A few links I’ve come across in the past few days that are worth sharing.
First, the New York Times wrote about one of M’s classmates. That’s right, THE NEW YORK TIMES! I never guessed Booker would rise as high in the national rankings as he has (#2 in one list, #4 in another) when I stood next to him at freshman orientation nearly three years ago.
This piece is less about Booker the player than about the path he and his family have chosen. A course that includes playing for a summer team with no shoe company affiliation and remaining at Cathedral for four years rather than transferring to a prep school. It took awhile, but with his explosion over the past four months, their choices seem to be paying off.
A Prized Recruit Shows the Shoe Circuit Is Not the Only Path
(Pro tip: if you have a public library card, I bet you can get access to the NYT for free. Check your library’s website. That’s how I read NYT articles I’m interested in.)
From The Guardian, an interesting piece about tracking what we listen to, watch, and read. I’ll admit I often get paralyzed looking at my lists of things I want to consume, and some pressure to make sure my monthly Media posts are filled with interesting entries.
Despite the positives of this – that we are motivated to make space for things we enjoy – it doesn’t exactly feel in the spirit of great art to be gamifying it in this way. And the flip side of those gratifying “Watched” lists is their ominous (and guilt-inducing) “To watch” opposite numbers. What ought to be an enticing smörgåsbord of future entertainment begins to look like an impossible mountain to climb.
‘It’s dopamine’: why we love to track our watching and reading habits
I read a John Darnielle novel awhile back. I’ve never been a huge Mountain Goats fan, although I like some of their songs. But I knew Darnielle was an “interesting” guy.
This piece confirms that.
“If you, every day, choose to be a little petty; if you, every day, deny somebody a little help that you could give at no real cost to yourself, you are going to become a much worse person than the guy who murdered somebody one time. By the time you’re 50, you’re going to be an unpleasant person to be around.”
The Mountain Goats Are Choosing a More Radical World
(Tuesday morning someone I follow mentioned that the Goats’ new songs are bangers. I checked them out and I must agree. Take a listen for yourself here.