We finally got some groceries delivered yesterday. It’d been a long stretch—tough to get a Whole Foods or Instacart slot in Brooklyn these days. (Yes, of course, there are far worse problems to have.) Can I just say that I will never take apples for granted again? Peeling

Not long after Isaac Newton earned his bachelor’s degree from Cambridge University, the entire school closed down due to the plague. (Sound familiar?) Young Newton must have been frustrated to find himself back home in gloomy Woolsthorpe, stuck in the house with nothing to do after experiencing the excitement

I’m going to give you a break. You don’t need to read another word about The Situation this morning. (Not That Situation [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dlpl2Gzgmk], This Situation [https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/487216-viral-video-shows-nba-player-rudy-gobert-touching-reporters] .) Instead, I’ll dive directly into the usual meshuggaas [https:

Somehow, I’ve brought you another newsletter. To be 100-percent transparent: It was a particularly close call this time around. I’ve thought about quitting the Maven Game nearly every week since I started writing it in 2015. With the pressure I’m currently under, I’ve gone from thinking

> I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where

I was off my rhythm this week. The kids were home from school for winter break and it was more than the usual life-and-death struggle to stay productive. To be fair, they are remarkably self-sufficient for their ages. I’m just a delicate little flower when it comes to my

You might have noticed that I didn’t send an essay last week. No, I wasn’t being lazy. I’m never overwhelmed and I never procrastinate, either. The truth is, I was engaged in a period of quiet contemplation [https://mavengame.com/2020/02/one-about-words/]. Impressed? You should be.

Lately, I’ve been pondering the difference between thinking and contemplation. Thinking has more than its share of negative connotations. For example: If someone shouts “Think!” at you, they’re not too happy with whatever it is you just did. (In my experience, anyway.) No one’s ever shouted “Contemplate!

> At the age of six, I wanted to be a cook. At seven, I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.Salvador Dalí You like cancel culture? Try canceling everything. No more side-projects. No more project-projects, either. Marie Kondo didn’t go far

> Do you want me to strike this?Ron Albertson, Waiting for Guffman I took a few stage-directing classes in school, but I didn’t learn much in the way of formal technique. (The theater department of my liberal arts college abhorred all things “pre-professional.”) When directing a play, I’