March 26, 2015

+ Article - "Don't be that Gen-Y Guy" by Jack Otter at Men's Fitness - This should be required reading for every young man or woman entering the work force.  It is also a great reminder for mentors that a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.  Read it here.

+ Article - "The Unclassified Laws of Etiquette" by Brett and Kate McKay at The Art of Manliness - Our society would be better off if we paid more attention to courteous behavior.  Read more here.

I did not get a chance to do much reading this week, but I have been listening to a lot of great soul and R&B.  Enjoy.  I accept no responsibility for the consequences of the romantic feelings inspired by these songs.

+ Song - "Sugarfoot" by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - If you don't dance to this you have no soul.

+ Song - "Call Me" by St. Paul and The Broken Bones - This white boy went to church!

+ Song - "When You're Here" by John Fullbright - So many feelings.

+ Song - "007 (Shanty town)" by Desmond Dekker and the Aces.  Get happy.

+ Song - "Deed I Do" by Ray Charles - Truly a genius.

+ Art - The Kennedys from Shopped Tatoos - Artist Unknown.

March 19, 2015

+ Article - "The Science of Near Death Experiences" by Gideon Lichfield at The Atlantic - When I was in junior high someone gave me a book describing the near death experience of a young man.  The idea has always fascinated me, as I think it does us all, because it is the closest we get this side of the big sleep to knowing what is on the other side.  Read it here.

+Story - "The Grand Voyage" by John Middendorf - When I was young I would page through copies of Climbing Magazine and read about my heroes in the climbing world.  This story stuck with me.  Read it here.

+ Article - "The Biggest Threat to America's Future is...America" by John Cassidy at The New Yorker - I wish everyone in Congress would read this article and take its point to heart.  Scoring political points ahead of crafting good policy is bad for business.  Read it here.

+ Article - "Teaching Doubt" by Lawrence M. Krauss at The New Yorker - Nothing is sacred.  Read it here.

+ List - "Harper's Index" from Harper's Magazine (April 2015) - Don't go witching in India.  Read it here.

+ Article - "The Good News About Obamacare" by John Cassidy at The New Yorker.  Read it here.

+ Article - "Why was a 9th Century Viking Woman Buried with a Ring that says 'for Allah' on it?" by Adam Taylor at The Washington Post.  We need GPS to visit places in our own cities.  Our ancestors traveled vast distances using nothing more than the stars, and it has always amazed me how far people traveled in antiquity.  Read about it here.

+ Art - Kandinsky (1913) - In honor of Mrs. Hulsey.

March 12, 2015

+ Article - "Where the Bodies are Buried" by Patrick Radden Keefe - A fascinating long-form article on "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland.  Read it here.

+ Article - "Report: CIA Has Tried for Years to Break into Apple Gear" by Issie Lapowsky at Wired - I'm not sure if I should feel comforted that my Apple products are secure, or scared that the CIA can't beat the encryption.  Read it here.

+ Article - "Richer and Poorer" by Jill Lepore at The New Yorker - Income inequality is real, and we in the middle class have as much to fear from it as those at the bottom.  Read it here.

+ Articles - "Congress's Poison-Pen Letter to Iran" by Amy Davidson at The New Yorker and "Congress Tries to go Beyond Trolling on Foreign Policy" by Daniel Drezner at The Washington Post - I have no idea what to think about this event.  Our government has been absolutely baffling lately.  Read them here and here.

+ Venn Diagrams - "The Art of War in 7 Charts" created by Jessica Hagy - People have been applying the principals from The Art of War to much more than war for ages.  Seeing the principals in chart form is fascinating.  See them here.

+ Article - "How Parents Create Narcissistic Children" by Lenny Bernstein - I really don't want to mess this up.  Read more here.

+ Article - "12 Examples of Evolution Happening Right Now" by Erin Bodwin at Business Insider.  Recommended by the illustrious Mrs. Hulsey.  It is real and it is happening.  Science.  Read it here.

+ Article - "So When is it Going to Be Time" by Kara Swisher - A look at the open letter written by Google CFO Patrick Pichette regarding his impending retirement.  Do your values drive your decision making?  Read it here.

+ Art - "The Entombment of Christ" (1603-1604) by Caravaggio.

March 5, 2015

Article - "Break-in at Y-12" by Eric Schlosser at The New Yorker - A really interesting story that happened right here at home.  Read it here.

Article - "A Brewing Problem" by James Hamblin at The Atlantic - I actually hesitated to include this article because I do not want to contribute to anyone's sense of guilt.  I go through a lot of K-cups and I'm apparently part of the problem.  Read about it here.

Article - "Why Audiophiles are Paying $1,000 for this Man's Vinyl" by Rene Chun at Wired.  Everything you could ever want to know about why Vinyl sounds so good.  Read it here.

Book - "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy - I realize that this book came out in 1985, but I have read it at least once a year since I first picked it up when I was 26.  Much has been made of this novel and I have nothing new to add to the discussion.  It is difficult, and scary, and beautiful, and funny, and rewarding in a way that is hard to describe.  It takes effort - something I think all great books require.  Buy the paperback here, and travel with it.

Article - "Christian, or Feminist?" by Emma Green at The Atlantic - I don't think anyone in the church is really talking about sexuality and gender in a way that younger generations identify with.  Read more here.

Article - "Netanyahu's Zero-sum Game on Iran" by David Ignatious at The Washington Post - This was certainly the biggest news story this week, and it feels like it was ripped straight from an episode of House of Cards.  Read about it here.

Video - "Love Has no Labels" - Deal with it.  Watch it here.

Art - "Still-life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Market" (1614) by Frans Snyders.

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.