Because of recent events I'm finding myself more hopeful about politics and have started re-engaging with political comedy like The Daily Show. Their rotating cast of hosts has been pretty enjoyable, and it's nice seeing Jon Stewart's grizzled face once a week.

I'm really enjoying the re-vamp of After Midnight, it's always a delight. Few things are funnier than a veteran comedian being surprised into genuine laughter.

I also stumbled on a new CNN humor show (I know, right?) that you can find on HBO Max - Have I Got News for You. It's an American version of a UK panel show where you get 4 comedians and a legit politician to rip on the headlines. It's only been a few episodes, but they're finding their footing, and they've had several lifelong Republicans on. It's nice remembering a time when Republicans didn't have to be the worst just to get on camera.

Between general existential dread and parenting a toddler I'm having trouble disappearing into fiction TV, and have no blocks of time for movies right now, but it's nice to have a collection of funny people to help me laugh at night.

I took up rowing crew last summer and competed in my first regatta this last weekend. I took first and second place in my heats — my first time ever winning medals for anything athletic!

Happy belated & sending you good thoughts for continued healing, Jason.

I co-produced the world premiere of a new play in NYC last month, and, uh, it was a massive hit. We're discussing options for a transfer. 25 years in show business and this is a new experience for me.

But it swallowed 4+ months of my life, and now that I have a little downtime, I need a mental reset. Can anyone rec a book series I can lose myself in? Something big and absorbing like the Broken Earth trilogy or the Baroque Trilogy? (Doesn't have to begin with a "b" or be a trilogy.)

I'm working on some interviews for MakeWeirdMusic.com, and possibly writing a guitar practice manual. Next time you're in NYC name a time and place and let's have a Kottke readers meetup!

About 2/3 of the way through the Neapolitan Novels, loving every page, thanks again Jason! Hope you get back to normal speed soon. For wrist pain wearing braces at night can really help the healing process along—it's amazing how much they bend and twist as we sleep.

Unfortunately watching All the Light We Cannot See with my older daughter—she has to do a presentation on a book that must also have a movie/limited series version, so she chose this—and it's just really formulaic in ways the book wasn't—it seems that every change from the book is for the worse, and really unnecessary. And I really enjoyed the book.

Also working through the entire Poirot series with her; wonderfully it's all available on the internet archive. Highly recommended. https://archive.org/details/poirot-series

Was great to hike Mt Lafayette in NH this past weekend, lots of orange in Franconia Notch, though it looks like it's just getting going around the lakes. This has been a particularly beautiful fall weather-wise in New England.

Repeatedly falling in love with "We're OK. But We're Lost Anyway." by Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp (Spotify, Apple Music). I'm a few years late to the party, but better late than never.

Ran my first marathon in 10 years last weekend. There was a lot of life in those years (marriage, kids, injuries, jobs etc.) and it was important to me to see if I could still run one after all that--if I was still "me." And, I did it! No world records in timing of course. But I finished and felt great and was able to show a new (to them) side of myself to my young daughters and husband.

Book: The 29th Day - "A six-hundred-mile canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness is a seventeen-year-old’s dream adventure, but after he is mauled by a grizzly bear, it’s all about staying alive."

Music: London Grammar- The Greatest Love

TV: S4 of Trying

In physical therapy for a knee thing but cleared to ride bikes again. Highly recommend PT if you’ve not done it; I swear they are musculature wizards.

Couldn’t get “Intermezzo” from the library so I scooped “Beautiful World, Where Are You” and am really enjoying it. Rooney feels like a slightly more grounded Patricia Lockwood? I don’t know if it’s fair to compare them, I like both.

Taking pottery classes and then obsessing about it all week until the next one. Man it feels good to have a hobby I really, truly, deeply enjoy again.

Hi Jason! glad to hear from you - it's such a throw back to the early 2000s to find myself worrying about someone from a blog when they don't post quite as regularly.
I'm listening to the temeraire series for like the 5th time because my 10yo is obsessed. we're on the last book, it's such a fun and huge story.
i started playing ultimate frisbee for the first time in 20 years this summer and it's been SO FUN but wow my body is very different now. i need about 3-4 days at a minimum between playing because my knees are so sore. it's also fun doing something athletic that i am objectively not good at. great for my ego, good for my sense of humor and all around delightful

I have felt run down and sometimes slightly feverish for the past 4 weeks. So, I went to my doctor thinking I might have Lyme (I had been in the country a lot in August). I got a blood test and learned that I have Mono. Ugh. Unsurprisingly, my wife has symptoms now as well. We agree that Mono feels like depression: hard to get out of bed, listless, fatigued, and malaise.

I did make it to The Met this weekend and saw an amazing exhibit of drawings by Native American artist Mary Sully. They are colorful, intricate, patterned, triptychs in colored pencil that pay homage to famous people. They reward long stares where images pop out and connections appear. I don't think reproductions do them justice, so highly recommend a visit to the museum.
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/mary-sully-native-modern

I loved “The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August” and have read it a couple of times. I went through a time-loop/time-travel book kick and it was one of my favorites. Favorite of all was Connie Willis’ “Doomsday Book”.

Are you listening to the new Jamie xx record In Waves? Kottke.org introduced me to In Colour back in 2015 and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Had a nice relaxing rainy weekend with my partner, she's watching The Sopranos for the first time and we watched the last few episodes of season 5 together. I forgot how incredibly good that show was. We spent a lot of the rest of the weekend just co-existing and working on our own separate things. It was really nice :)

We're looking forward to visiting Maine for the first time in a couple of weeks. We're going to stay in a treehouse!

I am currently reading/listening to The Overstory by Richard Powers

Watching the latest season of The Great British Bakeoff.

Gone camping twice in two weekends - once to a local county park, once up to Lake Tahoe, which is *amazing* in shoulder season. Hiked 11 miles, saw five other people. Happily reading the Ministry of Time, saving up a week or two of Great British Baking Show before starting the new season.

The most rewarding thing: working with some neighborhood friends on closing our street to cars for Halloween trick or treating. We got our city permit on Thursday, and now we can just set the kids loose on Halloween night without worrying.

Currently reading every book after my daughter reads it and then have a dinner conversation about the books. We started with the Harry Potter Series, Hungar Games, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, and Keepers of the Lost Cities series....she reads too quick for me to be 1 book behind...currently 3 books behind her. As someone who hardly reads, it's enjoyable to read again, especially something that your kid really enjoys reading.

Taking any suggestions for other books/series for my daughter (12 y/o) to pick up and read.

Started doing stained glass, which is super hard, and fun.

Finished Intermezzo, which I adored, and does anyone write better about sex, intimacy, and depression than Sally Rooney? (Every scene with Peter, it is raining, and he notices. I feel that.) If so, please send recommendations!

Also got into a show that is really funny called Make Some Noise, which is really just very silly improv, and if you like After Midnight, you will like this one too. I haven't laughed so hard in very long time as I did to one of the cast's impression of Sauron from Lord of the Rings, but it's Trump. (Lots of Denethor burns.) There are a lot of clips on their instagram page, if anyone wants to get a feel for it.

In the last month or so I've read North Woods alone (loved it), then read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow with my gf (also loved!). Now I'm reading The Will to Change by bell hooks, which I'm really digging, and Nabokov's Pale Fire, which is over my head I think. Oh, also reading Fellowship of the Ring to my oldest.

I've watched 3 movies in the last 3 days: Kramer vs Kramer (first time, I'm currently going through a divorce involving 2 young kids, so I sobbed like a baby through this one), The Last Seduction (a neo-noir palette cleanser after Kramer), and then last night I watched Black Swan with my gf for the first time since it came out. I forgot how much of a horror movie that turns in to! Black Swan was kind of in preparation for the screening of The Red Shoes (1948) that we're gonna check out this weekend.

My gf and I also kind of stumbled upon a Trump rally this past weekend. I can't say I recommend it, but I think there was value for me in seeing the cult of personality with my own eyes.

I hope you feel better soon Jason. Biking is my primary mode of transportation and getting injured is something that I feel is almost inevitable. I've been lucky so far, and I'm sorry you had some bad luck.

p.s., I've been dating my gf for over a year and a half now. On our first date I showed her some goofy putty magnet video you had posted earlier in the day. She has since told me what a green light that was to her, 'that' being my dorky display, I suppose. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for your work!

I was slogging through the Power Broker at a snails pace. (I had actually kept up the 99% invisible book club pace through May) I bought the kindle version (finally!!) after I saw your post and I'm crushing it- the paperback and my middle aged eyes did not agree. I think I'll be back on pace later this month!

Hay Jason, you made me feel Internet Famous™ today!

I hope you like the book. I recommended it to a coworker and he only made it a few hours and it never clicked with him, which was a letdown to hear. However, he doesn't have the imagination to go along with the story.

hey jason heyyyyy sorry you've had such a rough time & hoping you feel a lot better soon!

read NIGHTBITCH by rachel yoder & BEAUTYLAND by marie-helene vertigo back-to-back in the last couple weeks and loved both. currently toggling between IMMINENT by luis elizondo & WELCOME TO GLORIOUS TUGA by francesca segal and enjoying both. taking our first trip sans kids this friday to the hudson valley/berkshires region (with maybe a drive into vermont?) and would love recs if anyone has any. biggest hope is for lower temps & humidity but it's not looking that way =)

This past weekend, the husband needed space and TLC... his 93 year old father for the first time didn't recognize him. They talk daily, and senior didn't know who his son was. This was a major blow and derailed all plans that weekend.

We binged watched From before it left Amazon Prime on the 30th. It started strong mostly, but by the end of season 2 for me, I was becoming very critical of it. I hope the setup for season 3 unfolds halfway intelligently.

I'm writing Register to Vote postcards to swing state likely Democrats as identified by FieldTeam6. I'm really close to 300 so far, another 100 to go and I think I may do more as last days to mail are very late October, my right hand will probably still work.

Comfort food was needed. I made two batches of my Spaghetti Casserole, one for the weekend, and one got vacuumed-sealed and waits for another day in the freezer.

I'm in SC and we're just starting to recover from the hurricane damage. Since Friday I've found that my priorities have shifted. I think that's probably normal for people coming through a disaster, but it's been interesting to notice it happening.
The things we take for granted (electricity, internet/cellular, passable roads, fresh food, fuel, etc) can all be gone in an instant. And how you react to that, and how prepared you are, will make a huge difference between 'this is a disaster and i'm fighting for my family' vs 'this is an adventure and we're really lucky to not be any worse off.
I can see thousands that had it worse than us, and that's led me to a little more perspective on disasters, but also the toll of wars, famine, plagues, etc.

I was worried, too! So thanks for the update.
I went through two weeks of illness, a terrible flu with all the trimmings. It was quite humbling since I am never sick (or gloss over anything non-serious), the world contracting to nothing but the symptoms. Being healthy again feels amazing.
Making my way through All Fours, started to watch Cobra Kai with my teen boys. Oh, and I discovered a blog by a German man who writes about his visits to Michelin star restaurants. Excellent writing, wonderful photography, so much joy leaping off the page (https://troisetoiles.de). It made me think that I, too, might look up nice(r) restaurants for my upcoming trips.
How you feel better soon, Jason!

I went to Portland and gave a presentation to a community I haven’t been involved in for five years. It was a lot, but nourishing.

My wife and I are discussing plans to build a new patio. We’ve lived here for 20 years and never got around to replacing the old terrible one we tore down about a decade ago. The quotes we’ve gotten so far are really expensive!

With (a LOT of) help from a friend, finished the deck on our house, only to have the first rain afterward point out that we didn't extend the awning far enough. 🤦‍♂️
Salved myself by getting to work on something where I *do* feel some degree of competency: removing broken engine, good transmission from my 2006 VW Golf to install good engine, better transmission.

Fell better soon! Sounds like a great trip to New York. My wife and I are alternating picks of 70s movies for rewatching. The China Syndrome held up, The Parallax View was kinda messy plot wise, The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (1974 versions of course) was incredible. Next up, Breaking Away.

I’m so glad you’re taking the time for your body and mind to rest and recuperate, Jason. Big impacts take a while to integrate.

I recently discovered a spin class studio with classes in the dark that feels like clubbing in one’s 20s — not that I did much of that back then! — and it’s giving me a slight identity crisis to discover I LOVE IT. I invited a dozen friends to join me for a class over the weekend in lieu of a birthday party and, busy parents that we are, it was perfect. I’m so solidly momming in my forties now I can barely recognize myself. Happiest I’ve ever been too!

Always a shoutout for Orna Guralnik’s Couples Therapy show. The trick is to try to see yourself in every character while watching, to realize we’re all working through painful experiences and negotiating closeness with freedom in different ways.

Visited Glacier National Park last week, sad to find it's mostly rivers, lakes and streams of melted glaciers.

On return, half our group tested positive for Covid. Fortunately I tested negative; while I was at the pharmacy I got the SpikeVax (aka Moderna) shot and it wiped me out for the weekend.

I ended up binge watching The Handmaid's Tale, which added to my nausea.

We got an order for about 1,000,000 marshmallows, which we have to turn in 6 weeks without missing any of the other regular business that we do. That means this is the first fall we haven't had a family trip planned because the work is so busy, plus I'm behind on social engagement / commitments. The introverts in my life — including my wife who runs our business with me! — don't mind losing social interactions to get the work done. But I'm an enneagram 7 and need both the socials and a steady stream of "new and exciting" in my life to stay energized, so it's been a little tiring and disruptive for me!
P.S. I had a minor foot injury playing soccer 2 years ago that turned into a persistent (painful!) problem for a 6-month stretch of this year. It slowed me down in everything, and even messed with my sleep quality.
Take it easy and be smart with your recovery, Jason!

The biggest surprise this year has been my two boys discovering a love for fishing. Not something I particularly care about, but for two kids with pretty severe ADHD and a host of other anxiety issues, watching them sit and fish for HOURS is pretty inspiring. So, I'm suddenly learning a lot about fishing.

Also discovered that our park district hosts a monthly "script reading happy hour" where you come out for drinks and take a role in a table reading for a play. It's scratching an itch I didn't realize I had.

Other than that, loving Nilüfer Yanya's My Method Actor, and the re-release of Marvel vs Capcom 2 on a bunch of systems, including the Switch.

Hope you’re up to full strength soon – it sounds like a restorative NYC trip on your way there.

I’ve been dealing with brain fog and fatigue for a long time now, but after stumbling onto this Rachel Syme tweet from a while back, trying to do some small-scale rabbit holes when I have the energy.

I walk to the farmstand near my house and try to buy a vegetable I’m not as familiar with (celeriac, delicata squash) and cook with it. Varying degrees of success, and I’m a slow cook, but the formula of low-key physical movement + achievable challenge + trying something new during a weekday feels like a small victory.

I’ve also been exploring NYC neighborhoods I hadn’t been back to in years by ferry hopping between boroughs – ferried between Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan for sandwiches, bookstores, and movies, before a hop to Governors Island for quiet reading in a hammock (TIL that director Mike Flanagan lived there as a kid before the base was decommissioned).

Watching/recently watched Slow Horses, Shardlake, Lockwood and Co, and The Hour. A mix of excellent casting and craft and all some loose variation on workplace stuff meets other genre (dark comedy spy thriller, historical mystery, teen supernatural mystery, period drama, respectively).

Hi Jason, I am glad to hear that you are on the mend.

I just got back from a conference in St. John's, Newfoundland. I lived there for 4 years from 2007-2011 while in medical school. This past trip my family came for the first time and we went to Bell Island and visited their mine museum (https://bellislandminetour.com/).

It was amazing!

I was never a local ("townie") in St John's but it always strikes me on how seeing a place with "fresh eyes" can unearth hidden gems.