Groundbreaking Food Gardens / World of Warcraft Chronicle

Issue No. 114

73 PLANS THAT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU GROW YOUR GARDEN

Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden
by Niki Jabbour, illustrations by Anne Smith, Elayne Sears and Mary Ellen Carsley
Storey Publishing
2014, 272 pages, 8 x 10 x 0.8 inches (softcover)

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Fittingly, the layout of Groundbreaking Food Gardens is similar to a community garden. Within the landscape of this one book, readers find 73 distinct plots, each neatly contained, each with its own character in the beds of text and image. In it, edible gardening expert Niki Jabbour curates 73 thematically diverse illustrated plans contributed by master food growers and writers with unendingly fresh perspectives. Each mini-chapter opens with three or four cornerstones of the design therein, and these points become headers for each section, like garden markers for the reader.

Even the most bibliophilic gardener has to admit, it’s hard to find a good gardening book that says or does something new. But within the first 24 hours of bringing home Groundbreaking Food Gardens, I had filled it with every bit of scrap paper in our bookmark pile. Though more of a design lookbook than a how-to, it still offers plenty of information. Woven throughout the plans, there are both practical tips and historical gardening factoids to appeal to new and seasoned gardeners alike. You wouldn’t use a bean pole to support a squash, and so the scaffolding of each design chapter changes slightly to reflect the 73 unique concepts. Colby Eierman’s “Backyard Orchard” walks you through espaliering a fruit tree while Wendy Kiang-Spray’s “Asian Vegetables” chapter focuses on familiarizing us with 28 varieties of, you guessed it, Asian vegetables. Because each design focuses on a particular interest or challenge (lack of space, lots of space, kid-friendly, wildlife-welcoming, one of everything, all garlic, all the time), I’ve been having fun daydreaming about taking bits and pieces of each plan to fit my particular gardening needs and wants (which are, let’s be honest, all the gardens).

Practically speaking, for those of us who don’t have the time or money to completely transform our outdoor spaces all at once, starting out with Jayme Jenkins’s ingenious “Hanging Gutters” garden or improving current plots with Laura Henderson’s tips on water collecting and succession planting will keep our hands dirty while dreaming of recreating Mac Mead’s half-acre “Biodynamic Farm.” Whether you have a perennial green thumb or just some dirt under your fingernails from the basil on your window sill, you’ll find inspiration in Groundbreaking Food Gardens. – Mk Smith Despres

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WORLD OF WARCRAFT CHRONICLE TAKES YOU TO THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE WOW UNIVERSE

World of Warcraft Chronicle
by Blizzard Entertainment, Peter Lee (artist) and Joseph Lacroix (illustrator)
Dark Horse
2016, 184 pages, 9.3 x 12.3 x 0.7 inches

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Real chronicles for imaginary places are nothing new. I’m pretty sure my first one detailed all the secrets of Krynn. But it might have been Pern. Or maybe Thra. It’s hard to remember. And these days, the market boasts a surfeit of atlases, histories, dictionaries, and art books big enough to satisfy even the most die-hard fan.

Dark Horse’s World of Warcraft Chronicle Vol. 1 fills all these roles beautifully. Formatted as a history (hence “chronicle”) the book takes the reader from the very beginning of the WoW universe to a time 45 years before the Dark Portal, when a young boy named Medivh awoke from a long coma…

WoW is famously lore-dense. It is one of the most captivating things about the game for many players. Each new expansion brings new races, new characters – each with their own complete story – as well as new back stories for old favorites. And then, too, WoW has a nifty habit of either adding new locations (and new stories!) or completely destroying the old lands and kingdoms and rebuilding in the same spots for, you guessed it, new stories!

This book is an attempt to corral all those stories into something coherent and readable. Two things help the book achieve its goal: the history is laid out chronologically (chronicle!) and supported by numerous maps and stunning artwork. The maps show the same locations again and again, noting how things have changed since the last time they were presented. And the art…Blizzard’s own Peter Lee illustrated Chronicle with lush paintings that depict key scenes instantly familiar to anyone who has spent time in World of Warcraft.

As a physical object, Chronicle is another in a long line of beautifully constructed books from Dark Horse. The covers are sturdy (and sans jacket, instead having fixed illustrated panels on the front cover) and the paper is heavy enough to survive being leafed through repeatedly without tearing. Likewise, though glossy, the paper resists being smudged or marked by skin oil. The font and typesetting is clear and easy to read. As I said, it is a beautiful book.

With the (hopefully first of many) Warcraft movie set to debut this summer, World of Warcraft, the game, is sure to gain a bunch of new fans as well as see the return of lapsed players like yours truly. This book is the perfect companion piece for those new to Azeroth and those whose recollection may have faltered a little and even those who are already experts because, if nothing else, this book will make you want to take up your sword, climb on your mount, and join the battle. For the Horde! (Alliance!) – Joel Neff

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Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.

04/21/26

Drawing

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 186

Best drawing teacher

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Now in its fourth revision, this remains the best guide for learning how to draw. I used it with my son, and his progress was remarkable. It has also helped my own drawing skills. I actually looked forward to the exercises which are brilliant and fun. In order to draw you must learn to see, and that’s what this book teaches: how to perceive. Because this perception training relies on strengthening right brain activity, it can be transferred to any kind of creative work. In each edition over the past 30 years, the author has widened the skills she is teaching, so that this current version will improve your perception skills — essential for any kind of innovation — whether or not you ever sketch. And still, it remains the best teacher for anyone — yes, anyone! — learning to how to draw. — KK

• A caution: as all of our students discover, sooner or later, the left hemisphere is the Great Saboteur of endeavors in art. When you draw, it will be set aside–left out of the game. Therefore, it will find endless reasons for you not to draw: you need to go to the market, balance your checkbook, phone your mother, plan your vacation, or do that work you brought home from the office.
  
  What is the strategy to combat that? The same strategy. Present your brain with a job that your left hemisphere will turn down. Copy an upside-down photograph, regard a negative space and draw it, or simply start drawing. Jogging, meditation, games, music, cooking, gardening–countless activities also produce a cognitive shift. The left hemisphere will drop out, again tricked out of its dominance. And oddly, given the great power and force of the left hemisphere, it can be tricked over and over with the same tricks.

• Drawing is a curious process, so intertwined with seeing the that the two can hardly be separated. The ability to draw depends on one’s ability to see the way an artist sees. This kind of seeing, for most people, requires teaching, because the artist’s way of seeing is very specific and very different from the ways we ordinarily use vision to navigate our lives.
  
  Because of this unusual requirement, teaching someone to draw has some special problems. It is very much like teaching someone to ride a bicycle: both skills are difficult to explain in words.
• Drawing as a learning, teachable skill
  
  I firmly believe that given good instruction, drawing is a skill that can be learned by every normal person with average eyesight and average hand-eye coordination. Someone with sufficient ability, for example, to sign a receipt or to type out an e-mail or text message can learn to draw.
• These pre-existing skills have nothing to do with potential to draw well. What the pre-instructions drawings represent is the age at which the person last drew, often coinciding with the age at which the person gave up trying to draw.

• Ideally (in my view), learning in art should proceed as follows: the perception of edges (line) leads to the perception of shapes (negative spaces and positive shapes), drawn in correct proportion and perspective (sighting). These skills lead to the perception of values (light logic), which leads to the perception of colors as values, which leads to painting.

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Dual pencil sharpener

Alvin KUM Long Point Pencil Sharpener

The iconic battery-powered Panasonic KP-4A, my previous favorite pencil sharpener, is no longer sold in the US. As it happens, I had been growing increasingly disenchanted by the noise and poor job the device sometimes provides. So I started researching to see what was out there in the manual small sharpener space. After ordering about six different models, I settled on the KUM Long Point Pencil Sharpener.

It’s different than other sharpeners in two respects. First, it has two holes: #1, labeled as such, trims the wooden barrel, and #2 hones the point. It also has an automatic brake built-in so you don’t waste time and lead after you’ve achieved a perfect point. Besides being silent and great fun to use, it produces a fantastically good point. There’s also a nice clear lift-up lid to easily empty shavings.

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Superior pencil sharpener

Alvin Lead Pointer

the Alvin Lead Pointer is the best way to keep this type of pencil sharpened. I am an architect and use these pencils every day. I’ve had this sharpener for more than ten years and it still works like new. The pointer is small, making it ideal to hold in your hand while rotating your lead holder around the pointer. Because your two hands are working together, I find I have more control and there are much fewer broken leads. The cutting head is sharp and lasts for a long time. It only takes a couple spins and your lead is needle sharp. Maintenance and clean-up is a snap. Take the top off the body and dump the graphite shavings into your trash and you are done If you do break your lead in the pointer, just remove the top and tap it on the inside edge of your trash can to clear the broken pieces. Lead pointers can be messy because of the fine graphite dust, but my pointer has never leaked the dust onto my desk. I have used many different types of pointers from desk mounted to ones mounted on the top of an electric eraser. The desk mounted pointers tend to break leads easily, since you are moving your lead holder in a circular motion around a pointer fixed to your desk, thus you may move in a direction that is not compatible to the pointer and will snap your lead. The electric eraser type is good, but it does not stay sharp for very long. It’s also difficult to empty the graphite shavings and jams when you break your lead inside it. This pointer really is the best way to keep you lead sharp! If you work in an office, you may want to buy two — because it is so small and useful, your pointer just might grow legs. — Donald Moore, Jr.

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The best pencil eraser

Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser

Mars plastic erasers are the best. Abrasive erasers tear up the paper surface too much, and unless you have mastered pressing really hard without breaking the lead a mechanical pencil doesn’t draw that deep anyway.

The plastic erasers can also be cleaned with a wet thumb or a rub on scrap paper for neat work. I always find the “gritty” or “gummy” erasers get so dirty you spend half your time rubbing out their own mess. The Mars compound is stiff enough that corners can be used for fine work, or large areas erased with the flat end. The dirty, used portions just roll off as you use it and are cleanly blown/swiped away. I like the idea of putty/moldable erasers, but they get filthy, crumbly and horrible if kept in a pocket or bag. — Alan

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Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

04/20/26

Paint pens / Budget espresso / AI bird feeder

Recomendo - issue #510

Digital colors

My book of 800 unusual images from Asia — arranged by colors — is now available as an inexpensive digital book. Because it is so graphic the digital version works best as a PDF. You can order and download the digital Colors of Asia, anywhere in the world for $3.99. — KK

Wireless wild bird watching

My mother used to tell me stories about her favorite great aunt in Mexico who had an aviary, and I’ve always dreamed of having my own but can’t imagine keeping birds caged. And then for Christmas, my husband gifted me the Birdfy AI Smart Bird Feeder, and it’s totally made that dream come true in a way I didn’t expect. My backyard has never been more active, and I’ve gotten to know all the visiting birds that the AI identifies, plus collect and download clips of their cute eating and fighting. The images are crisp and clear, and it feels like a whole hidden dimension of the world has opened up for me. Birdfy is the brand we have and I’m very happy with it, but I know there are more out there, and I’m really recommending the experience of a bird feeder camera more than this one specific product. — CD

Budget espresso machine that punches above its weight

A friend bought the under-$200 Casabrews CM5418 Espresso Machine for her boyfriend’s birthday because they were tired of paying inflated prices for Nespresso pods. I had my doubts that a machine this cheap could make decent coffee, but I have to say it’s excellent. It has a decent pump that pulls a rich shot and has a steam wand for frothing milk. Pair it with a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder — fresh, evenly ground beans make a big difference. I use a Capresso Infinity grinder. — MF

Paint pens

Sharpie makes pens that lay down a heavy layer of paint, instead of a thinner layer of ink. With these paint pens, you can make very visible marks on virtually anything. Sharpie Creative Markers work on glass, dark plastic, rusty metal, stone – surfaces that ordinary markers fail on. They come in lots of colors, and 3 different tip types. Artists like them on paper because they are very opaque yet don’t bleed through the other side. There are fancy brands of expensive paint pens made for artists, but the Sharpie versions are very affordable, about $1 per pen. — KK

A reminder to “Play”

This opinion piece on The Next Web titled “The most radical act in an age of outrage is to play” is a navigational reset for where we should put our energy. The invitation is that in a culture addicted to outrage, choosing to play—freely, creatively, and with others—is itself a radical act of resistance and repair. Which is such a good reminder. Play—along with Kindness, Truth, and Love—is a core tenet of mine. Play as a radical act is the quiet, subversive way we can reclaim our own nervous systems, our attention, and our capacity to connect. — CD

Explore Wikipedia by map

The Wikipedia app (free, iOS/Android) has a locations feature that shows Wikipedia articles on a map. It’s a fun way to discover interesting spots when you travel. I’ve been using it around Los Angeles and have found things I never knew existed. My favorite find so far: the Hollywood Freeway chickens, a colony of feral chickens that have lived under the Vineland Avenue off-ramp of the 101 since around 1970, possibly descended from a truckload of poultry that overturned. — MF

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04/19/26

Young Adult Destinations/Bag Check Hikes/Hotel Labor Shortage

Nomadico issue #202

Living Abroad Destinations for Young Adults

I got quoted in this Travel + Leisure article about some of the best destinations in the world for young adults to consider for moving abroad. This is not meant to be a definitive list, but it’s a good article if you want 8 options to consider instead of being overwhelmed with choices. You don’t have to be young to enjoy these places, but they’re strong on the vibrant qualities people look for when they’re in their 20s and 30s, plus the cost of living is another favorable factor.

More Airlines Raise Baggage Fees

The airlines never met a fee they didn’t like and when one of their competitors raises the price, the execs usually match them in lockstep. So after JetBlue went first, as mentioned last week, many of the other lemmings followed, with $45 for the first bag being the most common amount now, blamed on fuel costs. For budget airlines, you’re going to pay extra to bring anything unless you travel with just a “personal item,” but for the legacy airlines you can usually still get away with bringing a carry-on into the packed cabin. Otherwise, Alaska Air, Air Canada, JetBlue, and United all offer credit cards with free bag checks on all flights, not just a subset of them. This includes at least one companion if booked together. The current United sign-up bonus with Chase is huge too, enough for a round-trip ticket to almost anywhere.

Are You Buying Bottled Water out of Habit?

“You’ve got a bottle in your bag pocket, remember?” the woman said to her significant other in the line at the airport coffee shop in front of me yesterday. He put it back and saved $4.99 (plus tax) because he was 20 steps away from a filtered water dispenser. I saw another guy pay $6.89 for bottled water in our second airport of the day while being equally close to another dispenser. Since numerous studies have shown that bottled water is more contaminated than your average tap water, paying a premium and then throwing away more plastic seems like a bad idea all around if you’re flying in the USA or Europe.

A Looming Worker Crisis for US Hotels

If you’re having trouble finding a hotel staffer when you need one, it’s probably not your imagination. We’ve already seen the reduced influx of immigrants to the USA impact the food industry, but the next big hit will be where you lay your head when traveling. According to those in the industry, there’s already a serious worker shortage and it’s going to get worse. “The hospitality industry ended 2025 with 98,000 fewer workers than the year before, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” With immigrants making up one-third of the labor force for hotels (and more for the construction of new ones), don’t expect rates to go anywhere but up in the coming years stateside.

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A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

04/16/26

What’s in my NOW? — Augie Nielsen

issue #250

August is a husband, father, runner, practical Midwesterner, and HR executive currently serving as Chief Human Resources Officer at Central Trust Company in Jefferson City, Missouri.

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PHYSICAL

• Garmin Forerunner 965 — After a decade of loyalty to Fitbit, my wife finally talked me into making the switch to Garmin — and I haven’t looked back. As someone running about 30 miles a week, the depth of data it provides is genuinely useful: VO2 max, HRV, sleep scores, route maps. I’m not just collecting numbers — I think it’s actually made me a better runner and healthier person.
• Rogue Hoe/Pick — If you live in the American Midwest, bush honeysuckle is basically a villain — invasive, stubborn, and once you know what it looks like you’ll see it absolutely everywhere. I picked up this hoe/pick while volunteering with the Missouri Conservation Corps and it’s the best tool I’ve used in a decade for chopping, pulling, and hacking these things out at the root. Simple, brutal, effective.
• Urban Chestnut Brewery — My cousin owns this St. Louis gem, and I have it on good authority that he’s a good guy. But the beer stands on its own — Urban Chestnut leans into classic European styles done really well. If you’re in St. Louis their two taprooms are worth your time, and you can find their beer at retail locations across the region. You won’t be disappointed.

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DIGITAL

• Waking Up — I’ve been a Sam Harris fan for over 20 years, so I was thrilled when this app came out. Harris once wrote that spending every waking moment lost in thought leaves us at the mercy of wherever our minds wander — and that meditation is a way of breaking that spell. This app makes that accessible without being intrusive. From 30-second mindfulness moments to daily quotes to a vast library of guided sessions, it meets you wherever you are and whenever you’re ready.
• NotebookLM — I hadn’t interviewed for a job in nearly 20 years, so when I decided to get back on the market I started with NotebookLM as a thinking partner — uploading personality assessments, personal reflection notes, and an honest account of what I wanted from my next role. Once I landed an interview, I shifted gears: fed it company research, the job description, and all that personal data, and it helped me figure out where I could genuinely add value. It synthesized everything into a custom podcast I could listen to on my runs, and during cooldowns I’d switch to Gemini Live for mock interview questions. After a few weeks of that I felt genuinely ready. And wouldn’t you know it — I got the job.

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INVISIBLE

“Proceed as the way opens” — Quaker Proverb

I first encountered this Quaker proverb in William Least Heat-Moon’s River-Horse, where he called it his “precept of last resort” while navigating 5,000 miles of American waterways. It stuck. There’s something in it that echoes what evolutionary biologists call the “adjacent possible” — the idea that each step forward opens up the next one, even when you can’t see very far ahead. I find it grounding. It’s never hopeless. There’s always something you can do, and one move usually reveals the next.

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04/15/26

Beautiful Birds / The Botanical Treasury

Issue No. 113

BEAUTIFUL BIRDS – FLY FROM A TO Z WITH DOZENS OF FEATHERED FRIENDS

Beautiful Birds
by Jean Roussen (author) and Emmanuel Walker (illustrator)
Flying Eye Books
2015, 56 pages, 8.9 x 12.2 x 0.4 inches

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In Beautiful Birds, author Jean Roussen and illustrator Emmanuel Walker fly through the alphabet with dozens of feathered friends. It begins, of course, with “A is for albatross, the admiral of the skies,” and progresses all the way to “Z is for zos-ter-o-pi-dae…” with details about all kinds of avians in between. The writing brims with clever rhymes and colorful words (ogling orbs, polychrome quills) making it delightful to read out loud. If I had to guess, I’d say Roussen is a fan of E.B. White’s idea that “children are game for anything… They love words that give them a hard time, provided they are in a context that absorbs their attention.”

Walker’s vibrant illustrations give kids all the context they need. His graphic, full-bleed drawings feel like those of mid-century masters Saul Bass and Charlie Harper. As an added bonus, the book’s design is also gorgeous. It’s bound in a neon salmon linen, with patterned endpapers to match. The neon color can be found on almost every page in varying doses, giving the optical effect of spying a ruffle of feathers in the wild. – Sara Distin at Tinybob

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THE BOTANICAL TREASURY CELEBRATES 40 OF THE WORLD’S MOST FASCINATING PLANTS

The Botanical Treasury : Celebrating 40 of the Most Fascinating Plants through Historical Art and Manuscripts
by Christopher Mills (editor)
University of Chicago Press
2016, 176 pages, 8.5 x 11 x 1.6 inches (softcover in clamshell box)

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The Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England has just come out with a sumptuous collection of “40 of the world’s most fascinating plants.” What makes them the “most fascinating”? For some it’s their appearance or structure, for others it might be their medicinal properties or economic impact. But from the bizarre-looking banksia to the quinine-packed cinchona to the functional bottle gourd, what they all have in common is a fascinating story.

The Botanical Treasury, which comes in a richly textured cloth-covered box along with 40 reproduced frameable prints, devotes four pages to each plant. Each entry includes an interesting tale pertaining to the plant along with copies of historical drawings, photos, letters, maps, journal entries and newspaper clippings. Most of the stories are about the naturalists and explorers who hunted for and studied these plants, but the book also celebrates the plants themselves, highlighting their unique features, uses, and capabilities. This makes a gem of a gift for any botanical nerd. – Carla Sinclair

04/14/26

What’s in my NOW? — Augie Nielsen