February 19, 2026
Hello, everyone.
This is my first favorite new song of 2026.
Olivia Chaney has covered this traditional folk ballad many times over the years live but she finally released it as a standalone single. It plays during a pivotal scene in the newWuthering Heights. It’s a silly movie with flaws, but I still think about this scene. I’m glad I saw it in a sold-out theater. The woman next to me was in her ‘80s, and she literally swooned when Jacob Elordi first appeared on screen.
I haven’t had time to watch this yet, but I’ll watch any video put out by Skill Up. One of the best YouTube critics working today.
That was always my goal when I was doing more official music criticism: to be someone people would always read, even if they didn’t know who I was writing about … to earn that sense of unspoken respect between a writer and reader.
Yesterday, I almost got hit by a car while on my morning walk. It was scary. That could have been it. Life is short, indeed.
It feels good to write short stories again. It doesn’t feel as good to not publish as much as I used to, or as much as I think I should. I’d rather have the former, especially since I don’t need this newsletter to pay my bills. I will admit that the latter never really goes away.
The classic “Do you want to be a writer or do you want to be famous?” question.
There are more lucrative and sustainable prisons than a newsletter.
I hate how much I love organizing my taxes. It implies that I like taxes. I don’t. A necessary evil. If I gotta do them, I might as well enjoy them.
Speaking of trying to enjoy things that I should do: I clicked on one “These are the three best stretches for your body’s mobility” video on YouTube, watched 20 seconds, closed it, and now my entire YouTube feed only shows workout videos. Help.
Would 12-year-old me like 33-year-old me?
Honestly, yes.
But maybe not as much as 32-year-old me would have liked 33-year-old me.
32-year-old me would be over the moon.
Is one’s validation better than the other?
These days, I’m only really on Instagram and have blocked out most other social media. (I’ve greatly reduced my output on LinkedIn but still lurk, same with Letterboxd.) However, instead of spending five minutes across all those channels, I now spend all that free time … on Instagram. I don’t love that. I’m trying to change that.
What’s keeping me on Instagram:
Seeing and engaging with life updates from my in-real-life friends and family, whom I don’t get to see often anymore, and who aren’t on other social media
Absurd memes and dad jokes
I pretty much block all politics and even general news (I still rely on AP and a handful of other vetted outlets). I’m an aggressive “This does not interest me” button user. I’ll even mute some of my friends who post Instagram stories way too much. I still love those friends … I just don’t like that digital version of them. Muting makes the platform more manageable. Same with the mute button when I used to be on X.
Still, the best change has come from getting back into reading for at least an hour right before bed instead of falling asleep to YouTube or social media. It’s like rediscovering actual sleep. I love it.
Why do I sound like an ad for Instagram?
Gross.
I’m not loving these winter Olympics. Is it because the world feels really fractured right now and there’s a “What are we even doing?” feeling in the air, or do I just not care about snowboarding? Every Olympics has that “What are we even doing?” feeling, I suppose.
And that’s it.
With love and all the other good things,
-b
