Bad Fruit

This article from Ian comes at an apt time for me. For as long as I can remember I've had an expansive backlog of pretty much everything just sitting there, waiting.

I think everyone, but especially artists, tend to collect a lot of stuff. There's so much art in the world, it's easy to see something you like, draw some connecting threads to similar things, and add them to you "to watch / read / play / etc." pile. Congratulations: you now have a backlog. Crucially, unfairly: just like in making art, it's on you and only you to work through even this.

This rings true, for me. It's so easy to bookmark a webpage, jot down a movie or show name into a note on my phone, save a YouTube video to "Watch later"; and then simply never get around to actually consuming it.

Still, a saved video or article isn't any good if you don't make time to watch / read it.

In the past few months I've started entering backlog items—predominantly articles I want to read—into a "To Read" project in Todoist to help give some more structure in keeping track of the things I see and want to take the time to read.

The problem, however, is that I'm too unwilling to check them off. Even if I open an article, read it, and then check it off, I want some more lasting record of having done so.

That has lead to the creation of this "Library" section of my website that you now find yourself on. As I work through my backlog, I will record items here, ideally with some thoughts or commentary of my own to accompany them.

Perhaps this is overstating it, but to me, making a backlog is an act of love: it's the recognition there are things in this life you want to give careful attention to. Working through a backlog is a recognition of mortality: there's only so much time in this life. One of my old bosses once told me something that's stuck with me: "Life's too short for bad fruit."