Hey Friends,

I’ll cut straight to the chase with a fun announcement; I recently felt compelled to … write a book! ✨📕✨ Yup, I’m rounding the corner on a book manuscript draft, and here’s the gist:

For roughly ten years, I tried and failed at “journaling”. I just couldn’t figure it out, and my attempts were disorganized and sporadic (at best). Well, I’m happy to say (after much trial and error), I went from journaling zero days a year to 365 days in a row. I learned how to anchor this practice in mindfulness techniques, while also getting clarity on my daily priorities. This routine has been incredibly helpful for me (especially during this past year of the pandemic), and I thought, well — if this method works for me, it may be of interest to others too! Thus, Fire Focus Fifteen: Light Your Fire, Find Your Focus, All In Fifteen Minutes A Day was born (I even worked up a sample book cover as seen below). F3 is a brief read that lives on the “prescriptive non-fiction” bookshelf.

So! With that being said, dear readers:

• If these types of books interest you (i.e. you normally read “self-help” or “self-improvement” books), or if you’re anything like me, you’ve found this process to be vexing in the past, but deep down — you still feel like you would benefit from a solid mindfulness routine — well, if you’re interested in being a “beta reader” for the book, just reply and let me know! I would only ask for your honest feedback in return.

• If perchance you also happen to know of a literary agent that seeks out these types of manuscripts, please let me know! I appreciate any tips on helping this book find a good home.

📸 Pics Or It Didn’t Happen

Boom! (Font is Okta Neue.)

🧠 Muse From Around The Way

And You Thought Your Shopping Mall Was A Ghost Town

This guy saved up his money and purchased an entire ghost town — then got stuck there during the pandemic … 👻

I’m Just Gonna Say It — Stamps Are Cool Again

(… although were stamps ever really considered “cool”? 🧐 )

I’m A Sucker For Picture Books

Engaging for kids and adults alike — this charming book about the life of Edwin Hubble will be sure to give you all the feels. 🌔

🎧 On Repeat

Jay Electronica’s LP has been a long time coming (shout out to Courtney Stubbert for the recommendation) … I guess I kind of see this as hip hop with glasses: the glasses of a historian — to objectively look back at history to see how it’s impacted where we are today, the glasses of a librarian — to drop encyclopedic knowledge of samples & influences, and the glasses of a futurist — to tell us where we’re going. Okay, that all sounds pretty academic … here’s the TL;DR: badass.

Legit question: pound for pound — beat for beat — is there a better hip hop / r&b album than Rhythm Nation 1814? I’m being serious … from the title track to Miss You Much, Love Will Never Do (Without You), Escapade, etc. etc. — I’ve searched high and low for more BPH (ahem, bops per hour) and it would seem that Janet (that’s “Miss Jackson” if you’re nasty) pulls out all the stops here. (Prove me wrong, I’ll wait.)

🍿 Popcorn Break

If you want to see what kind of vivid films a cell phone (yes, a cell phone) can make — check out this little wonder directed by Golden Globe Nominee Lulu Wang, shot in Dolby Vision on an iPhone 12 Pro Max. (11:57)

🖋 Parting Words

Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master. — Christian Lous Lange, Historian, Teacher, Political Scientist, Nobel Prize Recipient