Updated Bus Routes (Volume 3)
Over 150 issues and still touring! (The Bus 3.51)
Welcome aboard The Bus!
The Stop
Monday’s Bus (Isaac Asimov) was Volume 3’s 50th issue - which means today’s post is the 103rd since The Bus first left the station on 7 April 2022.1 I’m not really sure how we got here - that first issue seems so long ago - but thanks for joining the journey!
Topics in Volume 3 have ranged from nihilism, nostalgia, Exile on Main Street and obeah, to the United States Pirate Party, agnosticism, acupuncture, Devil’s Porridge, the Grandfather Paradox and the very disappointed (but very interesting) Wilhelm Nero Barbellion. As in the previous summaries,2 below is an index of the last 50 topics and a mega-playlist containing all 250 recommended tracks. It’s been a good leg of the trip - and one I’ve enjoyed producing - but I think the next one looks even more promising.
Finally, thank you all for choosing to ride The Bus. Whether you’ve been on the journey from the earliest days or have been riding for a shorter time, I really appreciate your continued support and encouragement. I couldn’t - I wouldn’t - do this without you. And to those of you who have just stepped aboard and are looking around for a seat: welcome!
The Index
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is nothing less than a musical extravaganza, clocking in at 17 hours and 42 minutes. Put it on shuffle and go wherever it takes you. Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought - from the American author Thomas Pynchon3 - is one I not only agree with but probably the one piece of unsolicited advice I actually follow:
‘Time is never wasted if you remember to bring along something to read.’4
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this Stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next Stop …
Yes, it’s awkward numbering. I didn’t decide to do a Volume 1 summary until after I’d done the 50th issue. Consequently, each volume now contains 51 issues - which works, but isn’t very symmetrical.
Issues 1.51 (29 September 2022) and 2.51 (27 March 2023).
Pynchon is the topic of Issue 2.30 (12 January 2023). His novel, Vineland, is the topic of Issue 3.38 (7 August 2023).
And by ‘read’, Pynchon means READ. Now, this might take the form of a physical or digital book, newspaper, or magazine, and it would also include podcasts and audiobooks - how you access ‘reading’ doesn’t matter. But isn’t social media. We have a very limited amount of time; use it well. And, yes, I loathe unsolicited advice. As everyone should.
Congratulations!! Looking forward to more stops along the way!
Congratulations on this milestone. And that may be my favorite thought of the day ever.