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Reading, detachment In an in-between time in which nothing begins or ends, in which blank patience takes the place of...
28th Aug 2025
1

Reading, detachment

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

28th Aug 2025
In an in-between time in which nothing begins or ends, in which blank patience takes the place of activity, I picked two books from my shelves stubbornly remote from utility, lacking the intimacy of possession, and a third in which I had never read a key section. The first was...
[RODEN] Summer Heatray Days Roden Readers — Hello from the swelterdome, the Cape O‘ Temperature Oppression, a.k.a. the Kanto...
1st Aug 2025
1

[RODEN] Summer Heatray Days

from Craig Mod — Writer + Photographer [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Aug 2025
Roden Readers — Hello from the swelterdome, the Cape O‘ Temperature Oppression, a.k.a. the Kanto area of Japan in July / August. It is so spectacularly, consistently hot that it’s hard to overstate just how bananas this heat is, how all consumingly present and manic it feels....
How will new countries attract (& keep) citizens? What tomorrow's city builders are learning about equity, loyalty, and community.
2nd Jun 2026
1

How will new countries attract (& keep) citizens?

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Jun 2026
What tomorrow's city builders are learning about equity, loyalty, and community.
Care doesn't scale Care Doesn’t Scale I met a social worker whose job was to look after four orphaned children. She’d...
24th Oct 2024
46

Care doesn't scale

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th Oct 2024
Care Doesn’t Scale I met a social worker whose job was to look after four orphaned children. She’d alternate with her coworkers spending 24 hours at a time living with the kids, effectively acting as their parent. The children, unsurprisingly, had a lot of trauma and so her job...
'Influential Works That Are Almost Never Read' John Ruskin would have a difficult time of it in what passes for literary culture today. First, he...
20th Jan 2025
27

'Influential Works That Are Almost Never Read'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

20th Jan 2025
John Ruskin would have a difficult time of it in what passes for literary culture today. First, he was phenomenally prolific, even by Victorian standards, and how many people would read all five volumes of Modern Painters or the idea-rich sprawl of Fors Clavigera? Second, Ruskin...
'A Book That Everybody Can Understand' A partner at the Houston law firm where my youngest son is working as an intern this summer has...
1st Aug 2025
32

'A Book That Everybody Can Understand'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Aug 2025
A partner at the Houston law firm where my youngest son is working as an intern this summer has loaned him two nineteenth-century law books. Both were compiled by John G. Wells (1821-80) and were bestsellers in their day, long before the practice of law was fully...
The Perfectionists (book) A great book that covers the ideas and people behind modern industry.
1st Aug 2024
23

The Perfectionists (book)

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Aug 2024
A great book that covers the ideas and people behind modern industry.
What I Read in May 2026 – “These stories appeal to my sense of humor as well as my taste for formal... NOT SHAKESPEARE Poems and a Defence of Ryme (1592-1605), Samuel Daniel – Author of the “Delia”...
4th Jun 2026
1
4th Jun 2026
NOT SHAKESPEARE Poems and a Defence of Ryme (1592-1605), Samuel Daniel – Author of the “Delia” sequence of fifty sonnets, a genuine sequence, with for example lines ending one poem and beginning the next.  For some reason Thomas Campion, a writer of the most beautiful songs,...
The TERRAFORM print pamphlet is now available—here's what we earned Plus, join our literary salon discussion this week!
4th Aug 2025
20

The TERRAFORM print pamphlet is now available—here's what we earned

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Aug 2025
Plus, join our literary salon discussion this week!
Have the Coffee Carve space out for opportunity. After speaking in Kuala Lumpur last week, people stayed to discuss...
9th Sep 2025
1

Have the Coffee

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

9th Sep 2025
Carve space out for opportunity. After speaking in Kuala Lumpur last week, people stayed to discuss the topics we’d covered, forming a small group. Building community was a weighty topic during the event, with myself, host Shaza Hakim, and many attendees speaking to it. In this...
What I Read in August 2026 – what he hopes to gain from all this knowledge Now and again, Geiser finds himself wondering what he really wants to know, what he hopes to gain...
2nd Sep 2026
1

What I Read in August 2026 – what he hopes to gain from all this knowledge

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Sep 2026
Now and again, Geiser finds himself wondering what he really wants to know, what he hopes to gain from all this knowledge.  (Man in the Holocene, Max Frisch, tr. Geoffrey Skelton, p. 90) An uncomfortable sentence there. A reminder that I will return to non-Shakespeare plays...
'Poor Naked Wretches, Whereso’er You Are' Aleksander Wat (1900-67) was a Polish poet and one-time Communist hounded and imprisoned by Nazis...
1st May 2025
21

'Poor Naked Wretches, Whereso’er You Are'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st May 2025
Aleksander Wat (1900-67) was a Polish poet and one-time Communist hounded and imprisoned by Nazis and Soviets alike. In 1964 while visiting California, he recorded lengthy conversations with fellow poet and Pole Czesław Miłosz. The transcripts were translated by Richard Lourie...
Training for climbing (progress update) I am at the end of my second iteration of climbing training, and this is how it went and what I...
3rd Jun 2013
27

Training for climbing (progress update)

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jun 2013
I am at the end of my second iteration of climbing training, and this is how it went and what I learned: I completed the workout twelve times, but I took a twelve-day break between workout eleven and twelve. I first skipped a workout because I had ripped skin open on one of my...
Exile on Silicon Valley The golden window of tech may have expired. In 2010, I came across a video of Mick Jagger being...
9th Oct 2026
2

Exile on Silicon Valley

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

9th Oct 2026
The golden window of tech may have expired. In 2010, I came across a video of Mick Jagger being interviewed (text version here). It was for a re-release of Exile on Main Street with 10 new tracks. During the interview he says this: But I have a take on that — people only made...
AI and Internet Hygiene we are going to have to re-learn how to use the computer
1st Oct 2024
1

AI and Internet Hygiene

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2024
we are going to have to re-learn how to use the computer
Habits, Milestones, and Climbing Since April 9th, I have spent exactly 70 minutes training for climbing. Prior to April 27th, I have...
1st May 2013
23

Habits, Milestones, and Climbing

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st May 2013
Since April 9th, I have spent exactly 70 minutes training for climbing. Prior to April 27th, I have climbed exactly seven times in the last five months. I just spent two days at the New River Gorge and exceeded my expectations, considering my almost half-year hiatus from regular...
✏️ Biblioteca Vasconselos In the Buenavista neighborhood resides this impressive library that spans 409,000 sq ft, designed by...
2nd Jan 2021
32

✏️ Biblioteca Vasconselos

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Jan 2021
In the Buenavista neighborhood resides this impressive library that spans 409,000 sq ft, designed by Mexican architects Alberto Kalach and Juan Palomar. Adored by those that appreciate architecture, and those looking for Instagram fodder, the space feels like you’re in the...
“The Fig Tree” by Ruth Stone Poems read aloud, beautifully The post “The Fig Tree” by Ruth Stone appeared first on The American...
1st Jul 2025
31

“The Fig Tree” by Ruth Stone

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jul 2025
Poems read aloud, beautifully The post “The Fig Tree” by Ruth Stone appeared first on The American Scholar.
The crisis of narration and the future of the novel, part two Byung-Chul Han says in The Crisis of Narration that modernity "is animated by a belief in progress"...
6th Nov 2025
1

The crisis of narration and the future of the novel, part two

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Nov 2025
Byung-Chul Han says in The Crisis of Narration that modernity "is animated by a belief in progress" and its narratives "radiate an aura because the future is a phenomenon of distance". This is evident in our reverence for the monuments of modernism, a reverence formed by wonder...
Easy Questions, Part 2: Delusional Desires in Fiction Easy Questions, Part 2: Delusional Desires in Fiction In Part 1, I examined a few common tropes in...
6th Jun 2024
27

Easy Questions, Part 2: Delusional Desires in Fiction

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Jun 2024
Easy Questions, Part 2: Delusional Desires in Fiction In Part 1, I examined a few common tropes in stories and suggested that some stories might explore certain questions not because those questions are interesting, but because engaging with those questions allows the story to...
On Rdio Rdio comes out of beta, and what a glorious service it is. Music is a huge part of many people’s...
8th Jun 2010
1

On Rdio

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Jun 2010
Rdio comes out of beta, and what a glorious service it is. Music is a huge part of many people’s lives. It seems odd that music is essentially sounds and noises put together to form something that transcends its individual parts. Music, even in its simplest form is a whole, made...
Sara Huddleston on the Latino Vote in Iowa Last week I spoke with Sara Huddleston, candidate for Iowa state house in district 11 (Storm Lake)....
8th Aug 2020
18

Sara Huddleston on the Latino Vote in Iowa

from Idle Words [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Aug 2020
Last week I spoke with Sara Huddleston, candidate for Iowa state house in district 11 (Storm Lake). A longtime community organizer and three-term city council member, she was the first Latina elected to a city council in the state of Iowa, and would be the first Latina to serve...
Ribbonfarm is Retiring After several years of keeping it going in semi-retired, keep-the-lights-on (KTLO) mode, I’ve...
11th Oct 2024
46

Ribbonfarm is Retiring

from ribbonfarm [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Oct 2024
After several years of keeping it going in semi-retired, keep-the-lights-on (KTLO) mode, I’ve decided to officially fully retire this blog. The ribbonfarm.com domain and all links will remain active, but there will be no new content after November 13th, 2024, which happens to be...
'So a Fool Returneth to His Folly' Grownups seldom credit children with insight into human psychology, thus treating them as smaller,...
1st Apr 2025
46

'So a Fool Returneth to His Folly'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2025
Grownups seldom credit children with insight into human psychology, thus treating them as smaller, more annoying versions of themselves. My father had an acquaintance even he knew was a fool. By admitting such knowledge, he was violating adult solidarity. His friend's customary...
‘The Power Broker’ Is Finally Getting a Digital Edition. What Took So Long? Caro’s mammoth study of the urban planner Robert Moses is coming out as an e-book on the 50th...
25th Mar 2025
26
25th Mar 2025
Caro’s mammoth study of the urban planner Robert Moses is coming out as an e-book on the 50th anniversary of the biography’s publication.
✏️ Pound, rub, pound It’s something like midnight. A four-and-a-half-pound senior Chihuahua is tucked into her blanket...
21st Nov 2021
19

✏️ Pound, rub, pound

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

21st Nov 2021
It’s something like midnight. A four-and-a-half-pound senior Chihuahua is tucked into her blanket and snuggled up next to my left rib cage inside my sleeping bag. Jen is asleep beside us. It’s 35°F. We have myriad layers happening: Jen wears a down jacket inside her sleeping bag...
No safe landing A review of A Winter in Zürau and Partita by Gabriel Josipovici   Gabriel Josipovici has said that...
5th Oct 2024
1

No safe landing

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Oct 2024
A review of A Winter in Zürau and Partita by Gabriel Josipovici   Gabriel Josipovici has said that as a critic he is conservative but as a novelist he is radical. The second claim may not be controversial but the first will come as a surprise to those who remember what he said...
Medina de Rioseco The post Medina de Rioseco appeared first on The American Scholar.
1st Jul 2026
1

Medina de Rioseco

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jul 2026
The post Medina de Rioseco appeared first on The American Scholar.
The Feather Detective: How Roxie Laybourne Pioneered Forensic Ornithology You wouldn’t know it, looking at the tiny elderly woman in the white lab coat bent over a table in a...
1st Oct 2025
21

The Feather Detective: How Roxie Laybourne Pioneered Forensic Ornithology

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2025
You wouldn’t know it, looking at the tiny elderly woman in the white lab coat bent over a table in a halogen-lit government office, you wouldn’t know she had spent her youth doing science with her whole body: extracting herself from a deadly mudflat with stubbornness and applied...
What I Read in July 2026 – Some links found verbal form, others remained mere promises, mist, soft... Soon I will put up a fall schedule for my plunge back into non-Shakespearian plays, from say 1604 to...
14th Aug 2026
2
14th Aug 2026
Soon I will put up a fall schedule for my plunge back into non-Shakespearian plays, from say 1604 to 1614, an exciting stretch.  Middleton, Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher will dominate.   SHAKESPEAREAN The Adventures of Lady Egeria (1585), W. C. – Half tedious, half confounding,...
'But to Divert a Fierce Banditti' The English poet William Cowper (1731-1800) suffered his first attack of mental illness – today we...
1st Dec 2025
1

'But to Divert a Fierce Banditti'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Dec 2025
The English poet William Cowper (1731-1800) suffered his first attack of mental illness – today we would likely call it profound depression – at age thirty-two. Before then, while studying law in the Temple, Cowper dined every Thursday with friends at the Nonsense Club. He and a...
The Souls of Animals “They do not sweat and whine about their condition,” Walt Whitman wrote of the other animals, “they...
1st Mar 2025
60

The Souls of Animals

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Mar 2025
“They do not sweat and whine about their condition,” Walt Whitman wrote of the other animals, “they do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, they do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning...
1st Mar 2022
Consciousness, Artificial Intelligence, and Our Search for Meaning: Oliver Sacks on ChatGPT, 30... "We are not incoherent, a bundle of sensations, but a self, rising from experience, continually...
2nd May 2023
86
2nd May 2023
"We are not incoherent, a bundle of sensations, but a self, rising from experience, continually growing and revised... Through experience, education, art, and life, we teach our brains to become unique. We learn to be individuals. This is a neurological learning as well as a...
1st Apr 2025
Writing while walking We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books.
2nd Sep 2024
90

Writing while walking

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Sep 2024
We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books.
Protests and Power In August 2020, the New York Times asked me to write an op-ed for a special feature on...
4th Oct 2020
19

Protests and Power

from Idle Words [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Oct 2020
In August 2020, the New York Times asked me to write an op-ed for a special feature on authoritarianism and democracy. They declined to publish my submission, which I am sharing here instead. When the George Floyd protests began to spread nationally in the summer of 2020, I...
Love and the Sacred "I did not know what love was until I encountered one that kept opening and opening and opening."
3rd Jan 2024
89

Love and the Sacred

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jan 2024
"I did not know what love was until I encountered one that kept opening and opening and opening."
3rd Oct 2024
108

Yes, Taylor Swift is just as genius as Mary Shelley

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Oct 2024
The video from our live event.
Marlowe's restless Doctor Faustus - I’ll burn my books! In Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus the great scholar sells his soul to the devil in exchange...
8th Dec 2025
1

Marlowe's restless Doctor Faustus - I’ll burn my books!

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Dec 2025
In Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus the great scholar sells his soul to the devil in exchange for twenty-four years of power and knowledge.  After learning and doing everything he wants he spends Acts III and IV playing an increasingly stupid series of pranks on anyone and...
Emerson on the Singular Enchantment of Indian Summer (and a Better Term for This Liminal Season... "There are days... wherein the world reaches its perfection, when the air, the heavenly bodies, and...
1st Nov 2024
53
1st Nov 2024
"There are days... wherein the world reaches its perfection, when the air, the heavenly bodies, and the earth, make a harmony."
Pry Tips and Tricks the following is cross-posted from development.wombatsecurity.com. I wrote about some handy extra...
7th May 2018
20

Pry Tips and Tricks

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th May 2018
the following is cross-posted from development.wombatsecurity.com. I wrote about some handy extra features I’ve found using Pry much of my day. I joined the Wombat team a few months ago, and have been working on the threatsim product. We had a bit of a bug backlog, and myself and...
✏️ This Is What We Have To Lose Yesterday felt defeating with the damning report that our climate has indeed moved unfortunately...
10th Aug 2021
19

✏️ This Is What We Have To Lose

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

10th Aug 2021
Yesterday felt defeating with the damning report that our climate has indeed moved unfortunately forward into severity and decline. It’s too late for some aspects but not too late to avoid some of the worst aspects. The fires, the smoke, and the record-high temperatures that...
Book Review - The Surrender Experiment With the book The Surrender Experiment, author Michael (Mickey) Singer, gives us a gift. In this...
6th Apr 2020
39

Book Review - The Surrender Experiment

from Blog - Anchorpointexpeditions.com [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Apr 2020
With the book The Surrender Experiment, author Michael (Mickey) Singer, gives us a gift. In this eloquently penned biography of his “journey into life’s perfection”, he demonstrates the beauty that life can provide for us when we are not solely guided by our logical,...
1st Sep 2026
On Leaving Evangelicalism And Opposing It Content warning & summary This paper talks about ethics, ethical behavior, violence, abuse,...
18th May 2023
23

On Leaving Evangelicalism And Opposing It

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th May 2023
Content warning & summary This paper talks about ethics, ethical behavior, violence, abuse, complicency, domination and oppression. It’s a condimnation of evangelicalism, but not, necessarily, any particular evangelical. There are those within evangelicalism who are ethical,...
🔗 Rick Rubin on Listening If it’s music you’re listening to, consider closing your eyes. You may find yourself getting lost in...
15th Jul 2024
53

🔗 Rick Rubin on Listening

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

15th Jul 2024
If it’s music you’re listening to, consider closing your eyes. You may find yourself getting lost in the experience. When the piece ends, you might be surprised by where you find yourself. You’ve been transported to another place. The place where the music lives. — Rick...
Every country ranked from best to worst A report card for the whole world.
2nd Sep 2025
37

Every country ranked from best to worst

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Sep 2025
A report card for the whole world.
Metanational corporations are redesigning the world map Parag Khanna on metanational corporations and how they are opening borders, reshaping geopolitics,...
2nd Feb 2025
58

Metanational corporations are redesigning the world map

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Feb 2025
Parag Khanna on metanational corporations and how they are opening borders, reshaping geopolitics, and creating a world of interconnected city-states.
A list of books and essays that I love I’m purposefully not looking at my bookshelf to make sure I only pick books that I’ve thought about...
4th Nov 2025
11

A list of books and essays that I love

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Nov 2025
I’m purposefully not looking at my bookshelf to make sure I only pick books that I’ve thought about so much that they immediately occur to me.
ludic capitalism helmut jahn and the childhood postmodern imaginary
16th Aug 2024
1

ludic capitalism

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Aug 2024
helmut jahn and the childhood postmodern imaginary
Dawn of the Brain-Dead Carl Elliott on the ethical implications of going beyond organ transplantation The post Dawn of the...
2nd Oct 2026
1

Dawn of the Brain-Dead

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Oct 2026
Carl Elliott on the ethical implications of going beyond organ transplantation The post Dawn of the Brain-Dead appeared first on The American Scholar.
✏️ Follow vs. Block In the beginning, you followed someone to see their content in your feed. Now, you block someone to...
2nd Jan 2024
20

✏️ Follow vs. Block

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Jan 2024
In the beginning, you followed someone to see their content in your feed. Now, you block someone to remove them from your feed. That’s the price of an endless algorithmic feed designed to keep you in-app or on-platform, entertained, and eventually (if not already) monetized. A...
Artist The post Artist appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
21st Jan 2026
1

Artist

from The Perry Bible Fellowship [alt+shift+b] in literature

21st Jan 2026
The post Artist appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
Let Me Fix [some of] Your Parking Problems Hi there! I’m Josh, and I’m your local neighborhood advocate for overlooked spaces. Today, we’ll be...
14th Jul 2023
23

Let Me Fix [some of] Your Parking Problems

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Jul 2023
Hi there! I’m Josh, and I’m your local neighborhood advocate for overlooked spaces. Today, we’ll be focusing on parking lots. Your parking lot has a job to do, and every day, every night, rain or shine, hot or cold, clear, rainy, or snowy, your parking lot does the best it can at...
How to complete a project Most of us have goals. And we usually don’t reach any of them. The Minimum Viable Product “concept”...
1st Jan 2014
18

How to complete a project

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jan 2014
Most of us have goals. And we usually don’t reach any of them. The Minimum Viable Product “concept” has helped me with some goals, and it could be helpful to you. It’s a simple concept: When starting something new, figure out what the minimum investment would get you the...
I Once Worked Hard When I began working at my first job out of college, I knew I didn’t want to spend my whole career...
12th Apr 2013
23

I Once Worked Hard

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Apr 2013
When I began working at my first job out of college, I knew I didn’t want to spend my whole career there. I was a college graduate (that means something, right?) working at a climbing gym, part time, teaching seven-year-olds how to climb at about $10 an hour. I had no idea what I...
Building FirstMover I had one month to find a place to live in Manhattan. I reached out to friends for tips, and nearly...
14th Sep 2024
29

Building FirstMover

from ben-mini [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Sep 2024
I had one month to find a place to live in Manhattan. I reached out to friends for tips, and nearly all of them pointed me to StreetEasy, the Zillow-owned NYC real estate search platform. Some of my more Type-A friends gave me extra helpful advice: Narrow your search to 2-4...
Socratic dialogue with kids I’m simply trying to understand how she thinks. When she answers in a way that does not match my...
7th Dec 2023
42

Socratic dialogue with kids

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Dec 2023
I’m simply trying to understand how she thinks. When she answers in a way that does not match my understanding—that is interesting to me.
How I take notes, AKA 'Add an Index to Your Notebook' A while back, sometime in 2017, I wrote this tweet: a while ago, I read about how to keep...
4th Sep 2019
33

How I take notes, AKA 'Add an Index to Your Notebook'

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Sep 2019
A while back, sometime in 2017, I wrote this tweet: a while ago, I read about how to keep well-organized notes on a range of topics. Here's my current notebook, indexed by category: pic.twitter.com/aVsNnGPEpd — Josh Thompson (@josh_works) May 8, 2017 Since then, I occasionally...
Incentives as selection effects When you apply a new incentive, you select for a new population that prefers the incentive.
11th Jun 2024
24

Incentives as selection effects

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Jun 2024
When you apply a new incentive, you select for a new population that prefers the incentive.
2nd Jun 2026
1

Open Thread 436

from Astral Codex Ten [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Jun 2026
...
Why schedule something that doesn't exist? The first thing I did when making this post is I set it to be published tomorrow. Then, I left the...
5th May 2016
22

Why schedule something that doesn't exist?

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th May 2016
The first thing I did when making this post is I set it to be published tomorrow. Then, I left the room for a bit. I didn’t have anything to say. Or, I didn’t think I did. Yet, all over my computer, and in various list trackers and note-taking apps, I’ve got dozens of ideas to...
the hairshirt doldrums on having a brain injury
6th Mar 2025
1

the hairshirt doldrums

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Mar 2025
on having a brain injury
✏️ The Amasa 25K, My First Trail Race Two years ago, I broke my elbow. A year ago, I put cycling on hold due to discomfort on the bike and...
29th May 2024
22

✏️ The Amasa 25K, My First Trail Race

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

29th May 2024
Two years ago, I broke my elbow. A year ago, I put cycling on hold due to discomfort on the bike and soon after started running as a cardio and endurance-based complement to my longstanding passion for rock climbing. Trail running and ultras have captured my attention in recent...
On Learning As a student at Turing, I’ve recently been thinking about learning how to learn, specifically in the...
5th Jun 2017
20

On Learning

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Jun 2017
As a student at Turing, I’ve recently been thinking about learning how to learn, specifically in the context of software development. I am a bit hyperactive when it comes to trying to learn new things. Over the years, I’ve done plenty of ineffective learning, and at least a...
✏️ Notes at 46 Thoughts, observations, and new ways of approaching life that have been percolating since my last...
8th Apr 2024
18

✏️ Notes at 46

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Apr 2024
Thoughts, observations, and new ways of approaching life that have been percolating since my last birthday: Owning a personal digital space is more important than ever before. Having come to the internet during a time when all it was were personal fan sites and journals, and the...
From the Labor Camp to the Pantheon of Literature: How Dostoyevsky Became a Writer "I have nothing, except for certain, and perhaps very minor, literary abilities."
1st Sep 2024
86
1st Sep 2024
"I have nothing, except for certain, and perhaps very minor, literary abilities."
30th Nov 2024
39 Books: 2015 In the Spring of 1997, I visited a friend in Kassel, a city in the middle of Germany, home of the...
24th May 2024
1

39 Books: 2015

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th May 2024
In the Spring of 1997, I visited a friend in Kassel, a city in the middle of Germany, home of the Brothers Grimm and Franz Rosenzweig, and not very far from Weimar, hence the visit to the Goethehaus mentioned in the entry for 1989. I hadn't heard of it before and nor had my...
The Universe in Verse Book "We need science to help us meet reality on its own terms, and we need poetry to help us broaden and...
1st May 2024
52

The Universe in Verse Book

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st May 2024
"We need science to help us meet reality on its own terms, and we need poetry to help us broaden and deepen the terms on which we meet ourselves and each other. At the crossing point of the two we may find a way of clarifying our experience and of sanctifying it."
MacKenzie Scott should have gotten Kindle in the divorce But she can still build the e-book future we’ve been waiting for. Here's an open letter to the...
1st Oct 2026
1

MacKenzie Scott should have gotten Kindle in the divorce

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2026
But she can still build the e-book future we’ve been waiting for. Here's an open letter to the author.
Climbing in Cuba, 2019 A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go climbing in Cuba. Mark and Dave, walking back from...
12th Apr 2019
18

Climbing in Cuba, 2019

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Apr 2019
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go climbing in Cuba. Mark and Dave, walking back from climbing outside Viñales Locals crag, called “The roof of the world”. Stunning routes. because it was so hot, we spent a lot of time in this cave. Kristi and I tend to stick...
The Story of Mumbet Who was the enslaved woman whose burial site at a Berkshires cemetery draws so much reverence and...
2nd Mar 2026
1

The Story of Mumbet

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Mar 2026
Who was the enslaved woman whose burial site at a Berkshires cemetery draws so much reverence and respect? The post The Story of Mumbet appeared first on The American Scholar.
We’ve raised $50,000—now I’m writing a book! My vision for the future of capitalism has been greenlit. Now let’s make it a reality.
5th May 2025
37

We’ve raised $50,000—now I’m writing a book!

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th May 2025
My vision for the future of capitalism has been greenlit. Now let’s make it a reality.
Intellectual Menopause I ran across the alarming phrase intellectual menopause a few months ago in John Gall’s...
16th Aug 2024
38

Intellectual Menopause

from ribbonfarm [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Aug 2024
I ran across the alarming phrase intellectual menopause a few months ago in John Gall’s Systemantics, and it naturally stuck in my brain given I’m pushing 50 and getting predictably angsty about it. The phrase conjures up visions of a phenomenon much more profound and unfunny...
Blood Knowledge by Kirsty Gunn "A novel is a kind of lazy way of writing a short story, a short story a lazy way of writing a poem"...
29th Nov 2024
1

Blood Knowledge by Kirsty Gunn

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

29th Nov 2024
"A novel is a kind of lazy way of writing a short story, a short story a lazy way of writing a poem" said Muriel Spark, adding by explanation: "The longer they become, the more they seem to lose value". We might wonder then if the most value is to be found in the shortest novels,...
Book Review - Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant In the book Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant, author Roland Lazenby meticulously shares the...
29th Mar 2020
33

Book Review - Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant

from Blog - Anchorpointexpeditions.com [alt+shift+b] in literature

29th Mar 2020
In the book Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant, author Roland Lazenby meticulously shares the journey of Kobe Bryant, from ancestral influences up through his final game in the NBA. He is a clear fan of Kobe’s inarguable work ethic, but he allows readers to reinforce their...
Playing with the HTTP send/response cycle in Ruby, without Faraday ("HTTP Yeah You Know Me" project) As part of the HTTP Server project. First, I’m working through Practicing Ruby’s “Implementing an...
7th Apr 2017
35
7th Apr 2017
As part of the HTTP Server project. First, I’m working through Practicing Ruby’s “Implementing an HTTP File Server” for general practice and understanding. I’m going to use Postman to capture traffic and try to replicate some of the things the guides reference. Lastly, I just...
Interfaces for logical migrations This post explains how you can use interfaces to make data model and database migrations easier.
4th Aug 2023
23

Interfaces for logical migrations

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Aug 2023
This post explains how you can use interfaces to make data model and database migrations easier.
✏️ Road to Mesa Good morning, light. I awoke early this morning, perched on a mesa cliff-side, surrounded by low...
18th Jul 2022
21

✏️ Road to Mesa

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Jul 2022
Good morning, light. I awoke early this morning, perched on a mesa cliff-side, surrounded by low foliage, cow patties galore, and a few skeletons and carcasses of younger cattle that couldn’t survive the path of migration that was next to our camp. Everyone else was still mildly...
How to avoid breaking APIs The main trick is to design them with extension in mind so that you won't have to break them later.
16th Mar 2023
27

How to avoid breaking APIs

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Mar 2023
The main trick is to design them with extension in mind so that you won't have to break them later.
How to Be a Lichen: Adaptive Strategies for the Vulnerabilities of Being Human from Nature’s Tiny... The hero of the modern myth is the victim, the emblem of the modern self the pronoun. We seem to...
2nd Nov 2025
11
2nd Nov 2025
The hero of the modern myth is the victim, the emblem of the modern self the pronoun. We seem to have forgotten that we are survivors of innumerable spasms of space and time, creatures who never would have given up the gills for lungs if we attached identity to gillness. Not so...
Big Fish The post Big Fish appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
3rd Jul 2026
1

Big Fish

from The Perry Bible Fellowship [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jul 2026
The post Big Fish appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
Mondragon as the new City-State This cooperative could be its own country.
3rd Sep 2024
92

Mondragon as the new City-State

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Sep 2024
This cooperative could be its own country.
If we fix the phone, we fix society Here's how I would redesign it.
22nd Sep 2026
3

If we fix the phone, we fix society

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

22nd Sep 2026
Here's how I would redesign it.
fear of breakdown a psychopolitical theory
11th May 2026
2

fear of breakdown

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th May 2026
a psychopolitical theory
The Shape of a Mars Mission This post is the second in a series. Read part one here. p {line-height:1.6em; } p.caption {...
20th Feb 2025
54

The Shape of a Mars Mission

from Idle Words [alt+shift+b] in literature

20th Feb 2025
This post is the second in a series. Read part one here. p {line-height:1.6em; } p.caption { margin-top:0px;padding-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;text-align:center;} a.fnote {text-decoration:none;color:red} img {margin-bottom:0px;} “From a mathematics and trajectory...
The One Hundred Milliseconds Between the World and You: Oliver Sacks on Perception “If the doors of perception were cleansed,” William Blake wrote, “everything would appear to man as...
2nd Jun 2025
30
2nd Jun 2025
“If the doors of perception were cleansed,” William Blake wrote, “everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” But we are finite creatures, in time and in space, and there is a limit to how much reality we can bear — evolution gave us consciousness so that we may sieve the...
'The Circle Is Complete' Perhaps it’s age but I find growing satisfaction in resolution. I like stories that conclude...
a week ago
1

'The Circle Is Complete'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

a week ago
Perhaps it’s age but I find growing satisfaction in resolution. I like stories that conclude satisfyingly, often ending where they started, with the distance covered in between being the important part. I feel the same way about most music. You can keep the dissonance, chords...
Risk-takers decide faster Unsurprising connection between risk and speed.
5th Nov 2024
44

Risk-takers decide faster

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Nov 2024
Unsurprising connection between risk and speed.
Playing Pranks My wife played a brilliant prank on me today, as she does every year. Here’s a partial...
1st Apr 2014
22

Playing Pranks

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2014
My wife played a brilliant prank on me today, as she does every year. Here’s a partial list: Convincing me that I was about to eat a slice of carrot cake; it was a sponge covered with toothpaste. I bit into it. Convincing me that she had, in anger and frustration, cut off almost...
The secondary market in gift cards This post by patio11 covers a few things that I learned working with gift cards over the years.
13th Dec 2021
22

The secondary market in gift cards

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

13th Dec 2021
This post by patio11 covers a few things that I learned working with gift cards over the years.
On Money (again) Recently I posted thoughts about money I’d written from back in 2013.  Money is hard to write about,...
18th Feb 2016
21

On Money (again)

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Feb 2016
Recently I posted thoughts about money I’d written from back in 2013.  Money is hard to write about, because there are many different ways we can approach it. It’s easy to feel judged when someone does something with their money that I don’t do with mine. That all said, there...
What I Read in July 2025 - books are quiet and unobtrusive, and do not try to hustle the reader In general, however, he [Louis XVI] preferred writing down his thoughts instead of uttering them by...
8th Aug 2025
1
8th Aug 2025
In general, however, he [Louis XVI] preferred writing down his thoughts instead of uttering them by word of mouth; and he was fond of reading, for books are quiet and unobtrusive, and do not try to hustle the reader. (Stefan Zweig, Marie Antoinette, 1932, p. 77 of the 1933...
Bangalore Meetup Report Did a ribbonfarm meetup in Bangalore last night, the first ever in India. Thanks to Abhishek Agarwal...
6th Jun 2024
27

Bangalore Meetup Report

from ribbonfarm [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Jun 2024
Did a ribbonfarm meetup in Bangalore last night, the first ever in India. Thanks to Abhishek Agarwal for organizing. I think this is the first meetup I’ve done since the last Refactor Camp in 2019. It was kinda last minute, which is why I only posted on Substack rather than here...
Anarchy (or, less provocatively, Mutuality and Co-Creation) In 2017, I read The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the...
3rd May 2024
22

Anarchy (or, less provocatively, Mutuality and Co-Creation)

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd May 2024
In 2017, I read The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey; everything and nothing changed. Lots changed because all of I sudden, I could clearly label a dynamic that had always irked me. I could see that some people would avoid...
An essay in which my friend feels stuck and I suggest relaxing some constraints The short version is that my friend, in my opinion, thinks about what he wants in a too constrained...
5th Mar 2025
52

An essay in which my friend feels stuck and I suggest relaxing some constraints

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Mar 2025
The short version is that my friend, in my opinion, thinks about what he wants in a too constrained way.
What I Read in December 2025 – We ain’t gonna eat that. I am not so interested in writing a longer summary of my year in reading, so I will put that...
12th Jan 2026
1

What I Read in December 2025 – We ain’t gonna eat that.

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Jan 2026
I am not so interested in writing a longer summary of my year in reading, so I will put that here.  Finishing the massive The Story of the Stone and reading the monstrous Finnegans Wake (here, continuing, ending) were solid accomplishments in reading, if there are such things. ...
'Superintending What He Cannot Regulate' In my family we can’t get away from the “Y” chromosome. Having children is known as “going to the...
1st Jul 2025
29

'Superintending What He Cannot Regulate'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jul 2025
In my family we can’t get away from the “Y” chromosome. Having children is known as “going to the Y.” I have three sons, no daughters, and my brother, who died last summer, was my sole sibling. My mother had five brothers, no sisters. My father, two brothers, no sisters, etc....
Welcome to Anchor Point Blog I am starting this blog for one primary reason: my belief that self-discovery does not have to be...
17th Nov 2019
22

Welcome to Anchor Point Blog

from Blog - Anchorpointexpeditions.com [alt+shift+b] in literature

17th Nov 2019
I am starting this blog for one primary reason: my belief that self-discovery does not have to be a solo journey. Through this blog men can connect to resources that will help to enhance their personal development. Many of these resources have deeply impacted my growth, and...
1st May 2022
Take a part of the world that you love and give it your care Edward Weston, Armco Steel, Ohio, 1922
1st Apr 2025
44

Take a part of the world that you love and give it your care

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2025
Edward Weston, Armco Steel, Ohio, 1922
Quality, Maintenance & Craft We are shokunin. Last week I was in Ojai, California, for True’s Founder Camp.[1] James Freeman,...
12th Mar 2025
57

Quality, Maintenance & Craft

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Mar 2025
We are shokunin. Last week I was in Ojai, California, for True’s Founder Camp.[1] James Freeman, founder of Blue Bottle Coffee was in conversation with Jeff Veen, and one of the attendees asked him: “How do you maintain such high quality?” Freeman answers, “‘Maintaining’ is a...
Limitations of My Own Thinking I sometimes make recommendations, or at least recount a story that has “actionable insights”....
5th Nov 2015
21

Limitations of My Own Thinking

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Nov 2015
I sometimes make recommendations, or at least recount a story that has “actionable insights”. Anytime this happens, I start tripping over myself with warnings and qualifying statements. Here’s what would happen: I would make a recommendation (“start a side project to help get a...
How to: friction logs Friction logs are a technique to improve your own products and understand others. You use the...
12th Dec 2023
30

How to: friction logs

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Dec 2023
Friction logs are a technique to improve your own products and understand others. You use the produdct the way a real user would and write down every single moment you experience some form of negative emotion.
5th Oct 2025
De la décadence technologique et des luddites technophiles De la décadence technologique et des luddites technophiles La valeur de texte brut Thierry s’essaie...
6th Feb 2025
44

De la décadence technologique et des luddites technophiles

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Feb 2025
De la décadence technologique et des luddites technophiles La valeur de texte brut Thierry s’essaie à publier son blog sur le réseau Gemini, mais a du mal avec le format minimaliste. Qui est justement pour moi la meilleure partie du protocole Gemini. La low-tech peut-elle...
“A Bed for Your Voice to Sleep In” The post “A Bed for Your Voice to Sleep In” appeared first on The American Scholar.
3rd Aug 2026
1

“A Bed for Your Voice to Sleep In”

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Aug 2026
The post “A Bed for Your Voice to Sleep In” appeared first on The American Scholar.
Waking Up Early, Part 3 I’ve written about my attempts to wake up early before. Most recently, I promised to take a sleep...
2nd Aug 2013
25

Waking Up Early, Part 3

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Aug 2013
I’ve written about my attempts to wake up early before. Most recently, I promised to take a sleep log, to track trends. Fortunately, I did not intend to try to wake up early, because I didn’t. Here’s what I learned in the last three weeks: Benadryl messes with your ability to...
Demonstration Junction Repair on Downing in Denver I was out and about by scooter a recent warm january saturday evening. Earlier in the week a few...
9th Dec 2025
1

Demonstration Junction Repair on Downing in Denver

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

9th Dec 2025
I was out and about by scooter a recent warm january saturday evening. Earlier in the week a few companies had been operating drilling equipment in the area. I’m not sure what they were doing, but they were scattered all about the neighborhood. The work was done, but traffic...
An Open Letter about Golden 2022-06-15 Update I wrote this document the first time in a very small number of minutes, three...
24th May 2022
19

An Open Letter about Golden

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th May 2022
2022-06-15 Update I wrote this document the first time in a very small number of minutes, three weeks ago, on my way out the door on a particularly busy day. I follow “write it now”. I’ve gotten to discuss this letter with a few different people, because I mentioned it in email....
✏️ I Don't Have Facebook I don’t have an account with the big blue F. It’s 2015. The social network is almost 11 years old....
15th Jan 2015
19

✏️ I Don't Have Facebook

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

15th Jan 2015
I don’t have an account with the big blue F. It’s 2015. The social network is almost 11 years old. It’s remarkable — over a decade in existence and, mostly, still going strong. I read about it a lot. I have friends who work there. I have been recruited and asked by the same...
The Power Broker, Chapter 30: Robert Moses and Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri Note from Josh: The following is an excerpt of chapter 34 of the Power Broker, called “Moses and the...
5th Aug 2023
24

The Power Broker, Chapter 30: Robert Moses and Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Aug 2023
Note from Josh: The following is an excerpt of chapter 34 of the Power Broker, called “Moses and the Mayors”. The chapter is about Moses’ relationship with all of the mayors of NYC that overlapped with Moses’ “rule” over NYC. This excerpt covers just one of the mayors’ overlap...
On agency Or, how to handle being sentenced to freedom, and handle it effectively, and authentically, and...
7th Jul 2025
47

On agency

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Jul 2025
Or, how to handle being sentenced to freedom, and handle it effectively, and authentically, and responsibly
What comes after the nation-state? And how can we build safety nets without borders?
21st May 2026
1

What comes after the nation-state?

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

21st May 2026
And how can we build safety nets without borders?
Sunday Scrawl #1: Learning Not to Know Sunday Scrawl #1: Learning Not to Know When my parents sat me down in the living room the night...
30th Nov 2025
2

Sunday Scrawl #1: Learning Not to Know

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

30th Nov 2025
Sunday Scrawl #1: Learning Not to Know When my parents sat me down in the living room the night before I was supposed to leave for college, I thought they were going to tell me they were getting a divorce. At the time, it was the most terrifying upheaval I could imagine. Instead,...
Love's Executioner (book) Countertransference applies to regular conversation.
1st Dec 2024
50

Love's Executioner (book)

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Dec 2024
Countertransference applies to regular conversation.
Million-Mile Tech Durability is the ultimate feature. I wrote in October last year that I wouldn’t upgrade my iPhone...
21st Oct 2025
1

Million-Mile Tech

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

21st Oct 2025
Durability is the ultimate feature. I wrote in October last year that I wouldn’t upgrade my iPhone 14 Pro. That’s also not quite true. I did upgrade my phone — with a new battery and leather case. This isn’t what people typically think of when they say they upgraded their phone....
the gallery of maladies on long covid, hypochondria, and the forums
6th Nov 2025
1

the gallery of maladies

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Nov 2025
on long covid, hypochondria, and the forums
George Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois - As Rhetoricke, yet workes not perswasion George Chapman’s Bussy D’Ambois (c. 1604, pub. 1607) is another play performed by one of London’s...
a week ago
1

George Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois - As Rhetoricke, yet workes not perswasion

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

a week ago
George Chapman’s Bussy D’Ambois (c. 1604, pub. 1607) is another play performed by one of London’s boys’ companies.  It is a bloody, crazy tragedy disguised as a history, a strange blend of the static Senecan and dynamic Elizabethan play.  Chapman’s verse is allusive and compact –...
Blink Twice to Quell a Quasar: Carl Sagan on Superstition Growing up in Bulgaria, in a city teeming in stray dogs and cars, I was deeply distressed by the...
4th Aug 2025
31

Blink Twice to Quell a Quasar: Carl Sagan on Superstition

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Aug 2025
Growing up in Bulgaria, in a city teeming in stray dogs and cars, I was deeply distressed by the sight of each dead animal in the streets between home and school — deaths I could not prevent and could not bear. To cope with the aching helplessness, I developed a private...
Let him kill a lion with a pestle, husband! - The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont Innovations in art to tend towards Mannerism.  As a form matures it turns on itself, as creators,...
3 weeks ago
1
3 weeks ago
Innovations in art to tend towards Mannerism.  As a form matures it turns on itself, as creators, and some portion of the audience, become more interested in the form itself.  So we get more art about art.  The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607) is young (age 22, 23) Francis...
Octavia Butler on Religion and the Spirituality of Symbiosis "On many levels, we wind up being strengthened by what we join, or what joins us, as well as by what...
2nd Nov 2023
35

Octavia Butler on Religion and the Spirituality of Symbiosis

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Nov 2023
"On many levels, we wind up being strengthened by what we join, or what joins us, as well as by what we combat."
31st May 2021
3rd Oct 2026
✏️ The Work Is Never Done I went for a run. I’ve been running consistently for over a year and a half now. It’s a panacea for...
7th Nov 2024
31

✏️ The Work Is Never Done

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Nov 2024
I went for a run. I’ve been running consistently for over a year and a half now. It’s a panacea for me. I run outside. I like to feel the cool wind on my skin, my pores open and sweating, the legs rhythmically turning over in pursuit of flow. In the beginning, I kept my head...
Book Notes: 'The Case Against Sugar' by Gary Taube In the last few weeks, I read The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes. I found it to be compelling...
12th Aug 2019
21

Book Notes: 'The Case Against Sugar' by Gary Taube

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Aug 2019
In the last few weeks, I read The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes. I found it to be compelling (more on that in a moment) and I want to be impacted by them. I want the daily decisions that I make to be subtly influenced by this author and these books. Related but in a different...
[RIDGELINE] Walking the Brooklyn Bridge Ridgeline subscribers — Thanks for all the “Yo!“s last week. It looks like transmissions from...
1st Jun 2026
1

[RIDGELINE] Walking the Brooklyn Bridge

from Craig Mod — Writer + Photographer [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jun 2026
Ridgeline subscribers — Thanks for all the “Yo!“s last week. It looks like transmissions from mailbot2k are getting through. (Let me know if you see any “rendering errors” in your email clients; I think we fixed the Proton Mail issues.) FYI, because the last issue of Roden ended...
'Those Little Cracklings of Mirth and Folly' Who is being described and who is doing the describing: “His prose is the model of the middle style;...
1st May 2026
1

'Those Little Cracklings of Mirth and Folly'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st May 2026
Who is being described and who is doing the describing: “His prose is the model of the middle style; on grave subjects not formal, on light occasions not grovelling; pure without scrupulosity, and exact without apparent elaboration; always equable, and always easy, without...
A ghost question: Is Beauty Good by Rosalind Belben This is the first paragraph of a review cut from the TLS in 1989. I was in my fourth year of reading...
2 weeks ago
1

A ghost question: Is Beauty Good by Rosalind Belben

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

2 weeks ago
This is the first paragraph of a review cut from the TLS in 1989. I was in my fourth year of reading novels and looking everywhere for ideas for what to read next, often keeping reviews that excited my interest. What set Gabriel Josipovici's reviews apart was the inclusion of the...
Mario Ayala Research while driving The post Mario Ayala appeared first on The American Scholar.
2nd Feb 2026
1

Mario Ayala

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Feb 2026
Research while driving The post Mario Ayala appeared first on The American Scholar.
On Fables: Finishing up Antifragile I’m cleaning up some notes I wanted to jot down over the last few weeks Nassim Taleb, in...
9th Jan 2016
21

On Fables: Finishing up Antifragile

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

9th Jan 2016
I’m cleaning up some notes I wanted to jot down over the last few weeks Nassim Taleb, in Antifragile, says: The great economist Ariel Rubinstein gets the green lumber fallacy - it requires a great deal of intellect and honesty to see things that way. Rubinstein refuses to...
Days are enormous + personal update and reading recommendations
1st Apr 2026
1

Days are enormous

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2026
+ personal update and reading recommendations
Natale Adgnot Country couture The post Natale Adgnot appeared first on The American Scholar.
3rd Nov 2025
12

Natale Adgnot

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Nov 2025
Country couture The post Natale Adgnot appeared first on The American Scholar.
✏️ Grandstand Grant This year: more people in photos. And more people in photos in landscapes. Cherish the times with...
19th May 2023
21

✏️ Grandstand Grant

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

19th May 2023
This year: more people in photos. And more people in photos in landscapes. Cherish the times with friends in special places. Here, Grant in Death Valley. Read on nazhamid.com or Reply via email
✏️ A Second Shot It sunk in. Both the needle and the fact that life had indeed changed. I turned to my left and...
13th May 2021
18

✏️ A Second Shot

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

13th May 2021
It sunk in. Both the needle and the fact that life had indeed changed. I turned to my left and looked at her. She, the same Black woman who had administered the first, and this time I tucked her name away into my memory, having forgotten it in the excitement and overwhelming...
39 Books: 2023 This is the 39th and final post of this series. As the introduction explains, I began seeking a...
1st Jun 2024
1

39 Books: 2023

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jun 2024
This is the 39th and final post of this series. As the introduction explains, I began seeking a return to the short-form of the early days of blogging. And it started off well, with each entry written in no time, sometimes stirring up the sediment of initial enchantment. As I got...
The world reveals itself to those who travel by foot Nothing was as scary as we thought, and everything was weirder and more friendly.
6th May 2026
1

The world reveals itself to those who travel by foot

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th May 2026
Nothing was as scary as we thought, and everything was weirder and more friendly.
Claude is kicking ChatGPT’s butt (in one thing) Back in high school, I remember receiving an email for a study guide from a friend. Instead of the...
15th Jul 2025
1

Claude is kicking ChatGPT’s butt (in one thing)

from ben-mini [alt+shift+b] in literature

15th Jul 2025
Back in high school, I remember receiving an email for a study guide from a friend. Instead of the PDF coming attached, it was a link to a site called Dropbox. Upon opening the file, you create an account. From there you’re introduced to a feature stack that went well beyond any...
People are too big to fit inside our heads Notes on relationships, conversation, Dostoevsky, and Bakhtin
2nd Jun 2026
2

People are too big to fit inside our heads

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Jun 2026
Notes on relationships, conversation, Dostoevsky, and Bakhtin
The Cosmogony of You We live in a state of perpetual dissociation from the almost unbearable wonder of being alive....
1st Dec 2024
64

The Cosmogony of You

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Dec 2024
We live in a state of perpetual dissociation from the almost unbearable wonder of being alive. Wonder is always an edge state, its edge so sharp it threatens to rupture the mundane and sever us from what we mistake for reality — the TV, the townhouse, the trauma narrative. If we...
✏️ Resilience By Design Every morning I read about a situation that pushes us further away from what we've come to know or...
17th Apr 2020
21

✏️ Resilience By Design

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

17th Apr 2020
Every morning I read about a situation that pushes us further away from what we've come to know or expect. With that comes the question of how our evolving reality affects product design, particularly for those who practice it. While some tech companies are seizing opportunities...
Change The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or something like that. Sometimes change is for...
30th Jun 2014
23

Change

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

30th Jun 2014
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or something like that. Sometimes change is for the better, and sometimes its for the worse. I don’t know if there’s always a difference. Recently, Kristi and I have seen lots of change; I’d say its for the better, but it’s not...
Movies I went out of my way to watch Introduction I’ve long liked to accrue certain lists of things I like within certain categories. to...
22nd Oct 2025
1

Movies I went out of my way to watch

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

22nd Oct 2025
Introduction I’ve long liked to accrue certain lists of things I like within certain categories. to list appreciable books invites a similar list for movies and movie-like things. It feels strange to list all of these movies like this, in some ways, especially the first two...
A Messy Mix The post A Messy Mix appeared first on The American Scholar.
1st May 2024
64

A Messy Mix

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st May 2024
The post A Messy Mix appeared first on The American Scholar.
Hackathon: Let's build a profit-sharing platform for writers Creatives and developers—join us this Friday!
1st Oct 2025
19

Hackathon: Let's build a profit-sharing platform for writers

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2025
Creatives and developers—join us this Friday!
✏️ Midlife Malaise The past few days have felt heavy. In a weird headspace, floating in the middle of space between a...
8th Jun 2023
19

✏️ Midlife Malaise

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Jun 2023
The past few days have felt heavy. In a weird headspace, floating in the middle of space between a destination or goal, or rather, a state I aspire to, but seeing a road ahead of which the length is unknown. It feels like a lot of things have been taken, removed, or no longer...
Real Wood AI makes particle board. As a child, woodworking was part of my school’s curriculum. One of our...
20th Apr 2026
1

Real Wood

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

20th Apr 2026
AI makes particle board. As a child, woodworking was part of my school’s curriculum. One of our projects was making a simple sailboat, with the kind of shape and blockiness of those wood toys you see for little kids. From a solid block, we chiseled out the center cavity where the...
Your visions for the next Renaissance From our May writing prompt.
1st Aug 2024
85

Your visions for the next Renaissance

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Aug 2024
From our May writing prompt.
Injury Impedes Improvement Kristi and I have been in Colorado for three months, I’ve been climbing regularly for two, I am back...
24th Sep 2014
19

Injury Impedes Improvement

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th Sep 2014
Kristi and I have been in Colorado for three months, I’ve been climbing regularly for two, I am back in shape and it feels good. I am tempted to throw myself into climbing again. To climb every day, or maybe every other day, and finish every session with training. But here’s the...
Everybody is the main character People are motivated and engaged with the work only if they feel in charge of their own destiny....
4th Apr 2023
27

Everybody is the main character

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Apr 2023
People are motivated and engaged with the work only if they feel in charge of their own destiny. Make it clear to them that they are!
Dizzying but Invisible Depth The following is from https://plus.google.com/+JeanBaptisteQueru/posts/dfydM2Cnepe, but Google+ is...
16th Jan 2021
26

Dizzying but Invisible Depth

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Jan 2021
The following is from https://plus.google.com/+JeanBaptisteQueru/posts/dfydM2Cnepe, but Google+ is shutdown, so it’s not easily sharable. I’m reposting here because this is such a useful post. Dizzying but invisible depth You just went to the Google home page. Simple, isn’t...
Rails Migration: When you can't add a uniqueness constraint because you already have duplicates I get to occasionally contribute to the Wombat Security dev blog. I wrote the following for...
28th Sep 2018
24
28th Sep 2018
I get to occasionally contribute to the Wombat Security dev blog. I wrote the following for development.wombatsecurity.com. This post has been updated to reflect some lessons learned while running this migration in production. Don’t leave a column without an index at any point in...
✏️ A Simple Sophistication The weather was beautiful today. A sunny 65 degrees or so. Fresh from a shower, I headed out during...
23rd Mar 2004
37

✏️ A Simple Sophistication

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

23rd Mar 2004
The weather was beautiful today. A sunny 65 degrees or so. Fresh from a shower, I headed out during the lunch hour on foot, camera in hand and took a lot of photos during my walk. It took me straight out to the lake, an 8 minute journey. I was surprised to see that they had made...
Fox and Bear: A Tender Modern Fable About Reversing the Anthropocene, Illustrated in Cut-Cardboard... An antidote to the civilizational compulsions that rob human nature of nature.
1st Jul 2023
55
1st Jul 2023
An antidote to the civilizational compulsions that rob human nature of nature.
[RIDGELINE] Happy New Year With a Side of Fries Ridgeline subscribers — Hello from Denny’s. Happy new year. You can tell it’s January first, because...
1st Jan 2026
1

[RIDGELINE] Happy New Year With a Side of Fries

from Craig Mod — Writer + Photographer [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jan 2026
Ridgeline subscribers — Hello from Denny’s. Happy new year. You can tell it’s January first, because I’m at Denny’s. I woke up and made a nice coffee and did some accounting (as one does) and went to my local shrine in Tokyo and bowbowclapclapbow’d and then I was off! Tramping...
How I read Reading well is an endurance sport. I sometimes talk to people who want to become serious readers...
1st Oct 2025
25

How I read

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2025
Reading well is an endurance sport. I sometimes talk to people who want to become serious readers and so pick up Kafka’s The Trial or something like that—it is about as pleasant as running a marathon untrained.
Stealing is a Skill I’m slowly developing my own list of advice: have a creative mindset, embrace radical transparency,...
24th Jun 2026
1

Stealing is a Skill

from ben-mini [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th Jun 2026
I’m slowly developing my own list of advice: have a creative mindset, embrace radical transparency, and write down what makes you happy. I’d like to add one more to the list: stealing is a skill! Stealing is good for the soul. If done well, you will be able to build value at...
[ESSAYS] The Seventh Year of Running my Membership Program Hello there. I’m Craig Mod. And we just entered Year Eight of my SPECIAL PROJECTS membership...
4th Feb 2026
1

[ESSAYS] The Seventh Year of Running my Membership Program

from Craig Mod — Writer + Photographer [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Feb 2026
Hello there. I’m Craig Mod. And we just entered Year Eight of my SPECIAL PROJECTS membership program. Time passes, things get done. Here we are with seven giant years under our belt. Seven of the biggest years of my life, by far. Much of it, thanks to this membership program....
It’s Time Gains without measurement. The weight fell off. Literally and figuratively, the device that now...
10th Jan 2026
1

It’s Time

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

10th Jan 2026
Gains without measurement. The weight fell off. Literally and figuratively, the device that now occupies my wrist is simple. It’s much smaller, tells the time, and the date. It requires no battery and is powered by my own kinetic movement, like riding a bicycle. For the past few...
bride and sister, be to your brother sentimental incest in Die Walküre
3rd Apr 2025
1

bride and sister, be to your brother

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Apr 2025
sentimental incest in Die Walküre
On the Calculation of Volume 1 by Solvej Balle The premise of this multi-volume novel is simple: a modern-day French woman called Tara finds...
9th Jun 2025
1

On the Calculation of Volume 1 by Solvej Balle

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

9th Jun 2025
The premise of this multi-volume novel is simple: a modern-day French woman called Tara finds herself stuck inside the eighteenth day of a November. The nineteenth never appears. On the 121st iteration of the same day she begins to write by describing the sounds made by her...
#94 Jay St. Charles on Project Quiver Jay St. Charles is a legendary bowyer based in Fall City, Washington. While he was born into the...
7th Sep 2026
1

#94 Jay St. Charles on Project Quiver

from Salish Wolf [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Sep 2026
Jay St. Charles is a legendary bowyer based in Fall City, Washington. While he was born into the world of archery and grew up in his father’s archery shop, Jay eventually became a master bowyer, carving bows under the brand of Pacific Yew Longbows. He lives on a small...
20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 3) 20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 3) Previously in "20 years of Linux on the Deskop": After...
8th Mar 2025
51

20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 3)

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Mar 2025
20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 3) Previously in "20 years of Linux on the Deskop": After contributing to the launch of Ubuntu as the "perfect Linux desktop", Ploum realises that Ubuntu is drifting away from both Debian and GNOME. But something else is about to shake the...
H5N1: Much More Than You Wanted To Know Don't give your true love a partridge, turtledoves, or (especially) French hens
1st Jan 2025
48

H5N1: Much More Than You Wanted To Know

from Astral Codex Ten [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jan 2025
Don't give your true love a partridge, turtledoves, or (especially) French hens
✏️ Music That Got Me Through 2020 As time goes on, I've learned something about myself: I'm now that person — that old fogey — that...
1st Feb 2021
17

✏️ Music That Got Me Through 2020

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Feb 2021
As time goes on, I've learned something about myself: I'm now that person — that old fogey — that mumbles under their breath about the old days when music was real. That said, there are plenty of good artists (even great artists) making meaningful music today. I just have to...
✏️ Music is Memory Stone Temple Pilots’ “Kitchenware & Candybars” comes on, and suddenly I'm 17 again, driving...
3rd Sep 2024
20

✏️ Music is Memory

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Sep 2024
Stone Temple Pilots’ “Kitchenware & Candybars” comes on, and suddenly I'm 17 again, driving underneath the amber glow of late-night deserted streets in Kuala Lumpur. I can feel the sharp air conditioning in the car against my skin, keeping the tropical heat and humidity outside...
La conjuration de la fierté ignorante La conjuration de la fierté ignorante Les scientifiques, les vulgarisateurs, les professeurs...
2nd Dec 2024
25

La conjuration de la fierté ignorante

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Dec 2024
La conjuration de la fierté ignorante Les scientifiques, les vulgarisateurs, les professeurs consacrent leur vie à lutter contre l’ignorance. Mais l’ignorance n’est pas vraiment le problème. Ce qui est dangereux c’est lorsqu’elle se camoufle. Lorsqu’elle se transforme en...
Avoid a car accident with a $3 tool TL;DR: Buy a blind spot mirror for your car. They are $2, and can keep you from getting in an...
4th Jul 2016
19

Avoid a car accident with a $3 tool

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Jul 2016
TL;DR: Buy a blind spot mirror for your car. They are $2, and can keep you from getting in an accident. Not a lot of people have them, though they’re awesome. I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about how to make driving safer. Step 1 to making driving safer is “don’t...
Imagination vs. Creativity I like to make a distinction between imagination and creativity that you may or may not agree with....
14th Jul 2024
45

Imagination vs. Creativity

from ribbonfarm [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Jul 2024
I like to make a distinction between imagination and creativity that you may or may not agree with. Imagination is the ability to see known possibilities as being reachable from a situation. Creativity is the ability to manufacture new possibilities out of a situation. The two...
Act a Fool, or: Motion vs. Action If you’ve started reading this article, but have only two minutes, don’t read what I’m writing. Go...
16th Mar 2014
23

Act a Fool, or: Motion vs. Action

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Mar 2014
If you’ve started reading this article, but have only two minutes, don’t read what I’m writing. Go read this article by James clear. It’s called “ The Mistake Smart People Make: Being In Motion vs. Taking Action”. I’ve linked it a third time here. Go read it. James starts with...
Lieutenants are the limiting reagent Why don't software companies ship more products? Why do they move more slowly as they grow? What do...
25th Sep 2023
28

Lieutenants are the limiting reagent

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

25th Sep 2023
Why don't software companies ship more products? Why do they move more slowly as they grow? What do we mean when we say "this company lacks focus"?
this is the late review a casual blog of late reviews
21st Jul 2024
1

this is the late review

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

21st Jul 2024
a casual blog of late reviews
Some relationships deepen when you tell the truth and some end I asked people to send me stories about situations where they had done what felt right to them, even...
11th Mar 2026
1

Some relationships deepen when you tell the truth and some end

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Mar 2026
I asked people to send me stories about situations where they had done what felt right to them, even though they feared social pushback.
[RIDGELINE] Full Days and the Long Walk Ridgeline subscribers — Hello from the other side of my ~220 kilometer walk through the Kiso...
27th Oct 2025
1

[RIDGELINE] Full Days and the Long Walk

from Craig Mod — Writer + Photographer [alt+shift+b] in literature

27th Oct 2025
Ridgeline subscribers — Hello from the other side of my ~220 kilometer walk through the Kiso Valley. I sent a shorter version of this newsletter as the last issue of the (the entire walk is) Between Two Mountains pop-up newsletter. This version is quite expanded. The archives of...
It's obvious why we hate social media We need better internet platforms. We're already building them.
1st Apr 2026
1

It's obvious why we hate social media

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2026
We need better internet platforms. We're already building them.
The Mind in the Machine: John von Neumann, the Inception of AI, and the Limits of Logic "Something very small, so tiny and insignificant as to be almost invisible in its origin, can...
2nd Dec 2023
37
2nd Dec 2023
"Something very small, so tiny and insignificant as to be almost invisible in its origin, can nonetheless open up a new and radiant perspective, because through it a higher order of being is trying to express itself."
2017 In Review & Thoughts on 2018 Note: this “annual review” covers three topics. Click on one to skip to it: Looking back on...
1st Jan 2018
21

2017 In Review & Thoughts on 2018

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jan 2018
Note: this “annual review” covers three topics. Click on one to skip to it: Looking back on 2017 thoughts on going into 2018 book recommendations from the 79 books I read last year I’ve got mixed feelings on annual reviews. I steadfastly refuse to set New Years’ resolutions, and...
Hacked The post Hacked appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
5th Apr 2024
29

Hacked

from The Perry Bible Fellowship [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Apr 2024
The post Hacked appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
Turing Prep Chapter 4: Arrays, Hashes, and Nested Collections Preparing for Turing Series Index What follows is an eight-part series that will help you pick up...
9th Jun 2019
25

Turing Prep Chapter 4: Arrays, Hashes, and Nested Collections

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

9th Jun 2019
Preparing for Turing Series Index What follows is an eight-part series that will help you pick up useful information about a number of topics related to Ruby, specifically geared for students learning the Ruby programming language, as part of the Turing School’s Backend Software...
In praise of insular groups Last spring, as we were exploring the coastline of our island, Johanna, the kids, and I crossed a...
4th May 2024
86

In praise of insular groups

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th May 2024
Last spring, as we were exploring the coastline of our island, Johanna, the kids, and I crossed a meadow where two men were artificially inseminating a longhaired cow. We stopped to observe the work. When it was done, one of the men came over to where we stood by the electric...
The Violence of God and the Hermeneutics of Paul Sometimes I (Josh) want to share around certain academic works. Sometimes its a PDF that I want...
8th Aug 2021
32

The Violence of God and the Hermeneutics of Paul

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Aug 2021
Sometimes I (Josh) want to share around certain academic works. Sometimes its a PDF that I want someone to download and read, sometimes it’s text from a book I’ve read, and cannot otherwise get a sharable format of. So, I laboriously take photos of pages, use an optical character...
On mentors What is it that motivates someone to take on someone and help them grow? Why do some learners have...
8th Nov 2023
35

On mentors

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Nov 2023
What is it that motivates someone to take on someone and help them grow? Why do some learners have that privilege?
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