Fresh Stacks: 8/2/23
Applying Bowie to the Church, A rabbi's take on Mr. Rogers, condos vs. stuffed French toast, + 4 more
Meow, meow. I’m here again, scratching at the patio door with my paws full of reading material to share.
Nadia Bolz-Weber drinks her milkshake cold and long.
Substack isn’t perfect. Just like any digital product produced in the extremely dysfunctional Silicon Valley, using it often leaves you asking yourself can I keep doing this? But for all its anti-vax and and fascist corners, the thing I love about this new platform most is how it allows me to self-curate a feed of highly specific click-bait.
For example: A progressive, female pastor referencing David Bowie to discuss the state of organized Christianity? Yes please!
I’m not Lutheran. I didn’t grow up Lutheran. But I did grow up in a denomination with a lot of similarities1 and I think it would be great if the people in both institutions (and let’s face it, the capital-C Church in general) applied what
says here to their “declining numbers” situation.This quote of hers puts it pretty clearly:
“I mean, as I’ve said many times before, people don’t seem to leave the church because they no longer believe in the beauty of Jesus and his teachings. People leave the church because they believe in the beauty of Jesus and his teaching so much that they can no longer stomach being part of an institution that says it’s about that and so clearly is not.”
A potential ending for Michael Estrin’s run-in with L.A.’s precious metal poachers.
Regular
readers will know that , through no fault of his own, goes through catalytic convertors at the rate most of us go through a tube of toothpaste. Them thieves love their rhodium, palladium, and platinum, amiright?Because my time as an automotive content writer, this recurring bit was of special interest to me, so a potential ending was, again, an oddly specific kind of click bait. Reading past the headline did not disappoint. You’ll want to raise your glass to local mechanics and fight for the right to repair2 after reading this.
Shaun Connolly claims there’s no such thing as a luxury condo.
is the kind of local journalism we need right now. Maybe that doesn’t sell it to people not living in Worcester, Massachusetts, but if it at least leads you to the fence, ’s regular “Bad Advice” column should convince you to hop over and join the fun/outrage. 
This particular piece from over a month ago had me laughing hard enough to hit “subscribe.” This quote is the one that did it:
“[There’s] nothing luxurious about renting an apartment.
You know what is luxury? Stuffed French toast.”
Co-Create shares wise words from John Coltrane by way of Letters of Note.
My Fresh Stacks don’t usually include other curation newsletters, but if you’re curious how I find all this stuff, here’s a good, clean window.
Last week, Co-Create’s
post included a letter written by one of my creative heroes: jazz god, philosopher, and all-around cool guy John Coltrane. The letter originally popped up on popular Substack . And now you’re reading about it here. Oh, the power of Substack embeds!But also, the letter is beautiful and motivating for anyone trying to create new things. An excerpt of the excerpt3:
“Truth is indestructible. It seems history shows (and it’s the same way today) that the innovator is more often than not met with some degree of condemnation; usually according to the degree of his departure from the prevailing modes of expression or what have you. Change is always so hard to accept. We also see that these innovators always seek to revitalize, extend and reconstruct the status quo in their given fields, wherever it is needed. Quite often they are the rejects, outcasts, sub-citizens, etc. of the very societies to which they bring so much sustenance. Often they are people who endure great personal tragedy in their lives. Whatever the case, whether accepted or rejected, rich or poor, they are forever guided by that great and eternal constant—the creative urge. Let us cherish it and give all praise to God.”
Ryan Egan’s meticulous song catalogue reveals the value of creating for yourself.
Speaking of making things, songwriter
might be getting a little obsessive about organizing, and then reflecting on, his creative output. But the results of his fixation come off as helpful for anyone who identifies (or even wants to identify) as a creative person.To quote, for example:
“Any artist that has taken a larger project over the finish line, i.e., a novel, a film, or an album, knows that much of the journey is shrouded in doubt and likely even alternative motives. The work slowly unveils to us what it is we're actually making and, if we're open to receiving such a sign, the result is most likely more honest and original than what we'd sought out to do in the first place.”
M.E. Rothwell survives a head-bashing, then sees the horror in himself.
I don’t know if you know this feeling: an article entices you with a witty reference in the headline, then leaves you feeling had after you click through. This. Is. Not. That. Article.
The way
ends this true story of being attacked on the street in Entebbe, Uganda, left me with the same sort of chills I felt while reading Joseph Conrad’s famous, similarly titled novel. And he does it in four minutes.Rabbi Danya looks up to Mr. Rogers, and so can you.
“Love your neighbour as yourself.” Mr. Fred Rogers knew—by way of Jesus Christ, by way of Leviticus 19:18—that life really was this simple, so much so that he essentially named his show after the Bible verse.
writes here about how truly revolutionary Fred’s approach to life, centred on this belief, was. Her piece works as a necessary reminder to try to do the same.Further reading: Ruttenberg’s more recent elaboration on the roots of Fred’s neighbourly philosophy is also worth your time.
Your turn.
What should the rest of us be reading? Got any Substacks to share? Leave them in the comments—with links please!
The Christian Reformed Church—a “very tough church, indeed” according to Kurt Vonnegut.
For more context, see this article I wrote for my former employer, Jerry
Emphasis mine.
Andrew, thank you so much, I’m blushing. This really means a lot. But! I’m not obsessive...I have a ***one eye twitching*** perfectly healthy relationship with songwriting.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Andrew! I actually spent months agonising over every line in that piece so glad to hear it resonated. Conrad’s masterwork is undoubtedly one of the best books written in the English language so using his title as a clickbaity headline was a bit of risk but glad it worked out. Thanks for the tag, have subbed, and am looking forward to reading more.