Today is one of those perfect days for reading. Windy and snowy with accumulations between 3-5 inches expected. I plan on trying to get through as much of The Rising Sun as I can. Meanwhile, here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

The numbers in parentheses following each book represent: (a) the nth book I’ve finished reading this year, and (b) the mth book I’ve finished reading since January 1, 1996.

Finished

• Analogia: The Emergence of Technology Beyond Programmable Control by George Dyson (15/1143).

In progress

• The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 by John Toland.

Articles/posts

• Oscar Winner Tom Fleischman Resigns From Motion Picture Academy Over Controversial Telecast Plans (Exclusive) by Carolyn Giardina (Hollywood Reporter, undated)
• Open Window Season by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/6/22). Open windows are great. So are early morning walks in spring.
• Disney’s $5,000 Star Wars hotel and line-cutting fees: Some fans say the ‘magic’s gon by Hannah Sampson (Washington Post, 3/7/2022). We were at Disney World in January and while it was more expensive than 2 years ago, just before the pandemic, we still had a lot of fun.
• How to Avoid Nuclear War With Russia by Ross Douthat (NY Times, 3/5/22). I’m having flashbacks to those nervous days in the early 1980s when I used to worry about things like nuclear war. #current-events
• Putin’s Economic Miscalculation With Ukraine by Paul Krugman (NY Times, 3/4/22) #current-events
• A Plot Twist in the Milky Way by Marina Kohen (Atlantic, 3/6/22). #astronomy
• How the Putin Shock Might Affect the World Economy by Paul Krugman (NY Times, 3/8/22) #economics
• Harry Truman Helped Make Our World Order, for Better and for Worse by Beverly Gage (New Yorker, 3/7/22). David McCullough’s biography, Truman, is one of the best presidential biographies I’ve ever read. This one seems like a worthy candidate to pair with that one. I’m looking forward to reading this new bio.
• Why China Can’t Bail Out Putin’s Economy – The New York Times by Paul Krugman (NYT, 3/8/22)
• Major League Baseball pushes back Opening by Chelsea Janes (Washington Post, 3/9/22) #sports/baseball
• Russia’s ‘imminent’ default would be catastrophic. Here’s why. by Jacob Bulgage and Adela Suluman (WaPo, 3/9/22)
• An Acquisition Anonymous Amoeba by Mike Dariano (The Waiter’s Pad, 3/9/22’s Pad, 3/9/22)
• Endurance, Ernest Shackleton’s Ship, Lost in 1915, Is Found in Antarctica – The New York Times by Henry Fountain (NYT, 3/9/22). I really enjoyed reading Alfred Lansing’s Endurance on a December drive down to Florida four or five years ago. So I was delighted by the news that Endurance had been found 10,000 feet underwater.
• The Maltese Falcon (1941):  “The stuff that dreams are made of” by Melanie Novak (blog, 3/9/22). The usual great film commentary, now with more Bogart #film
• John McPhee’s Slow Productivity – Study Hacks – Cal Newport by Cal Newport (blog, 3/9/22). McPhee is a favorite of mine, and Cal Newport’s take on McPhee’s productivity (slow productivity) resonated with me. It reminds me of how I think of my own progress, small, incremental increases over long periods of time. #productivity
• You Have Got to Be Kidding Me – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 3/10/22) #sports/baseball
• Hallelujah! – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 3/11/22) #sports/baseball
• Obsidian Roundup: Pin Preview Popups & an Intro to Dataview Guide by Eleanor Konik (Obsidian Roundup, 3/12/22). I’m very interested in experimenting with the Apply Patterns plug-in this weekend.

Written on March 11-12, 2022.