December 17, 2024

Other Options | LISB

Hey y’all, 

This is the last issue of LISB for 2024. The next issue will be on January 6th, of 2025. Or thereabouts. 

This has been an interesting year for me, and for LISB. I have not written as much as I would like. I have been on the struggle bus in terms of consistency with weekly publishing. My depression has been mostly in check, but post-election chaos almost got me, and may yet. 

I have been wrapping up the kitchen renovation that would not end, and have been putting in 550 square feet of luxury vinyl plank. This is not recommended for 52 year old knees. I have ingested what must have been a year’s supply of Tylenol in the last 4 days. It looks great, but I’ll be glad to be shot of this project, to tell you the truth. 

My wife Renee leaned into kitten rescue this year, so it feels like my entire life is covered in kitten hair. That is a feature, not a bug. 

And the biggest change was the addition of bonus content for paying supporters of my work. I hate that your paying me money means I feel much more obligated to write, but here we are. Since August, I have written 17 original short (~ 1000 words) essays for paying members. This has added dramatically to my creative output this year, as this is all stuff I would not have written otherwise. My ADHD brain NEEDS constraints. 

To learn more about Membership, go here. To buy someone else a gift membership, use this link. 

Next year will be 10 years that I have been writing this newsletter. What started as a Lenten project in 2014 has become something that anchors my work, provides a part-time income, and has opened up worlds and opportunities to me I would not have imagined a decade ago. 

I have some shifts and changes in mind for next year, but more about that after the New Year. For now, if you are reading this, please know how grateful I am to you, and how honored I am to get into your inbox. 

Thank you. 

Five beautiful things

Normally I try to limit the number of videos, but I figure you may have a bit more time over the holidays.

This panda playing in the snow is living their best life… Also a good time to revisit the panda cam!

92 year old artist Tella broke her rib, and is using the downtime to reflect on the miracles all around us. 

One can go down a rabbit hole ( or possum hole, I guess) quite easily by searching for possums on YouTube - here is a cute one of a possum using his tail to carry nesting material. (I find the narrator’s voice annoying, but that may just be me.)

It’s always a good time for a Tiny Desk Concert - the most recent one with Billie Eilish was just good for my soul. 

The best thing I saw all week: Dick VanDyke turned 99 on the 13th, and Coldplay featured him, dancing and playful and wise, in the Spike Jonze-directed video for their song All My Love. This is the Director’s Cut, with VanDyke answering questions about love and death, a bit of playfulness with Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin, and a lot of interaction with his family. VanDyke is a national treasure, and this was amazing. 

Members only

Members get, among other occasional goodies, a weekly essay in their inbox. Their support keeps this newsletter both free and ad-free for everyone else. Here are the ones I have published since the last LISB issue.

Hagiography - The dead quit improving. We the living have other options.

The sacred coat - Only when I gave it away could it become valuable

Thank you!

Link ideas this week come from Annette and Blake.

If you want to support this work, you can become a member, forward this to a friend, or buy me a cup of coffee. However you do it, thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

If someone forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays, and for you to have every good thing in the coming year.

Take care,

HH

-- -

Hugh L. Hollowell Jr
(he/him)
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