Tuesday

Tuesday is a mix of meditation on the markets and death, one from a journalist who isn't chasing trains, the other a poet who wondered about Japanese Monks. Coffee and Tea-related gift suggestions follow all that philosophy, and you will need them before listening to an interview with the NYT Puzzle Master Will Shortz.

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🤘We are here every day, and every minute you spend with us sends ripples of gratitude through our souls! 🤘

Axios is a media company built by several heavyweights in journalism. Many things make Axios different from most media companies, even the new ones. The founders of Axios, Jim Vandehei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz, also wrote a book called Smart Brevity, a framework for writing in the age of a 7-second clip. Axios uses the framework for all of their newsletters, allowing them to provide all the necessary information most efficiently. I highly recommend the book, and we use the principles whenever possible here at With A Shout and Halcyone Media.

Today, we highlight a piece about the markets, data, and why the anxiety over the economy doesn’t match the data. Before we do that, the way Matt Phillips writes the piece, he talks about how the pandemic allowed him to reduce his commute and meditate in the mornings instead of racing to catch a train into the city. In settling Phillips's mind daily, he can slow down his thinking and write up facts vs. fiction on the economy over the last 12 to 18 months.

The recession was coming, but it didn't. Unemployment has been under 4% for over a year, GDP rose almost 5% last quarter, and productivity is the highest in decades. Phillips says everything is imperfect; interest rates continue to play a role, and home mortgages are the highest in a long time.

I've talked about this in previous letters, and it's based on my personal experience – jobs are number 1, and everyone who wants a job can get one. Wages continue to increase based on employment numbers, and the cycles will continue to improve. I also think that if we are all working, it's easier to complain about everything else; that's just what you do at 5:00 PM, throwing back a cold one!

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Our poem of the day is from SM Stubbs. The poem is called Faith, and in the piece, Stubbs combines his questions about faith with the ancient traditions of Japanese monks. It's a beautiful poem; here is how Stubbs explains his process:

Read his poem here.

Heading into the holiday season and a little over a week away from Black Friday, Wirecutter has compiled a list of gifts for coffee and tea drinkers. Speaking as someone who had this coffee maker 20+ years ago…

I will give bonus points for the insulated French Press, coffee bean grinders, teapots, and the Bialetti Moka Express. I take my regular-sized Moka Pot with me every time I travel. I am not a fan of coffee pots and hot plate warmers – keeping bitter coffee warm doesn’t make it taste any better. Matcha intrigues me?

I admit I like to read and watch mysteries, but I'm not a big fan of puzzles. Wordle or a crossword puzzle for people with a 7-second attention span, like me. The NYT has a game section, and I will take a quick stab at Connections along with Wordle. I even made it through my first Sodoku this weekend. If you like real puzzles and challenges like crossword puzzles, listen to this Sunday Puzzle on NPR. Ayesha Rascoe interviews Will Shortz, the New York Times (NYT) crossword puzzle editor.

You Don't Know What You've Got - Blink 182.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

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🤘We are here every day, and every minute you spend with us sends ripples of gratitude through our souls! 🤘

With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.

5 minutes of good cheer every day. Become a Fan to get daily posts and updates.

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