I was surprised at the relief I felt on reading this. I’ve had dozens (scores?) of articles in my Pocket reading queue for probably ten years, all of which I’ve told myself I’ll “read later.” They’re about to vanish forever. Finally, I’ll be able to sleep at night.
I do most of my work on side projects for free. One day, Lord willing, Little Word will be financially sustainable, but for now, it’s a labor of pure love. We’re in the process of setting up a donor system, so if you want to help carry us through these early days, consider lending your support. I’ll let you know when it’s set up.
Good Work has a dedicated support page where you can donate via Stripe. I use every cent (and then some) for printing and mailing.
A friend asked me to enable payments on my newsletter, Time’s Corner, so you can support me financially via Substack, if you wish.
I do a lot of other writing, too. I post poetry and prose on this blog. I adapted The Scarlet Pimpernel into a play. I write articles for Theopolis, CiRCE, and occasionally, others. A (very) short story of mine will appear on the Silence & Starsong website soon. And there are other projects in the works.
Does that sound like a lot to keep track of? It is! If you want to support my work in general, without allocating it to a specific project, you can now do so via my Ko-fi page.
I don’t really like WordPress. It’s clunky. Too malleable in some areas and too stiff in others.
I’m intrigued by alternative blogging platforms like Micro.blog, Bear, and Montaigne, and yet I continue to use WordPress, despite the fact that I don’t really like it all that much. Why? Mostly apprehension, I think. Things that have lasted a long time (21 years, in the case of WordPress) tend to continue lasting, a weird phenomenon called the “Lindy effect” after the diner in New York where comedians first started discussing it. (Not made up.) In all likelihood, WordPress will still be chugging along in two decades. For all their youthful charms, where will Micro.blog, Bear, and Montaigne be in 2044?
The irony of it all is that the whole point of having a website and a blog is to “own your turf,” as they say. Small platforms tend to make this easier than large ones. With Montaigne, for instance, you write and store all of your posts and pages in the Notes app on your iPhone. So if the service does collapse, none of your writing goes away. I honestly have no idea what would happen to my blog posts if WordPress went away.
Maybe WordPress makes it easier for people to find your site. But these days, almost nobody finds a blog via a web search. They arrive via links from social media, mostly. So that point is probably moot.
WordPress pros, then:
Cons:
It may be time to learn some basic coding so I can build my own site from the ground up. Can’t be that hard, right?
Update: The other day I learned about Pika, another simplified blogging platform. Man, now I’m really starting to reconsider WP.
One of my goals for 2023 was to blog 200 times. There are 64 days left in the year and I’ve posted only 70 times, so expect a bit of a frenzy here over the next few months.
I started this blog 725 days ago and have posted 171 times. That’s an average of one post every four days. And some of those are just pictures.
What have I been doing in the three days between each post? I’d like to know that myself.
Ah, January. Looking back and forward. One of those points in time when a man believes he can change. The past has no bearing on him now! It does feel like turning a corner, doesn’t it? Last year’s ugly road is out of sight and all the future’s open. Of course, we all find, soon enough, that we’re walking the same path as last year.
Rather than make resolutions, I like to set innumerable goals for myself and accomplish half of them. But goals are poor blog fodder. I’d much rather read about what someone has done than what they’d like to do. And since this blog is all about what I like, I’ll refrain from listing any goals here.
But a new year is still a good moment to step to one side and have a good look at time. So here are a few things that have occupied my online attention lately.
Alan Jacobs, Baylor professor, always provokes thought. His blog is here and he also posts on a micro.blog here.
Joshua Gibbs, high school teacher, posts regular articles about classical education and the pursuit of virtue on his blog at the Circe Institute site. I also have his book on my shelf, and you should, too. Josh’s bizarre, provocative status updates are one of the few things that make me sad to leave Facebook.
I have been tempted many times to bid Twitter sayonara, as well, but there are a couple people who still pass along interesting opinions and articles without dancing on the political fence every chance they get. Zack Stentz is one of those and Adam Roberts is another. The thing I appreciate about both of them is that they agree with me on almost nothing, ideologically, but are always thoughtful and willing to listen.
I’ve tried not to get sucked into the latest internet fad – newsletters – but despite my best efforts, I’m subscribed to a handful.
Micah Mattix has an almost-daily newsletter called Prufrock News, which I never have time to fully digest before the next one arrives in my inbox. He links to writing about literature and literary doings, along with the occasional political or cultural article. Almost every newsletter includes link to a photo and a poem and a brief summary of some new book that Micah is excited about.
Recomendo is a newsletter headed by Kevin Kelly, future-writer and co-founder of Wired. Every Sunday, he and two of his friends recommend two useful or interesting things apiece (for a total of six). I say things because their recommendations vary from books to websites to Youtube channels to scissors to keyboard shortcuts. Sometimes the reason for a recommendation makes me snicker, but every couple of weeks, they pass along something that makes me ask myself, “How did I not know about this?” (I have no idea why they spell the name of the newsletter with one M.)
I’ve been subscribed to Mark Athatakis‘s newsletter for a few months. It’s similar to Prufrock, with more commentary.
I signed up for Alan Jacobs‘s newsletter a few weeks ago. It’s mostly a recap of his latest blog posts, but since I’m addicted to all things Jacobs, I am subscribed. I’m having trouble finding the signup page online. When I do, you’ll be the first to know.
And, finally, just this morning, I signed up for a newsletter from a fella named James Wilson, who promises to send the very best freelance writing gigs to my inbox every Wednesday. We’ll see.
There are a few other people whose work I try to keep up with online as much as I can. I’ve let too many good blog posts slip by unnoticed. (It’s nothing personal, Michael Sacasas.) I’ll try to address that in the coming year. Oops! That sounds a lot like a goal or, worse, a resolution. Rewind, erase, etc. I may or may not address that in the coming year. What’s it to you?
Blessings on your 2019, friends and strangers.
Christian Leithart 