Although it doesn’t impact my life in the slightest, I’m thinking about unsubscribing from Jack’s blog.
It isn’t necessarily the constant reboots of his blog that bothers me— I do that frequently enough myself, or have in the past. Rather, it’s my RSS reader exploding on what seems like an every-fortnight basis as a result that is getting rather annoying.
I’m far behind on my reading of The New Yorker, and I’m okay with that.
Aside from the delay caused by December’s postal strike, back issues have been slowly piling up. My current read is from December 9, 2024. It’s fantastic.
Except, of course, for the ongoing coverage of Trump’s election win— the first in a long series of articles about the foolish things he’ll say and do. Everything else that interests me in the magazine feels timeless.
Recently, I read about Lake Tahoe’s bear population and the divide between residents who want to live in harmony with them and those who see them as enemies in a never-ending war on nature. This week, there’s a long-form piece on Argentina’s president, charting his rise to power and his ill-informed, poorly executed attempts to reshape the country’s economy. Unfortunately, the portrait of Javier Milei reads a little too much like a portrait of Trump.
As part of my morning routine, I work through a long-form piece every day or two, filling the gaps with shorter articles. I gravitate toward book and film reviews and have even come to enjoy the magazine’s fiction.
Right now, ten back issues sit stacked on my shelf, including the 100th-anniversary edition— alongside two back issues of The Walrus still waiting for my attention. But I’m in no rush. Some of the content may be out of date by the time I get to it, but that’s not why I subscribe. I do it for the routine, the habit it helps me form, and as an intentional way to spend time away from yet another screen.
It's been a while. I'm still thinking about what digital spaces look like for me moving forward.
I'm drawn to something like Matt’s long-running, sporadically updated blog, Submitted For Your Perusal. There's something appealing about the irregular posting schedule, the variety of content, and the fact that it simply exists— ready for whenever something needs to be shared.
I’m still grappling with the balance between personal, private content and what I choose to make public. Even within the public sphere, there are distinctions: things I want to remember, interesting finds from others, and my own creative contributions.
Adding to the mix, I recently joined Bluesky as @kvl.me to explore whether it holds any value for me.
I had the idea today to start generating more ideas on a regular basis, to find any semblance of creativity that still exists inside me.
This morning while journaling I came up with this list:
Bacon and maple flavoured kombucha.
Monthly contributions to https://thelocalist.substack.com/— thoughts on becoming reacquainted with my city
Weekly coffee club: same time and location; whomever shows, shows.
Urban bocce league.
A website that collects nothing other than my random / stupid ideas.
Spray-paint & stencil T-Shirt Pop-Up (with J.K.)
Roy McDonald Day: a day to celebrate all things Roy (a mini-media festival)
Bookshop notes drop: items placed into books in used bookstores.
(not entirely new) Yours To Discover: large canvas with Ontario postcards mod podge onto it.
Brainstorm an ideal PhD for me.
An unofficial history of ... (some random object).
Start handmaking my own notebook / journal inserts for my A5 notebook cover.
A presentation on, How to Make Fudge. Me having been a Fudgemaker and all.
Blackout Poetry in Books I don’t care to read.
Merge two boardgames into one: swap pieces, or integrate graphics from one into the other
Create a card or board game
Hockney Style Photo Collage of ?? (and print it for the wall)
Build a bike from scratch (with Squeaky Wheel — London Cycle Link)
Write a short story— less than 1000 words. About, well anything.
Write a children’s story. Less than 250 words.
Start a social club.
Write mini sagas for all fiction works I read
...
The list above isn’t all that bad for idea generation, a practice I haven’t completed in some time. The highlighted items are likely easy wins, low-lifts, or things I can collaborate on with James that might not take that much work.
It’s rather frustrating to have electric kettles that only have measurements for litres included on their tank.
I can’t remember the last time (or any time) that I needed 2.5L of boiling water.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know how many mugs (not cups) of water you’re loading up in the kettle so that you can brew the perfect amount of water?
Yes, I can fill my mug with water and dump it in the kettle, but this is an unnecessary step. If the kettle had more useful measurements included we’d likely all would be better off.
We need a mug-based kitchen kettle.