1. You never get too invested in anything you’re writing…which limits the mild disappointment that results from few reading it in the age of too much information.

2. The numbers provide some sense of cohesion even when there’s minimal cohesion at best.

3. If you start by stating you will list a specific number of items, you always know when you’re done.

4. Most of us have been conditioned to believe lists are written by organized people and they lead to productivity. When you write a list you get to pretend you are organized and productive.

5. Listos means ready.

…

In October, I started recording talks with friends, family members and friends of friends. The project is a podcast called Jonah Asks. But the project is also an individual experiment in trying to sustain connections and thinking about what it means to be a conscious human in 2021. Now that fifteen episodes are up, and a few more are in the works, it’s a good time to think about what it means and why I’m doing it.

Our Many Selves

It’s been over ten months since mid-March 2020, when the world paused. Rebelle Harmony was not-yet three years-old, and our weeks were occupied…

Unwrap the cookies. Take out all the fortunes. Type them up. Then mix.

*A good book is the best of friends, it follows you to a place you wouldn’t go by yourself.

*Don’t let statistics follow you to a place you wouldn’t go by yourself.

*Every artist is the same today and forever.

*A lifetime of hope and work lies ahead of you.

*A lifetime of aiming high does a number on you.

*A leader is a person who was first an amateur.

*After readying the every emotion, I see the mother of good fortune.

*Diligence costs nothing and is…

On January 5th, Georgia held its runoff elections for the Senate. That night, it was clear that Democrat Raphael Warnock had won his race by two percentage points, 94k votes. By the next day, Democrat Jon Ossoff had officially won his race by 1.2 percentage points. 50.6–49.4, 55k votes.

Those 149,000 votes are the difference between what would have been a Republican-led Senate in 2021–2022 and what is now a Democratic-led Senate. With a 50–50 split, incoming Vice-President Kamala Harris’ vote tilts the tie to the Democrats. Thank you, Georgia organizers. Thank you, Stacey Abrams. Thank you to everyone who…

It’s January 4th and the NBA season is now two weeks old. Most teams have played 6 or 7 games — still a tiny sample, on the heels of a shortened pre-season…but just enough games to make a few observations.

Let’s start with three-point shooting. Most are familiar with the fact that three-point attempts have been climbing steadily over the last eight years or so. By 2016, threes made up 30% of all shots, in both the regular season and playoffs. …

We are now fully internet people and the internet loves to wrap things up, year end lists are everywhere. Here’s a question: Why would you click on any “2020 Year in Review?” Do you really need any reminding of what we’ve just endured? For the record books? History already shows that we’ve stopped paying enough attention to history. As a species, it doesn’t seem as though we learn from the past, so much as select facts from it that are convenient for our narratives. …

Why not write some words about possible outcomes for every Western conference team for this upcoming NBA season? It’s fun to take semi-wild guesses instead of studying advanced statistics and probabilities.

West
1 LAC
8 DAL

4 LAL
5 HOU

3 POR
6 UTA

2 DEN
7 PHX

1. Los Angeles Clippers

Tyronn Lue is a modern player’s coach. Tough love is not part of his approach. Doc Rivers is a player’s coach from a previous era. Tough love is very much part of his approach. Coaches are often given too much credit and too much blame. Doc Rivers did not…

Why not write some words about possible outcomes for every Eastern conference team for this upcoming NBA season? It’s fun to take wild guesses instead of studying advanced statistics and probabilities.

East Predicted Playoff Bracket
1 MIL
8 WAS

4 BKN
5 BOS

3 MIA
6 TOR

2 PHI
7 ATL

1. Milwaukee Bucks

Jrue Holiday will make countless big plays in the playoffs, giving Giannis and Khris Middleton the third star the Bucks have been looking for. The Bucks will beat the Nets in 6 in the East Semis, then the Sixers in 7 in the East Finals, before dethroing…