Writing — 15 essays
Selected essays.
On literature, the body, business operations, and getting older — a running archive of things worth thinking through in public.
01
The Art of the TwistIt’s the year 2024 and, despite millennia of overuse (and mockery , the plot twist just isn’t going away.
2024.0302You Are Not SpecialDespite how obviously negative that title seems, this really will be a pretty chipper post.
2024.0103Ageing GracelesslyI fulfilled a lifelong dream this week. I saw The Mars Volta in concert.
2023.1004You Are Achilles*Virgil Reading the “Aeneid” to Augustus, Octavia, and Livia (Jean Baptiste Joseph Wicar, 1790/93)*
2023.0905Dust to Dust“The Death of Chatterton” by Henry Wallis
2023.0906Snake in the GrassThe Temptation of Eve, by William Blake
2023.0707How to Think About the GymOn the recommendation of some folks that I work with, I recently began listening to a book by [Nassim Taleb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb). He’s written quite a few “important” books on randomness, fragility, and being a “sucker,”…
2023.0508Saturday in the Garden“Adam and Eve” by Albrecht Durer
2023.0509Automaton as AuthorUnless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, you’ve heard about generative AI language learning models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. In less than a year, these tools have generated countless start-ups…
2023.0410You Must Change Your LifeFrom “Archaïscher Torso Apollos,” by Rainer Maria Rilke
2023.0411No Shelter in ZionFrancisco Kjolseth \| Salt Lake Tribune
2023.0312Something Better than ManA post from the Hogle Zoo’s Instagram page
2023.0313The End of the LineMy daughter, who is only 3 1/2, has recently developed a nearly obsessive fear of death. She brings it up all the time. She is terrified of growing up, getting old, and dying. Sometimes…
2023.0314Nothing will ever be new again…Last night, my spouse and I took our daughter to *Disney on Ice*, in SLC. Cost aside, it was a good time. I found myself transfixed by the skill of the skaters. The grace…
2023.0315“Oh, how Interesting a Pair of Hands Can Be.”Franchot Tone menacingly admiring his own hands.
2023.02