PicoBlog

Yesterday, a friend of mine with whom I almost completely agree about politics, shared a blog post he’d done explaining some of the complex histories and contexts of the Israel-Gaza war. Before I even clicked the link, my first, instinctual reaction was I wonder what he got wrong.  Even more absurdly, I actually felt a little outraged.  That’s wrong, I thought to myself, even though I hadn’t read a word.  And even though, for all I know, the post is brilliant and I don’t disagree with any of it.

MØRNING! Welcome back to 🔥QUICK FIRE🔥, our new fortnightly dispatch of insight and opinion, straight from the MØRNING studio.  This week, we’re chatting horses. More specifically, how they seem to be galloping through our feeds and thoughts more regularly than usual. Why, you ask? Theories incoming… I recently spent an evening scouring eBay for miniature horse figurines (lol) to gift my girlfriend, who developed a sudden obsession with horses earlier this year.

Where would you begin your memoirs? Where would I begin mine? Could it be my first-ever memory, sitting on a wooden chair, holding a red crayon? There was an outline of a balloon in front of me, I scribble coloured it in. Or could it begin with the goat? The thing I’m sure happened, is real but which, perhaps, is fiction. That I will have created this moment, crafted it from family folklore.

I intended to wait to write about Authors Equity, the new publishing company founded by Penguin Random House’s former CEO, Madeline McIntosh, former CEO of Macmillan Don Weissberg, and Penguin Random House’s former President of Strategic Development, Nina von Moltke. Still, a few recent pieces about it warranted a more measured “take.” The What: Authors Equity is a new publishing venture that was recently launched. Its model is like that of Artists Equity (which no one has pointed out, surprisingly), founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, among others.

I find myself wanting to watch episodes of Bluey even when my son is not around, such is its pitch-perfect handling of everything from the minutiae of daily life to the bigger, stop-you-in-your-tracks stuff. Of course you hope that a good chunk of it will be absorbed by your three-year-old, though it’s not always easy to tell as he’s fishing Liga crumbs out from in between his legs. This is, ostensibly, a kids’ cartoon, but on closer inspection, it’s so much more than that.

Why can’t there be a great movie or series made from the Dinotopia franchise? It seems like a natural idea: here’s a New York Times bestselling illustrated book with an extravagant premise, a deep prehistory, and plenty of dinosaurs. It’s not easy to create an adaptation of the first two books that preserves the utopian appeal of the world, but also introduces enough conflict to make it work as a three-act drama for adults.

Note: if you prefer to listen to today’s message, just click on the headphones icon above. Enjoy!Hello fellow Bar-Setters!  Last week I gave a presentation at an intermediate school (5th and 6th grade) located directly across the street from the high-school where I work. Given its proximity, I decided to walk there. But as I approached the street (four busy lanes of traffic—two going in each direction), I was shocked to find that there was no sidewalk in front of the school.

On New Year’s Eve you can find me with a glass of Cava in my hand…it’s the wine Spaniards open to celebrate the special moments of life. If you’ve had it, you know that Cava is so delicious, easy to pair with food, and perfect for parties. It’s also much more affordable than that other sparkling wine they make in France! Even though you can find it on every grocery store shelf, I still think the sparkling wines of Spain are the best kept secret in the wine world!

Freeloading is the act of taking from others without contributing when it would be reasonable, and perhaps dutiful, to give back. It may appear that freeloading is better than contributing—it is a chance to get something for nothing. And in a one-off interaction, it would be like getting something for free. But in the long-term, this would be like stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. Why? A couple of reasons.