"Loss Leader, Losing Sight of the Shore" Edition
Hello,
Yes, it's that time again.
Pull up a chair. Fix a mug of your favourite coffee. Grab a Danish. Smoke a Cuban cigar. Put on some Gregorian chants. Punch the wall. Punch it again. Fix yourself a tall glass of your favourite Polish beer. Grab another Danish person. Are you ready? Let's begin.
Obligatory shilling. I wrote a piece for the Spectator USA about the dismal state of nursing homes in the US, and reflected on the fact that our concern for prolonging lives amid the COVID-19 pandemic has not been matched by a concern for the quality of lives.
I also wrote for my paying Substack subscribers about motivation, productivity and the clichés that surround them. Plus, I offered some advice from my own rich pool of wisdom.

Out of place desert fathers. Joseph Keegin writes a lovely piece for The Point reflecting on outsider intellectuals and the fact that curiosity, and wisdom, can bring pain as well as joy.
Social capital savings glut. Bryce Hobart writes for Palladium on the gerontocracy: “In a social capital savings glut, we would expect the people in charge to stay in charge, to hoard their reputational capital by avoiding risks, and to accept stagnation as the price of stability.”
Black political philosophy. Liam Bright lays out an interesting and insightful introduction.
Chernaya tabletka. Smart neoreactionary blogger “Handle” returns with a dark, provocative review of Rod Dreher's Live Not By Lies.
From Porto Velho to Manaus. My friend Paul Brian writes an amusing account of his bus getting stuck in the middle of Brazil.
Have a lovely week,
Ben