Happy blogoversary to Examined Worlds. My friend Ethan writes on SciFi and fantasy, philosophy, and whatever else moves him. I like the way he runs his site and look forward to another ten years!
Currently reading: The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe 📚💙 I forgot how intricately dense Wolfe’s writing is, in a good way. I started on this several years ago and set it down. The book requires attention, which I lacked at the time. Def glad I picked it up again but it is slow going
Finished reading: Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks 📚💙 Adventure story that takes place in space. Strong action. Light romance. Just enough world building. Hard for me to put this down 4/5 ⭐️
Finished reading: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami 📚💙 Not as fantastical as his later works. It’s a love story. Great reminiscences of life in Tokyo, even in 1969-70. Would recommend
This break from work＆school feels like Christmas in Japan．I don’t celebrate（my SO does；I tag along）but it’s pretty．I’m glad for others to enjoy it．It leaves a nice quiet respite where I can do the things I want to do：read，DYI，mess w／tech，write＆reflect，sleep＆be w／her，all w/o the usual cacophony
💙📚How to Live，or，The Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer，Sarah Bakewell，2010．Engaging work on the life ＆times of Montaigne w／a keen focus on his Essays ＆more approachable．Dovetails nicely with Meditations for Mortals ＆Slow Productivity yet unexpected ★★★★☆
💙📚 Slow Productivity，Cal Newport，2024．It was … fine．The book takes a simple premise & expands on it，mostly through anecdote．The “Do Fewer Things” chapter provides concrete actions．Pull-based work flow of tasks from a holding tank to active work (p. 100-110) resonated ★★☆☆☆
💙📚 Meditations for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman, 2024
Good quick-ish read (169 p) Didn’t generate as many notes as 4,000 Weeks did．Maybe that’s ok．The practical approaches resonated best．I’ll probably reference it as I look to incorporate more intentional slow productivity ★★★☆☆
@help Cross posting from So Many Hills on Micro.blog to SMH on Bluesky does weird things when using [Unicode halfwidth & fullwidth forms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfwidth_and_Fullwidth_Forms_(Unicode_block) like U+FF0E Fullwidth full stop & U+FF06 Fullwidth ampersand.
Threads Mastodon and Tumblr are ok
UPDATE: It might be a Bluesky display bug. Another browser shows it properly (as Fullwidth stop and not as №, for example). And copying and pasting shows the correct Unicode.
Complaints
The best way to complain is to make things better．Complaining can be a form of intimacy．It’s a useful way to explain our behavior．And best of all, it gives us a way to communicate as we work to create community action … complaint requires generosity and courage … Whining is empty commentary where no action is possible, about something we already understand– Seth Godin
"Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important."– T. S. Eliot
Beware professional FOMO social media connections:
The problem isn’t with (social) networking itself. It’s that we’ve let it devolve into an empty numbers game．Instead of connecting on purpose, we’ve traded sincerity for click-based validation, mistaking quantity for value．True networking is an intentional act, one where relationships are built with care, strategy, and a hefty dose of authenticity．Without that foundation, you’re just screaming into a void filled with meaningless badges and forgotten follow-ups.– Joan Westenberg＆TBF there's value in void screaming for the screaming's sake
build your identity around what you love and value rather than what you oppose … This isn’t self-help advice．It’s a fundamental truth about human psychology and the nature of identity．We become what we consistently think about and focus on．The choice, as so often, is ours
There’s definitely a time for slow, slower, slowest
Slow-cook．Relax．Amble．Pen＆paper．Cuddle．Pour-over．Groove．Read．Consider．Bathe．Quaff．Savor．Curl-up．Breathe
The correct amount of ads for a publication that’s directly supported is zero. That’s the amount we should get. I don’t care about the rationale behind it. I’m giving you money, you decided how much money I should be giving you for your product, you don’t get to double dip and also sell my data to your advertisers and earn more on the side. I’ll say it again: the correct amount of ads, in this case, is zero. Get your shit together The Verge people.
Cosign. I considered signing up until I saw “You can now pay to get fewer ads” in their copy.
Timothy Snyder sums up what I’ve learned about Pete Hegseth, a person I’d never heard of until this month & wish I never had. Unqualified, anti-Constitutional, AND a terrible human being
This tidbit will sit with me for a while:
We also keep the tines of the fork upward like a scoop, unlike in Europe, where the fork stays in the left hand and the tines point downward. This is apparently because Americans first began to use forks in the 17th century, before they fully evolved in Europe.
– Zocalo Public Square (h/t The Overspill)
My family is European in its knife handling, but not on the tine direction. Also, there is an excellent use case for the spork that is missed – you can take a metal spork in US airports where a metal fork is unwelcome. Chopsticks + Spork FTW
“Mum Does the Washing,” by Joshua Idehen. Do not sleep on this. H/t Andy Cush at Hearing Things
John Gruber experiences a different Apple News+ than me. I canceled my latest free trial early because it was mostly garbage being served up. Nothing felt curated. Filtering doesn’t work transparently. Oh, and the ads sucked. On that, we both agree
More examples of drumpf +mob being all about tactical wins with zero fucks given about strategy or even what will any of this will mean. “Unintended Consequences” are something that happens to other people, I guess? Also, those voters needing Helene relief I guess are SOL until the new Dems come in?
North Carolina Republicans advanced extensive legislation Tuesday that would weaken the powers of the incoming governor, attorney general and schools superintendent - all Democrats who were elected two weeks ago - and shift election board appointments to the GOP state auditor.
For me the worst philosophical sin is not being wrong, or even making logical errors. It is being dogmatic. Although I try not to be dogmatic about this.
🔗 Pink Floyd's Echoes
I’m usually not a fan of male pomposity. A shirtless man band strutting around a Roman amphitheater in Pompeii for a 24...… it was a useful lesson in humility, a reminder that for all our presumption in explaining China to the world, we had little idea what was going on around us — and that any time we were too full of ourselves, too cocky about our analytical triumphs, we were probably about to learn that the world is more complicated than it seems.
– Nicholas Kristof | China Books Review | 14th November 2024](h/t The Broswer)