A good idea can change the way you see an ordinary day. A song can give you words for something you have carried for years. A story from history can make today’s headlines look different. A question about a new technology can send you back to an old question about being human.
Welcome to Bright, Shiny Objects! I’m Todd Lohenry, and this is where I collect those moments—and follow them a little further.
You’ll find thoughtful reading on the mind, technology, history, music, relationships, and the art of living. If you’re new here, choose a doorway below. You don’t need to catch up. Start with something that matters to you.
What holds all of this together?
Curiosity. And the conviction that paying attention can make our lives richer.
For more than twenty years, this site has been my running record of ideas worth returning to. Some entries point you toward another writer’s excellent work. Others are essays, reflections, or connections I want to think through with you. Sometimes a beautiful song earns its place simply by being a beautiful song.
The subjects wander because life does. Work affects our relationships. Technology changes our attention. History shapes what we take for granted. Art helps us feel what an explanation cannot quite reach. I’m interested in what happens when we let those conversations meet.
Four ways to begin
Mind & Meaning
For the questions we carry into everyday life: How do I understand myself? What helps me live with change? How do love, grief, habits, and attention shape the person I am becoming? Explore psychology, philosophy, relationships, and the work of making meaning.
Technology & the Future
For thinking clearly about the tools changing our lives. Explore AI, work, creativity, and the choices that come with new capabilities. The human questions matter here: Who benefits? What are we giving up? Which responsibilities remain ours?
History & Society
For understanding how we arrived here—and what earlier lives can reveal about our own. Explore leadership, power, community, and the unfinished American experiment, including stories from the Revolutionary era.
Culture & Creativity
For the things that make life more vivid. Explore music, books, art, and stories that stay with us. Sometimes the most useful thing you can do with a few minutes is listen closely.
Want a little guidance? Begin with these three.
1. Notice what you’ve stopped noticing.
What We Stop Seeing: Habituation, Gratitude, and the Return of Tefnut considers how the familiar fades from view—and how attention can bring us back to what sustains us.
2. Ask what deserves your trust.
When Information Is Free, Trust Becomes the Work explores the value of judgment when information is everywhere. It also gets close to the reason I keep gathering and sharing things here.
3. Make room for a song.
What Makes “All Things Must Pass” Great reflects on George Harrison’s capacity to offer comfort while acknowledging that everything changes. Bring a memory of your own.
How to make yourself at home
Follow an interest. Read the original sources linked in curated posts. Use search when a particular question brings you here. Let an unexpected subject surprise you. The archive has accumulated over many years, so you’ll find different formats, earlier perspectives, and an ongoing education rather than a finished system.
You’re welcome to disagree. A thoughtful question, a better source, or a different experience can make a conversation more useful. Leave a comment on a post or connect with me directly. If you’d like more of the story behind the site, visit the About page.
If this feels like your kind of place, use the site’s follow or subscribe option to keep in touch. Or simply come back when you have a few minutes and a little curiosity.
Start with one thing that catches your eye. Stay with it long enough to discover why.
Welcome to Bright, Shiny Objects. Be shiny!
Bright, Shiny Objects! 
What do you think?