A few of my favorite (though not necessarily new) things from 2024

Essay: "A Man of Parts and Learning" by Fara Dabhoiwala
I keep telling everybody to read this. I'm not even going to describe it. Just read it--the whole thing. The essay builds to an insightful and exciting reveal.

Book: Resistance, Rebellion, and Death by Albert Camus
I read most of this in line while waiting to vote. Its first section, "Letters to a German Friend" should be required reading for every politically conscious person.

Concert: Paul Robeson: Man of the People by Lasana D. Kazembe (librettist/spoken word) and Ernest Dawkins (original score/musical director/saxophonist).
Kristen and I got to see the premier of this show at the Cabaret in Indianapolis. Not only was it my favorite concert of the year, it's one of my favorite of all time.

Album: Songs of a Lost World by The Cure
Robert Smith has still got it.

Favorite App: Inoreader
RSS is not dead. If you want to direct all of your online reading--from blogs to newspapers to saved Google searches to newsletters--to one place, Inoreader is the tool for you.

Writing Tools
As my friends know, I still write out lots of things by hand. In fact, nearly all of my articles first get written out by hand and then transferred to a computer. So, my writing instruments are very important to me. Here are some of my favorite tools.

Pencil: Blackwing 602
“Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed" is its calling card. The graphite in this pencil has the ideal balance of softness and smoothness to jump between writing marginalia in your books to drawing diagrams in your notebook.

Pen: Jowo 1.1 Stainless Steel Stub Nib
Not actually a pen, but a nib. It's simple. It's cheap. I use it with my Conklin and carry it with me every day.

Ink: Lamy Dark Lilac
This one shades from purple to green and looks amazing with stub nib.

Notebook: Life Noble Note Section
Great paper for both fountain pens and pencils. Sewn sections that lay flat.

Writing App: Obsidian
A free Evernote replacement. No proprietary file types. Tons of plugins. This has replaced both Evernote and Scrivener for me.