I’ve always laughed at the claim that the story of Jesus is “the greatest story ever told.” Have these people not read Harry Potter? Shakespeare? Dostoevsky? Seen literally any of the great films from the past century?

But maybe this evangelist would counter that “greatest” means something like a foundation which makes all that follows possible. The Beatles and music would be one such example. So too could be the Christ story… except that Greek myths preceded Christ. And Greek myths, I’d contend, are not only more interesting, but also more helpful in offering guidance for how best to live (though I do accept that “The Parable of the Good Samaritan” is excellent and revolutionary in redefining morality). Jesus’ flawless nature is simply less relatable than gods and heroes who share our flaws.

Anyway, thought of you because of “Circe.” I think this novella is quite well-written and clever.

It was Hell, if hell is where the life we love cannot exist.

Chronology is one method only and not the best.

Every man assumes that what is valuable to himself must be coveted by others.

sent me cowering inside a shed of excuses.

I suppose it was surrender. Who is strong enough to escape their fate? Who can avoid what they must become?

No man believes what he does not feel to be true.

(more…)

Lose an hour in the morning and you search for it all day.

Love is thing of heart. Or love is like this sake: night of joy, yes, but in cold morning, headache, sick stomach. A man should love concubine, so when love dies he say, “Goodbye,” easy and no injury. Marriage is different: marriage is matter of head… rank… business… bloodline.

“Twould bend company rules on private trade, aye, but the trees what survive cruel winds are those what do bend, eh, are they not?”
“A tidy metaphor does not make a wrong thing right.”

Tain’t good intentions what paves the road to hell: it’s self-justifyin’s.

Two hours pass at the speed of one but exhaust Jacob like four

(more…)

carry a bag (or whatever) for one person a week. Easy to do in an airport.

“right” to end sentences. More annoying than “um.”

Reflexive contrarianism? Little difference from that which it so strongly disdains. But considered contrarianism where one carefully inspects a belief he’s inherited, carefully considers an alternative, and decides an alternative is preferable? An act worthy of celebration, even if the celebrator doesn’t share the alternative view.

Of course, celebration rarely occurs, since insiders often turn defensive in the face of well-reasoned outsiders. So, I’m not surprised that both you and xxxxxxxxx face uncomfortable encounters from people far too certain about something they’ve surely considered less extensively.

But this cost is worth bearing, for the habit-of-mind that makes the bearing necessary is a habit that helps one better know himself and the world.

—

Skating is my favorite outsider culture. “Reading” these magazines counts as a rare form of relaxation for me. I think you may also enjoy the flipping of pages, the imagining of yourself copping the styles (see the Sammy Montano advert), and the gaining bits of wisdom from dudes living far differently from the educated elite. Also, laughing. Like when a skater you like lists his “Songs for a Broken Heart.”

Hope your heart is the opposite of broken.

Some people might have mistaken this for simplicity. But is it not a sort of genius to cut always to the heart?

I understood why his father did not let him fight in front of the others. How could any ordinary man take pride in his own skill when there was this in the world?

You’ve decided to leave your children $0. Or not. Either way, you certainly want them properly developed such that they need not be left anything. So how does one “let kids be kids” while also cultivating a confident, independent resourcefulness in them?

—

Pillar One: Take pride in being quite competent in many, many domains. Sounds obvious… until you recall how the world dispenses prestige. It’s a dinner party with well-educated professionals casually bragging about their lives. By accepting Pillar One, you are accepting that these guests will likely have you beat. They will flaunt social currency that you don’t have, and what you do have won’t be as valuable. “That’s cool you fixed the garbage disposal. I had my maid do it when mine broke. By the way, I just made president! Look at my new Porsche.” Without true belief in Pillar One, it will be all too easy to surrender your values and compete with this fuck on his terms.

(more…)

You thought last year was a one-time thing, didn’t you? Wrong! Happy Father’s Day 2025!

For whatever reason, my mind associates you with this holiday. Part of the association, sure, is you losing your father. I think about that loss, and I hope you are doing as well as you can with it. But also there’s that still-vivid image of you being a father in your backyard with xxxxxxxxx in his karate outfit. There is xxxxxxxxx: man, father, husband, strong and vulnerable, and trying to do what is right.

Of course basically everyone is trying to do what is right… but some think more deeply, try a little harder, and are more open to discussing their uncertainties about what, exactly, defines “right.” Package these distinct behaviors together, and future efforts will likely improve. Never to perfect, obviously. Never guaranteed to be linear either. Just an overall arc that justifiably induces pride.

You would not have been proud if xxxxxxxxx was in the sixsome (!!!) golfing in front of me at xxxxxxxxx a few Sundays ago. The course is slammed. And even if it wasn’t, the fact that I’m waiting to hit should be a blaring signal to (a) break up the group or (b) let me to play through. The sixsome chooses to (c) ignore everyone but themselves.

(more…)

In 1950, the average GPA at Harvard was estimated at 2.6 out of 4. By 2003, it had risen to 3.4. Today, it stands at 3.8.

The more elite the college, the more lenient the standards. At Yale, for example, 80% of grades awarded in 2023 were As or A minuses. But the problem is also prevalent at less selective colleges. Across all four-year colleges in the United States, the most commonly awarded grade is now an A.

Here