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Well, after weeks of artfully evading the holiday crud, it surprised and tackled me. Damnit.
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It’s 2025!
I have no hopes for the new year. I’m trying to keep in mind Merton’s advice from Letters to a Young Activist:
[D]o not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on […], you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. And there too a great deal has to be gone through, as gradually you struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much more real. In the end, as you yourself mention in passing, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything.
Merton was talking about sustaining one’s focus and resolve in the face of apathy towards the Vietnam War, not facing down what I will do in this new year. The advice rings true, all the same: “Do not depend on hope of results.” Whether or not I achieve my goals, I will wake up and try my best to live by my principles. The specific people I work for are my friends, my loved ones, and myself.
My only advice to you all this year is: plan your work, make your resolutions, but only devote yourself each day to doing your best by what you value. Good luck out there!
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It’s the little details that make morning routines so pleasant. 🧩☕️
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Currently reading: It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism by Senator Bernie Sanders 📚
Our economic debates should not revolve around questions of resources. They should revolve around questions of intent, of will.
A-bloody-men.
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Finally, 30 years later, watched The Crow. I can see why it’s a cult favorite and why my goth friends adore it. It certainly has pathos and a 90s sense of style. If this is the best in the series, though, I think I’m good stopping here. 🎬🐦⬛
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My bluetooth keyboard died, and I don’t have any spare batteries in my house. Instead, I’m using a huge wired keyboard kept just for emergencies like this. It’s… annoying. ⌨️
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A calm, comforting indie folk tune for your Tuesday. 🎵
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Currently reading: It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism by Senator Bernie Sanders
Got this as part of a donation, then completely forgot it was coming. 20 pages in and it sounds like an extended stump speech, but it’s early yet, so we’ll see. 📚
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Finished reading: He/She/They by Schuyler Bailar
If you need to hand a relative a book on trans issues and why respecting their identities and pronouns are important, this is an excellent option. It’s thorough and empathic. He might need a better copy editor for his next book, though. 📚🏳️🌈
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Are you a music person or a lyrics person? I’m definitely a music person, but the literature and poetry loving part of me considers lyrics so essential that inanity can kill a song no matter how banger the rhythm is. 🎵
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To whoever did today’s Strands puzzle, well done. Very well done. 👏🧩
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I could smell this lilac bush a block away! 🌸📷
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Obsessing Over Trees in the Forest
Peter K.G. Williams writes about The Small Web and Science. It’s more an overview of the small web movement as a scientist for other scientists, but it echoes a lot of what many have been saying for a while.
This paragraph stuck out to me, though, and I think it bears repeating (emphasis mine):
We can’t, however, take for granted that the architecture of the web will always be quite so friendly to independent operators – protocols and expectations are always evolving. The proverbial “someone” needs to apply pressure to keep the infrastructure of the web friendly to small operators. … My worry here is that the small-web ethos is definitely susceptible to the tendency that you can get in environmentalism and other underdog movements: hoping if enough people just display enough personal virtue, the large-scale problem will solve itself. I doubt that many people would seriously argue that there’s no role for public policy or other forceful efforts in trying to achieve these goals, but I worry the DIY approach can easily become a trap. _Small-scale effort is much easier and yields rewards on much shorter timelines than large-scale action. From what I’ve seen it easily soaks up all of people’s time and energy, leaving nothing left for the big stuff._
It’s good to keep in mind that, just like productivity systems and writing systems and anything that involves upkeep and passion, we can get wrapped up in the details and not pay attention to the larger point of doing it. Like an organizer getting wrapped up in the latest todo app or sorting scheme, and missing the point of doing the work and having the time to do what one wants, that the organization was supposed to enable.
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To the tune of The Final Countdown:
“It’s the berry muffin! Nomnomnom nom, nomnomnom nomnom!” 🎵☕️📷
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I got a lot done today, x-ing tasks that needed crossing off: closed a bank account, replaced smoke alarms for my mother, grocery shopping, and more. Friends and family have told me how much they appreciated me.
Right now, sitting tired and expended, I feel like today has been wasted, that needed things were done but nothing necessary was touched.
Thing is, I can’t figure out what that necessary is.
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Seen today during my walk to my morning reading cafe. 📷
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A beautiful, playful way to start your weekend: Deaf artist Christine Sun Kim leads a short call for better music captions, then presents a poetic art piece using captions from a deaf person’s point of view to describe the world. It’s unlike anything you’re likely to see this weekend. Enjoy! 🎵🎥🧏
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Watched today’s Apple Event. Between the stilted speaking tempo, the wooden body language, and the staged scene direction, I really wish they’d go back to live presentations and let the presenters be themselves. Whoever is coaching these people needs to be replaced. 🧑💻
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Found these canes while helping my mother clean Patsy’s house. I thought my friend could use them as backup, but neither were interested. Makes a nice photo, though! 📷🩼
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Just as my friend’s band is about to go on, I get this in my inbox. The Columbus is just a few blocks down from my place. It’s been an institution for decades, long before the current owners, hosting national and local artists too big for local venues but too small for the main ones. Damnit. 🎵😢
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My project for the day: set up my Mother’s new laptop. My goal for the day: have it done before I leavee for my friend’s cover band gig tonight! 💻🎵
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A view of Providence, RI, looking towards downtown, as the sun began to set a few days ago. 📷
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The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has an amusing “Please don’t use your phone” warning video. 🎥
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I watched Not Just Bike’s recent video on highway lane expansions, which referenced Austin’s Rethink35 campaign and their amazing 1-35 Frogger game illustrating the insanity of a 20 lane highway. If the game doesn’t make the point, NJB’s video will! 🛣️🚗🕹️
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Come summer, this will be a hard perk to ignore! 📷🍜
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