Stuff I read

Southern lit meets Southern vittles | Table Talk

How Southerners use food to express themselves:

We use food to mourn; we use it to celebrate. We even use it to commemorate. When we lose a friend or relative, we bake a casserole. At Christmas, we celebrate with that last jar of pickled peaches and a coconut cream pie. It’s a way to say “I love you” or “I’m sorry.” And it’s a way to remind ourselves that no matter how fast, modern or small the world becomes, there will always be cherry pie.

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5 Reasons To Dump Your Strict Budget | Frugal Dad

Ah budgeting, how you court my OCD. My beautiful wife shared this article about loosening the reins on the household budget while remaining in control. Sage advise:

Yes, budgets can set you up to succeed, or set you up to fail. Make them too strict, and you’ll never stay within a spending category’s limits. Have too many budget categories, and you’ll spend too much life energy hunting and recording receipts. Like everything in life, try to find some balance when setting up your budget, but err on the side of simplicity.

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When Do Rich Kids Realize They're Rich?: Jamie Johnson | Vanity Fair

When do children really begin to think the world is their oyster; I mean really taught the world is theirs to snatch?

A child of social position becomes accustomed early on to the expectation that people will purchase objects of desire. A young mentality gets shaped quickly in this way. Entertaining the possibility of owning a famous sports arena is not a common practice in average households. It is mainly the rich who think in such lavish terms. Determining the exact moment when the wellborn gain an awareness of their financial leverage could be an elusive task, but it definitely comes early in life, at least as early as age 6.

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The Simple Dollar » 14 Ways a Notebook in Your Pocket Can Save You Money

I’m trying to improve my standards for “ubiquitous capture.” Hit the link for 14 reasons (among many others) why it’s a good idea:

Aside from the fact that I’m able to use the notebook to write down my ideas – my career’s bread and butter – a pocket notebook constantly comes in handy for many other financial reasons as well. (FYI, I usually just keep a simple small Mead reporter’s notebook in my pocket, along with a good pen that doesn’t run out of ink.) Here are fourteen ways I use that notebook to directly save money.

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don’t worry about being an artist. just worry about getting the work made. | Gapingvoid

Hugh MacLeod digs up a great quote by composer Phillip Glass to emphasize you shouldn’t worry too much about what you’re working on, just get to work on it. Loving MacLeod these days…

“I have one secret. You get up early in the mor ning and you work all day. That’s the only secret.” —Composer Phillip Glass

turning down the volume… | Gapingvoid

Hugh McLeod (author of Ignore Everybody which I just finished; great book) offers some incredible insight that most of us don’t want to hear. Unplug?! Are you crazy? Maybe not.

Recently I did  something dra ma tic: I got rid of my Black berry, and I star ted lea ving my com pu ter at the office. So now I am without (GASP!) Inter net access 12 – 16 hours a day! The “Always-On Cul ture” had been fee ling oppres sive for a while now. Finally I deci ded to do something about it. Basta. The big gest bene fit so far is; I’m drawing a hell of a lot more. This is, after all, what I get paid to do, and what I’ll be remem be red for. Nobody will ever care how many Twit­ter follo wers I had or how SEO-optimized my blog was. The Inter net libe ra tes us from so much; it’s our duty not to become again ens la ved by something else.

Excerpt: Being a social butterfly | Unclutterer

My how our lived change when we “Grow Up.” For instance:

“One of my biggest complaints about adulthood is that it’s difficult to simply hang out with friends. In high school, you could call up your friend and say, ‘Hey! A bunch of us are hanging out at Kara’s place. Stop by if you want to hang out.’ No one scheduled ‘hanging out’ on their calendar. No one knew at the start of the night what might transpire by the end of the night. And no one ever left at eight thirty, tapping at her watch, saying she had an early day tomorrow.

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kung fu grippe : Writing and Rejection.

Merlin brings the writing wisdom back to the table. Again. Man, he’s good. A taste:

Writing is hard and it’s lonely and no one will feel an iota of sympathy for you one way or another. Keep it lively and fresh, and keep pouring glue on that chair. The offer for that column might be out there. Somewhere. But, it doesn’t matter one way or another.

Write for yourself, get good, and be a grownup. That’s step zero.

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