Today a short note on chit-chat with strangers — yes, I am still thinking about the enthusiastic response to the recent Chit Chat Challenge, and possible future iterations.

When I’m eating out alone in a city that isn’t home, I often choose to sit at the bar. Bartenders are possibly my favorite strangers. It’s a cliché that they listen well. But also if you listen well, they are quite often interesting. And on my most recent trip, one introduced me to a great stranger-chat exercise.

Read more

It’s June! And once again, it’s time for Savor of the Month!

For newcomers:

At the start of every month I announce one specific thing or theme to look out for, pay attention to, appreciate. The idea is to convert something everyday and taken for granted into something we might, yes, savor.

And every month I create a chat thread where you can share what you are noticing, or enjoy what others have noticed, in connection with the current theme. You can post pictures, drawings, written observations, whatever works for you. Or just browse!

Themes so far:

Flaws (results here) * Rust (results here) * Public Text (results here) * Calm (results here) * Treasure (results here) * Winter (results here) * Mysteries (results here) * Outliers (results here) * Ornamentation (results here) * Everyday Artists (results here) * Reflections (results here) * Contrast (results here) * The Temporary (results here; related audio essay here) * Wind (results here) * Circles (results here) * Small Flowers (results here) * Shadows (results here)

For June, the subject is PINK. As in the color. I have pondered a single color prompt for a while, as an echo of the whole color walk idea.

Below, I’ll say a little more about this, and about why I chose this color, but in short: be attentive to PINK as you go about your days in the month ahead.

The thread is open.

This month’s back story:

Read more

In a “live” video earlier today, I talked to the amazing ; I’ve touted her great newsletter in the past. Today I quizzed her about her explorations of “the worst”: the worst laundromat in New York City, the worst pizza, the worst bagel. Should we all go on a Worst Quest?

Also mentioned: enemies!

Our Worst Convo was the best. Let me know what you think!

Leave a comment

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning in!

OKAY THAT’S IT!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

• —> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.

Share The Art of Noticing

And thanks for reading …

rw

All this by Rob Walker (unless otherwise noted) PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032.

Today I have quick tips on two fun tools — or games, really — for the creatively attentive.

First: I received an email this weekend from Mohamed Asran, who recently started reading The Art of Noticing book and liked the sound of the “count with the numbers you find” exercise. Inspired by designer George Nelson, this noticing challenge involves paying attention to numbers you encounter while out and about: First spot a 1, then a 2, and keep going for a day (or forever).

“I wanted to start immediately, but couldn’t find anything to track progress properly, so I built it myself,” Mohamed writes. “It’s called The Hundred Hunt: find and photograph every number from 1 to 100 in the wild, log each find with a photo and location, and watch your grid fill in slowly. I’ve been hunting in NYC and it’s already changed how I move through the city. The site is at thehundredhunt.com.”

Doesn’t that sound awesome? Thanks, Mohamed!

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Second: Liminal Bingo (brought to my attention by Rubi and by Shanna — thanks!)

I’ve been thinking for a while about the creative-attention possibilities of bingo, but this project beat me to the punch:

Read more

I showed up early for a coffee date with a friend the other day, so I decided to stroll around the block. It was beautiful out and the whole world looked picturesque.

Naturally, I started looking for flaws.

That sounds a little sour. But really I just had the imperfect on my mind because flaws are May’s Savor of the Month prompt. In a nutshell, the idea is to be attentive to “flaws” (defined by you) that you notice as you move through the world this month. (Read more here; share your findings and explore others’ here.)

And after all, I’ve written about color walks and shape walks — why not a flaw walk?

It rapidly became clear that flaws are so easily spotted I needed to think about my preferred flaw aesthetic. Turns out I’m particularly (though not exclusively) partial to accidental abstractions, often geometric or minimal.

This ended up being a fun excuse to attend to, and be present in, my surroundings (an area I know fairly well) in a new way. I was slightly late to my coffee date.

The real payoff, however, came a few days later, when one of my bike rides was interrupted by a train. A number of my regular routes are subject to such involuntary pauses, whether from a train or a drawbridge. Often this is kind of annoying, a flow-breaker. But in this case, I realized, I now had an opportunity for a cousin of the Flaw Walk: The Flaw Wait.

As the train squealed and groaned on (and on) by, I busied myself studying the environment, collecting flaws. It essentially functioned as a grounding exercise, an antidote to the usual frustrations of waiting, that familiar trigger to ruminate about “wasted time.”

I suspect the ubiquity and variety of flaws makes them an ideal device for converting any wait — cooling your heels in the doctor’s office; shuffling along in a slow security line — into an instantaneous attention and perception challenge.

Try getting in the flaw flow. And whether you seek them out on your next walk or discover them on your next wait, consider sharing in the TAoN chat, right here, or in the comments.

Leave a comment

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If you enjoy TAoN, please become a paid supporter. You’ll get access to the full archives as well as supporter-only bonus posts and discussion threads. Your support makes this newsletter possible. Thank you!

THE NEXT FREE EDITION IN TWO WEEKS!

• Noticing is about other people, too. The Icebreaker series aims to help with that. There’s a central collection spot for all the icebreakers to date, here.

Today’s icebreaker comes from Pádraig Ó Tuama’s Poetry Unbound newsletter:

When do you feel most alive?

Ó Tuama does not offer or position this as an icebreaker, but rather as a question that has “guided me for years.” Read his full essay/answer here.

That said: I think it actually makes for an interesting icebreaker!

Please send your favorite icebreaker (whether you made it up or found it elsewhere) to consumed@robwalker.net.

IN OTHER NEWS

• Friend of TAoN Jami Attenberg’s 1000 Words of Summer participatory writing event starts very soon! More here.

• Speaking of writing, the National Writing Project’s annual Write Out event, designed to get people outdoors and writing, is coming October 11–25, with the theme, Write Where You Stand. The NWP promotes this through various prompts and resources aimed at educators, but available to all. (I was an “ambassador” for Write Out last year; here’s an earlier post and an interview.) Get details, updates, and news from the NWP here

• Adrienna Matzeg’s embroidery depictions of nighttime storefronts and signage in major Asian cities: Supercool.

• My favorite element of the Times Magazine’s “30 best living American songwriters” package was the sampling of the “experts’” nominees: Berry Gordy naming Dolly Parton, Billy Bragg naming Taylor Swift, DMC naming Billy Joel, George Clinton naming Garth Brooks, Jeff Tweedy naming Kendrick Lamar, Weird Al naming Ron Mael (of Sparks), etc.

• More on talking to strangers.

• A founding member of the Guerrilla Girls gives a great interview to Bullseye. She mentions that another member calls what they do “creative complaining,” and there are some memorable examples given.

• This is just a good piece of writing: Sports columnist Jason Gay on being dead wrong.

• What are those orange balls on some power lines? From the series Curious Kids.

• Field Recordings of Fast Food Restaurants in Western North America

• Nirvana version of “Seasons In The Sun,” with Cobain on drums, Grohl on bass, Novoselic on guitar. (Via Sound Opinions.)

  ---

  OKAY THAT’S IT!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

• —> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.

Share The Art of Noticing

And thanks for reading …
rw

All this by Rob Walker (unless otherwise noted) PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032.

—> Send me mail! I’ll give a three-month free trial to the Supporter version of TAoN to any current free subscriber who snail-mails me a request (include your email address).

To unsubscribe see the bottom of the email, or go here.

WHAT (OTHER PERSON’S) OBJECT WOULD YOU SAVE FROM A FIRE?

Earlier this year I had a post about “light secrets” (the opposite of a dark secret), notable in part because I borrowed it from a work of fiction — a terrific short story that’s actually titled “Light Secrets,” by Joseph O’Neill.

I find that certain fiction is often a useful source of inspiration, full of fun and provocative ideas lurking within the narrative. Today I have another example related to one of my favorite subjects: the meaning and value of objects.

It comes from a story called “Understanding the Science,” by Camille Bordas, I writer whose work I really enjoy. The character Maria is at a dinner party at a friend’s apartment, “so bored” by the conversation that she starts looking around wondering what object she would save if the place “went up in flames right at this moment.” This is only a quick aside, and the question is not answered. (Maria seems so unimpressed by her friend’s taste she might not save anything!)

I like this as a variation on the more familiar question of what objects you would save from your own burning house. In this case, it’s a way to instantly tune into your surroundings in a new way. Or at the least, something amusing to focus on when the dinner party discussion bores you!

Your attention games and practices and ideas, pinched from fiction or not, are always welcome!

Leave a comment

MORE OBJECT NEWS AND INSPIRATION

• Very interesting obit of artist George Herms, “an early practitioner of California assemblage — an art form that embraced the messiness of everyday life by incorporating junkyard finds, broken car parts and other castoff materials.” I particularly liked this bit:

Read more

Usually when I dip into reader mail it’s to highlight the physical mail you’ve sent — and there’s some of that below. But today I also want to share some digital feedback. First, the picture above and email from dear friend of TAoN Bobbie G:

I came across something recently that I thought might be good for your newsletter. I was trying to find the name for the sunbeams you see after sunset (crepuscular rays, btw), and one of the things I learned was that there’s a name for the hour after sunset (and the hour before sunrise): the blue hour. Maybe everyone knows about the blue hour, but I’d never heard of it, and now I have a new appreciation for it.

I was not familiar with this either! Here’s a bit from Wikipedia:

The blue hour (from French l'heure bleue) is the period of twilight (in the dawn or dusk, around the nautical stage) when the sun is at a significant depth below the horizon. During this time, the remaining sunlight takes on a mostly blue shade. This shade differs from the color of the sky on a clear day. …

Here’s a Google Image search result:

Bobbie adds: “Apparently it’s not even an hour long (more like 20 minutes) but I’ve definitely been paying more attention to the pretty blue hues, and I’m inspired to take more photos during that time of day. 💙”

Would this be a good savor topic?

Leave a comment

THANK YOU Bobbie, and bonus points for crepuscular rays ;)

The next bit of useful feedback also came in digital form, but is about physical mail. In a comment, valued reader Lynn Mason explained that she has long sent postcards to friends and family while traveling, but sometimes found hunting for the right card exhausting.

“A couple of years ago, I bought BLANK postcards to take on our travels,” she continued. She basically uses one side to make a collage, constructed of things picked up along the way — “like cutouts from a museum brochure or a music festival. Something reflective of what we have done on our travels.” (And yes she carries appropriate tools, and stamps.)

What a cool idea! And I bet the recipients love it. Thanks, Lynn!

Now to the physical mail: I absolutely love this zine from valued reader Kim Cofield, in Australia — her first zine!

Read more

Read more

Thanks to everyone who played along with the first-ever Chit Chat Challenge, a team-up by Rubi McGrory of the awesome Iridescent Ordinary newsletter, and TAoN, encouraging everyone to converse with at least one new person a day for 10 days. Read Rubi’s great wrap-up — “hundreds of convos, thousands of dopamine hits” — here. (Peruse the Chit Chat Chat here.)

Today I’ll shift to a slightly different theme: Conversing with people you already know.

Specifically, I want to pass along and endorse the latest innovation in living a curious life from our friends The Noticers, a “noticing club” in Vienna, Austria. (As a reminder: I wrote about The Noticers, and some of their “sharing attention” tips, last November.1)

One of the group’s founders, Tanja, wrote to tell me of new game she and co-founders Ann and Tomi played at a recent meeting: “We were catching up on how we were,” she explained, “and Tomi asked that we each describe our current state in three adjectives.” Results:

• Ann: dusty, begeistert (she decided she preferred the German word than the English one for describing her feelings), weirdly fresh

• Tanja: fleetingly frustrated, cautiously content, confidently colorful (when Ann decided that it was more accurate to describe her ‘fresh’ feeling with an adverb in front of it, Tanja decided to add adverbs to all of hers)

• Tomi: imbalanced/wobbly, disengaged/discombobulated, centered

I really like this as a kind of group icebreaker. As an exercise, it’s both introspective and communal: a way to notice your self, and connect with others, in one considered gesture. And it’s creative. (It also kind of reminds me of the three-term summaries of shows that Netflix uses: “Dark / Nostalgic / Comedy,” or whatever.)

This puts it in the same realm as the “group bio” exercise that I’ve recommended before (and that is in the TAoN book). As Tanja observed in her note to me, these are similar to icebreakers, but ideal for groups. Which makes me wonder: Do you have an exercise that you use with a group or club you’re part of?

Either way, give this one a try at your next gathering!

Leave a comment

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If you enjoy TAoN, please become a paid supporter. You’ll get access to the full archives as well as supporter-only bonus posts and discussion threads. Your support makes this newsletter possible. Thank you!

THE NEXT FREE EDITION IN TWO WEEKS!

• Noticing is about other people, too. The Icebreaker series aims to help with that. There’s a central collection spot for all the icebreakers to date, here.

Today’s icebreaker comes from … Rubi! Specifically from her aforementioned wrap-up post on the Chit Chat Challenge:

What’s the best conversation you ever had with a stranger?

As Rubi observed, a highlight of this chit chat caper was collecting so many anecdotes of stranger encounters. “A great conversation starter with strangers,” she observes, “is talking about their best stranger conversations.”

Obviously I had to make that an icebreaker! Thanks for everything, Rubi, let’s do this again!!

Please send your favorite icebreaker (whether you made it up or found it elsewhere) to consumed@robwalker.net.

IN OTHER NEWS

• Friend of TAoN Joe Alterio sent me a copy of his new Risograph book It’s Never Easy, and I love it! A beautiful object that Riso fans will dig, it’s also a thoughtful and seductive exercise in visual meditation and narrative. On sale here.

• “Benches are microcosms of an expansive debate about who belongs in urban public spaces. When they are removed or made uninviting, we lose more than just a place to rest.” Knowledgeable and insightful Places essay by Gabrielle Bruney.

• Aircraft: The Jet As Art, series by Jeffrey Milstein. Via The Neighborhoods.

• Bring back the spontaneous phone call? Gift link. I’d be curious to hear thoughts on that.

• Ask A Sober Oldster: Neda Ulaby.

• Jaša Müller’s pastel portraits. Really nice.

• Your name in satellite images, from NASA.

• In defense of tourist traps (specifically Cafe du Monde). Agree.

  ---

  OKAY THAT’S IT!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

• —> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.

Share The Art of Noticing

And thanks for reading …
rw

All this by Rob Walker (unless otherwise noted) PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032.

—> Send me mail! I’ll give a three-month free trial to the Supporter version of TAoN to any current free subscriber who snail-mails me a request (include your email address).

To unsubscribe see the bottom of the email, or go here.

Just a quick note to acknowledge that today marks the 10th day of our challenge, announced by Iridescent Ordinary creator Rubi McGrory here:

Here goes: the Great Spring 2026 Chit Chat Challenge. Rob Walker of The Art of Noticing and I triple-dog-dare you talk to a stranger every day for ten days. Easy peasy. Bonus points for sharing your stories.

Starting Thursday April 23 for ten days, you will initiate a conversation with a person unknown to you. About anything. Or nothing.

The results have been a total blast — visit our chat for hundreds of responses, describing all sorts of stranger interactions (and the occasional missed connection).

Join the Chit Chat chat

Leave your own response — even if it’s “late.” This was a 10-day challenge, but we hope it outlasts that and creates new habits.

In fact, I’d love to hear what you think of the idea in general: should we repeat it? What could we do differently? What did you like about it?

Leave a comment

Either way, THANKS for playing along!!

• OKAY THAT’S IT!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

• —> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.

And thanks for reading …

rw

All this by Rob Walker (unless otherwise noted) PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032.

To unsubscribe see the bottom of the email, or go here.

Join the Chit Chat chat

Once again it’s time for Savor of the Month!

For newcomers:

At the start of every month I announce one specific thing or theme to look out for, pay attention to, appreciate. The idea is to convert something everyday and taken for granted into something we might, yes, savor.

And every month I create a chat thread where you can share what you are noticing, or enjoy what others have noticed, in connection with the current theme. You can post pictures, drawings, written observations, whatever works for you. Or just browse!

Themes so far:

Rust (results here) * Public Text (results here) * Calm (results here) * Treasure (results here) * Winter (results here) * Mysteries (results here) * Outliers (results here) * Ornamentation (results here) * Everyday Artists (results here) * Reflections (results here) * Contrast (results here) * The Temporary (results here; related audio essay here) * Wind (results here) * Circles (results here) * Small Flowers (results here) * Shadows (results here)

For May, the subject is FLAWS. There’s room for a bit of creativity in interpreting this, but I bet you know a flaw when you see one!

Below, I’ll say a little more, but in short: be attentive to FLAWS as you go about your days in the month ahead.

The thread is open.

This month’s back story:

I spend a lot of time admiring the physical structures of New Orleans — the classic architecture, but also the personal touches.

Along the way, of course I also notice flaws — imperfections, things in need of a fix. For all its aesthetic charm, New Orleans is in many ways a city of flaws. Sometimes one jumps out at me. Flaws can have their own beauty. They can recast or undermine or enhance their surroundings. Some could be easily corrected; others seem likely stay a while.

Maybe there’s even some deeper attraction to flaws. Unflawed thing appear and function as expected; they don’t surprise. Flawed things are distinct, each flawed in its own special way.

And many flaws we tend to ignore, or dismiss, as we attend to the impressive and conventionally attractive. Do the opposite: Give flaws priority. See what this makes you notice

And as reminder, when you’re looking out for any given Savor subject, notice what else you notice.

The FLAWS thread is here. Join in!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

And thanks for reading …
rw

RobWalker.net | NB: I use (some) Amazon Affiliate links

All this by Rob Walker PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032

—> If you enjoy this newsletter, please help spread the word! Or give a friend the gift of attention exercises, ideas, and provocations:

Give a gift subscription

Or just click the heart button, that’s always very appreciated!

• If someone forwarded you this subscriber-only edition, and you enjoyed it, consider signing on yourself.

Join the Chit Chat chat

Today I want to address the Chit Chat Challenge with a dip into TAoN’s archives. Years ago, I briefly experimented with a series called “Something to Notice,” and one installment was about “familiar strangers.” That’s newly relevant again.

Read more

* Still digging the responses to April’s Savor of the Month prompt: Rust. Join in here!

Today’s post is part of a series. Every year I teach a five-week class on “point of view,” for the School of Visual Arts’ Products of Design program. For Supporters, I’m reprinting a series of posts about the class — the assignments, the thinking behind the class, how it shaped and has since been shaped by TAoN, and other fun behind-the-scenes stuff. The first installment is here, the second is here, the third here, and the fourth here.

For the last entry in this series, I’ll address a very specific point of view: mine.

In short, when I give students the assignment (described last time) to propose a design project that expresses an idea, I have only one serious parameter. But it’s very serious:

The project must transform something previously overlooked into something noticed.

I assume that brief won’t surprise anybody reading this — noticing the overlooked, and arguing for the importance of doing so, is kinda my whole “brand”! But you might be interested to know that this assignment (and this class) actually predates TAoN. In fact the class helped inspire and shape the book (which mentions several examples of student work).

But there’s an extra bit of back story, too. Long before I thought about The Art of Noticing, I made the case for what I called “dancing about ruins.”

Read more

Starting Thursday April 23 for ten days, you will initiate a conversation with a person unknown to you. About anything. Or nothing.

It’s been fun to read the chat thread where people are sharing their Chat Adventures and their Chat Tips, and there’s one comment I want to highlight, from reader Deborah:

Like others, I do this in the normal course of my day. When I do it, it’s usually because I want to connect. In the last two days, since I’ve INTENTIONALLY chatted with a stranger, I have thought more about how the other person responded. And I found that other people want to connect too.

While that could have been obvious to me in my past efforts, it was the INTENTION that helped me realize that there are other people who want to interact, they just need someone to approach them. We could all be doing each other a great service by talking to each other!! DUH!

Regarding the level of complexity of the conversation--I am finding that it doesn’t matter that much how long or involved the contact is, it’s more about being open to any interaction--even eye contact. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Deborah, with her thinking about intentionality, is making a great point here. Chatting is a collaboration! Worth keeping in mind as you go about your chit-chat adventures.

There are many great Chat Stories in the thread to entertain and/or inspire you. Join in, whatever way works for you!

Join the Chit Chat chat

Share

• OKAY THAT’S IT!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

• —> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.

Leave a comment

And thanks for reading …
rw

All this by Rob Walker (unless otherwise noted) PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032.

To unsubscribe see the bottom of the email, or go here.

Normally the “big” (numbered) issues of TAoN come out at the start of every other week, but No. 209 is early, because today marks the first day of The Chit Chat Challenge, a team-up brought to you by Rubi McGrory of the awesome Iridescent Ordinary newsletter, and TAoN.

Rubi announced the Challenge on Tuesday:

So here goes: the Great Spring 2026 Chit Chat Challenge. Rob Walker of The Art of Noticing and I triple-dog-dare you talk to a stranger every day for ten days. Easy peasy. Bonus points for sharing your stories.

Starting Thursday April 23 for ten days, you will initiate a conversation with a person unknown to you. About anything. Or nothing. The particulars are totally up to you: fellow dog walkers, plane seatmate, the mail lady; the weather, the footie, the meaning of life.

She’ll be posting in IO (so subscribe!) and on her Substack Notes feed, and I’ll have some Chat posts here on TAoN, plus there’s a chat thread where people are already sharing Chat Tips, and where we hope you’ll share your Chat Stories. Join in as you see fit!

Join the Chit Chat chat

For today, I want to quickly explain how this came about, and share one suggestion that’s been helpful to me, a historically reluctant chatter.

Back in early January, at the end of a thoughtful post about resolutions and rituals, Rubi observed in an aside what a bummer it is that “so many projects/challenges begin on or about January 1.” This is already a busy time, and further cramming the post-holiday-recovery calendar isn’t helpful. “Can we get some read-along-with-me programs or drawing-a-day challenge that starts on July 17 or April 23?,” she asked. “Any random day not overwhelming and already loaded with expectation. <end rant>.”

This stuck with me, and basically I reached out and asked Rubi if she wanted to team up on some kind of challenge project that would start — why not? — on April 23!

I’m a big fan of Rubi’s newsletter (“Your AI-free reminder that you can find or create joy while also feeling fear, rage, despair, and other prickly crap.”) and of Rubi herself, and I knew connecting with strangers and convo in general is part of her jam. Questions and conversations are part of TAoN, too, most notably manifested in the Icebreaker series.

So after a lengthy negotiation — that is, a handful of friendly emails — we agreed on the Chit Chat Challenge! Again, we really hope you’ll join us, and tell others to join in, too!

Share

Okay, so my chat tip. There’s a guy at the pool I go to, who I’ll call KC. KC is a chatterbox. He’s super friendly, and he chats with everyone, about anything.

There was a time in my life (a time that lasted decades) when I would have avoided KC. I’m pretty introverted, and I’m quite adept at dodging or shutting down conversation. I have traditionally preferred my own thoughts to conversations with strangers, even friendly ones.

That has gradually changed. But even once I started to see the value in such connections, I had difficulty initiating them. And some of the early response to the Challenge is from folks with similar hesitations.

So I share with you this: My first step was to just accept others — the KCs of the world, the chatterboxes — starting the interactions for me. I stopped trying to shut them out; I let the chat happen; I participated; I learned to be open. If I got held up for a few minutes, or distracted from my laps, or whatever, I let that go. The chit chat has its own value.

I love chatting with KC. He always makes my day, and I’m vaguely disappointed when he’s not there. But it’s okay: I’ve learned how to chat with others, whether they initiate or I do. I’ll see KC soon enough, and we’ll both have plenty to chat about, I am certain.

Leave a comment

SUPPORT TAoN

If you enjoy TAoN, please become a paid supporter. You’ll get access to the full archives as well as supporter-only bonus posts and discussion threads. Your support makes this newsletter possible. Thank you!

IN OTHER NEWS

• I had a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable conversation with Danylo Zubaryev for his Open Inquiry podcast — particularly of note for those of you who ended up here by way of Waking Up. Thanks, Danylo!

• A triangular stamp caught my eye; Fast Company explains: “The triangle Postcrossing stamp from the U.S. Postal Service commemorates an international pen pal project started in 2005 by Paulo Magalhães, a student in Portugal. The program connects people around the world in a simple but increasingly old-fashioned way: Send a postcard, get one back.”

• More Duchamp.

• “For his series Men in the Cities, Robert Longo set up his camera on the rooftop of his New York apartment, dressed his friends … in business attire and captured their movements as he threw various objects at them.” This isn’t new, of course, but I do love these images.

  ---

  OKAY THAT’S IT!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

• —> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.

Share The Art of Noticing

And thanks for reading …
rw

All this by Rob Walker (unless otherwise noted) PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032.

—> Send me mail! I’ll give a three-month free trial to the Supporter version of TAoN to any current free subscriber who snail-mails me a request (include your email address).

To unsubscribe see the bottom of the email, or go here.

I am excited to announce a collaboration with the awesome Rubi McGrory of the Iridescent Ordinary newsletter: The Great Spring 2026 CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE! More below but full details here:

Iridescent Ordinary

announcing the CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE

Your AI-free reminder that you can find or create joy while also feeling fear, rage, despair, and other prickly crap…

Read more

2 months ago · 13 likes · 1 comment

Rubi writes:

“We triple-dog-dare you talk to a stranger every day for ten days. Easy peasy. Bonus points for sharing your stories. … Starting Thursday April 23 for ten days, you will initiate a conversation with a person unknown to you, each day. About anything. Or nothing. The particulars are totally up to you.”

For right now I ask you, TAoN readers, to not only join in but please HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! Email, link, share! Tell a popular blogger or Substacker or TED talker or author or social media influencer who might be into it! We want your help to make the Chit Chat Challenge “a thing”! (There will even be stickers!)

“The aim of Chit Chat Challenge is to get us connecting. It’s not enough to read some stats and anecdotes about the power of talking to strangers. You actually have to do it. We’ve created this handy-dandy container to get you started.”

Rubi will be posting more in her newsletter and Notes, so follow Iridescent Ordinary. I’ll be posting more Chit Chat tips here on TAoN, too, and hopefully sharing Chit Chat stories you share with us. Meanwhile there’s a chat thread here, and Rubi’s intro is here.

Chat with your friends about it!

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OKAY THAT’S IT!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

• —> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.

Share The Art of Noticing

And thanks for reading …

rw

All this by Rob Walker (except as noted) PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032.

To unsubscribe see the bottom of the email, or go here.

Today’s post is part of a series. Every year I teach a five-week class on “point of view,” for the School of Visual Arts’ Products of Design program. For Supporters, I’m reprinting a series of posts about the class — the assignments, the thinking behind the class, how it shaped and has since been shaped by TAoN, and other fun behind-the-scenes stuff. The first installment is here, the second is here, the third here.

The first three posts in this series all dealt with a series of assignments related to writing an individual manifesto.

But in addition to the manifesto undertaking, the students in Point of View also complete a separate set of assignments related to expressing an idea with a design project. That might sound a little fuzzy, so I’ll break it down.

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From Caryn in New Mexico, a delightful Lunar New Year linocut card! (If you’re still out there, Caryn, send me the email address you use for TAoN, consumed@robwalker.net.)

From Alice in Kuala Lumpur (also wishing a happy Year of the Horse).

From friend of TAoN Maria, visiting Porto.

From Gillian, who wrote a great note about making monoprints of leaves, feathers, petals, etc., and how seeking the rights subjects takes observation; the process reveals what the naked eye missed; and that informs the next subject. Says Gillian: “Noticing, I have found, is never complete.”

From Kate, who shared a wonderful story about a conversation with a stranger. Stay tuned for more on that subject, Kate! (And if you’re out there, send me the email address you use for TAoN, consumed@robwalker.net.)

And from our friend Judi K, an assortment of typically fun surprises! We’ll make through, Judi!

Leave a comment

OKAY THAT’S IT!

• As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.

• —> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.

Share The Art of Noticing

And thanks for reading …

rw

RobWalker.net

All this by Rob Walker, except as noted.

PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032.

—> Send me mail! I’ll give a three-month free trial to the Supporter version of TAoN to any current free subscriber who snail-mails me a request (include your email address).

To unsubscribe see the bottom of the email, or go here.

Today’s post is part of a series. Every year I teach a five-week class on “point of view,” for the School of Visual Arts’ Products of Design program. For Supporters, I’m reprinting a series of posts about the class — the assignments, the thinking behind the class, how it shaped and has since been shaped by TAoN, and other fun behind-the-scenes stuff. The first installment is here, the second is here.

Previously I’ve described how I try to prod students to think on and start to articulate what their work is about through a set of preliminary exercises, followed by writing a full-on personal manifesto. The first year I taught my Point of View class at the School of Visual Arts, that’s where the exercise ended — there was some work put into refining the written manifesto, but that was it.

But the second year I changed things up and added a new step. It was inspired, if I recall correctly, by the last line of the Elements of a Manifesto post that I mentioned last time: a good manifesto, in short, should be “poster-like.”

Given that these are design students, why not have them translate their manifesto ideas into an actual poster design?

For example, here’s a design manifesto in “poster-like” form:

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