Hey y’all,

Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:

1. My 13-year-old coder spotted a copy of Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification on our coffee table and got a big grin on his face. I said, “You can read it if you want!” and he proceeded to do so. I asked him if he’d like to write a review for the newsletter. Like his old man, he likes to keep it brief: “A humorous, engaging, and political guide to the mishaps of the Internet. Frequent Internet users should definitely read this book.” (Here’s a recent interview with Doctorow.)
   
   

2. I started reading Julian Gough almost 20 years ago when I came across his wonderful essay on comedy vs. tragedy. For the past three years, Julian has been writing his next book in public — show your work! — using his newsletter, The Egg and The Rock. “A non-fiction exploration of the strange fact that our universe, in its development, behaves far more like an egg than a rock.” Like most of the physics books I like to read, I barely understand his “Blowtorch Theory” model of structural formation in the universe, but I find his ideas and his enthusiasm for them quite thrilling. If you’d like to dip in, a great start is this podcast. Here are a few of my notes doodled while listening:

   

3. “I look at my life with a sense of humility because I cannot honestly take credit for any of it. You know, it just happened.” I saw a short clip of actor Anthony Hopkins promoting his new memoir on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and had to watch the whole thing. (Don’t miss him reciting T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”) Makes me want to memorize my favorite poems, practice the piano, and maybe even grow old!
   
   

4. The next day I thought, “Oh, maybe I’ll re-watch The Silence of the Lambs and answer some emails.” I got sucked in again by the opening titles, and two hours later, I had answered zero emails. That night I started (and spent the weekend finishing) the Thomas Harris novel for the 3rd time. (If I ever get invited to The Criterion Closet, the Blu-Ray is the first thing I’ll choose — the behind-the-scenes featurette is quite good!)
   
   

5. I stole a line from Bob Dylan’s “Mississippi” for my November mixtape:

   

   

   There are two Geese songs on there because I love those kids. I won’t gush again like I did last week, but Meg and I saw them live a few nights ago and they were great. A band that can pull off covering The Stooges and New Radicals? Hell yeah.
   
   You can listen to the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube.
   
   

6. Animated pizza night: We all liked the stop-motion of ParaNorman (2012) and the kids like The Ren & Stimpy Show so much I went ahead and got the complete collection for cheap on DVD. (While watching, we got to revisit the concept of the “Gross Up.”)
   
   

7. Austin, TX: I plan on spending a lot of time on my bike this weekend checking out Austin Studio Tour and Texas Book Festival. Friday night, Valerie Fowler’s having an open studio. Saturday, some great YA authors are coming: R.L. Stine (“Who‘d want to write for adults? Horrible audience.”), Jason Reynolds, Peter Brown, Nathan Hale (my kids LOVE his stuff), and more. Sunday, I’d like to see Dan Chaon, Patricia Lockwood, and Peter Ames Carlin. (I’m sure I’ve missed a ton of folks — tell me who you plan to see!)
   
   

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8. I like this idea: “Creativity is just deviance put to good use.” (As I’ve said before, “Be the weird you wish to see.)
   
   

9. I also like a tuna fish sandwich, so I enjoyed this obituary of artist Alison Knowles. (A good reminder that I still need to read Allan Kaprow’s Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life — he taught one of my favorite artists, Nina Katchadourian.)
   
   

10. “What if you replaced your dread with curiosity?” 10 scraps from my notebook.

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xoxo,

Austin