January Favourites 2023
“Grief is the price we pay for love. And worth it a million times over.”
🍿 My Favourite Movies of the Month
The Take
I Love My Dad
Underclassman
Shotgun Wedding
The Invitation
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
📺 My Favourite Show of the Month
Welcome to Chippendales
📚 My Favourite Reads of the Month
The Strawman, the Steelman, and the Gold-Plated Man
🔗 / Étienne’s Substack Post /
Turn other people's arguments into the most interesting version of themselves.
The Thousand Griefs of a Left-Behind Place
🔗 / Charlie Becker’s Substack Post /
Nothing makes me miss home like that feeling when the crisp “newness” of a hotel room has worn off. On arrival, hotel rooms are immaculate: they smell fresh and everything is clean. Within a day, you’re in an uncanny valley where the room is as lived in as any other room, except it has nothing homey in it. …
🖥 My Favourite Websites of the Month
Clearer Thinking 🔗 / clearerthinking.org /
Clearer Thinking’s mission is to close the gap between insights from research about human behaviour and actions in the real world. We start with the best research we can find and perform our own original studies in order to build best-in-class, interactive tools and mini-courses that you can use to change your habits, make better decisions, and achieve your goals.
Literature Clock 🔗 / Dense Discovery 223 / Clock Link /
A website that shows the current time using time quotes found in random pieces of literature.
🛠️ My Favourite Tools of the Month
Email This Browser Extension 🔗 / emailthis.me /
Allows us to save articles & web pages by sending them to our email. EmailThis removes ads & distractions and sends us the formatted page with just the text and images.
Readwise Reader 🔗 / https://readwise.io/read /
The first read-it-later app built specifically for power readers.
✏️ My Favourite Personal Creations of the Month
A Guide To Finding Lucky Locations 🔗 / My Substack Post /
The world around us is full of fortune waiting to be found. So, where can we go to increase our surface area for serendipity?
The Dark Side of Joyful Spaces 🔗 / My Substack Post /
Dark joy aesthetics are the angsty siblings. They still provide all the feelings of joy, but they are more likely to appeal to the Addams Family than the Brady Bunch.
Mind’s Eye: Powers 🔗 / My Substack Post /
Can you see your inner world? How vast and vivid is is it? If you have a mind’s eye, then this post might let you in on some superpowers you didn’t even know you had.
The Comfort Zone Credo 🔗 / My Tweet /
A reminder that seeking discomfort isn't the only way to expand our comfort zone. Seeking novelty works just as well.
💪🏽 My Favourite Lifestyle Changes of the Month
Writing vs Editing Mode
Choosing between writer vs editor mode during any given writing session has been a major speed hack for me.
Handwriting 1st drafts curtails my instinct to fiddle with what's already down on paper.
Writer mode: unfiltered written thoughts.
Editor mode: organized digital thoughts.
💬 My Favourite Words of Wisdom of the Month
💬 Reminders
Everything’s a Vote
Every day, we vote for what we want more of in the world.
💬 Quotes
The Price of Love
🔗 / Movie / A Boy Called Christmas /
“Grief is the price we pay for love. And worth it a million times over.”
Judgment
🔗 / Youtube / Introduction to Mimetic Theory | René Girard's Mimetic Theory / John Boyd paraphrased /
“Superior fighter pilots use their superior judgment to make sure they get into situations where they never have to use their superior judgment.”
Solitude
🔗 / Twitter / Visakanv / Oscar Wilde /
"A bore is someone who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company."
💬 Concepts & Definitions
Apricity
The warmth of the sun during winter.
Psychopomps
Psychopomps are creatures, spirits, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife.
💬 Tweets
🖼️ My Favourite Visuals of the Month
🧑🎨 My favourite artists of the month
Kilo Blimp 🔗 / Instagram account /
Adso Piñerúa 🔗 / Instagram account /
WHITEGHOST 🔗 / Instagram account /
Simone_rgm 🔗 / Instagram account /
James Shedden 🔗 / Twitter account /
📸 My favourite photos of the month
🔗 / Instagram post /
🔗 / Instagram post /
🔗 / Instagram post /
🤔 My Favourite Realizations of the Month
Attention to Distractions 🔗 / Rob Walker’s Substack /
“Making a list of what “distracts” you is an interesting spin on paying attention to what you pay attention to.”
Falsification vs Proof 🔗 / Nat Elison’s Substack /
“It’s important to highlight the difference between falsification and proof. The scientific method does not prove anything. It only fails to falsify.”
Fat vs Water Flavour Experiment 🔗 / Charlie Anderson’s Video [2:14-316] /
The effectiveness of fat at storing the taste of spices.
💭 My Favourite Reflections of the Month
Negative → Positive Energy
Perhaps all negative energy can be turned into something positive by finding the appropriate environment to put it to good use.
Life Modes
As with writer vs editor mode, I wonder if there are other areas in my life where we mix up modes that should/could be separated.
🎥 My Favourite YouTube Channel of the Month
🔗 / Cryo Chamber /
🎬 My Favourite Videos of the Month
External Affirmations
If you’re in the mood for an external affirmation that’ll make you smile, the first 30 seconds of this video should do it.
Permission to do less
Aim for 80%. Few others know what your 100% looks like.
“Getting it done is success. Getting it perfect is not. Especially because perfect doesn’t exist.”
Social Mobility & Economic Connectedness
The ability to move up the socio-economic ladder.
🧠 My Favourite Innovative Ideas of the Month
Walking Groups
Around the world walking groups that posts one pretty picture from their walk - build appreciation of beauty and vigilance - nice habit tracker idea.
🥗 My Favourite Recipes of the Month
Kimchi on flatbread with honey
Mug Cake: Banana Bread 🔗 / Recipe /