Today is much like yesterday and is sure to be similar to my tomorrow.
That said, and the topic takes me here, some theoretical physicists claim that time isn’t linear. The “block universe theory” posits that, perception and metaphor aside, we don’t flow on the river of time but, rather, that all yesterdays, todays and tomorrows simultaneously exist within the four-dimensional box that is spacetime. Thus, while 59-year-old me writes this post, my 15-year-old self is falling out of bed and dragging a comb across his head, while an older self is—as I’m also doing now—downing his fourth cup of coffee of the morning.
The “block universe” approach has its naysayers, however, due to the notion that it essentially proposes that our destiny is preordained. As a result, the alternative “growing block universe theory of time” tweaks the idea to placate the future-averse. It agrees that past and present co-exist within spacetime, but asserts that tomorrow has yet to occur. (If that sounds convoluted, well, it is.) That the present is the past’s future doesn’t come into play within the theory, though it perhaps should, nor the fact that it upends the entirety of Back to the Future Part II. For shame, theoretical physicists! For shame!
The peculiarities of spacetime, as this post and others show, fascinate me, just as theories related to the multiverse can and do. While I have been known to whittle away hours reading about such things, I especially enjoy movies and TV series that bring such ideas to life. The Back to the Future trilogy, for example, is a hoot and a half, while Hallmark Channel’s The Way Home explores, in a more dramatic fashion, how the future can and cannot shape the past. And when it comes to the multiverse, few have done it better than Fringe.
All of which is to say: Today is indeed a typical day for me. Thanks to that darn cat, I woke early, fed him, and then made and drank several cups of coffee. I listened to a few tracks that I added, sound unheard, to my Apple Music library last night, liked one and not the other, then hopped over to YouTube to watch various videos, including home movies of New York City circa 1965 that were found in a thrift store. I also, as I always do, contemplated what, if anything, to write about before choosing to weigh in on WordPress’s topic du jour, aka the daily writing prompt.
While writing this, I feel compelled to mention, I listened to the forthcoming album by Virginia-based Americana singer-songwriter Karen Jonas, The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch, listened to it again, and then again and again. I plan to share my thoughts about it in full early next week, a few days ahead of its August 9 release; until then, however, it’s safe to say that it’s a fun yet serious look at kitsch culture via the prism of its king, Vegas-era Elvis Presley. Here’s a single from the set that Jonas released in June:
So, to answer the prompt, yes. Today is indeed a typical day in my life, with the biggest variable being the music. I always listen to an array of forthcoming and recent releases (singles and albums both), plus enjoy old favorites, every morning. Then, as I’m about to do, I shut everything down and retire to the living room, turn on the TV and search for something worthwhile to watch—and not just about time travel. A gritty police drama, such as D.I. Ray on the PBS Masterpiece channel, will do.
The Old Grey Cat 