Category Archives: review

Amanda Palmer: The Art Of Asking

After seeing this in my feed several times and having many others point me to it, I finally took the time to watch it.

Wow. Just wow. Amazing.

And this comes, as is far too often the case, at a time I was writing something similar as part of a future post. I will get around to my take on this but, for now, do yourself a great favor — watch this and be inspired to make art and ask others to take part in it.

I’m a writer. Writing is how I ask. If you wish to take part, please let me know by contributing here.

Something I Love: REI Fleece Jacket

I have this fleece jacket that I love. Bought it at REI several years ago. It has served me well ever since. It is the perfect weight. Not too light and not too heavy. Perfect for a chilly Minnesota day. It was in the low thirties today with no wind and I was perfectly fine in this over a long sleeve shirt all day. It also is super durable. It is the fleece I grab when I know I’m going to be in for some rough or dirty business.

When I bought it, it was near the end of the season. There were not many left. I would have preferred black or grey. But they had none in my size. I could find only one in my size — this one. So, the green it was. I’ve since come to be just fine with it.

Generally, when I find something like this that I like I try to buy two or three. Largely because the inevitable happens — I’ll never be able to find it again. This is true here it would seem. The models I have seen at REI in the years since have all been just a bit off. A bit heavier or lighter or the fit not quite the same.

Yet, I don’t really need another just yet. This seems to be holding up well enough to keep me warm in cooler weather. It is paranoia, really. That I have now been spoiled by the best fleece ever and nothing else will compare.

So, I shall try to take as good of care of it as it has of me all of these years. I owe it, at least, this.

More On The Levenger 5 Year Journal

5year

I’ve written about the Levenger 5 Year Journal in the past (almost a year ago to the day). Yesterday, during my guest appearance on the always excellent podcast, The Pen Addict, I mentioned it once again and it seems to have garnered renewed interest.

In that earlier review, I said this about its intended use:

“For those not familiar with how a 5-Year Journal works, there are Pages for 366 days, including February 29, with 1 page per day, with 5 line entries – one for each year. It allows just enough to highlight the bullet points of a busy day but forces brevity. It is like Twitter for a private and bygone era. There is no pressure to catalog every detail of life or how you are feeling. Want to simply write a single thought or idea? Well, that is OK too. The beauty is that, those who have felt the pressure of maintaining a journal in the past (like myself) will likely feel far less so with such a low barrier to entry. Take just a few seconds at the end of the day and write what strikes you.”

And, while that is the intended use, I can think of a whole bunch of other things it can be (and has been, for me at least) used for. Here are some ideas and examples:

  • Use it as a “Something new I learned today” log.

  • Use it to record the weather for the day and start to notice patterns and trends over time.

  • Write down your 3-5 most important tasks for the day (hint: My dash/plus system is perfect for this.)

  • Log your workouts or diet.

Basically, anything one could think of needing daily tracking for and you can fit it into five standard ruled lines, the 5 Year Journal is perfect for. And, because each page contains up to five years of entries, it is a great way to be reminded of year-over-year progress.

Also, here is something else that applies to journals in general but is especially true of this one: Don’t be afraid to stick stuff in them that is a token of the day. Did you get a good fortune in your fortune cookie at lunch? Tape it in on that day. Go see a great concert or movie? Stuff the ticket stub between the pages. It adds character and helps to bring the day back to life when you inevitably come back across it next year.