And then what?

10 things worth sharing this week

Hey y’all,

On Tuesday I showed the inside of my studio, but the real highlight of my week was seeing inside your studios in our incredible chat thread. Holy moly. What a cool crew we have.

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

1. It can be tempting to rush through our hardest work. The question I plan on asking myself a lot next year: “And then what?”
   
   

2. I picked up John Higg’s William Blake vs. The World and got completely sucked in. It has connections to several great books I read this year: William James’ The Varieties of Religion Experience, Iain McGilchrist on the coincidence of opposites, and Gareth Brookes’ The Dancing Plague, not to mention old favorites like Carlo Rovelli and Lao Tzu.
   
   

3. That we would train machines to be like us is not that surprising. What’s surprising to me is how much we’ve trained ourselves to be like machines.
   
   

4. The kids are alright: “Luddite” teens don’t want your likes.
   
   

5. “The radical idea at the heart of Montessori’s method was not that children learn by play but that adults prevent them from learning by interrupting them.” On the life of Maria Montessori.
   
   

6. Prince producer and cognitive psychologist Susan Rogers on why we love the music we love. (In particular, I was interested in what she said about materials and vision.)
   
   

7. Stand-up: I recommend NYTimes comedy critic Jason Zinoman’s year-end list. Most of it was new-to-me, and I enjoyed the Earthquake and Taylor Tomlinson specials so much I’m going to watch the rest on his list.
   
   

8. “I will often read passages from my favorite writers to remind myself how some people really just know how to give it up, by which I mean give up their secret dreaming selves, with honesty and artistry. Their example lifts me, emboldens me, when I am feeling depleted and paltry.” I really enjoyed Sam Lipsyte’s By The Book interview, but you’ve got to read the digital and not the print or you’ll miss out!
   
   

9. Instagram tip: I only recently learned you can search your photos by date! Your profile > top right menu > Your Activity > Photos and Videos > Posts > Sort and Filter.
   
   

10. RIP composer Angelo Badalamenti. His Soundtrack From Twin Peaks is essential.
    
    

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xoxo,

Austin

PS. If you ordered some of my books personalized from Bookpeople for the holidays, I signed them all and they should be on their way to you! (If you’re in Austin, they have signed copies in store for $10!)