Skip to main content

Donut Essence


Friends,

John Locke’s concept of nominal essence refers to a common set of qualities a thing shares with other things of the same kind. For instance, all donuts share a donut-ness (nominal essence) even though they don’t all look, smell or taste the same. This archetype tells us that we are indeed enjoying a donut; not a bagel, muffin, danish, croissant or funnel cake. As I prepare to run the “Bolder Boulder” this weekend, I can’t help but wonder about the race’s essence. The crowded Memorial Day 10K event has become somewhat of a González family tradition. Running through the streets of Boulder, where quirky racers and fans engage in shenanigans, and culminating at Folsom field, where F-16 flybys, parachute landings and military tributes amuse the recovering runners sprawled on the bleachers. That was then. This year, the organizers have spread the start times across the entire weekend (my family runs tomorrow) and venues (we’re running in Firestone, CO… not Boulder), so as to avoid crowding. While the level of shenanigans remains to be seen, I doubt the locals will put the “stoner” back in “Firestoner”. It’s fair to fancy the Folsom Field festivities are foregone! The only common qualities with years-past would appear to be that it’s a 10K – plus the ubiquitous branding in signage and tchotchkes. All of which makes me wonder, is there enough Bolder Boulder-ness left? The organizers seem to think so. I, on the other hand, think they missed a brand-adjacent opportunity to call it the Fiery Firestone! Own the new essence, I say.

Happy Memorial Day (weekend)!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bring your own Geiger counter!

Friends, This week’s news were literally radioactive -and I’m not talking about the fallout from the Trump-Putin summit. I’m talking mutate your DNA-exciting news. I’m talking Marie Curie-worthy news. I’m talking Geiger-counter-tilting news. I’m talking… well, you get the (glow in the dark) picture. A study about a lone wolf collared near Chernobyl and tracked on a long trek spawned the headline “ Could Chernobyl Wolves Be Spreading Mutations? ” While one can be forgiven for envisioning a flying wolf with laser eyes and a green aura about it, the disappointing story basically says most mutations are harmful to an animal’s health -and unhealthy animals are unlikely to travel 250 miles and mate with other wolves, contaminating the gene pool. So, much ado about nothing. The desire to open Rocky Flats (a nuclear weapons facility turned wildlife refuge) to the public has triggered some litigation from an environmentalist group. At st...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gilding the Donut

Friends, Despite writing about donuts (sort of) for over 20 years, I don’t believe in sugar coating, after all, honesty is the best policy. Gilding, on the other hand I’m good with. Take the church of the Society of Jesus in Quito, (AKA La Compañía). Built in fits and starts between 1597 and 1765, the volcanic rock baroque facade conceals a spectacular interior. I had the chance to go inside this week and although I had heard about the gold leaf work inside, the descriptions had not done it justice. The details from floor to ceiling transport you to another world, perhaps that’s the point. If you’re ever there, be sure to visit. And while you’re there stop by one of the many panaderías … if you’re lucky they might even have a donut. Happy Friday!
Post a Comment
Read more

Donut Doodle Dandy

Dear Members and Constituents, In trying to figure-out Wednesday’s cool-looking Google Doodle ( Jorge Luis Borges’ 112 th birthday ), I stumbled across a list of Google Doodles you’ll never see. This, and a Rockies game later that day, were sufficient inspiration to get my head spinning around what other doodles Google might never noodle? I’m sure you’ll probably have a few ideas of your own, but I was able to come-up with a couple. How about a former Colorado Rockies player whose unfortunate encounter with a moth put him in the news this week? The Matt Holliday doodle might look something like this… Another item which, surprisingly enough, has not been made into a doodle are donuts. Although I was slightly taken aback to find this delicious pastry has not been featured, after the initial disappointment, I decided to take matters into my own hands and take a stab at one (perhaps Google can use it next year for national donut day )… or to celebrate Greek police having “ blown a ho...
Post a Comment
Read more