February 26, 2015

Article - "Why Everyone Was Wrong with Net Neutrality" by Tim Wu at The New Yorker - This is a huge deal.  Read about it here.

Article - "Xiaomi’s Great New Phone Is a Lot Like an iPhone. Apple Should Take Note" by Marcus Wohlsen at Wired - They need a competitor.  Read it here.

Biography - "The Life of Jack London" by Brett and Kate McKay at The Art of Manliness - I didn't know Jack London was half as interesting as he is.  It is an eleven part series, but totally worth the time.  Read it here.  His credo...

I would rather be ashes than dust! 

I would rather that my spark should burn out 

    in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. 

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom 

    of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. 

The function of man is to live, not to exist. 

I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. 

I shall use my time. 

Article - "The Source of Contentment" by Leo Babauta at Zen Habits.  We all need this reminder.  Read it here.

Maps - "The Religious States of America, in 22 Maps" by Niraj Chokshi at The Washington Post - Recommended by my friend Josh Hill - Find your way here.

Article - "Why Schools are Failing Our Boys" by Jennifer Fink at The Washington Post - Also recommended by Mr. Hill - Are we killing their spirits?  Read it here.

Knowledge - "The Harvard Classics" selected by Charles W. Eliot - I started working my way through these last year, and it is an amazing free collection of the great works.  Read them here.

Art - "Mark" (1979) by Chuck Close.

February 19, 2015

+Article - "What ISIS Really Wants" by Graeme Wood at The Atlantic - I would really be interested to hear what everyone thinks about this one.  This is the best summation and analysis of the relationship between Islam and extremism that I have seen in a long time.  Read it here.

+Article - "How Chris Mccandless Died, an Update" by Jon Krakauer - I first read "Into the Wild" when I was in high school and have read it several times since.  It was both a cautionary tale and a source of inspiration for a kid who envisioned himself walking off into the woods some day.  Read the update to the story here.

+Article - "How Children Learn to Read" by Maria Konnikova at The New Yorker - It is funny what you take for granted until you are responsible for little humans.  Learn more here.

+Article - "The Shape of Things to Come" by Ian Parker at The New Yorker - A profile of Sir Jonathan Ive, the designer of your favorite Apple products.  Regardless of what you think of the products, he is one of the most influential people on the planet right now.  Read it here.

+Article - "Find the Gap: How Jack Ma and Elon Musk See What Others Miss" by Amy Wilkinson - Passed along by my dad.  What are you missing?  Read it here.

+Book - "The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload" by Daniel J. Levitin - This site is evidence enough that I needed to read this book.  From the book: "In 2011, Americans took in five times as much information  every day as they did in 1986 - the equivalent of 175 newspapers.  During our leisure time, not counting work, each of us processes 34 gigabytes or 100,000 words every day."  Buy it here.

+App - "Stop, Breathe, & Think" - A guided meditation app that asks you how you are feeling and then recommends specific sessions for you.  I hesitate to admit this, but I have tried to learn to meditate several times.  There is something about these sessions that is working.  Learn more here.

+Art - "The Kiss" (1908) by Gustav Klimt.

February 12, 2015

+Article - "The Horror Before the Beheadings" by RUKMINI CALLIMACHI of the The New York Times - The news desensitizes us to the plight of these captives in many ways.  Read about the human cost here.

+Article - "Obama's War on ISIS, Let the Debate Begin" by John Cassidy of The New Yorker.  We are going to war again.  Read about it here.  

+Article - "No Family Left Behind" by Rebecca Ruiz - An incredibly telling article on America's maternity policy that points out how wrong we are on this issue.  Profits shouldn't be more important than people.  Great quote - “For a nation whose leaders so often talk about valuing families, we do so little to reflect quote-unquote family values in our policies.” Read it here. 

+Article - "This 10-Minute Strategy Can Help You Stop Procrastinating" by Suresh Rathinam of Quora - I'm not sure anything can help, as this blog proves.  Do your best here.  

+Article - "How Young People Can Get Rich Slowly" by William Bernstein from Business Insider - This was terrifying.  Read it here.  

+Song - "When You're Here" by John Fullbright - This guy has an incredible voice and the lyrics are fantastic.  Many thanks to an illustrious colleague for the hot tip.  

+Book - "Deliverance" by James Dickey - Stow your banjo jokes for a moment and go find this book.  Hands down one of the best adventure novels ever written.  Find it here.  

+Art "Doge Enrico Dandolo Recruiting for the Crusade (1621)" by Jean Achille Leclerc.  Seems fitting considering this week's news.

February 4, 2015

+Lecture - "How School Kills Creativity" by Ken Robinson.  Funny and thought provoking.  Watch it here.

+Article - "U.S. Tax Code Travesty" by John Cassidy of The New Yorker - we are a stupid people sometimes.  Read it here.

+Article - "The Common Core has not Killed Literature" by Meaghan Freeman of The Atlantic - the response to last week's article (here).  Read it here.

+Book - “The Modern Gentleman – A Guide to Essential Manners, Savvy, and Vice” – by Phineas Mollod and Jason Tesauro - I've always loved etiquette manuals for some reason and I think being a gentleman is a dying art.  I gave a copy of this one to all of my groomsman and I think that its both interesting and funny.  Buy it here.

+Office - What's in your drawer?  Read this.

+Article - "Fathering With Intentionality: The Importance of Creating a Family Culture” by Brett and Kate McKay - this article really got me thinking about being intentional in how I go about crafting our family culture.  Read it here.

+Listen - "Ode to Viceroy" by Mac Demarco.  This is just good.

+Art - "The General" by Unknown - In honor of Ground Hog Day.