“We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end − and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.” – Donald Trump’s 2nd Inaugural Address, 1/20/25

“If Kamala wins, only death and destruction await because she is the candidate of endless wars. I am the candidate of peace. I am peace.” – Donald Trump, 11/1/24

The Fear of Never Landing is the new album from ambient music band Marconi Union. I found them several months ago on YouTube with a video for “Weightless.” Later, I learned that the song was a collaboration with the British Academy of Sound Therapy designed to reduce stress.

I’m a big fan of the “Weightless” ten-hour version.

It was 160 years ago that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed, after the Civil War’s end and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

The resulting Juneteenth holiday—its name combining “June” and “nineteenth”—has only grown in one and a half centuries. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated it a federal holiday, expanding its recognition beyond Black America.

I don’t have a strong connection to Juneteenth, but that’s because I’m not black. I’m happy it is a Federal holiday, even though it’s one that means little in my world. I don’t get it off, but my wife does.

In retrospect, it’s a little sad how little I knew of this holiday before it became a federal one. The same thing goes for the Tulsa race massacre at the center of the Watchmen TV show from several years ago.

I was never taught these stories in my American history classes.

“I am searching for that which is real of my heart, and which when completed I can stand humble to one side of and say: ‘This is it, this is how I feel, this is my honest interpretation of the world; this is not influenced by money, or trickery, or pressure…except the pressure of my soul.’” — W. Eugene Smith

Nicholas Bate –

1. without a dream there is no direction;
2. without a true friend there is no universe;
3. without a notebook there is no reflection;
4. without a challenge there is no ooomph;
5. without a sunrise there is no re-boot;
6. without a seashore or mountains or desert there is no perspective;
7. without a sunset there is no ‘job well done’.

Patrick Rhone –

The double edged sword of calling Donny Dictator out on the TACO thing…

It will really get under his skin.

His attempt to disprove it will tank the global economy.

I’m 100% in agreement with Patrick on this one.

Dan Oshinsky –

A few years ago, I created a text doc where I drop in my ideas. Whenever I have an interesting conversation or come up with a big question, I add it to the doc. It might be a few words or a sentence — just enough for me to know what I was thinking about when I revisit the doc later on.

And then I’ll come back to the doc every week or so. Some of the ideas turn into blog posts or new products. Some turn into nothing. (Not every idea is a good idea!)

I’ve always got more ideas than I can actually take on. There’s always new stuff for me to work on later.

So create your own doc with ideas. It can be a text doc, a notebook, a series of voice memos on your phone. You never know which ones might turn into something great.

The third book in Letich’s barely connected Georgia book series is a fantastic summer read.

The plot is pretty straightforward: Lloyd McNeil just got the kind of news no one ever wants to hear: a brain tumor, and not much time left. He’s crushed—not for himself, but for his young son, Bishop. How can he make sure his boy has a shot at a bright future when he’s gone? Especially since he doesn’t have much to leave to him. But Lloyd’s a cop, so he crafts a plan to go out in a blaze of glory, die in the line of duty, and ensure his kid gets all the police benefits. After that set up, the story is heartwarming, surprisingly funny, and compassionate. The story is really a treatise on fatherhood. It’s about what it means to be a father, and the legacy that gets passed down from generation to generation.

Leitch uses Lloyd’s unique situation—being the son of a strict, no-nonsense Dad and, in turn, the father of an incredible kid—to really dig into the heart of fatherhood. Lloyd’s past, and especially his own Dad, are always right there with him, shaping every choice he makes.

Lloyd’s legacy isn’t just something he thinks about—it’s woven into everything he does. It’s in how he’s lived his life, how he’s raised his son, and what he dreams for his child after he’s gone. This is a story that asks: What do we owe to those who came before us, and what do we want to leave behind for those who come next?

I had no idea how Leitch was going to end the story, and when he did, it was perfect.

My favorite moments are the “The Ten Gentle Edicts of Lloyd McNeil” interludes where Lloyd shares his best life tips. I loved the one about shaving and learning how to drive a stick shift. The last one about death is so good, I want to cut it out and keep it for the future.

This is Leitch’s best book by far, and I can see why there was a bidding war for the film rights. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie.

Jason Kottke –

Pediatrician Dr. Annie Andrews is running against Lindsey Graham for one of South Carolina’s Senate seats. Based on the commercial launching her campaign, I kinda want to move to SC just so I can vote for her.

Fantastic launch video. This is how you do it.

I have successfully (mainly) imported all of my Instapaper and Notion Web Article saves into Raindrop.io. I paid for a year of the service at $28 a year, which is a steal. There are about 150 imported articles that are missing links or copy that I might have still saved in Notion. I’ve already mostly removed those from Instapaper. I had many duplicates too, which were easily remedied using Raindrop.

The Instapaper interface is better (especially for reading), but I can’t seem to get the Notion saves into Instapaper. I could export/import both CSV files into Raindrop.io, and it just works.

The downside to all of this is that I have a grand total of 3.1K bookmarks, and that is, shall we say, unwieldy. I can add tags, create collections, and create embeds, and probably have a much better time organizing everything. It’s just going to take me forever.

And then what…

Matt Birchler –

I genuinely think Wheatus’s Teenage Dirtbag is one of the best one hit wonders from my teen years and this acoustic version of it is a delight.

I’m really getting tired of the rain. I think it makes me sad. And then I think of the line from The Crow: “It can’t rain all the time.” The screenwriters, David J. Schow and John Shirley, wrote that line. James O’Barr, the creator of the graphic novel, never put those words in the book.

That line is so memorable in the movie, and it plays on the touch of hope that underscores Eric’s revenge tour.

I don’t know why I’m thinking of the time when I met O’Barr and he spent a few moments of time explaining how the graphic novel was more successful for him personally than the film. It shocked me at the time. I couldn’t believe a movie wouldn’t make him millions of dollars, but apparently it didn’t. I think The Crow graphic novel is one of the best interpretations of love, grief, and revenge ever created. It stands among the top graphic novels on any shelf.

I guess I could use a touch of hope these days.

Alan Jacobs –

In one of the Nero Wolfe books Archie Goodwin calls his typewriter the “alphabet piano,” so that’s what I’m gonna call my computer keyboard from now on.

Warren Ellis –

To be writing on a blog in this day and age is, let’s be honest, like being a scrivener of three-decker novels in the days of the paperback original. Or, perhaps more correctly, to be a paperback writer in the age of TikTok. And yet, all I ever wanted to be was a paperback writer. Affordable, portable books that would eventually get remaindered or traded or dumped into a charity shop where someone like the fourteen year old me could find them and discover new worlds and that crucial sense of not being alone.

For those of you reading this in the States, I hope you are observing this day in a way that is perfect for you and yours. I do not come from much of a military family, so I do not go all in for those kinds of trappings. However, I do think this day is for contemplating those who fought for our freedom, our ideals, and the American way of life. I will do this while eating a hot dog and spending time with family.

You know, those freedoms and ideals are important. We all should do something to make sure they are still around a year from now.

Warren Ellis –

THE DEPARTMENT OF MIDNIGHT was a medium that I haven’t, strictly speaking, worked in before, so there was A Plan for it. The plan was: Deliberately Carelessly Bad First Drafts. In this method, the goal is to just get to the end while having everything make some kind of vague sense. Once you see the script as a whole, you can fix it up, but you have to get to the end of the script first without constantly second-guessing yourself as to whether you’re nailing it or not.

You have to let yourself be Bad At It. Empty out everything you’ve been thinking about the job on to the page and don’t worry about whether it’s any good or not. You need it all out in front of you so you can see it all properly in all its horror.

Ideally, you should never show those drafts to anyone. But I have two trusted co-producers, so I sent them on for notes, which help clarify the rewrite goals. Sometimes you want to be left alone to sort it out yourself, sometimes you know that it’s Wrong in so many particulars that you want extra eyes on it to catch all the Wrongs.

Kevin Wammer –

The current nonnegotiables in my life, in no particular order: Exercise; Sleep; Reading; Writing; Family (blood relations not required); Play; Meditation. Everything else can be sacrificed to preserve these.

Peter David, a self-described “writer of stuff,” has died at the age of 68. David had been in ill health for several years.

David was one of my favorite Star Trek and comic book writers. I loved his New Frontier line for Star Trek, his Q books, and many others. My favorite was the Hulk prestige two-part Future Imperfect. I was lucky to get both David and George Perez to sign both books. Now, they are both gone, and I’m a little bit sad.

McCallie School is a private boarding school for boys in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Several years ago, the school asked sixth graders to propose questions that they would answer when they were ready to graduate.

Even though the video was intended for the school’s use, it’s gone viral because, well… watch the video.

I love this idea. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to connect with who I was in the past and who I would become in the future.