September 5, 2011 issue, completed August 4, 2012

I really like the cover illustration of this issue - it has a real end-of-summer, back-to-reality feel. That is not to say that I am ready to go back to reality! I am making great strides on my New Yorker project while on vacation. Amazing what time one can find when all the day-to-day obligations of life are cast aside. This issue was somewhat philosophical and at times, hard to digest; the article on Tim Ferriss was rather straightforward, and I had read a little about his "4-Hour Workweek" online. I think the gist of the book is not that you work 4 hours a week, it's that you are your own boss and the master of your own time. Certainly a very appealing proposition. I tried to wrap my head around the article about Derek Parfit, but only partially succeeded. The main thing I came away with was how far away from my own existence the idea of making a life of ideas and theories about humanity and morality was from the options I thought were before me when I grew up. I hope that when my children are teenagers I can expose them to all kinds of potential careers so that they are best able to make the choice that is right for them. The idea of becoming a philosopher just never occurred to me. Not that I'm saying I would be any good at it, just that I would have liked to consider the option, and decide against it.