No. 60 | Seven good subreddits
If you’re not using Reddit, I mean, don’t, probably? Read books or something. But if you’re going to use it, here are my recommendations for seven good subreddits.
Articles
Fresh ideas about craft, clarity, creativity, and personal growth, as well as updates on my projects, media recommendations, and links to all the weird and delightful things I find on the internet.
A good little start
Gratitude journals seem to work wonders for folks. It’s not quite my bag but I am always trying to notice, to at least tell myself in the moment: this is good. Today? Now? My day is off to a good little start, and I am grateful. It’s above zero and the sun is shining, which … Read more
A joyful capacity
Brian, one of the organizers of the open mic I attend now, issued a songwriting challenge last week. The input/theme was “stand up”. I started scratching out lyrics in Drafts on my iPad right away that same night, and finished them up on Saturday afternoon. Jon, my music partner, came over Sunday and we hashed … Read more
Give me back my man
I’ve never really dug into the B-52s catalog, despite having done Love Shack at karaoke at least a dozen times now. I love how unapologetically weird they are. I’ve got Whammy! on vinyl, but this isn’t on it: The songs where only Cindy sings don’t seem to get as much airtime, which is too bad … Read more
Take pictures with your mittens on
A local urbanism blog is encouraging the sharing of sidewalk-shaming photos (good!) and it occurred to me that not everyone knows you can take a photo from an iPhone without ever using the touchscreen. Just say “Hey Siri, open the camera!” if you have “Hey Siri” enabled. Otherwise, press and hold the home button or … Read more
No. 59 | Seven reasons I’ve stopped a writing session
Extended focus is … not in my strengths column, let’s say. Here are seven of the more common excuses I’ve used to stop writing when I really really really should have still been writing: *** Originally published as List No. 59 of the 7×77 newsletter project.
#RollFilmWeek
My 2019 obsession is film photography. I’ve got a lot to learn yet, but I am really enjoying it. It really checks a lot of boxes for me: lovely little mechanical things that make pleasant sounds, small consumables you can collect and stack up like ammo, technical skills to master, and plenty of YouTube rabbit … Read more
Sidecars
Catching up on the Road Work podcast. I like the ones where John talks about relationships. This segment starting at 46:44 resonated with me, for better or worse: Other people are doing life, and the mailman comes at a certain time of day, and dinner is at dinner time. And I’m bouncing along, careening in … Read more
No. 58 | Seven ways to engage in radical self-care
1) Remove your hair shirt at night. 2) Eat less sand. 3) Take the weekend off: Hire a professional to bust your ghosts. 4) Remember to wear your headgear and mouth guard when fighting grandpa. 5) Hot lemons. 6) Pause — for just a few moments each day — to breathe through your ears. 7) Set up … Read more
No. 57 | Seven books I didn’t read last year
I read a lot of great books in 2018, and there are even more that I didn’t read, even though I easily could have! No judgment, just life.