Another year is in the books. I had a pretty good one.
My reading has changed. I mostly read academic articles and books on international relations, history, and some economic growth. Part of this is for all of the research projects I’ve got going on, but part of it is because a lot of the stuff I used to read is just not that appealing anymore.
I stopped reading most libertarian magazines (i.e. reason), and most libertarian websites (i.e. Mises Institute), and I got paywalled out of the newspapers I read (WSJ, FT). The difference between academic work and public-facing work is stark, but both are valuable.
I think there is an important role that blogs can play in the ongoing debates we are having in society. Twitter is great, but for stuff that needs a bit more oompf, I think NOL is perfect. I still read Marginal Revolution, Duck of Minerva, and EconLog. I’m still not a fan of solo-authored blogs.
I don’t know what I’m going to blog about in 2023. There’s lots of interesting stuff going on. Federation, for sure, will be on the list. I don’t know about foreign affairs. What could I possibly write about Ukraine that is not already being written by people far more knowledgeable than me? I suppose I could delve into American affairs a bit more. I have tried, over the last decade, to be more internationally-minded when it comes to thinking and discussing events and ideas, but perhaps it’s time for me to come home.
This is a terrible summary of 2022, I realize. Here’s something I did. By all means, check it out!
Here’s one of the coolest articles to come out this year (pdf). I dunno, it just seems like the magazine stuff and the newspaper stuff is so short-sighted. Like, everything in those things is written for the moment. Again, I know that it’s important to have a vehicle like that in society, it’s just not important to me at this moment in my own life. Twitter more than makes up for this lack of news/magazine access, though.
At any rate, happy new year to you and yours.
Oh, and I did watch a fair amount of television. The Witcher was okay. Andor was okay. All the cop shows I watched were meh. Every time I tune in to watch my teams (UCLA hoops and football, Austin FC, Sactown Kings) play they end up choking and losing to inferior opposition. Or they just lose to better opposition. I’m looking forward to Avatar 2, but I don’t know why.
I hope we’ll make contact with an alien polity in 2023, and that nuclear fusion will get another big breakthrough. I hope that cancer will be cured, and that malaria and Dengue can be eradicated from the planet in 2023.