Digest, 7/1/2023: All God's Love Means Nothing to Me Now
the ninety-fourth digest post
We’re like 75% moved in, and also at that stage where the final 25% will take somewhere between six months to the rest of our lives to complete. The keys to the old apartment have been turned over, the utilities are in our name and set to autopay, we’ve got a nice plastic recycling bin…. It’s starting to feel like home. I will reiterate that space, space for stuff and for us, is very soothing for me, at this point in my life. Our kitchen table has nothing on it but a runner and a tasteful centerpiece. It’s calming after a quarter-century lived in little apartments.
I know my schedule here has been a bit of a mess, and I’m sorry for that. I think I’ve still been producing a lot of “content” but I’d like to be more consistent, especially with these digest posts. Things are about to get crazy in a different way with book stuff (I’m in fact heading back to NYC next week to shoot some promo vids for S&S) but I’m looking forward to that madness. Anyway: sorry I haven’t been as consistent, but the heavy lifting of the move is behind us.
This Week’s Posts
Sunday, June 25th - Think Less, Agnes
I thought Agnes Callard’s New Yorker essay about travel was both wrongheaded and meanspirited.
Tuesday, June 27th - Pixar Was Never a Masterpiece Factory
Pixar was always a good movie studio, but it’s outsize reputation says more about critics than about the quality of their work.
Thursday, June 29th - Affirmative Action Thoughts in an Inelegant List Format
My scattered (but good and correct) thoughts on the Supreme Court decision about racial preferences in college admissions.
And our Beloved reading group continued.
From the Archives
Song of the Week
Non-Garbage Online Reading
Reassessing the legacy of the Bridget Jones series, which just turned 25 years old.
Book Recommendation
The Cult at the End of the World: The Terrifying Story of the Aum Doomsday Cult, David E. Kaplan and Andrew Marshall, 1996
A truly astonishing story. As big as the subway attack was in the news at the time, I'm shocked that more of these incredible details aren't better known. These people were totally insane and yet brilliant, well-resourced, and disciplined. If they hadn't insisted on that dumb attack, they could have done much more damage. They actually made a credible attempt at getting a nuclear weapon. The book itself is workmanlike, although there's a little wince-inducing cultural stereotyping of the Japanese. The book was published just a year or two after the subway gassing, which is both good and bad; I'm sure some details wouldn't have stood the test of longterm scrutiny, but it’s a deeply creepy story and effective journalism, in part thanks to that immediacy.
Comment of the Week
The university I teach at has an acceptance rate of 85% and just sent out a message about how we will come together to discuss how this decision will impact us and "the work that we do." Had to laugh -- not at all is the answer! Wish there could be some honesty in the discussion of this topic. - Kellbr
That’s it! See you next week.
Congrats on the move, hope the new space brings much joy!
👍