Chris Aldrich has written a terrific essay that goes far beyond its title The Two Definitions of Zettelkasten. It sets out the long, often complex, history of the idea at the heart of the zettelkasten method: the commonplace book and its rich tradition. Chris’s corrective is absolutely essential and I hope more people will take note of it and stop referring to “The Zettelkasten Method” as if it were the tablets that Niklas brought down from the mountain.

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Having just taken delivery of a stonkingly beautiful new MacBook Air I face two big decisions.

Drafts, or Not?

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People (well, a person, but still) asked about the incidental music in my recent episode on Mothers and Milk. It is my interpretation of one of the Child ballads, No. 40, The Queen of Elfan’s Nourice. How we got there is a bit of a roundabout story.

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The best news, in a way, is that summer is very definitely over. We have enjoyed some excellent rain, both thunderous downpours and more gentle soaks and the park is greening up nicely as a result. It is still warm though, so the terrace plants are doing really well. Launched the new season of Eat This Podcast to an uptick in downloads but a downturn in subscribers. Truly, I have no idea what makes sense any more, so I’ll just keep plodding along.

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Long ago and far away, the Memsahib of the time, who had grown up on the hills of Mumbai, had a slim, battered cookbook. Sometimes, on a dark and damp afternoon, sat in front of the stove, we would read from the brittle pages, and one recipe has always stayed with me.

“Fill an earthenware pot with limes, salted and seasoned, and leave in the sun for 40 days.”

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