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Nine Days

To escape the heat yesterday, Kim and I went to the movies. We saw “Nine Days” on a whim without any foreknowledge of the film. It is amazing. I give it my strongest possible recommendation. It’s thoughtful, beautiful, and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. More like this, please! (Here’s a glowing review for the curious.)

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While mindlessly browsing the web this morning, I happened this 15-year-old comment at AskMetafilter. It is, in essence, a description of what I’m going to call “the snowball method” for writing a story. Why snowball? Because the writing process builds upon itself, gaining size and speed as the work progresses. Here’s the entire comment from …

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As Kim and I begin our house hunt, it’s become clear that I am drawn to mid-century modern design. Yes, I realize that’s a bit cliché. Mid-century modern (or MCM, for short) is popular with many, many people. For me, I’m drawn to MCM — or any sort of modernist design, really — because it …

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Earlier this year, I made an abortive attempt to resurrect Folded Space (or jdroth.com, if you prefer). For the six weeks I was writing here, I really enjoyed it. But there were a couple of problems.

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Learning Spanish

A decade ago, I decided to learn Spanish. In the summer of 2011, I sought out a Spanish tutor in the Portland area and chanced to meet a Peruvian woman named Aly. For the next eighteen months or so, Aly and I met three times a week for 90 minute sessions. It was a ton …

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A maximally fulfilling life

Since my epiphany last week about online interaction likely being the source of much of my stress and anxiety, I’ve been doing a lot of introspection. Overanalytical Man is flexing his muscles…but in a good way. I’m reading books (currently reading Waking Up by Sam Harris), watching movies, and talking with friends. This latter action …

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The epiphany

I had an interesting insight during the dog walk earlier this week, and I want to set it down before I forget it. Tuesday was a good morning. I felt confident (which is unusual for me in recent years) and I was productive. I got stuff done. During the dog walk, my mind started to …

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Trees are my enemy

I know it’s commonplace for middle-aged men to complain that growing old isn’t for sissies, but I’m about to grouse about my health. Fair warning. Now, nothing drastic is wrong with me at the moment. Thank goodness. But in recent years, I’ve experienced a variety of physical woes, large and small. I’ve had pneumonia, which …

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I’m currently on vacation with Kim’s brother and his family. We’re enjoying a much-needed beach retreat. Before we left for this trip, I felt overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed by U.S. politics. I was overwhelmed by my work at Get Rich Slowly. I was overwhelmed by the things that needed to be done around the house. …

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Kim and I moved out of our lovely penthouse condo in June 2017 and moved into our quaint country cottage. In many ways, we love the place. But in some ways, this has been the worst financial decision I’ve ever made. This house has been a money pit. And I have very real fears that …

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