Chris Brooks Newsletter 003
Welcome to July! For those in the USA I hope you are enjoying a fun holiday weekend with friends and/or family. We are in the portion of the summer where we have non-stop rotating guests.
I added a cool little feature to my website: Life in Weeks. Keep in mind: those rectangles keep moving to the rearview mirror. Make them count.
Where We’ve Been Traveling
The big event in June was a mad dash to Chicago then Burlington Iowa for my mom’s celebration of life. There was some sadness but mostly fond memories along with some amazing family time. It was also a wee bit of a COVID super-spreader, but thankfully everyone had relatively mild symptoms and recovered on schedule.
What I’ve Been Reading
Quite a lot of book reading and book listening this month. I finished three non-fiction books that were unremarkable:
- Phil - the Rip-Roaring (And Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar by Alan Shipnuck was a disappointment. All the good stuff was leaked earlier this year, and the book was a ho-hum journey through Phil’s career.
- Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte was a much-awaited book covering Tiago’s approach to personal knowledge management (PKM). The book was mostly a rehash of material I’ve read over the years from his website. Probably more useful to someone coming in fresh to PKM, so if this is of interest to you and you haven’t already done a deeper dive then you will probably like the book.
- The Four Foundations of Golf - How to Build a Game That Lasts a Lifetime, written by Jon Sherman is an encapsulation of much of Jon’s philosophy shared on Practical Golf. Four years ago this book would have been golf life-changing for me, but having read Lowest Score Wins co-written by my golf coach Erik Barzeski I felt like the book covered material I already understood. They are both good books, I just don’t think you need to read both.
I finished The War Nerd Iliad, a modern romp through Homer’s classic. If you want to revisit this epic I think this is a great way to experience it.
I’m back into a book I put down late last year: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson, the latest in the Stormlight Archive series. These books are massive but worth the read. Great world-building.
Because it finally showed up in my Libby app (checked out from our local library), I’m concurrently listening to Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. This is the pandemic speculative fiction book that came out before the pandemic. Started slow for me, but now that I’m halfway through I’m hooked.
I want to point out a couple of interesting articles I read regarding homelessness over at Astral Codex Ten. The first is Scott Alexander’s review of the book San Fransicko. Go read that first if you have an interest in the homeless epidemic plaguing many west coast US cities. Because Alexander has such an intelligent (I would say often rational) reader community, go read the highlights from the comments on his book review.
What I’ve Been Watching
Just one movie watched last month, a solo viewing of Operation Mincemeat telling the story of subterfuge and double-crossing to deceive the Germans on the intended invasion location in Mediterranean Europe in 1943. A very average movie, but the subject matter elevated it for me.
Julie and I finally wrapped up all the seasons of Foyle’s War. So, so good. We didn’t want it to end. We also finished up Ozark, a fun journey over the past 5 years. I think the series ending was handled well.
We binged the latest season of Barry in just two nights. Laugh out loud funny but so dark at times. I guess that’s the point!
What I’ve Been Playing
Lots of games played! It helps having guests that are gamers visit, though gaming was put on hold for five days while I remained in COVID isolation. The big new game to me was Scythe, a thematic wargame (?) that we enjoyed but didn’t love. Played my new short cube train game The Soo Line which was very good. The first playing was a total joke as the companies are vastly different and we had no clue about how to value them in the opening auction. The game plays fast though so it was easy to give it another run.
Jim and I played Fantastic Factories several times, a small dice rolling and engine building game that is always fun. Jump Drive the fast-paced version of Race for the Galaxy that plays in about 20 minutes came out several times last week. Lastly, the two couples got in a four-player game of Wingspan, one of the best games of the last 10 years. I’m excited about the Asian expansion announced last week.
I continue to play The Day Was Ours: First Bull Run (July 21, 1861) with friends online over VASSAL each week. Today I’ll be wrapping up a long-running series of play-by-email games of Advanced Squad Leader with my friend in Switzerland.
What I’ve Been Listening To
I’m catching up on season 2 of Blowback, anticipating the release of season three about the Korean War. Worth a listen if you are interested in different takes on American conflicts. H/t to Jacob for this recommendation.
Julie and I spent the last month listening to Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Badfinger, Jason Isbell, Sheryl Crow, and The Beatles. All in anticipation of some fun June concerts.
The Sermon
Honestly, June was a sobering and depressing month. Watching the aftermath of the Uvalde shootings, the January 6 hearings, and witnessing the Supreme Court rulings underscored how fractured we are as a nation and how fragile our democracy is. I vividly remember several friends making comments after Trump was elected in 2016 along the lines of “how much damage can he really do?” Quite a lot!
The optimist in me tells me that we need to go through some of this pain to rectify fundamental problems we face as a nation: voting rights, access to healthcare, and more. That voice seems to be growing quieter and quieter as the years go on.
Changing gears a bit to cover something a bit less controversial though perhaps just as divisive: personal knowledge management. I wrote earlier this year about updates to my personal toolset, and though that article was focused more on productivity (getting stuff down) it also covered some thoughts on how I organize content and knowledge. I like visiting a winery and seeing what I enjoyed there last time I visited. It is handy to be in the short game practice area and be able to look up fun games for golf chipping and pitching practice. All of this lives in my personal Obsidian vault (aka second brain, aka knowledge management store). My investment in this area over the past 10 years has paid huge dividends and I encourage you to explore the world of PKM if you think you want to level up your game in this area.
That’s it for this month. See you next time!
-Chris