In grad school I mispronounced it in class repeatedly and to save me from embarrassment my buddy kept jumping into the conversation after me, making direct eye contact and pronouncing it. I, completely oblivious to the world around me, never took the hint. Too late to start now

Once read much of Lewis Mumford's 'The City in History' on an 8 hour flight from Amsterdam to DC, from the moment I sat in chair to the moment I had to stand up and grab my luggage. Felt incorporeal. No internet access 🤝 no where to go and nothing to do

"This fact emphasizes a more general truth about cities: their marked individuality, so strong, so full of ‘character,’ from the beginning that they have many of the attributes of human personalities" — Lewis Mumford

visiting family for thanksgiving week and panic scheduled a dental appt because my insurance year ends Friday. The nice lady on the phone says : "we're in the same building as a Dunkin Donuts and a Baskin Robbins." Only in America 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

It's not an accident of history that our isolating tech—pushing people to never leave the house—came from the suburbs, places in which there was 1. little to do and 2. a social vacuum. TV made suburban life palatable. Suburban life made big tech. They are spiritually aligned

In a world of bad takes, this is a historically bad take. 49 percent of Americans report having three or fewer close friends, and 12% have none at all. When most people have stopped hosting entirely, we’re now shaming the few who do. Friendsgiving is good. So are families

Okay a more serious reflection on finishing my PhD: It was great! I really loved getting my PhD! Every stage of the process felt worth doing. It jumpstarted my knowledge and abilities and gave me mentors who demanded that I up my game in really valuable ways. I produced good

Living in a city and not having to be psychotic to stay in decent shape

From Joey Hiles for The Dispatch: "What I’ve found in fatherhood is that having kids is difficult in ways easy to talk about and great in ways difficult to talk about. Hell is, after all, rather uncomplicated. Heaven is opaque." (thedispatch.com/article/childr…)

Really brilliant book

Very funny anecdote from “The Past is a Foreign Country” : “How to celebrate Christmas in 1836 at Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement illustrates other pressures on historical truth. Up to 1978, visitors to this Indiana frontier replica community enjoyed a round of 'traditional'

Funniest account on twitter right now

"Is it in a walkable neighborhood?" — "No" "Near good restaurants?" — "No" "Does it overlook the ocean?" — "No" "Good school district?" — "No" "Thoughtful interior?" — "No" "Why is it 17 million dollars?" — "It has a 37 foot door"

Since all research is me-search, I will be titling my dissertation ‘Joey Hiles’

If you’re into Russian literature you should watch woody allens Love and Death; it’s incredibly funny

“To piggyback off that idea . . . “

Excellent long piece here in the “housing theory of everything” vein, which traces cultural stagnation to unaffordability. Takes an idea you may already know dimly or agree with, and very successfully elaborates it into a full argument

Atlanta 👇🏼