Only where there are graves are there resurrections: October of Zarathustra

Apparently wisdom is a woman and she likes to go fishing. She flexes when she goes fishing, too, because her fishing rod is made of gold, according to Zarathustra. Zarathustra loves Wisdom. Her eye. Her laugh. Her rod.

• Who doesn't love a woman that's into the great outdoors?
  

I wonder what kind of fish she fishes for. Apparently, in Germany you fish for pike and trout (I just googled it). That's intense. I don't know if Zarathustra knows what he's getting into? 

The big theme of the chapters I read today is loneliness. 

In fact, the third chapter I read, "The Dance Song," filled me with anxiety. Zarathustra is out with his boys and then he comes upon a group of young girls having a good time. When they see Zarathustra, though, they stop dead. My man is a buzzkill.

So he tells them to keep dancing. That he loves dancing. And I'm just reading like: "OK but did they start dancing again?" Because we all know that sometimes when someone says: "No, you go ahead! Have fun!" It becomes impossible to have fun.

It's like when you meet up with someone and you order a drink and they say: "Oh I'm not going to have one. But you go ahead." I know people think they are being nice when they say this, but it's not nice. Drinking alone is way, way worse than both people just getting soda! It's the worst. Don't do this unless you actually don't like the person that you are meeting up with. Tell them before they order! It's not hard!

Anyway, the girls did start dancing again, but they didn't dance with Zarathustra. He was a wallflower, singing on his own. And when they left he was sad. And I'm feeling kind of sad for Zarathustra.

So it's not a surprise that the next chapter is all about the death of his youth. I found myself wondering if Zarathustra thought he might not be so lonely if he had spent his youth differently. 

But his youth is gone.

On the Famous Wise Men

The trouble with having a following is audience capture. The people don't love Zarathustra, but that means Zarathustra is free (but also alone). 

The Night Song

If you pull back far enough, it's always nighttime for the sun. As bright as the sun is, it still lives in an infinite field of darkness. It's out there alone. It shines on others. Nothing shines back. Not really. That's how Zarathustra feels. 

The Dance Song

This is where Zarathustra tells us about his crush, Wisdom, noted angler. 

The Grave Song

His youth is dead! But he still lives. He is very frustrated. But his will remains. His will will keep pushing on, even if he's filled with regret.

One line

"What was holiest to me suffocated in the fumes of your fat."

• You didn't have to make it personal, okay? Listen I've been working on it. I've actually made progress, but I guess you didn't notice. Maybe you wouldn't be so lonely if you weren't so self-absorbed, Zarathustra? Did you ever think about that?

—Brady Dale
October 10, 2026