Category: Books


  • This Black Box of Doom is getting Heavy

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    It’s billed as “satire,” but, man, I don’t know. Maybe it was the vibe of the trip, but I picked up this book when we were recovering from Helene in Charleston. At the same time, in the same shop, I also bought Loneliness & Company. Both books addressing more or less the same problem: tech…


  • Loneliness & Company

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    Spoilers within, because there are points I want to keep track of. The premise of this book: a top-of-her-class researcher is hired to a company post-graduation to help with the development of an AI application meant to resolve the idea of “loneliness.” In the end, the project more or less fails. If technology drove up…


  • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…


  • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…


  • Recently Read – August 2024

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

  • The Ghost of The Living

    The Ghost of The Living

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    “They say when you meet someone who looks just like you, you die.” p.Wish, The Doppleganger “No one makes themselves; we all make and unmake one another.” Naomi Klein, Doppelganger Going through Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger, something I snagged from the library purely because of the subtitle “A Trip into the Mirror World,” I was opened…

  • The Age of Information, The Aging of Information.

    The Age of Information, The Aging of Information.

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    Some thoughts on James Gleick’s The Information. “The alphabet is like a contagion – both the virus and the vector of transmission in and of itself.” Back in the “learn to code” days – a phrase shot off in mean spirit by anti-intellectuals to journalists and academics who were loosing their jobs by the thousands…


  • Planned Life

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    Words about Alex Shakar’s “Luminarium”


  • The Lost Art of Reading

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    Some notes and such from David L. Ulin’s The Lost Art of Reading


  • Spending 2024 with Infinite Jest – Notes on the first readthrough.

    • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

      We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…

    • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

      “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…

    • Pure KAOS

      If I wrote something for every series I watched, this would be entirely different website featuring far more reality-based programs than I care to admit (no, not documentaries. yes…THOSE realities). KAOS was a lot of fun. I knew all those old Greek myths I studied back in school would come in use at some point!…

    • Method: Blind Brainstorming

      Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…

    • Post It Note Productivity

      Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…

    • maybe Not Free Will

      Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…

    • The Brain Reclaim Project

      The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…

    Four months, one reading. And I’m not finished yet! Time to flip this over and see what else it can tell me.