I’ve spent the past five months rock climbing, specifically bouldering. The main motivation was to build upper body strength, after a lifetime of no meaningful upper body gains, in preparation for lifting a baby and baby supplies. Climbing has always intrigued me, but in the past I refrained from committing for the sake of protecting my fingers for music or potentially surgery. But now, why not!
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Trying New Haven Food
New Haven has a real food scene, one steeped in a rich Italian American history. During my first half year here as a Yalie, Katie and I explored several of the renowned dining institutions.
Here’s a low-key blog post about some delectable food We’ve tried in New Haven. I’ve decided my blog posts have been too heavy-handed recently, so here’s a straightforward post!
Apizza
New Haven is an American pizza mecca, except here it’s called apizza (ah-BEETZ). It’s thinner with a deeper char from coal ovens. You can read more carefully researched recent pieces by both the New Yorker and New York Times. Katie and I just consume the food.
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The Hazards of Learning Pool
Teaching myself pool has been treacherous.
I mean billiards pool, not swim pool or investment pool. It’s kind of a dumb, impractically niche thing to practice, but there’s a beat-up old table in my New Haven apartment building, so whatever. These past three months have been a hard lesson in the hazards of sports and self-education.
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Absence of Style Can’t Exist
This year, catalyzed by buying my wedding tuxedo, I had an epiphany: I can’t have no style.
Until recently, I wanted to opt out of worrying about clothes or having a style. This was a philosophy engendered by growing up in our immigrant household: impress with your cleverness and actions, not your looks. Who was I trying to influence as a kid anyway, and why invest in clothes I’d outgrow?
It’s not that I had no style. There is no such thing as no style, which I realize now. My parents efficiently clothed my brothers and me, so I adopted the style of an immigrant son. I was given Taiwanese hand-me-downs, free graphic tees, bargain bin cargo pants, and big jackets. Everything was oversized, and I didn’t think twice. The clothes were comfortable and I liked having pockets everywhere for mechanical pencils and a flip phone.
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Podcast Roundup
Here’s a roundup of the podcasts to which I’m subscribed. These shows comprise the media that I consume regularly as I don’t watch television. They tend to be educational, scripted, high production-value shows with only a few unscripted interviews sprinkled in. I listen while commuting, running, or cooking. Most shows I play at 1.5x speed on Apple Podcasts, but the music-related episodes I play in real time.
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An Engaging Day
Mount Tamalpais, CA. June 26, 2021.
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Backgammon is beautiful
Backgammon is a beautiful game.
Obviously, a physical backgammon board can be beautiful. The field of tall triangles with circular checkers lying on top is an attractive geometric pattern. Backgammon’s frequently a high-end game, and fancy boards have features like exquisitely swirled Bakelite checkers, hand-stitched leather fields, alligator skin attaché cases, or other absurdities.
However, consider the beauty of backgammon’s game mechanics. Although backgammon is a simple game — able to be summarized in 160 words (see below) — the gameplay is dynamic, engaging, and potentially heartbreaking. In every facet, the elementary rules generate extraordinary emergent characteristics which, in turn, demand intricate strategical considerations, and that’s a beautiful thing.