I’m thrilled by how many books I’ve read over the last two years, enough to consider whether it behooves me to increase my typical goal of 24 books.1I will keep it at 24 because I like the pace of averaging two per month. I don’t want reading to be a chore. I topped my 2023 result of 38 books with 41 in 2024, although there were a handful of novellas among what I tracked this year.
Choosing Year of Fitness as my 2025 theme wasn’t difficult, but it was intimidating. My previous themes have leaned philosophical and emphasized a change in mindset that would affect broader habits; this year’s theme is direct and requires a higher level of personal accountability.
Terence Tao is a gift to the mathematical community. He is an excellent collaborator, a talented communicator, and one of the broadest and sharpest minds working today. Eighteen years ago, when he was just past thirty years old, he wrote the essay What is Good Mathematics?. I discovered this when Steven Strogatz invited Tao onto his podcast The Joy of Whyto discuss how well this essay holds up.
Both of these are great, but start with the opening section of Tao’s essay, where he lists twenty-one ways to measure mathematics as being “good.” It displays his impressive clarity of thought and writing ability and evinces how the professional mathematics scene isn’t what one may have expected.
At the start of this year I wrote this about the Year of Opportunity:
Characterized by a desire to explore and treat new experiences with more positivity and excitement, I hope to make the most of what could be our final year living in California while also increasing my appreciation for the life I’ve built.
It certainly was our final year in California, and that shifted my mindset to focus not only on the opportunities in San Francisco but also any that would be available once we moved.
Scuttlebutt is objectively an excellent word. It’s fun to say, has a playful connotation that lands better than “gossip,” and is a great example of a multisyllabic word that is even more amusing when you switch up the consonants that begin each half. Buttlescutt.
Well, I did it. I was on the ropes a few times but always found the time, energy, and creative hook to keep my story, It’s Like Jazz, moving along and hitting the requisite 50,000 words.
I’ve had this print of a painting for around twenty years.
I bought it at a garage sale in my neighborhood as a kid, and I’ve brought it with me everywhere I’ve moved since. Despite having it for so long, I’ve never closely looked at it until writing about it now. Doing so revealed two things: The painting is titled Troubled Pals, and the artist is Keith Ward.
Once I realized that, I tried to track down anything else about this painter or painting. The first result was a painting with a similar setup but an adjusted setting.
I found this version less impactful—what’s tough in this situation? Is the implication supposed to be that the boy doesn’t have enough money for the dog food in question? The problem is unclear compared to the baseball version I have.
Plus, I think the dog in mine is cuter.
I was able to find a few basic biographies of Mr. Ward on sites that posted his artwork. In short, he lived 1906–2000, was born in Kansas, but mostly grew up in California. He spent his early career out east after attending art school in New York, but eventually ended up back in California. This blog post from 2007 is the most comprehensive overview of his work and style I could find.
There’s no exciting revelation here, but I’m happy to know a bit more about this print that’s always been near my desk.
