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Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life By Donald J. Robertson Email newsletter and podcast from Donald J. Robertson, cognitive-behavioural therapist, and author of Stoicism books, including How to Think Like a Roman Emperor. Sign up to learn how ancient philosophy and modern psychology can be used in self-help. ncG1vNJzZmirpZfAta3CpGWcp51kjaW7zZqjnaKipK%2BmvtOspqc%3D

Words are the foundation. Donald Sutherland told Variety in 2006 that “[I’ve] built my life through words…I’ve used other people’s words as a guide—skeletons of reality that I can expose with my flesh and blood and imagination.” The words are the skeletons and the body is formed by the performance of those words. An actor carries with them their past, marking each movement as another step in the life of both an artist and a character.

Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator (1940). We all had a good horselaugh when Trump lawyer John Lauro said last weekend that when then-President Donald Trump asked then-Vice President Mike Pence to toss out legitimate electoral ballots and substitute phony ones “he asked him in an aspirational way,” and that likewise when Trump told Georgia’s secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes” that, too, was an “aspirational ask.” How absurd! But no small part of the commentariat—David Von Drehle at the Washington Post, David Brooks at the New York Times, etc.

“Do you swear that the evidence you shall give to his court in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” Swearing in court witnesses is usually a perfunctory ritual. No one really pays attention. But if Donald Trump testifies in the case accusing him of hiding a hush payment to a porn star to protect his political campaign, all eyes would and should  focus on Trump’s hand on that Bible.

While you were at church or your kids (or grandkids) were searching your yard for Easter eggs, Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social, uh, commemorating the Easter holiday. Here it is: What the actual hell. Where to start? How about that this was the Republican presidential nominee’s message on Easter Sunday — the most joyful day of the year for Christians around the world? Jesus is risen! He has overcome death!

Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of when a deadly fog suffocated a Pennsylvania town, killing 20 people immediately (and shortening the lives of others for years afterward). It also sickened 6000 people, almost half the town. Chances are you have never heard of it, but it’s worth knowing. I want to share the story for this week’s edition of The Classroom. Read on! In the mid-20th century, south of Pittsburgh, hemmed in by hills and caressed by the Monongahela River, Donora, Pennsylvania, proudly housed three mills—a steel plant, a wire plant, a zinc-and-sulphuric acid plant—where two-thirds of its men and plenty of its women worked.

In December 2005, when I was in year 10, my family travelled to north India. It was my first time in Asia. As we drove between relatives in Punjab — including the home of my cousin Amulya in Chandigarh — I listened continuously to my metallic green iPod Mini, which held a maximum of one thousand Mp3s. Among them was Don’t Be Shy by Rouge, which became a personal soundtrack to my time away.

The newsletters will go back to their normal programming next week. I won’t do Friday night chats because I did them Monday. But I promise from Monday we will be back to normal! Today, I wanted to share this as it’s my latest weapon in the Writes Household Cat Vs Axolotl war. If you’ve got a child who is Minecraft obsessed, chances are they’ve been talking about axolotls lately. A new update on the game means players can now make ponds and spawn axolotls in them.

1014  words • 5 min readI’ve had several conversations with founders wanting to start the “Pilot of X,” and my first piece of advice to them is “Don’t start a tech-enabled service.” Yes, I recognize the irony of that advice coming from the CEO of a tech-enabled service, but here’s why. There’s a lot to like about the tech-enabled services model. But it’s also punishingly hard—so make sure you understand what you’re signing up for before you embark on this journey.