September 2023 Top Ten

1.

We read The Lost World of Genesis One by John Walton for book club. His interpretation of Genesis one and the creation of the Earth is pretty compelling.

2.

I watched this video of a youtuber named Rainbolt teaching us how to find any street in two minutes. Insane.

3.

I read a book of essays and poetry by Mary Oliver called Long Life. It was suprisingly timely for me. Here’s a quote I’m trying to hold on to:

“And if you have no ceremony, no habits, which may be opulent or may be simple but are exact and rigorous and familiar, how can you reach toward the actuality of faith, or even a moral life, except vaguely?”

4.

Speaking of poetry, I finally read Billy Collins’ newest poetry book of small poems called Musical Tables. It was…fine. If you don’t read a lot of poetry, I’d reccomend starting with Billy Collins’ book Sailing Alone Around the Room.

5.

This song is still a bit of a conundrum for me. The chorus sounds like something you’d hear during a Sunday morning church service, but the verses are so raw that they could be on any Spotify Top Indie/Alt playlists. I like it quite a bit.

6.

Speaking of speaking of poetry, I also read The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry. Here’s a line from the title poem that is just fantastic:

I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief.

7.

I also already read the book club book for October called Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. She’s such a good writer. I read it in like four days. Good stuff.

8.

I was reminded of the band SafetySuit, so I’ve been jamming out to this in my car, lol.

9.

This podcast episode about ways to think about technology was fantastic.

10.

The Orioles clinched the AL East Division and play their first playoff game in years today, so here’s a Lo-fi highlight video that no one asked for.