Life On A B-I7

Robert Mueller

Trump posted on social media after the announcement of Mueller’s death:

“Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead.”

Robert Mueller’s contribution to American national security is undisputed. He led the FBI for 12 years after 9/11 and transformed the agency from one focused on domestic crime to one whose primary role was preventing foreign terrorism here at home. He worked for presidents of both parties and his loyalty to America was never questioned, until Trump.

Trump’s statement is not only not Presidential, a departure from all norms of Presidential decorum. It is insensitive, profane and irresponsible. It’s the sort of comment you would expect from a criminal.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 163

If you are inclined to look at someone’s failings and hold that against them, look at your own failings first. Be as forgiving of those people as you are of yourself. That is the only way you can grow to understand them better — and understand yourself better.

Books I Enjoyed in 2025

Joy Ride by Kristen Jokinen
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Stuck by Yoni Appelbaum
How Emotionally Mature Are You? by The School of Life
Turning to Stone by Marcia Bjornerud
Greek Philosophy by Helen Gagatsu
Merlins Tour of the Universe by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
The Cat Who Taught Zen by James Norbury
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
The Hollow Crown by Eliot A. Cohen
Walking in Wonder by Adam Segel-Moss (Cliff Dancer)
Raising Hare A Memoir by Chloe Dalton
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
On Quality by Robert M. Pirsig
How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish
Abbey in America Edited by John A. Murray
Shadows on the Koyukuk by Sidney Huntington
Flaubert A Life by Geoffrey Wall

Great American Novels

Here is a collection of great American novels. What constitutes a great novel is largely a matter for the reader to decide. I hope that after I have worked my way through this list (ambitious) I will have found most or all to have been worth the effort. I have no idea how long it will take to accomplish this task. All I can do is try my best. I know there will be distractions and side-trips along the way. There are too many good books out there to stick exclusively to a single list. Inspiration always plays a role in selecting the next read.I will do my best to work my way through these. I’m looking forward to the journey.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

1925

An American Tragedy

Theodore Dreiser

1925

The Making of Americans

Gertrude Stein

1925

Death Comes for the Archbishop

Willa Cather

1927

A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway

1929

Passing

Nella Larsen

1929

The Sound and the Fury

William Faulkner

1929

Absalom, Absalom!

William Faulkner

1936

Nightwood

Djuna Barnes

1936

East Goes West

Younghill Kang

1937

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston

1937

U.S.A.

John Dos Passos

1937

Ask the Dust
John Fante
1939

The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler
1939

The Day of the Locust
Nathanael West
1939

The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
1939

Native Son
Richard Wright
1940

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Carson McCullers
1940

A Time to Be Born
Dawn Powell
1942

All the King’s Men
Robert Penn Warren
1946

The Street
Ann Petry
1946

In a Lonely Place
Dorothy B. Hughes
1947

The Mountain Lion
Jean Stafford
1947

The Catcher in the Rye
J. D. Salinger
1951

Charlotte’s Web
E. B. White
1952

Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison
1952

Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
1953

Maud Martha
Gwendolyn Brooks
1953

The Adventures of Augie March
Saul Bellow
1953

Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
1955

Giovanni’s Room
James Baldwin
1956

Peyton Place
Grace Metalious
1956

Deep Water
Patricia Highsmith
1957

No-No Boy
John Okada
1957

On the Road
Jack Kerouac
1957

The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson
1959

Catch-22
Joseph Heller
1961

A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L’Engle
1962

Another Country
James Baldwin
1962

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Ken Kesey
1962

Pale Fire
Vladimir Nabokov
1962

The Zebra-Striped Hearse
Ross Macdonald
1962

The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath
1963

The Group
Mary McCarthy
1963

The Crying of Lot 49
Thomas Pynchon
1966

A Sport and a Pastime
James Salter
1967

Couples
John Updike
1968

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Philip K. Dick
1968

Divorcing
Susan Taubes
1969

Portnoy’s Complaint
Philip Roth
1969

Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut
1969

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Judy Blume
1970

Desperate Characters
Paula Fox
1970

Play It as It Lays
Joan Didion
1970

Log of the S.S. The Mrs Unguentine
Stanley Crawford
1972

Mumbo Jumbo
Ishmael Reed
1972

Sula
Toni Morrison
1973

The Revolt of the Cockroach People
Oscar Zeta Acosta
1973

Oreo
Fran Ross
1974

The Dispossessed
Ursula K. Le Guin
1974

Winter in the Blood
James Welch
1974

Corregidora
Gayl Jones
1975

Speedboat
Renata Adler
1976

Ceremony
Leslie Marmon Silko
1977

Song of Solomon
Toni Morrison
1977

A Contract With God
Will Eisner
1978

Dancer From the Dance
Andrew Holleran
1978

The Stand
Stephen King
1978

Kindred
Octavia E. Butler
1979

The Dog of the South
Charles Portis
1979

Housekeeping
Marilynne Robinson
1980

The Salt Eaters
Toni Cade Bambara
1980

Little, Big: Or, the Fairies’ Parliament
John Crowley
1981

Oxherding Tale
Charles Johnson
1982

Machine Dreams
Jayne Anne Phillips
1984

Blood Meridian
Cormac McCarthy
1985

A Summons to Memphis
Peter Taylor
1986

Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
1986

Beloved
Toni Morrison
1987

Dawn
Octavia E. Butler
1987

Geek Love
Katherine Dunn
1989

Tripmaster Monkey
Maxine Hong Kingston
1989

Dogeaters
Jessica Hagedorn
1990

American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis
1991

How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
Julia Alvarez
1991

Mating
Norman Rush
1991

Bastard Out of Carolina
Dorothy Allison
1992

The Secret History
Donna Tartt
1992

So Far From God
Ana Castillo
1993

Stone Butch Blues
Leslie Feinberg
1993

The Shipping News
Annie Proulx
1993

Native Speaker
Chang-rae Lee
1995

Sabbath’s Theater
Philip Roth
1995

Under the Feet of Jesus
Helena María Viramontes
1995

Infinite Jest
David Foster Wallace
1996

I Love Dick
Chris Kraus
1997

Underworld
Don DeLillo
1997

The Intuitionist
Colson Whitehead
1999

Blonde
Joyce Carol Oates
2000

House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski
2000

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Michael Chabon
2000

The Last Samurai
Helen DeWitt
2000

The Quick and the Dead
Joy Williams
2000

Erasure
Percival Everett
2001

I, the Divine
Rabih Alameddine
2001

The Corrections
Jonathan Franzen
2001

Caramelo
Sandra Cisneros
2002

Perma Red
Debra Magpie Earling
2002

The Russian Debutante’s Handbook
Gary Shteyngart
2002

The Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri
2003

Veronica
Mary Gaitskill
2005

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Junot Díaz
2007

A Visit From the Goon Squad
Jennifer Egan
2010

I Hotel
Karen Tei Yamashita
2010

Open City
Teju Cole
2011

Salvage the Bones
Jesmyn Ward
2011

The Round House
Louise Erdrich
2012

Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2013

Nevada
Imogen Binnie
2013

A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James
2014

Family Life
Akhil Sharma
2014

Fates and Furies
Lauren Groff
2015

The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin
2015

The Sellout
Paul Beatty
2015

The Sympathizer
Viet Thanh Nguyen
2015

Amiable With Big Teeth
Claude McKay
2017

Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders
2017

Sabrina
Nick Drnaso
2018

Severance
Ling Ma
2018

There There
Tommy Orange
2018

Lost Children Archive
Valeria Luiselli
2019

Nothing to See Here
Kevin Wilson
2019

The Old Drift
Namwali Serpell
2019

No One Is Talking About This
Patricia Lockwood
2021

The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
2021

Biography of X
Catherine Lacey
2023

Other Works Worth Reading

Here is a collection of other works and authors. I’m going to stop planning now because I think I may have exceeded my reading capacity, at least with the years I have remaining to accomplish this list. I have no idea how long it will take to accomplish this task. All I can do is try my best. I know there will be distractions and side-trips along the way. There are too many good books out there to stick exclusively to a single list (or a second list). Inspiration always plays a role in selecting the next read. I will do my best to work my way through these. I’m looking forward to the journey.

Titles

The Magic Mountain
Buddenbrooks
Les Miserables
The Return of the Native
Essays
The Third Policeman
Letters to Eckermann
Lord Jim
Hamlet
King Lear
Moby Dick
The Sun Also Rises

Authors

Whitman
Thoreau
Twain
Joseph Campbell
Gary Snyder
Annie Dillard
Basho
Cervantes
Homer
John Muir
Chekhov
Dostoyevsky
Camu
Beckett
Nietzsche

Masters

Zen, Muslim, Taoist, Hassidic, Hindu

Dealing With Change

One method for dealing with overwhelming change is feeling nostalgia for a time you have never known. One example is the way we glamorize Ancient Greece. Our society is changing too rapidly for our minds to grasp and adapt. This makes us long for the past. The feeling of being overwhelmed is one of the factors prompting this shift. The more anxiety we feel, the more we tend to retreat into the past.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 162

Instagram

I sat down to write about something and was presented with a new Mac update that required me to reopen all my apps. Now that I’ve done that, I forgot what I was going to write about… Forgetting what I intended to do happens more often than I care to admit.

Oh ya, I’ve decided I’m not going to look at Instagram today. I’ve been looking at it more and more lately, and I’m not convinced that is healthy. I mean, I love the cat videos. I’d love to build a “Catio” so Mr. Tux would have a safe stimulating place to play outdoors but my partner would not approve (good for her) and someone in the HOA would complain and I’d have to dismantle it anyway.

That said, If I hadn’t watched Instagram yesterday, I would not have learned that there are serious protests in New York where it looks like hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people are chanting “F@@@ Trump.” I found that a pleasant distraction (I would have enjoyed being there). I also watched a video (cos-play) of the Founding Fathers reading what the current administration is doing and comparing it to the practices of the monarchies of Europe. It was a lesson in the reasoning behind the Constitution and why it was written, and what it was intended to prevent. Yes, they were showing surprise, regret, and disgust. (The costumes they were wearing were excellent.)

Outside of watching the Founding Fathers comment on our current political situation, watching protesters in New York, and contemplating turning our patio into a cat haven, I endured a lot of shit during my scrolling.

So today I’m not going to look at Instagram. If you want my attention, you’re going to have to walk up to me, tap me on the shoulder, and ask me how my day is going and what is going on.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 161

No person has the power to possess everything they want. Does that sound familiar? It should. We are being led by a man that thinks having whatever he wants is reasonable. The ancient Romans knew this was not a tenable reality. Today we call that behavior malignant narcissism. The desire to obtain obscene wealth and power is possibly the most tragic of human flaws.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 160

There is living in luxury and living well. Be content to live well. Living in luxury is a manifestation of greed and it robs the world and our fellow man of precious resources that should be preserved for future generations.

8 Japanese Secrets to Detox Your Mind

SHINRIN-YOKU

Take a 20 minute slow walk. Breathe through your nose. Take notice of the things around you.

• Lowers cortisol
• Reduces rumination
• Improves focus
• Calms sympathetic nervous system

MA

Sit and breathe with no distractions for 10 minutes.

• Reduces dopamine overload
• Improves emotional control
• Increases clarity
• Reduces anxiety

KAIZEN

Improve one small thing every day. Just one thing.

• Removes feelings of being overwhelmed
• Builds momentum when repeated
• Improves confidence
• Reduces procrastination

WABI-SABI

Stop second guessing yourself. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Post imperfect work. Accept where you are right now.

• Reduces comparison anxiety
• Stops perfection paralysis
• Improves mental peace
• Gives you the release to move forward

IKIGAI

Write. Write down answers to the following questions. What do I love. What am I good at. What do people value about me.

• Reduces confusion about who you are
• Improves direction
• Increases motivation
• Lowers existential stress

HARA HACHI BU

Stop eating at 80% full. Pause mid-meal to contemplate. Chew slowly.

• Improves impulse control
• Stabilizes blood sugar
• Reduces brain fog
• Trains discipline

OUBAITORI

Time your Social Media interaction. Do not exceed the limit you have set. Remove accounts, emails, interactions that are not positive. Focus on your progress not on what other people are doing.

• Reduces envy
• Increases self-worth
• Improves focus
• Increases well-being

SHOGANAI

If something is bothering you ask: “Can I control this?” If the answer is “No,” release it.

• Lowers stress reactivity
• Improves resilience
• Protects your mental energy
• Relaxes you

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 159

Seneca said that it is more easy to laugh at life than it is to lament it.

There is little to be gained by getting angry or sad. There is always something we can do to adjust our behavior to avoid becoming a victim of anger or sadness.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 158

We should get rid of all things that are unnecessary for our living. This will free us. Always remember that even dire misfortune can be an opening that brings us to a better place

Tattoo

Some of you might know what I’m talking about… I think she needs a tattoo on her arm that says “Brad.” Better yet, “B-Rad.”

The Greatest Sentence Ever Written

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 157

Understand the past and respect it, but don’t make it your sole guide for what should be your path forward. The past is a guide meant to teach us, not a guide meant to lead us by blind obedience.

Marcus Aurelius

“In the year 170, the most powerful man in the world sat down to write. Not to an audience or for publications, but to himself, for himself. His name was Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of Rome. Miraculously, these writings survive –and contain within them a profound prescription for wisdom, justice, discipline and courage.”

Almost every day I sit down to write. My goal is not to impart wisdom to anyone other than myself. This blog is the result of that effort. There is much that doesn’t find its way into this blog, but what does is material that I hope will remind me of where I’ve been, and where I need to go.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 156

Do not rely on a single source for all your opinions. Use multiple sources to gather information. Consider all those sources carefully before you settle on “the facts.” Remember that even then, the facts you have settled on are ephemeral and are likely to change as history unfolds. Be able to change with them.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 155

If you want to persuade someone to your point of view, beating them with a stick or beating them with your words will not bring about positive results. Don’t say to someone “stop doing that,” or “stop doing that because it is wrong.” Instead, say stop doing that and then provide them with facts to show them why they will benefit by doing so. Those that choose to deny facts cannot be helped. Remember they are in the minority, not the majority.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 154

The attention you pay to any action should always be in proportion to its value. That value is determined by the benefit that will be returned to you and also to the value that will be returned to your fellow beings. It doesn’t matter if that return is recognized or not.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 153

Do not be anxious about the future. Realize instead that unless you are in control of some aspect of man’s destiny (most of us are not in such a position) there is little we can do to control that destiny — beyond those things that are our public duty.

Feeling bad about something that hasn’t happened yet is a choice that we are making. It is a choice that is draining energy from us that could otherwise be put to some worthwhile purpose.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 152

The Stoic dresses in whatever way is customary for the location and situation. The Stoic does not attempt to stand out from the crowd. What makes the Stoic unique is what is inside. Uniqueness threatens and alienates many people. Often it is those people that are most in need of what you have to offer.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 151

Peace of mind is not just about doing a few things as opposed to many things, it is about doing a few things well. That includes avoiding unnecessary things. Doing so gives us the best chance of doing all that we have the ability to accomplish.

Avoid those tasks that are purely driven by vanity. We must focus on eliminating those things that are a waste of our time.

No Kings Rally

My sign for the No Kings Rally on March 28.

Stop Wars Now