Happy New Year, reader…
It’s been a little while since we’ve had a format adjustment here at TOA but I figured, hey, it’s a new year so why not? Let’s have a quick look at what I have in mind.
The basic problem I want to solve is how to balance the occasional nonsense of these newsletters with the pure admin that I aim to take care of at the start of each month. As usual, the brainstorming session that ensued would seem pointless to most outsiders – why think so much about something so pointless as the TOA newsletter? I ignored these mostly internal critics until I had the flash of insight I needed – I had two problems, not one problem, and thus I would require two solutions.
So, starting next month, the newsletter is going to split into two parts. Part one will be on the first and, for a lack of a better expression, will represent my attempt to be clever, thoughtful, or whimsical at the start of the new month. Part two will be on the following day and it will cover all the admin – what happened, what changed, what I might do, and so on. I’ll even return the long-lost ‘proper admin’ label to these notes because, hey, why not, and also as a friendly reminder that the enemy to all things clever, thoughtful, or whimsical is indeed that much dreaded admin.
But what does this mean for my weekend?
Ah, right, it’ll look just like this.
That didn’t answer my question.
OK, well, I think by chopping up the newsletter I’ll also cut down on the length. There is no science to support this, but that’s my hunch. I’m thinking each block will run up to 500 words or so, a perfectly reasonable length if you ask me.
Who asked?
Well, don’t you think the end of the dreaded 1500 word newsletter is a good thing?
Sure, it can’t hurt, but you could just not write so many words, too.
Yeah… huh?
So, how is this gonna work again?
It won’t be much different than past months, just make sure I cover the basics – any podcast recommendations, talk about music or links, maybe review changes to my routine, and so on.
OK, anything for this month? Links, pods, music, and so on?
Right, I see you’re getting the hang of it already. Let’s see…
First, I liked this link from Al-Jazeera. It breaks down US leadership after the midterm elections and lets users toggle various settings to cut the demographics in all manners of ways. It shows how a lot changed and yet at the same time a lot remained the same, too. Makes for interesting browsing, at least, unless you are looking for Asian men (hint: we're tied with 'other raced' for last).
I determined 'The Mother We Share' by Chvrches was my favorite song from 2017-2018, narrowly edging out 'Use Me Up' by Lake Street Dive. I also want to mention 'Sounds Like Hallelujah' by The Head and The Heart, 'City of Blinding Lights' by U2, and this cover of 'American Pie' by John Mayer. It’s not worth explaining the nuts and bolts of how I made the decision to highlight these songs – let’s just say I feel pretty confident that this group best represents the songs I’ve enjoyed most over the course of 2017-2018.
So no 2018 winner?
Not really, I’m working on it more like in a 2018-2019 sense. But in terms of the past couple of months, I’ve liked 'Graffiti' by Chvrches (and also this acoustic version), 'My Speed' by Lake Street Dive, and this acoustic version of 'Cornerstone' by Arctic Monkeys.
I will highlight some more songs I liked from 2018 when I get into TOA awards season, which should be sometime in February.
Did you leave the apartment at all this month?
Ummm…
Wait, it’s January 1 – any New Year’s resolutions?
Not exactly, as you may recall I’m not a big fan of sitting down just once a year to think things over, but in terms of what’s on my mind now I want to continue focusing on solidifying my routines so that I have energy to spare for the new or unusual. I heard a good thought this month – creativity can mean variation within repetition – and I think having strong routines in place will help me with that aspect of creativity.
Anything else?
Yes, a few days ago I posted ‘The Hitler Defense’ and I have a couple of follow up thoughts. First, I should note that the discussion I actually overheard was about charisma, not leadership, which is why I included a quick reference to charisma in the second paragraph. However, I have heard the leadership point made at other times in my life and thought it fit better with the main idea of the post.
I am also going to warn the reader about a pair of upcoming leftover posts from ‘The Hitler Defense’ – there is no need to worry about the event described in those posts. It simply happened, and that's that. If I could go back and change the way I responded, I wouldn't. I’m writing about it now because I think the time is right to share what I consider an important story. I hope my readers learn from it and, if possible, even find something to like about it.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
In the next month of... True On Average...
1. Why you shouldn't lie...
2. The hidden signal in a back pass...
3. Surely, there are no racists at Haymarket?
