Weekend Wrap 11/30/2025
Each weekend, I like to pause, reflect, and look back on the past week. This isn't a deep dive or grand reflection—just a quick review of a handful of things that brought me joy, made me think, or challenged me.
This past week was Thanksgiving. Over the years, it has become one of my very favorite holidays. I love the time spent with family, just enjoying each other’s company, and the emphasis on being grateful. I’ve really been thinking a lot about the importance of gratitude lately.
Music
I first became aware of The Reticent in 2016 with the release of On The Eve of a Goodbye. It was a painful, harrowing album of exploring the pain and sense of loss as Chris Hathcock, the main artist behind the band, addressed the suicide of a friend. I will never forget sitting on the plane to Hawaii, half asleep, as the gentle piano of and soft vocals of “Funeral for a Firefly” descended into the guttural screams of “Why do you get to die, while I have to go on?”
It hit, and it hit hard. It still haunts me.
That’s what you get with The Reticent. Most recent album, please, is no less harrowing. Each song explores different aspects of mental illness, moving through things like suicidal ideation, insomnia, panic disorder, and finally a triptych of songs exploring depression and the societal stigma that surrounds it.
It is heavy, thematically as well as musically. There are moments of beauty, but more than anything, please feels like someone exorcising their demons, as well as those of loved ones who have suffered from some of these diseases.
I can’t recommend it, only because it is so dark. But sometimes, light can be found as we travel through darkness. It is a brilliant album, but you have to know what you are getting.
Books
I’ve only started The Three Body Problem, but already I am hooked. I am enjoying the exploration of an aspect of China that I am wholly unfamiliar with. I look forward to getting the the more science fiction aspects of the book.
I’ve heard about this book for years, but never really dove in. A friend recently suggested it, and I decided that, having finished Murderbot, I had no excuse. I’m interested in the Netflix series, but I want to read the books first. I find that is almost always the best way to go about it.
Hopefully next week I will have made it further into the book. Time has just been short lately.
Quote of the week
One of my focuses with this newsletter, as well as what I am doing over on YouTube, is trying to focus on that small accumulation of advances.
Too often, particularly as we reach the new year, we are inundated with “revolutionary leaps” we should be taking. People are going to be offering us the world, all for a few easy payments of $79.99. If you haven’t seen it already, you most certainly will.
Don’t buy into it. Those systems, those huge, aggressive plans will fail. Every time, we are left wondering what went wrong. Why we got off track so quickly.
It’s because those leaps don’t work. Yes, they can provide results, but they aren’t sustainable. They don’t last. Work on accumulating small advances. Not only will you be happier, you will be far more successful.
What didn't work
There are a lot of small things I could list here. I’m not going to this week. Not because I am worried about being transparent. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have no problem embarrassing myself. Just ask the people I work with the stories I’ve told them.
But I’m not going to this week because, instead, I want to focus on being grateful for the good in my life. I am incredibly blessed and fortunate in a multitude of ways. So this week, I am just going to keep myself focused on this, and not on picking the nits in my life.
Wrapping up
This time of year is loved by many. Some of us find it incredibly difficult, for a variety of reasons. If you are one of those, please know I hear you, I see you, and I am here for you. May we all find whatever peace we can at this hectic, difficult time of year.