that there’s still a lot left to say on that topic. I’ve started off a new series, Jazzy Listenin’, inspired by my Grandpa’s radio program and record collection. I definitely plan on continuing that exploration. And I’m loving other music as well: for example, I’m looking forward to Lizzy McAlpine’s new album in September. My own piano playing this month is still best summed up by the description given in Cheerful fumbling. It remains challenging to figure out the intersection of what I’d actually like to play and what I can also manage skill-wise, but I’m slowly getting there. Apart from piano playing, I’m also still reminiscing about my saxophone, but I know it’s not feasible to play one at the moment. I’d like to imagine it has found a good home, like in the beautiful story by Benjamin about a lonely tuba (thank you kind person for reminding me of this again; you know who you are). Reading I noticed that my BookWyrm-powered reading tracker no longer served me, and I impulsively deleted my profile—thank you Rambling Readers for generously hosting me these past few years. It’s nothing against BookWyrm/Rambling Readers, or tracking things in general, but I’ve learned tracking everything isn’t for me. This was partly triggered by Benjamin’s post, What I listen to is private (I agree, and here extend it to reading as well), and partly because logging everything felt like a chore. I’ll still mention the occasional book I’m reading here, as well as post book reviews, if I feel inspired to do so. Closing thoughts I’d like to call your attention (again) to the brand new Web Writers' Collective Forum: feel free to read the public discussions and come join us, if you’re interested in writing on the web! After all the writing, I’m ready for some site tinkering again. I think I’ll add Webmentions in a way similar to what V.H. Belvadi has done on his site: just a name and a link. That way it stays tasteful, but it still allows you to leave a small trace on my website. You can see an example of it on The sea in a drought, which is a beautiful photo essay I enjoyed, despite the grim subject matter. The heather fields near our home are blooming in their full purple glory right now. Thank you for reading this via RSS! View this article on my website. Replies: E-mail / Fediverse / Webmention