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: Organic Purple Yams FTW The latest habit I’ve adopted is a bit of a weird one. For the past few weeks, I’ve eaten one organic purple sweet potato just about every day. I …
: Odd and Unpredictable Bruce Dickinson is one of the most fascinating people in the world. He is most famous for being the long time lead singer of Iron Maiden, one of the …
: Is the band interrupting your conversation? On Easter Sunday this past Spring, I celebrated with my family and friends by seeing Phish at the Moda Center in Portland. Natch. It was the first …
: On Travel I agree whole-heartedly with Ryan Holiday’s take on Didion’s quote. I consider myself extremely fortunate about my travel experiences thus far. …
: Rush is My Jam Show #10 We are getting deep into this imaginary tour and it keeps cooking. Natural Science opener would kill. First Main Monkey Business of the tour would …
: Choose Your Hard This quote is a major truth bomb, one we all need to remember. Hard is inevitable. Most of us operate under the illusion that if we take the easy way …
: What the? I teach in a public high school so I hear cuss words pretty regularly. I also happen to cuss a fair amount myself, though hopefully not often in …
: What or Who is a Quisling? In Diane Ravitch’s memoir An Education, which I am thoroughly enjoying (!), I came across a word I was not familiar with. The word is ‘quisling.’ Chat …
: On Grade Inflation I came across the information below in today’s Morning Brew newsletter. It appears professors at one of America’s most elite universities are …
: 5 Recommendations The Waking Up app and Podcast Sam Harris is one of my intellectual heroes. He ticks off the right people on both sides of the political spectrum …
: Remembering the Human Cost Napoleon’s soldiers learned that “living off the land” often meant making others starve. Those soldiers were mostly conscripts who had no choice but …
: Three Great Album Covers (and Albums!) Growing up in the 70s and 80s as I did, I came to appreciate album covers. Of course, the music on the record mattered, but often my first impression …
: Shaka Zulu I recently came across Shaka ka Senzangakhona in three different books over the past two weeks, and I found his story too striking not to share. I …
: Sui Generis I recently came across a term I wasn’t familiar wtih–sui generis. Upon reflection, I know I’ve come across it before, but maybe only once or twice in …
: Right and Left I treated myself today to a long browse at Powell’s downtown. I walked out with two books, neither of which I had on my radar going in. I noticed …
: Patriotism trumps Nationalism In my APUSH classes today we wrapped up the War of 1812 and began a lesson on the surge of nationalism that arose in the young United States in the …
: Huzzah to the Big, Beautiful City New York City made history yesterday electing immigrant politician Zohran Mamdani as their new mayor. It got me thinking about New York, which is a …
: RIP Donna Jean The Grateful Dead lost another band member this week. Donna Jean Godchaux joined the band in the early 70s when her husband Keith became their piano …
: Rush is My Jam Show #9 (Sorry Ged) Rush fans know Geddy Lee is a huge Toronto Blue Jays fan, and that he can be spotted in his very good seats behind home plate when the Blue Jays are …
: More Friends, More Division? This research makes a few points that are interesting, relevant, yet slightly counterintuitive. According to this article, by Complexity Science Hub …
: Some Thoughts from Retired General Stanley McChrystal General Stanley McChrystal is a fascinating dude. I first learned about him when he was forced to resign by Obama in 2010 because of comments …
: You Know What's Really Scary? There is a lot of scary realities about America right now. Here are a few such examples. Approximately 42 million people need SNAP benefits to help …
: Current Reading Stack Here is my current reading stack. Most recently started books towards the top, slogs at the bottom. I finished five books this month, all of which I …
: Another Great Bumpersticker This bumper sticker is one of my all time favorites. It says a lot about the times we are living in. While conspiracy theories have always been …
: The Sky Does Amazing Things I’ve had the same commute for about 28 years. It takes me across Portland, from the SW part of town to NE 122nd, just off I-84. The best thing about …
: Demographics of a Dysfunctional Legislative Branch We are looking at Congress as an institution in my AP Government class at the moment. In order to allow students to see the demographics of Congress …
: Sunday Favorites I get emails from Readwise every morning that share quotes I’ve saved while reading. I’ve written about Readwise before and it remains one of my …
: Sacred Objects This quote by psychologist Jonathan Haidt expresses an argument for reading that I agree with. If I’ve picked my reads well there are many ideas that …
: Four New Books The month is coming to an end and I treated myself again to some new books to add to my To Be Read collection. The Jill LePore book is very new and …
: JFK was Overrated President Kennedy often gets a lot of props from the American public. There are elements of his presidency that I admire, most notably the fact that …
: A Great, Idea-Rich Sentence by Ralph Waldo Emerson I read some Emerson in college, but nothing since. I came across this great sentence reading Mark Edmundson’s book Why Write? I appreciate Emerson’s …
: A Beautiful Sentence by William Zinsser William Zinsser is famous for his excellent book on writing called On Writing Well. Recently I finished his memoir titled Writing Places, which I …
: Dead Ducks This Saturday three things I love will collide in Eugene at Autzen Stadium; my chosen home state Oregon, college football, and the Grateful Dead. When …
: A Great Reminder from Derek Sivers I am sharing this not because I have this practice nailed, but because I need to be reminded of it. The little voice in my head is quick to judge, …
: 5 Recommendations Eknath Easwaren’s The Dhammapada This is a beautiful translation of the Buddha’s timeless wisdom. The introduction is sublime. Getting Yelled at By …
: A Great Bumpersticker Like many Americans, stuck as we are in car centric society, I an a connoisseur of bumper stickers. I spend about an hour a day on work days …
: Judging the Past In three of my classes today we had a Socratic seminar on an essay by historian Douglas Wilson about Thomas Jefferson called Thomas Jefferson and the …
: A Reminder from Mr. Thompson As we get into the latter half of October, that means it is almost time to vote. Most of us don’t have major seats (Governor, House or Senate, for …
: Rush is My Jam Show #8 To celebrate my amazing good fortune at scoring Rush ‘50 Something’ tickets for one of the hometown Toronto shows in August ‘26, it is time for …
: A Great Sentence From Tom Robbins The late, great Tom Robbins is the author of many great sentences. If you have never read one of his novels, I recommend trying one. His writing is …
: Red Stockings and Trolley Dodgers I am teaching a new elective class this year called American Sports History. One of the many benefits of teaching a new class is that I get to learn a …
: Dandelions Instead of a simple, beautiful sentence, today I want to share a small beautiful paragraph. This is from a book published this year by Suleika Jaouad, …
: Modern Reminders I love getting reminders. I need reminders. Productivity guru David Allen famously said, “your brain is for having ideas, not holding them.” I agree …
: They Can't Scroll Us Away One of the hardest parts of teaching is covering topics that don’t naturally interest most 16- and 17-year olds. Some folks, mostly those that aren’t …
: Get Into What Interests You On the way home from work today I had a great chat with one of my oldest and best friends. He was giving me props for blogging, even if ultimately …
: A Beautiful Sentence Written by Zora Neale Hurston Sarah Bakewell’s excellent book Humanly Possible is a great history of humanism. It is a history book, but it also is a book about a philosophy. Zora …
: Rush is My Jam Show #7 Rush fans were surprised today with the news that Geddy and Alex are going to go on a relatively short tour in 2026 as Rush, with an amazingly …
: A Great Way to Start a Book I often come across sentences that I really like. This is going to be a recurring post-theme moving forward. This first selection isn’t beautifully …
: Music that Motivates I came across this systematic review of how music impacts motivation via Arnold’s Pump Club newsletter. The gist of the review is that music very much …
: Ten Years Gone Back in the spring I pulled the trigger on an Airbnb in beautiful little Sisters, Oregon for the first weekend in October. My wife was going to be …
: 5 Recommendations Blankie An open source, native ambient sounds app for Mac that features high-quality audio for 14 carefully curated ambient sounds, ability to save …
: 31 Years Ago in Boston ⚡️ 31 years ago today I may have seen one of the last great Dead shows. This show was the fourth night of a six night run at the old Boston Garden. My …
: Beijing and other Ancient Cities I am fascinated by the great cities of the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit some amazing metropolises. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been to …
: Current Stack I finished four books this month and am currently reading 7, plus the one high school Human Geography text. As I mentioned in a post last week, I …
: Three Ways I Use Notion For years, I used Evernote as my digital brain, but now I am a devoted Notion user. I use other tools like the Google Suite and Apple Notes, but my …
: It is How You Live Your Life The Jerry Garcia biography I am halfway through is enjoyable. Rather than a straight biography of Garcia, it’s really the story of Jerry and the times …
: Fall Book Reload A new season is upon us and I pulled the trigger on 8 new books to add to my TBR collection. This haul touches on many of my interests; football, …
: Traffic and the To Don't List Everyone has heard of a ‘to do list.’ An idea that has been floating around amongst productivity nerds for a while is the related notion of a ‘to …
: Rush is My Jam Show #6 I would have loved to see Rush open a show with Out of the Cradle! Lots of other great later Rush in that first set. Chemistry is another great tune …
: Quitting Time I finish the vast majority of books that I start. However, every once in a while I find myself reading 100 pages (or thereabouts) into a book that …
: What My Students are Grateful For Every Friday, after their weekly quiz, I have my students complete a Google Form that I call a ‘Self Assessment.’ I ask them how their week went and …
: Simple Red Lines A week ago I wrote about my love of college football. However, today I cancelled my YouTubeTV subscription, which means that starting next weekend, …
: The Experience of Time I didn’t finish this book by Jenny Odell, but I read enough to come across this arresting, beautifully conveyed idea about how we experience time. The …
: Tyranny of the Majority—and the Minority: Federalist No. 10 and the Fate of Liberty In my AP Government class we recently read Madison’s Federalist No. 10. Rereading it this year, I am reminded that it is something I wish more …
: Links to Two of my Favorite Poems I am not a huge poetry fan, but I do love Gary Snyder’s work. Snyder went to Reed College here in Portland and for many years taught at my alma mater …
: 5 Recommendations Kagi Small Web (via Hulry newsletter) This is interesting to me because I just started blogging and this is a way to see what other bloggers are …
: New Read: Here Beside the Rising Tide I recently started reading the new biography of Jerry Garcia by journalist and biographer Jim Newton. What first intrigued me about the book is that …
: Rush is My Jam Show #5 Rush Jam Show #5 has some heavy hitters. Best show yet? I always thought The Trees could be jammed out, and I think this first set combo would please …
: Hearing at the End I am reading a book now called The Gift of Aging. In a chapter about the dying process the authors make the statement you can see below, that hearing …
: Saturday Football I love college football. Growing up, I was mostly an NFL fan. Nowadays though, I watch football on Saturdays, not Sundays. I’m not sure I know why I …
: 5 Recommendations Dignify textiles I love me some color and these beautiful Kantha blankets deliver. They are a go to gift and we have many here at home. Blankets are …
: Portland, Oregon Tunes I live in Portland and love music. Here are some songs I like that mention the Rose City or the beautiful state of Oregon. Operator by Grateful Dead …
: The Apps I Use for My QS Tracking In order to fulfill my personal stat keeping, as a Quantitative Self aficionado, I use a collection of apps to do the heavy lifting. Exist and Dayone: …
: Moving Targets Sam Wineburg is one of the brains behind the amazing website Digital Inquiry Group (which used to be called the Stanford History Education Group). The …
: Links and Chains Perhaps this landed hard for me because I am not a scientist. When I came across this quote in Rolf Dobelli’s excellent book The Art of the Good Life …
: Start Today: What Ryan Holiday Reminds Us About Time As a teacher, I hear students lament the frustrations of procrastination all the time. Just last week I asked some of my classes during a whip around …
: Michael Easter's Idea of Misogi A misogi is a Japanese idea that has roots in Shinto purification practices. The idea is to ritually purify oneself by bathing in rivers, waterfalls, …
: 5 Recommendations NYT Sunday Routine feature I love this weekly feature in the New York Times. It spotlights a random New Yorker and lets them walk the reader through …
: Rush is My Jam Show #4 Show #4 contains the first repeats of this infinite fantasy tour. I’m pretty sure Rush never played Out of the Cradle live, …
: As I embark on my 28th year of being a high school social studies teacher, and in our current political context, I have enjoyed looking through my …
: Effective, not Efficient Brian Johnson is an amazing resource for those who want to learn about self improvement. I discovered him years ago because he produced what he called …
: 5 Recommendations Napkin AI This is AI software that helps make interesting and creative graphics based on your inputs. I have found it simple to use and helpful from …
: Alternatives to GDP The novel I am currently reading is Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry of the Future. (It is worth noting that Robinson lives in the awesome college …
: End of August 2025 Reading Pile There are a lot ways people can spend their leisure time. I have friends who spend a lot of time in the gym, and others that like go bird watching. My …
: On Seth Godin's Reminder About Systems Seth Godin is one of the world’s great bloggers because he publishes a thoughtful take every single day, and has done so for nearly 17 years. His …
: Introducing Exist: The Newest Tool in My Quantified Self Routine I use several tools to keep track of things. Like many people with smartwatches and phones, I rely on Apple’s built-in apps for steps and exercise. I …
: Rush is My Jam Show #3 Show #3 of the infinite fantasy Rush tour that never happened. Lots of relative deep cuts tonight, no repeats from the first two nights (of course), …
: Six Dharma Tunes It is not a revelation to say that we filter the lyrics of our favorite songs through the lens of our own experience and worldview. Indeed, we are …
: Some Great Grateful Dead Covers I have my younger brother to thank for being a Deadhead. He discovered the band when a lot of folks did, during the mid-to-late 1980s after Touch of …
: Avoiding the Ego Default We all know the pull of wanting to be right, especially in the always online world many of us inhabit. It can be intoxicating. In a heated …
: 5 Recommendations Hulry email newsletter. I discovered this email newsletter last year and it rarely fails to share something I find interesting. It is also relatively …
: Getting Through the Gate The quote below struck me because I see this dynamic with my students all the time. Getting young people to quiet down and focus on a primary source …
: On the Quiet Life The quote below, which I read on Substack, resonated for a few reasons. For me, it gets at the idea of contentment. I am an admitted productivity …
: Rush is my Jam Show #2 A lot of heavy weights in show #2 that folks would have been hoping for on night #1. Also, two instrumentals in the first set. …
: Run a Personal Experiment An idea that I have come across several times of late is the one shared by Brad Stulberg in his book Master of Change. Indeed, Ness Labs founder …
: Power and Friendship This quote from Edward Luce’s recent biography Zbig (about foreign policy guru Zbigniew Brzezinkski) strikes me because it humanizes the pope, a …
: 5 Recommendations I always enjoy seeing what other folks find interesting. In the spirit of sharing, this is the first of many short posts sharing 5 things I enjoyed or …
: Benefits of WEIRD Marriage Dr. Joseph Henrich is an anthropologist who teaches at Harvard. I am reading a book of his about WEIRD people; that is Western, Educated, …
: Rush is my Jam Before I became a devoted Deadhead, I was a huge fan of Rush. Many of my Deadhead friends are also huge Rush fanatics. Certainly the two bands cover …
: New Goose Album Chain Yer Dragon I’ve been really into music most of my life. In high school, it was heavy metal and hard rock; bands like Rush, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, and Judas …
: What I Remember from High School Is Not My GPA One issue nearly all high school teachers face is students who are excessively worried about their grades. To be sure, the student that doesn’t care …
: Greetings! Hello folks! I have been wanting to have a blog for a very long time and I am finally getting started. Whoop, whoop! I believe I’ll have a lot to say …