Someone said recently–and I agree–that the time for new projects, clearing the decks, etc., is the spring, not the new year. That makes far more sense with the rhythms of the world and the body. In winter, your body is working on survival, just getting through. Spring is the time for renewal.

I’m making my way through some links Ted Goia provided on a possible new romanticism. This, however, I had to come back and recommend right away. I could quote several passages but instead I’ll just say you need to read the whole thing.

I’ve prepped cornmeal mush for frying in the morning. I’m following Kent Rollins’ recent video. We’ll see how it goes!

Fascinating post by Ted Goia: The New Aesthetics of Slop. At the same time, perhaps it would be wise to balance it by recognizing the revitalization of handicrafts. Humans, bless them, will never fully give themselves over to vulgarity.

Take it from someone who used to sell beard oil: you don’t need to buy beard oil. Making your own is easy and cheap. Fill a dropper bottle with a base oil and add five or so drops of scent oil. I use sesame seed oil as the base because I read somewhere it was a fairly green option.

I agree with this guy’s assessment of February. Via Austin Kleon.

Good post from Manuel Moreale on the ways in which we label people. Individuals over identities, every time. Labels are only good for statistics and ideology–neither of which are good for anything.

I’m (finally!) getting a little better at noticing the mundane causes of my mood. Today I feel extremely bitter and uncaring. Eventually, I realized that I also feel very tired, and then remembered that I went to sleep later than usual, and in a bad mood. A midday nap will fix a good deal of this.

A border collie running an agility course is a being happier than which none can be conceived.

Prayer before a fire (stealing lines from both Gandalf and Gordon White):

I am a servant of the secret fire,
The fire of creation.
All fires are the one fire,
And blessed be its flame.