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Missive #683 Published 27 March 2026

132. Nasruddin Eats the Walnuts and the Shells

Nasruddin was eating some walnuts, shells and all.
“What on earth are you doing?” asked his wife, surprised. “Why don’t you crack the shell and take the nut out before you eat them?”
“Well,” said Nasruddin. “I already know there’s a walnut in there, so I don’t need to crack the shells in order to find that out.”
He then ate another walnut in the shell
“Plus, when I paid for these, I paid by the pound, shells and all. If I throw away the shells, that’s like throwing away money!” Nasruddin explained. “This way, I’m getting my money’s worth.”

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Missive #682 Published 23 March 2026

For Leo Davies, a charming, brilliant barrister in one of London's most prestigious chambers, life has been good. But behind the elegant doors of Caper Court, the elite barrister's chamber, are the hard choices, the ethical dilemmas, the overlap between the personal and the professional, the sacrifices, the deceitful politics, the affairs and the corruption. Life at the Bar is gritty behind the gloss and Leo Davies QC is at the centre of another Caper Court drama. Fraser is the daughter of the late George MacDonald Fraser, beloved author of the Flashman novels. Her cleverly entwined plot lines involving Machiavellian office politics, rivalries, protocol as well as scandals and love affairs.

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Missive #681 Published 22 March 2026

Continuing The Federalist Papers

Federalist No.69
The Real Character of the Executive
Author: Alexander Hamilton
To the People of the State of New York:

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Missive #680 Published 20 March 2026

131. Nasruddin’s Views on Cheese

“Bring me some cheese,” Nasruddin said to his wife. “Cheese is healthy, and it’s tasty too. They say it’s good for your bones. I like cheese very much.”
“I don’t think we have any cheese,” Nasruddin’s wife replied apologetically.
“Just as well I suppose,” said Nasruddin. “They say cheese is hard on the stomach and it always gives me gas. I really don’t like cheese at all.”
“I don’t understand,” said Nasruddin’s wife, now very confused. “Do you like cheese, or do you not like it?”
“That depends on whether there’s any cheese in the house or not,” replied Nasruddin.

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Missive #679 Published 19 March 2026

The book does not offer solutions to environmental questions, but it does offer the hope that there can be new ways of thinking and flexibility in human/environmental relations. Although humans seem alienated from our the natural world, we can develop a new understanding of `self in the world.' The second edition has a new preface and an epilogue in which Evernden analyses the latest environmental sustainable development.

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Missive #678 Published 16 March 2026

The long-awaited companion piece to Derrick Jensen's immensely popular and highly acclaimed works A Language Older Than Words and The Culture of Make Believe. Accepting the increasingly widespread belief that industrialized culture inevitably erodes the natural world, Endgame sets out to explore how this relationship impels us towards a revolutionary and as-yet undiscovered shift in strategy. Building on a series of simple but increasingly provocative premises, Jensen leaves us hoping for what may be inevitable: a return to agrarian communal life via the disintegration of civilization itself.

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Missive #677 Published 15 March 2026

Continuing The Anti-Federalist Papers

Federal Farmer XII
by Federal Farmer

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Missive #676 Published 14 March 2026

In this taut thriller, a new kind of technology enables a person’s mind to coexist in another’s body. The two minds in one body are then called Combines, identifiable by their double names, mandala neck tattoos, and green clothing. A government-corporate enterprise, also called Combine, the process is marketed as a way of reducing the population and reversing climate change, but people who don’t merge are punished through government mandates: Most are forced from their homes into government apartment buildings, menstrual cycles are monitored, prison inmates are involuntarily merged, Oxford will only accept Combines. Of course, if you have the money, you can remain as you are.

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Missive #675 Published 13 March 2026

130. Nasruddin is Tired

“Go to the market and buy some meat for tonight’s stew!” said Nasruddin’s wife.
“I’m tired,” he complained, but he went to the market.
Later on she said, “Bring in some firewood!”
“I’m tired,” he groaned, but he brought in the firewood.
Next she told him, “Fetch some water!”
“Didn’t you hear me say I was tired?” he moaned, but he brought the water.
“Come eat dinner!” she said.
“I can see there’s no point in telling you how tired I am,” Nasruddin sighed, and then he raced to the dinner table so fast he almost tripped over his robes.

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Missive #674 Published 9 March 2026

As the Derlavaian War rages into its last and greatest battles, allied nations maneuver for positions against each other in a postwar world. But before that time can come, the forces of Algarve, Unkerlant, and their allies must clash a final time, countering army with army and battle magic with ever-more-powerful battle magic. In the midst of it all, the people the war has battered and reshaped must struggle to face their greatest individual challenges, as loves are shattered and found, terrible crimes avenged… and some journeys end forever. And the end of the war may not bring peace…

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