advent(ure)

I. Nabokov Wants to Shame You

A pretty fascinating piece, actually:

Why do bad readers matter? It is because they lead us to the kinds of citizens—the internationalized subjects—that practices of bad reading aspired to produce; and show how these literate subjects used reading to navigate a political climate that championed liberal individualism, on the one hand, while establishing unprecedented forms of institutional oversight, on the other.

II. Dom Perignon Was a Monk. No. Literally.

This is my new corner, I guess. I'm camping here. I'll never leave. If you love wine or beer, hug a monastic:

Wine was invented 6,000 years before the birth of Christ, but it was monks who largely preserved viniculture in Europe. Religious orders such as the Benedictines and Jesuits became expert winemakers...

Although beer may have been invented by the ancient Babylonians, it was perfected by the medieval monasteries that gave us brewing as we know it today. The oldest drawings of a modern brewery are from the Monastery of Saint Gall in Switzerland. The plans, which date back to A.D. 820, show three breweries — one for guests of the monastery, one for pilgrims and the poor, and one for the monks themselves.

The monks had their own reserve! Underrated, however, is the Devil's deal between localist fervor and indulgent materialism. All hail the microbrewery, yes, but we enthusiasts are now succumbing to Black Friday for the sake of a stout. (i mean, it was a really good stout, tho. verily yummy.)

III. Make My Crest with Bowing Otters, Please

I'm slowly reading (one paragraph a week, one word an hour) the life of St Cuthbert - for obvious reasons! - and I've discovered that the life of a saint is essentially the life of a Disney princess. But with otters instead of birds. And sometimes disembowelment and martyrdom.

When the dawn of day approached, he came out of the water, and, falling on his knees, began to pray again. Whilst he was doing this, two quadrupeds, called otters, came up from the sea, and, lying down before him on the sand, breathed upon his feet, and wiped them with their hair after which, having received his blessing, they returned to their native element. Cuthbert himself returned home in time to join in the accustomed hymns with the other brethren.

I wish I had more to say about this, but the simple truth is I'm pro-otter and if I come across otter content I will force it into this newsletter. Treacly pandering be damned; otters rule.

IV. Opinion

Someone please read this Matt Bruenig op-ed on social wealth funds and email me your opinion, so I can better form my own. I'm a plagiarist. I will use it immediately and never credit you. (joke joke joke)

There’s a tried and tested way, within the system we have now, of giving everyone a share in the investment returns now hoarded by the wealthy. It’s called a social wealth fund, a pool of investment assets in some ways like the giant index or mutual funds already popular with retirement savings accounts or pension funds, but one owned collectively by society as a whole. One that paid dividends not to the few, or even just to the shrinking middle class lucky enough to have their savings invested, but to everyone.

Long live the revolution? (but seriously, email me if you have thoughts!)

Happy living.