We hope you are on the beach. In a pair of our new swimshorts.
But whether you are or not, it's time to reflect upon 2018. And write our goals for 2019.
Ponder this, and, as usual, read from the bottom up, mix that cocktail, and enjoy.
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read: the 2018 list

From the Aeneid through The Secret Lives of Trees, A Really Big Lunch, The Race For Timbuktu, The Daily Stoic, Sugar and more, we've read our way through facts, fictions, and wishful thinking in 2018. If you didn't manage to get your hands on our picks already we're happy to pack them up for you and send a Box of Knowledge.
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re-watch: the life of brian

On a midnight clear around 2000 years ago, three wise men enter a manger where a babe is wrapped in swaddling clothes. It is an infant called Brian...and the three wise men are in the wrong manger. For the rest of his life, Brian finds himself regarded as something of a Messiah; yet he's always in the shadow of this other guy from Galilee.
Watch it and weep.
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watch: the book of eli

For when all is lost, only the power of ideas remain. And what power they may have.
A lost book. A lone traveler. A cataclysmic end for humanity.
A man seeking peace, who will fight to the death to complete his quest.
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cocktail: hot buttered rum

Warm. Rich. Tasty. Just the way we like things. Hot Buttered Rum has been around since sugar and the colonies that grew it. Mixing both the sugar, and the rum created from the sugar with some butter to add some richness.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups water
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dark rum
DIRECTIONS:
Bring water, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt to a boil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan over moderately high heat to create a batter.
Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, for around 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Serve hot. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Bottoms Up!