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Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:
My 13-year-old coder spotted a copy of Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification on our coffee table and got a big grin on his face. I said, “You can read it if you want!” and he proceeded to do so. I asked him if he’d like to write a review for the newsletter. Like his old man, he likes to keep it brief: “A humorous, engaging, and political guide to the mishaps of the Internet. Frequent Internet users should definitely read this book.” (Here’s a recent interview with Doctorow.)
I started reading Julian Gough almost 20 years ago when I came across his wonderful essay on comedy vs. tragedy. For the past three years, Julian has been writing his next book in public — show your work! — using his newsletter, The Egg and The Rock. “A non-fiction exploration of the strange fact that our universe, in its development, behaves far more like an egg than a rock.” Like most of the physics books I like to read, I barely understand his “Blowtorch Theory” model of structural formation in the universe, but I find his ideas and his enthusiasm for them quite thrilling. If you’d like to dip in, a great start is this podcast. Here are a few of my notes doodled while listening:
“I look at my life with a sense of humility because I cannot honestly take credit for any of it. You know, it just happened.” I saw a short clip of actor Anthony Hopkins promoting his new memoir on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and had to watch the whole thing. (Don’t miss him reciting T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”) Makes me want to memorize my favorite poems, practice the piano, and maybe even grow old!
The next day I thought, “Oh, maybe I’ll re-watch The Silence of the Lambs and answer some emails.” I got sucked in again by the opening titles, and two hours later, I had answered zero emails. That night I started (and spent the weekend finishing) the Thomas Harris novel for the 3rd time. (If I ever get invited to The Criterion Closet, the Blu-Ray is the first thing I’ll choose — the behind-the-scenes featurette is quite good!)
I stole a line from Bob Dylan’s “Mississippi” for my November mixtape:
There are two Geese songs on there because I love those kids. I won’t gush again like I did last week, but Meg and I saw them live a few nights ago and they were great. A band that can pull off covering The Stooges