Robbie Rambles | August 18, 2023
Mixing it up.
Hi friends,
I’m experimenting with the format a bit this week. Typically, this is just a link aggregation post, intended to complement a longer essay I publish separately each week. Well, for various reasons, I haven’t had the bandwidth to write anything of a length that justifies its own post, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been without things to say. So, I hope you’ll enjoy these shorter snippets of rumination from this past week.
I'm reading Andreas Widmer's *The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship*. Widmer's definition of an entrepreneur is not limited to that of a business owner — rather, it's someone who has an "attitude" of "ownership". For Widmer, it's about proactively taking responsibility for what's in front of you and acting as a "protagonist rather than the victim or disinterested bystander".
According my Kindle, I'm 38% of the way through the book, and am enjoying it so far. For Widmer, principled entrepreneurship is driven by the conviction that markets exist for people, not vice versa. I like this idea. He makes significant reference to virtue, and I think answers some questions I asked the other week on what a virtuous relationship to work looks like. I hope to write up more comprehensive thoughts once I'm done with the book.
Financial Times recently ran a report on how, at $87 the cost of a "bundle" of streaming services now outstrips the average cost of a cable bundle, at $83. On LinkedIn, I've seen a fair bit of commentary on this and similar articles, detailing how the cost of these services is increasing while, thanks to the writer's strike, the frequency of new "content" is diminishing.
I think this is a good thing.
I might be an outlier here. Aside from a few exceptions, I've been fairly dissatisfied with TV, especially streaming, for a while. I just don't find much of it all that interesting.
For me, it was the sheer volume of things that's kept me away. I used to just look forward to a new Star Wars movie every few years, or 2-3 Marvel movies every year. Now, I could not tell you what all of the offerings are for both of those IPs on Disney+. This is before the reality shows, the true crime documentaries, the prestige dramas, and sketch comedies on all the other platforms.
I'm not saying that I'm "above" watching television, nor that whether or not you choose to watch TV should be thought of in those terms. Ted Lasso, Derry Girls, Succession, Slow Horses, and I Think You Should Leave have all brought me considerable enjoyment over the last few years.
But if I'm honest, the best monthly subscription that my family has purchased in the last twelve months has been the Alamo Season Pass from Alamo Drafthouse. After seeing two movies in a month, the past has more than paid for itself. Sure, going to a movie requires a lot more coordination — we have to pay for a sitter, or one of us goes to the movie while the other stays home — but the "me time" in the latter case is actually kind of nice. It doesn't have the frictionless ease of access that streaming offers, nor is it something I can do on a whim, but the depth and quality of the experience are far more fulfilling, in my opinion.
And speaking of whim, I think it raises the question of habits, of what we do automatically to fill the interstitial spaces of life. Since becoming a father, I know I've become more selective about how I spend my free time, just because I have less of it. I'd rather read, or practice guitar, or even paint Warhammer figurines. I don't think these activities are intrinsically more virtuous than watching TV, but I personally find them more gratifying. The question for me isn't so much what I spend my time doing, but how — am I following the path of least resistance, or am I doing something that will actually satisfy?
(Since writing the above, I actually re-enabled my Netflix subscription just to watch Arnold, which I highly recommend.)
Keeping with the theme of limited time, I feel like I've been struggling to finish books lately. I'm not sure why, but Mary Rose Cook frames the issue in a helpful way by asking "is this a good book for me, now?" Books I that in December 2022 I decided I would read in 2023 just aren't grabbing me the way I expected. There are a few reasons that those books aren't right for me right now, but that doesn't mean that will always be the case. Much of life is seasonal.
On a different note, Ted Gioia's lifetime reading plan is quite ambitious, and something I envy. I think in some ways it's what I'm trying to do with The Gap Year — read the best books for the slow development of wisdom over a lifetime. Right now we're reading Ovid's Metamorphoses. I'll admit, that sometimes reading books for The Gap Year feels arduous, that what we're reading as a group doesn't feel "right" for me at the time. And yet, that's where the wisdom of moderation is helpful — just because something doesn't feel right doesn't mean you should stop doing it. The rewards of difficult reading and thinking are at least directly proportional to the effort they demand.
All that to say, this is why I think it's good to have several books going at once. It keeps me fresh and interested, and if I'm not feeling one in the moment, I always have another to grab.
Currently Reading
The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship — Andreas Widmer
The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies — Clark Ashton Smith
Words of Radiance — Brandon Sanderson
Metamorphoses — Ovid