Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth, 1948 Hobbies: Beating ourselves up over nothing Long time no see. The last issue was released about two months ago. I shifted my focus to the videos and left the fountain to dry up, and for that, I owe you an apology. But apology without action is as weightless as the words on your screen. I owe you a reason to read on, and luckily, this reminded me of a sore spot that hurts the polymath types (that’s you, reading this). Uncomfortable with stillness, we rush...
15 days ago • 3 min read
Les Amoureux by Émile Friant, 1888 Hobbies: Inspiration isn't flashy Inspiration is humble. You forever chase it for your next project -to ink your next piece of writing, to capture the immaterial in art, and to paint something that stands above the landfill of AI junk out there. But inspiration keeps to herself, missed when you need her the most. She is like an old lady with too much time on her hands, lost, but never lost, as she explores every square and avenue of the town. This old lady...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Student in his Study by Jan Davidszoon de Heem, 1628 Reading Skills: How I Beat Reading Slumps (pt. 2) Didn't catch part 1? If so, welcome! It's a pleasure to have you here. Find the first part here. Otherwise, I hope this one is just as useful as the other. Ironically, I'm in a slump of my own so hopefully this will kick me up the ass and rescue me. Enjoy. Audiobook Stacking After a long break with books, you probably filled the gaps with short-form slop- all the tiktok-esque stuff -and that...
3 months ago • 8 min read
Diogenes by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1860) Reading Skills: How I Beat Reading Slumps (pt. 1) Just as you, my foot is caught by life’s twisted root and I trip into reading slumps. Long, tiresome, guilty streaks of no reading. It’s awful to let yourself down and scrap what you know nourishes your mind. It’s different for everyone, but when you no longer open books to talk with your favourite authors, a wave of dry lethargy sweeps the mind and emptiness is replaced by . . . more emptiness -mindless...
4 months ago • 6 min read
Painting by Zdzisław Beksiński Reading Skills: The Power to Forget Mr. Shereshevsky wished he could forget. The legendary mnemonist went far to get rid of his curse. Some days, he wrote his thoughts on paper and cast them into the fire, wishing the flames would take his memories with them. He remembered everything, and it was agony. In strange irony, we do our best to barge into the prison he occupies: we try to remember everything we read. The market shows it too. Youtubers choke your feed...
5 months ago • 5 min read
Young Man Playing the Piano by Gustave Caillebotte, 1876 Hobbies: FOMO's Great Deception FOMO- the fear of missing out -has two faces. One pushes you to live. One drags you down despite your effort to live. The first face you know from childhood. Any kid’s worst nightmare is to be the black sheep, watching the fun from the sidelines, alone and neglected. There's a pain in isolation worse than no other. I know this because I was a social wreck growing up, enough that even today, I still repair...
6 months ago • 4 min read
The Antique Pottery Painter by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1893 Hobbies: Your Feed Manipulates You There's a million things to try and only a lifetime to do it. Skills to nurture. Crafts to jump into. And like Socrates said: decades to explore the strength and beauty of which you are capable -not just in body, but in creative expression too. But there's trouble. The more we play in the sun and explore all that life has to offer, the more we burn. You're stretched thin. Mortal, limited and with life's...
6 months ago • 5 min read
Some old annotations from Jordan Peterson's '12 Rules for Life,' edited to make them more visible Reading Skills: The Confidence to Mark a Book Above are two pages from the same book. Which one engaged me the most? It’s obvious at a glance. Why then, did I hate writing in my books a few years ago? Why did I sacrifice so many precious conversations with my favourite authors? Why was I afraid? I write this email because you might be in that same boat, anchored down by the false image of 'mint...
7 months ago • 8 min read
Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-August Renoir, 1881 Mini-Essay: Diet is Bedrock Oh dear. Diet. The online health space is one of the most toxic corners of the internet, and I'd rather stay out. There's gurus. There's grifters. There's emotions. It's gotten so bad that a whole counterculture has emerged in response to the frauds and the fads. These creators reject ultra-restrictive diets, cultish health advice and the nitpicky ‘biohacker’ advice. The core of the movement is “eat a...
7 months ago • 4 min read