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ISSUE #33
I’m happy to finally knock this book off my must-read list and if you feel like you’re always busy, you should read it too:
The book is called The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done and it shows up on almost every business book list imaginable. What’s awesome about this book is that while it can be used by C-Suite Execs (awful term) at giant corporations who say things like ‘we need to synergize core competencies’ (worse term), it can also be used by you and me to drop our dead weight and get more done. Just started working my through it and so far so good. You can get it here.
This is what happens to your old iPhone and laptop and flat screen TV after you throw them away:
The title of this story on Wired.com by Michael Hardy is ‘The Hellish E-Waste Graveyards Where Computers Are Mined for Metal’. and that’s actually being kind once you read the article. From Ghana to obscure cities in China, whenever we ‘upgrade’ to version ‘x’ of a product, our tech gets shipped to salvage dumps that look like they belong as set pieces in Mad Max: Fury Road. I found the piece very well-written and interesting on a few levels. You can read it here.
In honor of this being the 33rd issue of Finkel’s Fast Five, AKA, the Larry Bird issue, I present to you the greatest basketball highlight video of all time:
If the first twenty seconds of THIS VIDEO don’t give you chills then you might be dead inside (or possibly you’re just not a Celtics fans, which is basically the same thing – just kidding – not really). Still, the artistry, trash-talking, circus-like no-look passes and between-the-legs bounce passes from Larry Legend are second-to-none. And there’s wayyyy more dunking than you’d expect. I have to warn you… Once you START WATCHING THIS, you won’t be able to stop.
School’s back and I just discovered this great book series for grade school kids:
New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer specializes in historical, government-based thrillers for adults, but his kids book series called ‘Ordinary People Change the World’ is phenomenal for young kids. The books in the series are all first-person biographies of true icons, from Albert Einstein and Harriet Tubman, to George Washington and Amelia Earhardt (the book my daughter has now read 10 times). Can’t recommend these books enough. The newest one on Neil Armstrong came out this week. Visit www.BradMeltzer.comfor info.
A tremendous quote about winning in life by none other than the Hick from French Lick himself:
“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.” – Larry Bird
Have a great weekend and make sure you spend some time working your tail off to accomplish your goals!
We have a lot of new readers and members of the FF5 crew this week and I want to say ‘hello’ to all of you! You’re one of us now. Welcome!
If you haven’t shared this yet, all I ask is that you send this next link to two people who you think would like it. It would mean a ton. THANK YOU: They can sign up in 5 Seconds right here!
ISSUE #32
I don’t think this feature was assigned with just me in mind, but it was right in my wheelhouse and I loved it:
I have to give writer David Davis a ton of credit here for this feature/oral history of Gold’s Gym. Its official title is Sex, Steroids, and Arnold: The Story of the Gym That Shaped America, but it could have just been called The Meathead Chronicles. I worked with and wrote about a lot of these people while I was at Muscle & Fitness and Davis does a great job of capturing that 70s and 80s Venice Beach muscle culture. Some great quotes in here from legends like Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbu and a dozen other fitness icons. Read it here.
A contender for best beef jerky I’ve had in a while:
I have to give my wife credit for this one. She saw the write-ups for Sogo Snacks’ Grass Fed Smoked Beef Sticks online and she made an impulse buy on the spot. Glad she did. In terms of taste and texture, these are at the top of my list (and as long-time FF5 readers know, that’s a long and distinguished list of protein products). Here is their site. And you can order some right here.
We all owe the Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith, for spreading this inspiring and awesome video around:
This video is less than one minute. It’s very simple. A little girl is trying to do a box jump on a stand about half her height. It’s hard. She falls. A lot. Until she doesn’t. And then it’s sheer joy. Watch it HERE.
I’m guessing many of you at some point in work or life have heard someone mention the 80/20 rule or the Pareto Principle:
If you haven’t, this will be a good introduction. If you have, then I think this blog post by author James Clear explains who Vlifredo Pareto was, how he came up with this theory and how it applies to you and your goals better than anyone I’ve come across so far. Well worth the read and I promise you’ll learn something from it. Check it out here.
Burt Reynolds passed away yesterday and he starred in one of my favorite movie scenes. I’ve always been fascinated with movie names, especially when people brainstorm them. The scene in Boogie Nights when Wahlberg and John C. Reilly pitch their character’s names to Reynolds is tremendous. And his reaction is icing on the cake. Here’s the dialogue:
Jack Horner: Do these characters have names?
Dirk: The guy’s name is Brock Landers
Reed: His partner’s name is Chest Rockwell
Jack: Those are some great names.
You can watch the scene right here. Priceless.
Have a great weekend and may everyone react to your ideas with the enthusiasm of Jack Horner hearing the names ‘Brock Landers’ and ‘Chest Rockwell’ for the first time!
HEY, THANKS! Many of you shared this newsletter with friends recently and I want to say ‘hello’ to all the new FF5 readers. You’re one of us now. Welcome!
If you haven’t shared it, all I ask is that you send this next link to two people who you think would like it. It would mean a ton. THANK YOU: They can sign up in 5 Seconds right here!
ISSUE #31
BIG BOOK NEWS!!! Next Tuesday, September 4th, the paperback version of my book The Athlete: Greatness, Grace and the Unprecedented Life of Charlie Ward, hits stores and if you haven’t read it yet, or know a die hard Florida State, New York Knicks, NBA, college football or Heisman Trophy fan out there, you should grab it. Or if you know someone who doesn’t care about any of those things, but loves biographies of fascinating people who are in a club of one when it comes to their accomplishments, get it for them. Don’t listen to me, listen to legendary NFL coach Tony Dungy who said, “Charlie Ward is not only a once in a lifetime athlete, he’s a once in a lifetime person. The Athlete is the remarkable, page-turning biography his story deserves.” You can PREORDER IT HERE. Now onto the FF5:
It is the 30th anniversary of an all-time favorite comedy of mine, Naked Gun, and this is a funny oral history of the film:
The piece focuses heavily on the third act, which as you remember, takes place at a baseball game, with Leslie Nielsen undercover as the home plate umpire (OK here’s the incredible sequence if you haven’t seen it in a while). From how the producers chose the setting for the finale, to which MLB teams rejected being involved (c’mon Dodgers) and the genesis of now-classic jokes, you’ll enjoy reading this article by Jason Foster for The Sporting News.
A fascinating throwback Instagram account I’ve been following:
Maybe it’s because society is so obsessed with technology and we’re all largely familiar with living in the suburbs or the city or on a farm or beach or in the country, but the idea of a modern family living totally off the grid in the forest is intriguing. That’s exactly what this couple is doing in a 300 square foot tent with two kids. This is their place and they stay all winter and summer and hunt and fish and the whole lifestyle is counter culture and awesome. The account is Den For Our Cubs.
New Yorkers know nothing about BBQ. I hear this all the time in Texas. These New Yorkers are different:
I had fun reading this piece on how a software engineer and a chef from the Northeast went toe-to-toe with the Southern “legacy” BBQ pit masters and came out on top a few times. Also, you’ll learn about “meat glue”. Click here to read the piece.
Army ants are terrifying and also sort of brilliant (collectively, at least):
Not saying I’m Charles Darwin or anything but I’ve spent a fair amount of time watching Nat Geo so we’re essentially colleagues. This short, 24-second time lapse video of ants constructing a bridge with their bodies after it collapses without tools or instruction manuals or a how-to YouTube video or anything humans would need is freaky. Check out the video here.
Ted Williams would have turned 100 this week and here is the tremendous opening few sentences from John Updike’s legendary 1960 profile, Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu:
“Fenway Park, in Boston, is a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark. Everything is painted green and seems in curiously sharp focus, like the inside of an old-fashioned peeping-type Easter egg. It was built in 1912 and rebuilt in 1934, and offers, as do most Boston artifacts, a compromise between Man’s Euclidean determinations and Nature’s beguiling irregularities.” – John Updike (you can read the entire, iconic piece, right here)
Have a great weekend and may you offer your own compromise between Man’s Euclidean determinations and Nature’s beguiling irregularities!
YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! So many of you shared this newsletter with friends recently and I want to say ‘hello’ to all the new FF5 readers. You’re one of us now. Welcome!
If you haven’t shared it, all I ask is that you send this next link to two people who you think would like it. It would mean a ton. THANK YOU: They can sign up in 5 Seconds right here!
ISSUE #30
Half the time this author writes a new book I think it’ll be a cool movie while I’m reading it…then it usually becomes a cool movie:
You might not recognize the name Ben Mezrich but you’ve definitely heard of his work. His first book, Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of How Six MIT Students Took Vegas for Millions was a monster bestseller and became the movie 21. His next biggest book, Accidental Billionaires, was turned into The Social Network. His newest work tackles a slightly different topic, but as I’m reading it I think it will probably be on screen some day. It’s titled Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History’s Most Iconic Extinct Creatures. Great idea, right? You can get it here.
I should have bought this ten years ago:
I’d say I spend 40% of my time writing at a makeshift standing desk (cardboard box on my desk), 40% of my time writing while sitting at that desk and 20% writing on a couch or chair with the laptop on my lap. Usually I’ll put the laptop on a pillow or blanket or something. No more. I just bought this all-purpose laptop desk and it is PERFECT. Micro bead pillow on the bottom. Non-slip desk with wrist rest on the top. Super light. It’s an absolute game changer. Check it out here.
This is the most absurd/mesmerizing (and only) 3-minute Taekwondo showcase video I’ve ever seen:
These guys are like Jet Li, Bruce Lee and Tony Jaa all rolled into one synchronized martial arts team. One dude flies about twenty feet in the air for a spinning kick. Half of these moves would barely be believable in Mortal Kombat. It’s hypnotic so click here to watch it.
As long-time readers of the FF5 know, second to my being a sucker for cold brews I’m an easy mark for new kinds of tea:
My go-to tea will always be matcha. Cold. Hot. Doesn’t matter. I love the stuff… But I don’t mind some variety and when I saw Onnit’s new King Tea: Purple Tea, I knew I had to give it a shot. It’s a cross-bred tea from Kenya that supposedly has more polyphenols than any other tea and, well, it’s purple, so that’s weird for tea so I’m in. See it for yourself.
A tremendous joke from Rodney Dangerfield about his childhood that I remembered when telling my kids what to do if they ever get lost:
“Boy I was an ugly kid. Once when I was lost I saw a policeman and asked him to help me find my parents. I said to him, “Do you think we’ll ever find them?” He said, “I don’t know kid. There are so many places they can hide.”
Have a great weekend and may you get more respect than the Rodney!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! So many of you shared this newsletter with friends last week and I want to say ‘hello’ to all the new FF5 readers. You’re one of us now. Welcome.
If you haven’t shared it, all I ask is that you send this next link to two people who you think would like it. It would mean a ton. THANK YOU: They can sign up in 5 Seconds right here!
ISSUE #29
I admit to having not watched The Simpsons in a while, but this podcast about the role of food in the show is awesome:
Duff Beer. Krusty O’s. Pink donuts. They all bring back such great memories. In fact, listening to this pod is one-part nostalgia, one-part comedy and another part food/TV deep dive, so that’s three parts of a good time. My old pal, Dan Pashman, the host of the James Beard-winning podcast, The Sporkful, is also a super fan and his enthusiasm comes through. Listen to it here.
This book is way out of my wheelhouse and not something I’d normally come across but I bought it on a whim:
Here’s how I found it: I’m working on the new Life of Dad book and one of our sections is on comedian Jim Gaffigan. I was Google searching Jim Gaffigan and ‘books’ and found a picture of him holding a book titled Unwifeable by Mandy Stadtmiller. Looked interesting. Then I saw AJ Jacobs and other writers I like endorsed it so I bought it completely blind. You can too right here. Can’t wait to check it out.
As you all no doubt know, Aretha Franklin passed away this week. I just read this profile on her from a 1982 issue of Esquire and it captured her greatness and genius:
The article was written by Charlie Haas and it is absolutely worth spending some time with. Here’s the link. A lot happened after this was written, but it’s a nice glimpse into her career up to that point and where it was at that time.
I’m not a clothing savant but this new strategy to fight the sticky summer heat is working:
I’ve never worn t-shirts or tank tops under short sleeve shirts or polos in my life. Always seemed stupid. And yet, when it’s over 100 degrees those shirts tend to get a little prickly. These bamboo, rayon, micro modal / whatever undershirt tanks had the best reviews on Amazon so I ordered them and…man…what a difference. It’s like wearing a cool, silk cloud under your shirt. Check’em out.
When reading the Esquire story on the Queen of Soul, I was reminded of this tremendous quote I came across a long time ago:
“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
Have a great weekend and may someone with talent instantly recognize your genius!
A BUNCH of you shared this newsletter with friends last week and I am truly grateful for all the new FF5 readers!!!
If you haven’t shared it, all I ask is that you send this next link to two people who you think would like it. It would mean a ton. THANK YOU: They can sign up in 5 Seconds right here!
ISSUE #28
This profile on Raiders’ Head Coach Jon Gruden’s right-hand man reminds you that there are a lot of interesting people in this world:
Who would have thought that for Jeff Leonardo, working side-by-side with one of the NFL’s rock star coaches would be a step down in fame and lifestyle. This great story by the LA Times’ Sam Farmer explains how Leonardo spent years on tour as a driver for everyone from the Rolling Stones to Paul McCartney to David Bowie and Alicia Keys. And he’s best pals with AC/DC…so hanging with Chuckie at 3:17am is no big deal.
Twenty five dollars that saved my back:
I typically use a makeshift standing desk for most of the day (AKA my laptop on a cardboard box on my desk), but when I do choose to sit for a while even the best office chairs bug my lower back. After my wife and I did some research, we found this extremely highly-rated memory foam back cushion from Everlasting Comfort. And it has been a back-saving game-changer.
A frenetic, very interesting podcast on business, fasting, entrepreneurship, failure and twenty other things:
Dr. Peter Attia’s podcast probably ranks a 10 on the in-the-weeds-fitness/nutrition-nerd scale, so let me warn you up front. But he’s super smart and tackles extremely interesting topics. I haven’t listened to all of his shows, but this week he had on Tom Bilyeu, founder of Impact Theory and co-founder of Quest Nutrition and, well, it makes you think a lot…about how you think of a lot of things. Confusing, I know. Might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it. You can listen here.
This app shows running streams and oceans and fireplaces and it seems lame but it’s actually kind of awesome:
I know there is a cottage industry of meditation apps and stress-relieving apps and apps to help you focus and I’ve never tried any of them. Luckily, I’m naturally relaxed and if anything, I need to blast Onyx’s Slam or DMX to get me amped up. However, two people showed me the Calm app and how just 30 seconds of watching/listening to relaxing scenes from nature seem to help them refocus. So I tried it (for us because we’re in this together) and it might be a placebo effect but it definitely did…something good. Try it for yourself.
A tremendous maxim that I recently re-read this week that is funny and true:
“As the stamp of great minds is to suggest much in few words, so, contrariwise, little minds have the gift of talking a great deal and saying nothing.” – La Rochefoucauld, Maxims
Have a great weekend and may your gift not be the ability to talk a great deal and say nothing!
A BUNCH of you shared this newsletter with friends last week and I am truly grateful for all the new FF5 readers!!!
If you haven’t shared it, all I ask is that you send this next link to two people who you think would like it. It would mean a ton. THANK YOU: They can sign up in 5 Seconds right here!
ISSUE #27
I am about to enter a state of mind I like to call BookMode (or #BookMode if you’re one of the cool kids) as I gear up for research, writing and interviews for my next big project. Excited to announce that this week we finalized a deal with Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, to publish the official Life of Dad book to be in stores next Father’s Day. As many of you know, I co-host the Life of Dad Show twice a week on Facebook Live with my pal Art Eddy. We’ve been working behind the scenes to make this book a reality since early spring and, as Penny Lane would say, it’s all happening. We have some HUGE names involved and many more details to come, but wanted to share the news with you guys first. Now on to the Five (and here’s a video of the triple lindy because it’s awesome)
Whether you’re a super fan of The Office, a casual fan of The Office, or you’re just starting to watch it on Netflix, you should buy this:
Conference Room, Five Minutes: Ten Illustrated Essays About The Office by Shea Serrano (with amazing drawings by Arturo Torres). For those of you who are Shea fans or members of his FOH Army, this needs no introduction… If not, Serrano is a writer for The Ringer, a two-time New York Bestselling author and the foremost expert on pop culture minutiae (his words). This book is worth it for the section on Prison Mike alone, but Chapter 4: The Dwight Club was my personal favorite. The first rule about Dwight Club: You Do Not Talk About Dwight Club. It’s only available for two more weeks, so get it now.
This guy is my new favorite follow on instagram BY FAR:
His name is Mike Holston but he calls himself The Real Tarzan and he has every right to. Check out this video of him boxing with a real jaguar in a pool… Or this one where he lets a porcupine (yeah, a porcupine) crawl all over him. I could do this all day. Go to the guy’s Instagram account and kill ten minutes. He’s knowledgable and cool and his star is clearly rising.
The headline to this feature story is almost impossible not to click, so I did it for you and it’s as good as advertised:
The title: How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game and Stole Millions. See, I told you? How do you not click on that? The story was written by Jeff Maysh and the people involved, who feel like made up characters but are real (Geraldo Constantino was one preferred pseudonym), are impossible to resist. This could easily be an Aaron Sorkin movie one day and I can’t recommend reading it enough. And in case you’re wondering how many millions – it’s $24 million in cash and prizes. Read it right here.
Sometimes, simplicity is best and for some reason this image has made me laugh all week:
This is a photo Allen Iverson posted of his kids blasting him with silly string. Yes, THE Allen Iverson. The Answer… One of my favorite NBA Players of all time. Iverson feels like the LAST person on earth who would ever enjoy silly string, care about silly string or put up with the stringy stuff being sprayed in his face. The photo says it all.
A tremendously odd and absurd few sentences I read that is from a real scientific paper from the University of Oxford that explains what the paper is about:
“What if the entire Earth was instantaneously replaced with an equal volume of closely packed, but uncompressed blueberries?” Answer: The Earth turns into “big, thick-skinned highbush blueberries” and not “wild, thin-skinned blueberries.” – Rafi Letzter, Live Science.com
Have a great weekend and may you all live in a world with thick-skinned high bush blueberries and not the wild, thin-skinned kind!
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ISSUE #26
Ever wonder how humans managed to go from primate to Amazon Prime addicts in a shade under 4 million years?
It’s a staggering amount of time to think about, but after a dozen people recommended it, I finally started reading Yuval Noah Harari‘s book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. I’m happy to report that he knocks out the first 3.5 million years at a breezy, ludicrous-speed pace, before settling into the main story of us, Sapiens, and how we came to dominate the planet with our giant brains, thumbs and love of talking behind people’s backs (you’ll see, this was very important). Read it here.
I’m sure coffee snobs will want to fight me over this but that’s fine…when was the last time coffee snobs actually threw down over anything, other than their named being spelled wrong on a Starbucks cup (hey ohhh!)?
There’s a 7-11 right next to my kids’ camp and it has been roughly 158 degrees here in Dallas every day this summer. This second point matters because occasionally, after I drop off my kids I’ll grab an iced coffee from Dunkin’ down the road… But I noticed that my old pal ‘Sev” now has cold brew (right next to the Nachos, roller dogs and Slurpees) and I tried it and…I think it’s pretty good. And it’s .99 cents, which is also good. Go ahead, give it a shot.
Magazines may be dying, but magazine cover story writing is alive and well online with great stories like this one:
There aren’t too many long-form sports features that catch my eye or hold my attention these days when they’re written by someone other than Wright Thompson, but Joon Lee is firing on all cylinders with this feature on San Francisco 49ers future star, Jimmy Garoppolo. I will not be surprised if this piece ends up in the Best American Sportswriting Anthology next year. It’s that good. I approached Gary Smith-level enjoyment reading it (which for old SI fans, is a MASSIVE compliment).
While we’re talking football, do you think you could throw the ball 40 yards and then sprint ahead and catch it yourself?
This video of a guy doing just that is kind of mesmerizing. I mean, he LAUNCHES the ball…and then runs about a 4.5 forty to catch up to it and catch it. Watch it here.
A tremendous quote on friendship I’ve been thinking a lot about this week:
“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything” ― Muhammad Ali
Almost twenty years ago I moved to Los Angeles and the son of one of my dad’s buddies at work, who I’d never met, was generous enough to let me stay on the futon in the house he shared with two other guys while I got settled. We became friends and I became friends with their friends and in a short period of time we grew to a crew close to twenty deep – almost like a post-college fraternity… But it was (and is) much more than that… It’s a second family of friends.
I moved off the couch after 3 months or so and several years after that they demolished the whole building, but the friendships that we cemented in that house have remained strong and in tact through marriages and kids and jobs and moves and two decades of fantasy sports arguments and everything else. Sadly, our crew took one on the chin this week…
After winning round after round against cancer for almost five years following his initial diagnosis, the member of our squad with the biggest heart and the loudest laugh and the strongest engine inside of him was unable to throw any more punches at the disease he battled valiantly for so long. His mind was ever-willing to fight, but his body was no longer able to keep up. He was taken from us far too soon and he will be missed deeply by all of us.
Have a great weekend and may you all be lucky enough to have a friend as awesome and fun as Alex Hanan in your life one day!
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ISSUE #25
Any interest in being a fly on the wall while two comedy legends have lunch?
I can’t tell if I enjoyed Jerry Seinfeld cracking up Dave Chappelle or Chappelle getting belly laughs from Seinfeld more, but you should definitely take 18 minutes to watch this episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee on Netflix. Added bonus, I found this YouTube video fans took while they were filming the episode in a local coffee shop in Washington, D.C.
Imagine making a $12.4 billion dollar mistake when you were 24 years old:
Spencer Haywood won a gold medal in basketball for Team USA in the 1968 Olympics. He then went to college at the University of Detroit and averaged 32 points and 21 rebounds per game. After that, he was drafted into the ABA, led the league in scoring and won Rookie of the Year and MVP. A few years later, a new shoe company named Nike came calling. Haywood was offered his choice of shoe contract: $100,000 or 10% of Nike. He took the money… And the 10% of Nike would be worth $12.4 billion today. This picture hurts to look at. Brutal.
Being color-blind and lazy helped me stumble into a beef jerky miracle:
I may have oversold this one a bit (though jerky is a miracle unto itself). This was more like whatever the next level after a nice surprise is. Let me set the scene: I was in the beef jerky section of the grocery store and I quickly grabbed five red sticks of the ‘original’ flavor of Chomp jerky that we always get. I arrive home and…the packages were not red. They were a maroon or something and the flavor I got is called Crankin’ Cran Beef and they were awesome. 9g of protein. 2g sugar. Delicious. Everyone wins. Here’s the company site. Here’s a link on Amazon if you want to dive right in and buy 24.
Peter Mark Roget’s first book was published in 1852 and has never been out of print and you’ve definitely read it:
The original title of the book was, Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, classified and arranged so as to facilitate the expression of ideas and to assist in literary compilation. Yes, the book is Roget’s Thesaurus. This brilliant, clever piece in the Independent profiling the man, his book, the book’s enemies (yes, the thesaurus has enemies) and its history is fascinating and informative. It was written by Paul Vallely and you can read it here.
A tremendously written sentence if you need some motivation to chase your dreams.
“Only some inner drive – pleasure, love – can help us overcome obstacles, prepare a path, and lift us out of the narrow circle in which others tread out their anguished, miserable existences!” – Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe, excerpted from one of the most important modern books ever written about achievement and success, Mastery, by Robert Greene.
Have a great weekend and don’t be someone who simply treads out their anguished, miserable existence!
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ISSUE #24
There was a 100% chance that when I saw this Forbes piece on how The Boss is a great boss I’d read it:
Picture me at eight years old, screaming “lights out tonight, trouble in the heartland, got a head on collision, smashin’ in my guts man…” out the open passenger window of my Uncle’s Datsun 280-Z when we’d visit him in New Hampshire. Been a Springsteen fan ever since. Thirty years later, this piece by Bruce Weinstein explains some of the secrets to his business success.
It’s summer and it’s 100 degrees every day here in Dallas and as I’ve said before, I will try any cold brew I walk by:
This week I was leaving the grocery store and saw a ready-made “to-go” version of Cold Brew Bullet Proof Coffee on sale. I know the bulletproof hype has faded, but I’d never tried one with the “official” bulletproof ingredients. I gotta say, it tasted clean and led to a pleasant, refreshing brain buzz…that my 5-year-old quickly squandered when he melted down over me not buying him Funfetti Cake Pop Tarts.
This looong profile on the guy who invented the World Wide Web and his crusade to save it is very interesting:
His name is Tim Berners-Lee and he’s spent thirty years hoping humans would figure out something better to do with the web than spread the Crying Jordan GIF. Spoiler alert: we didn’t, and the ceiling continues to be the roof. For a brief history on the web, it’s initial intentions and the guy who’s been there from the start, this is a nice deep dive / profile. Great work, Katrina Brooker.
UPDATE: Summer Challenge: 10 sets of 10 Burpees per day, 10 days straight AKA How to Burn 2,000 Calories in 10 Days
Burpees burn about 10 calories a minute, so with quick math, yes, you can burn 2,000 calories in ten days doing 20 minutes of Burpees a day. By the time you read this, we should be 800 Burpees down. The first day it took me almost 25 minutes to finish. By Thursday, I was down to under 18 minutes. Here’s my post-workout, post-mortem video after breaking my record..
A tremendously written sentence about one of my favorite baseball players ever, Roberto Clemente:
“The batting champion of the major leagues lowered himself to the pea-green carpet of his forty-eight-foot living room and sprawled on his right side, flinging his left leg over his right leg. He wore gold Oriental pajama tops, tan slacks, battered bedroom slippers – and,for the purposes of the demonstration he was conducting – a tortured grimace.”- By Myron Cope for Sports Illustrated in 1966.
Have a great weekend and try not wear a tortured grimace while lowering yourself to the pea-green carpet in your family room.
You love Finkel’s Fast Five. Your pals will, too. Share it with them. They can sign up in 5 Seconds right here! Thanks!
ISSUE #23
“Go go gadget phone!”is what you’ll be saying once you buy the mobile phone airbag that this kid invented:
Was that an Inspector Gadget reference? Yes, yes it was… And once you see what this smart phone fall-protector looks like you’ll understand why. Here’s the super cool video demonstration.
Summer is officially Wiffle Ball season and I was fascinated by this deep dive in The Atlantic about the science behind the ball:
Not only does the feature have a terrific title, The Contentious Physics of Wiffle Ball, but author/engineer Jenn Stroud Rossman, does a terrific job of explaining how the ball works, why it works and the various nuances to its simple brilliance. It’s a great quick read.
Bonus: Here’s a shot of me last week in San Diego with perfect Wiffle pitching form about to strike out my dad (full disclosure: he lined a shot to left field).
How about an honest-to-goodness, excellent lesson in humility from a one-minute 1980s interview with Mr. T?:
I pity the interviewer who tries to mock Mr. T’s beat-up sneakers. No, really, I do. At first you think the interview ain’t so bad (get it, Rocky fans), but then she tries to mock Mr. T and rather than predict pain for the rest of the interview, he teaches a life lesson.
Summer Challenge – 10 sets of 10 Burpees per day, 10 days straight:
I realize that the very idea of doing 1,000 burpees makes your quads start to quiver. I get it. Burpees are brutal. But you know what? They work your entire body. You don’t need any equipment. You don’t need a lot of space. So why not? I’m going to start each day with this beginning today for 10 days. Who’s with me? You, in Florida? You, in LA? You, in NYC? You, in Texas? Let’s do it. E-mail me if you’re in and we’ll get through it together. Here’s a short video on how to do a burpee properly from my man Funk Roberts so you don’t get hurt.
A tremendously written sentence that involves adventure and Benedict Arnold before he was a traitor:
“Hastily built, the 22-foot flat-bottomed boats leaked worse than an old man’s bladder and were prone to capsizing in novice hands (and nearly all the men were novices).” – Outside Magazine, Up the Creek (and over the dams, and across the ponds and down this other river, and, ok, maybe a few miles in a U-Haul)… By W. Hodding Carter, about the men who attempted to recreate Benedict Arnold’s 300-mile journey to take Quebec City from the British during the Revolutionary War.
Have a great weekend and try not to leak worse than an old man’s bladder!
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ISSUE #22
My laptop is gross. Yours is too. Here’s my gift to you:
This article from New York Times writer Whitson Gordon should be a public service piece. Between kids playing on it, food, dirty fingers, more food, nasty human things and general dirt and grime, keyboards and laptops are havens for filth. This article tells you how to clean yours up.
A long time ago I decided to read one Stephen King book every summer:
I wrote an entire post about why, titled, ‘How Stephen King’s Books Saved Me From Being a Literary Loser’, which you can read if you want. Suffice to say, I’ve never regretted it. Just started reading King’s new book, The Outsider, and, well… There’s just nobody who creates characters, scenarios and scenes like King. He is a true master and so far, I highly recommend it. Buy it here.
Ever wonder what it would be like if a whale shark swam under your fishing boat?
It’ll take a while for you to digest this absolutely insane underwater shot from @oceancollectivemedia. The fish could probably swallow the entire boat and everyone in it…or flip it 100 yards with its tail. Either way, it’s an incredible photo and an account you should follow.
Nine years ago this week my wife surprised me with our new puppy, Mr. P, and my first-born four-legged son has been my best buddy ever since:
I asked the old man what he wanted to do to celebrate the week and he said he wanted to run sprints on a football field like the old days, so we walked to our town field and had a great time. Here’s a photo of the two of us, winded but happy together, as always.
A tremendously written sentence about a place called Mud Volcano:
“Huffing and puffing, channeling clouds of diaphanous mist, the sloping hills around what has been dubbed Mud Volcano in the lower reaches of Hayden Valley provide major clues that you are now traveling over the top of an active volcanic caldera.” – Todd Wilkinson, National Geographic’s, Yellowstone: The Science and Splendor of the Park
Have a great weekend and try not to channel any clouds of diaphanous mist!
10% OFF TENZO TEA SPECIAL OFFER! After I wrote about Tenzo Tea’s awesome matcha green tea a few weeks ago many of you e-mailed me asking about it. I reached out to Steve, the founder of the company, and he agreed to give loyal FF5 readers 10% off any order and make the FF5 an affiliate. Just use THIS LINK and type in the code: JON10. The 3.53 ounce bag should last you at least a month.
ISSUE #21
This is the best-named beer of the summer, hands down:
Since moving to Dallas many years ago I have become a big fan of Fort Worth’s Rahr and Sons Brewery. They’re known for good canned beer and clever names, so when they unveiled THIS beer, I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’m not bilingual, but Goodbye Pants is a tremendous name in any language.
It was impossible for me not to watch this video of WWE wrestlers in a tug-of-war contest with a lion:
Do I really need to say anything else? This lioness is incredible. Here’s the video courtesy of the San Antonio Zoo.
This futuristic speed-reading app was recommended by a loyal reader:
My good buddy Jess, also known as Ace, texted me about this Spritz reading app that digests books or online articles and then blasts the words out in an easy-on-the-eyes, easy-to-read format. It’s weird and awesome and hard to explain, but I’m going to try my first book with it soon. Try it for yourself.
When a swimmer is on the cover of National Geographic for a story about tech and performance I am 100% in:
This fantastic cover story by Christine Brennan, called How Technology and Smarts Push Athletes to the Limits, dives (get it, dives?) into all the ways that modern science is catapulting today’s physical specimens to do things that once seemed impossible for a human 100 years ago. Great read with some cool infographics, especially about world records.
A tremendously written sentence from a biography about a tremendously complicated man:
“The great Cuyahoga River burst into flames in 1969, spurring the modern environmental movement and remaining an enduring symbol of a city so dysfunctional that even its water could not be trusted to extinguish flames.” – Dave Zirin from his book, Jim Brown: Last Man Standing
Have a great weekend and hopefully your city isn’t so dysfunctional its water can be counted on to extinguish flames!
10% OFF TENZO TEA SPECIAL OFFER! After I wrote about Tenzo Tea’s awesome matcha green tea a few weeks ago many of you e-mailed me asking about it. I reached out to Steve, the founder of the company, and he agreed to give loyal FF5 readers 10% off any order and make the FF5 an affiliate. Just use THIS LINK and type in the code: JON10. The 3.53 ounce bag should last you at least a month.
ISSUE #20
I recommend books here regularly but now that it’s summertime more and more people have asked me to suggest a good “summer” read. Done and done.
Without further adieu, this special edition of the FF5 is booked solid with…books.
The surfing memoir that I picked to win the Pulitzer Prize after I read it the week it came out (and it did):
True story. I read William Finnegan’s brilliant book, Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, over a single weekend when it debuted and the next day when I went to work I told my friend that I got sucked into this amazing book about surfing and life and adventure and solitude and experience and that as crazy it sounded, I thought it could win the Pulitzer Prize. You won’t regret reading it. Especially on the beach somewhere. Get it now.
Perhaps the best-written, most incredible autobiography I’ve ever read about shoes…or anything else.
Whether you’re a Jordan person or a Nike person or not, the autobiography of Nike-founder Phil Knight, Shoe Dog, will have you rooting for one of the unlikeliest, gutsiest, long-shot success stories you’ve ever read. What Knight went through personally and professionally to found Nike would not be believed if it weren’t true. And the writing is superb. Buy Shoe Dog this instant.
The best true story book about great white sharks by an incredible writer hell-bent on telling the story:
This book is the perfect summer read in many ways. It’s true. It’s scary. It involves science and great white sharks and a near-death experience. It’s also a first-person story told by top-notch writer, Susan Casey. The Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among Great White Sharks will give you a new appreciation for the ocean’s apex predator and the men and women who risk their lives studying them.
The book about scuba diving and World War II submarines you didn’t know you needed:
If I had to guess, I’d say of all the books I’ve ever recommended in my life, Robert Kurson’s book, Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II, had my highest success rate. 100% of the people who read it loved it…and I even bought a second copy for people to borrow the summer I read it. The subtitle says it all, but the grind of the search, the death-defying dives, the historical precedent, the quirky and tough characters, and the fluid writing make this book almost un-put-down-able.
The book about the impossible exploration expedition that then ex-President Teddy Roosevelt led into the Amazon that nearly killed him:
If summer is a time for adventure and reading about adventure, you simply will not find a more insane-because-it’s-real, ludicrous-because-it-involves-an-ex-president, and well-written book than Candice Millard’s masterpiece, River of Doubt: Teddy Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey. If you love Roosevelt, Indiana Jones, US history, World History, discovery, triumph, high stakes and stories about people finding it within themselves to overcome unbearable conditions, then you should start reading this book yesterday.
ISSUE #19
How Twinkies went from being dead to worth billions:
Die Hard. Ghostbusters. These are just a few of the movies from my childhood that showcased Twinkies. Then, in 2012, Hostess went bankrupt and we lived in a world without Twinkie the Kid. Now, Hostess and Twinkies are worth $2 billion. This great story in Forbes chronicles Twinkies’ road from termination to triumph.
The most meathead moment I’ve ever seen captured on camera:
I can’t explain why I find this 8-second video mesmerizing. What the guy does is absurd and makes no sense. But I think it’s been overlooked how hard catching the loaded bar would be. Why he throws it? I have no idea. Watch.
The gift I give myself every summer:
Summers are awesome for everything except your feet. They get hot. They get swampy. If you have a job they’re stuck in shoes all day. Several years ago I decided to give my feet a gift every summer with a yearly set of new, sweat-wicking, breathable socks. I try a new brand every year. This year, Slazenger. I can’t recommend this idea enough. Just think about how great it feels when your feet feel great.
The greatest food combination I’ve ever stumbled into:
Last Saturday my daughter wished we could have burgers from In-N-Out and nuggets from Chick-Fil-A for dinner and since I’m the kind of dad that likes to make wishes come true we got both (this is the best my passenger seat has ever looked) and I discovered this: if you dip an In-N-Out double double animal style in Chick-Fil-A sauce you unlock the secret of the flavor universe and your taste buds explode with joy.
A tremendously written sentence:
“The Channel swim, being within possibility but never easy, is as satisfying a feat as can be imagined in any field of physical enterprise. None but first-class athletes can presume to essay it; but they can enter the lists from all parts of the world and the waters thereof, just as they are, without implements and without artifice, men and women against wind and tide.” – Times of London, August, 7, 1926 – courtesy of author Glenn Stout who posted this.
Have a great weekend and good luck against the wind and the tide!
ISSUE #18
A short speed reading video with tips that actually work:
I’ve wanted to increase my reading speed and comprehension for a long time so I have been doing a little research on how to do it. There are a few courses I might try and some other strategies, but this 5-minute video actually had some tips that helped me speed things up already. Never heard of this Brain Athlete guy before, but not bad. What do you think?
A protein bar that tastes like a brownie:
I love the name of these bars almost as much as I love the bars themselves. They’re called Thunderbird: Real Food Bars and I have to credit my wife for finding these (yes, she’s a mark for well-branded/well packaged protein bars too). She had one and immediately ordered us a box. The Hazelnut + Coffee + Maca is a Finkel family favorite.
Do you feel the need? The need for speed?:
It’s happening. Thirty-two years after Maverick last hit the breaks in a dogfight to let his opponent fly right by, filming began yesterday on Top Gun: Maverick. The first day of the shoot was commemorated with this photo of always-dangerous Pete Mitchell back in flight gear. Somewhere out there, Goose is smiling.
My favorite book title in a long time:
Whether you’re a Mets fan or a Seinfeld fan or both, the title of Keith Hernandez’ new memoir will make you smile. It’s called, simply, subtly and perfectly: I’m Keith Hernandez. Yes, I just bought it.
A tremendously written sentence:
“Anna looked at the soul of New York and recognized that if you distract people with shiny objects, with large wads of cash, with the indicia of wealth, if you show them the money, they will be virtually unable to see anything else. And the thing was: It was so easy.” – Jessica Pressler, How an Aspiring ‘It’ Girl Tricked New York’s Party People
Have a great weekend and don’t be distracted by shiny objects and large wads of cash with the indicia of wealth!
ISSUE #17
A great column on what a classic TV character might be like today:
Cheers’ owner/bartender Sam Malone turns 70 years old this year. The question one of my favorite writers tackles is, 25 years after the fictional bar shut down, how would a real-life Malone exist in a world of gastro pubs, Twitter, Tinder and his contemporary ex-athletes dancing on TV? This is a fun read by Steve Rushin.
My new favorite matcha green tea:
It’s been above 90 degrees for three weeks straight here in Dallas and I like to start my work days with an ice cold green tea or matcha. I’ve tried this before but most matcha clumps up when you add ice. The good people at Tenzo Teareached out to me after reading a post of mine on tea and said I had to try theirs. I accepted the offer and I was pleasantly surprised. The tea is delicious and stays mixed over ice. This is the starter pack they sent me.
The book I am really excited to start reading:
I’m in a nice reading groove at the moment and what I mean but that is I like my current rotation of historical non-fiction, biography, “literature”, mainstream fiction and then I run it back. I just ordered the new, definitive biography of Jim Brown by Dave Zirin. Been wanting to dive into Brown’s life and career for a while so I’ll let you know how it goes.
The light deadlift workout that very quickly gave me dead legs:
I made this up at 6am on Thursday morning because I had a good sweat going and sometimes I just wing it the last 15 minutes of my workouts to see if I stumble into something. You be the judge. Using a warm-up level weight for you, do 30-seconds of deadlifts, followed by 30-seconds of burpees, followed by one minute rest and keep it up for fifteen minutes… Or do it for twelve minutes and then take a five minute break before you finish the last two rounds. Here’s a shot of me about 3/4 of the way through.
A tremendously written book opening I can’t get out of my head:
“The Swede. During the war years, when I was still a grade school boy, this was a magical name in our Newark neighborhood, even to adults just a generation removed from the city’s old Prince Street Ghetto and not yet so flawlessly Americanized as to be bowled over by the prowess of a high school athlete.” – these are the opening sentences to American Pastoral, the Philip Roth masterpiece. Roth died this week and while I didn’t read all his books, the ones I did read are unforgettable. If you’re looking to read a major piece of fiction this summer, read American Pastoral.
Have a great weekend and try not to be bowled over by the prowess of a high school athlete!
ISSUE #16
The best last two words of a college graduation address of all time: This comes courtesy of the great Michael Keaton, who gave the commencement address at Kent State University this week. Imagine the coolest thing he could have said. Now watch him say it.
A new cold brew that I recommend:
Readers of this newsletter know that I will pretty much buy any protein bar, shake, cookie, cold brew or iced coffee they put by the cash register at a store because I’m a sucker. I’d say 30% of the time I’m pleasantly surprised. This week I tried a cold brew called Blue Bottle Coffee in a little 8 oz. can. Had a nice, smooth kick and tasted great black. I’d give it a solid 8/10.
The one long form sports article I reread every few years:
Eleven years ago legendary Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith wrote a piece on then-Yankees phenom Joba Chamberlain and his father that blew me away on every level. The storytelling device Smith used… the structure… the brilliance of all of it. I read it again this week and I encourage anyone interested in great writing to read it too.
The odd lower back stretch/exercise that saved my week:
I woke up Wednesday morning and it felt like someone snuck into our room at night and beat on my back with a Louisville Slugger. I could barely get out of bed. My daughter had to put my socks on because I had so much lower back pain. So I turned to Dr. YouTube and found this video. I never heard of this guy but the stretch he demonstrates around the 4:00 mark was a lifesaver. My back felt 50% better an hour later. It’s Thursday night and I’m almost all the way…wait for it…back.
A tremendously written sentence I can’t get out of my head:
“Then, through the hammering of the gun, there was the whistle of the air splitting apart and then in the red black roar the earth rolled under his knees and then waved up to hit him in the face and then dirt and bits of rock were falling all over and Ignacio was lying on him and the gun was lying on him.” – from For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway
Have a great weekend and please avoid the air splitting apart and the red black roar of the earth!
ISSUE #15
The book I started this week that I can’t put down:
I’ve probably recommended Robert Kurson’s book, Shadow Divers to a hundred people so I’m not shocked that his newest book, Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man’s First Journey to the Moon, is amazing. While the story is ultimately about NASA’s triumph, the chronicles of their disasters following Russia’s successful Sputnik launch are brutal. The press nicknamed their failed rocket launches “Kaputnik”, “Flopnik” and “Dudnik”.
An absolutely mesmerizing video of a Doc Brown-level machine:
You have to trust me. I just discovered this guy on YouTube and he builds ludicrous but fantastic Rube Goldberg machines involving absurd levels of timing, planning and household gadgets, in this case all lined up to serve a piece of cake. It’s two minutes. Ten if you watch it five times like I did. The swinging chandelier, the baby and the deadpan seamless eating are crowd pleasers.
The one bar of soap I use for everything that simplifies travel:
A long time ago I realized that our bodies don’t need 5 different kinds of soaps and cleansers in the shower – that’s all just marketing. So I went on the hunt for one bar to rule them all – a bar for body, hair, face and shaving. And I found it and never looked back. It’s called Grandpa’s Old Fashioned Pine Tar Soap AKA the original wonder soap. It does everything and you smell like a bearded lumberjack building a woodshed afterwards. In fact, I packed the Grandpa’s bar for my trip to Charlie Ward’s hometown this past weekend for a speaking/book signing event. Here’s a photo of Charlie and I at the event with his parents if you’re interested.
This magazine article has the best premise and lede I’ve read in a while:
Here’s the lede: You overdraw from your savings account. The bank doesn’t notice. You do it again. Same. And again. Same. What do you do? (A) Stop doing it. (B) Tell the bank about the glitch. (C) Live the life you’ve always dreamed of. This is the true story of the man who chose C—thanks to more than 1.5 million bucks in “free” cash. Great, right? The article was written by David Kushner for Esquire and it’s a long piece but it’s fun to live vicariously through this guy and the ending is worth it. Here it is.
A great answer to a question meant to be negative:
When legendary boxing writer Bert Sugar asked two-time heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson about being knocked down more than any other heavyweight fighter in history, Patterson replied, “Yeah, but I got up more than any fighter in history.”
Have a great weekend and remember it doesn’t matter if you get knocked down more than anyone in history…as long as you get up more than anyone in history too!
ISSUE #14
This is the coolest 43-second video you will watch this week:
A class of high school students joined forces to buy their favorite teacher his dream pair of Jordans and his real, raw reaction will make you smile whether you’re a sneaker head or not. Turn the volume up and enjoy.
A must-listen for anyone interested in great writing:
Nick Thompson is the Editor-in-Chief of Wired, one of my all-time favorite magazines. He was an editor at the New Yorker before that, so needless to say, the man knows his way around words. This podcast covers a lot, but from about the 40 minute mark on, it’s a clinic in what makes a good editor, the challenges of publishing today and how to craft a strong story and much more.
There’s a new favorite breakfast in my household:
Who needs Eggo waffles when you can have…POWER WAFFLES. Yes, Eggos may be fine for the average family, but when you’re trying to raise 2nd generation meatheads, you need to step your game up. I found these Power Waffles by Kodiak Cakes at the grocery store and the kids love them. Plus: 12 grams of protein and 100% whole grains. So yeah, my waffles can kick your waffles’ butt.
Tomorrow is one of the best holidays of the year: Finkel de Mayo:
What is Finkel de Mayo? Oh, nothing, just the one day of the year that the world (me) sets aside to celebrate all of the phenomenal Finkels (there’s so many). Might I interest you in an interview I did with New York Times bestselling author Michael Finkel? Or how about my wonderful conversation with Magic: The Gathering legend, AKA, “The Other Jon Finkel on the Internet”, Jon Finkel, called: A Tale of Two Finkels. Happy Finkel de Mayo, ladies and gentlemen.
A tremendously written sentence I admire:
“As the train yanked its long tail out of the thundering tunnel, the kneeling reflection dissolved and he felt a splurge of freedom at the view of the moon-hazed Western hills bulked against night broken by sprays of summer lightning…” – Bernard Malamud, The Natural
Side Note: I recently started co-hosting a podcast called Props, where we do a fun, deep dive on classic sports movies and then uncover the memorabilia available from them. Our episode on The Natural has been somewhat controversial among movie purists, many of whom (politely and not politely) suggested I should read the book. I am. And wow. There is an entirely other level to this story. And the writing, well…doesn’t get much better.
Have a great weekend and hopefully you’ll find a view that inspires your own splurge of freedom.
ISSUE #13
This is how Sylvester Stallone brainstorms and writes Creed 2:
I’m as big of a Rocky homer there is and I’ve been known to defend the finer points of Rocky V and Rocky Balboa to anyone who will listen. That being said, I’m always interested in the process of other writers and this glimpse Stallone shared of his notes for writing Creed 2 is really cool. Old school spiral notebooks and pads like the rest of us.
A theoretical breakdown of what it would cost to run Westworld:
I was a bit late to Westworld but now I’m all in – meaning I’m completely confused. However, CNBC writer Abigail Hess took a stab at figuring out something I’ve been wondering since I started watching the show, which is, in real life, would Westworld cost ten trillion dollars to build? Here is her financial analysis and it feels somewhat accurate.
My new non-ice cream sundae high protein snack before bed:
My 92-year-old grandfather has eaten an ice cream sundae every night for about 70 years straight, so maybe that’s the secret to longevity… But for those of us who are mere mortals, nightly ice cream may not be the best option. Lately I’ve been mixing a scoop of chocolate protein powder in a cup of greek yogurt and putting it in the freezer for an hour or so before eating. It’s not Ben & Jerry’s, but it does the trick and has about 40 grams of protein.
This was my favorite photo re-enactment on Twitter this week:
Heisman Trophy Winner and future Browns Pro Bowl quarterback Baker Mayfield broke out some tight jean shorts and a giant cordless phone to recreate Brett Favre’s famous draft night photo and it’s fantastic. Here are the photos side by side.
A tremendous quote I was recently reminded of:
“Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.” – 11x NBA Champion and Boston Celtics Legend, Bill Russell
SIDE NOTE: I was reminded of some of the incredible things Russell said while visiting with a legend I’m lucky enough to call a friend, “Mean” Joe Greene. He was in awe of Russell and is one of the few people Mr. Greene ever asked an autograph from. I thought that was cool…what’s not cool is how I look like a little kid standing next to him in this photo. Ha.
Have a great weekend and don’t live your life regretting the opportunities you’ve squandered.
ISSUE #12
My favorite new word and napping strategy:
The word: Nappuccino. That would be ‘nap’ plus ‘cappuccino’. What is it? It’s a scientifically proven method of getting the greatest nap of all time by knocking back caffeine right before you doze off. Don’t believe me? Here’s a link to download a free 5-Step Guide on how to do it right.
I’m a sucker for protein bars and this is a good one I just tried:
I admit to having very little will power when it comes to walking by an end cap or a display by a register and there’s a shiny new ‘healthy’ snack to try. This bar that sucked me in this time is called a Wella Bar and the flavor I bought was Peanut Cacao. Had 11g of protein and more sugar than I’d like, but it was filling and tasted better than most bars like it.
A cool trip down movie memory lane:
This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of my favorite sports movies ever, The Sandlot. While researching the movie for a new podcast I’m co-hosting, I came across this great oral history of the movie by a friend of mine, Yahoo! Sports baseball writer, Mike Oz. Lots of great nuggets about the beloved film there.
How I keep my meathooks dry now that the garage gym is hot:
It’s right around this time of year when my makeshift garage gym starts to get pretty steamy in the mornings. Couple that with the fact that I sweat like an animal and I decided to do some research on how to chalk up. I came across Black Widow Spider Chalk and it’s awesome. It’s a liquid that turns into a powder on your hands. One bottle lasts about a year (at least for me). Highly recommend it as you can see in this picture here.
A tremendously written sentence I can’t get out of my head:
“His coat unbuttoned to reveal a bloodstained shirt, and his speech held high so that all could see the two sinister-looking holes made by the assailant’s bullet, Roosevelt had shouted, “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose!” – Candice Millard, The River of Doubt
Have a great weekend and feel free to shout, “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose!” to anyone who tries to shoot you.
ISSUE #11
The pre-workout drink I use to defeat sleepiness at 5am:
I am confident that Roald Dahl’s BFG snuck into our house on Monday evening and gave everyone nightmares. The dog woke up barking at 1am, my son woke up at 2:45am in a cold sweat and my daughter came downstairs at 4am sniffling. Then my alarm went off after 5am to workout and I willed myself out of bed and into the kitchen to mix some Pre Jym Pre Workout. Once that kicked in I was lit up. This pic is proof. (1/3 scoop in water works for me. A full scoop might have me trying to squat my SUV).
The best thing I watched this week:
I grew up a HUGE wrestling fan, so needless to say I was extremely excited about HBO’s Andre the Giant documentary and it lived up to all expectations. Brought me right back to my giddiness heading into WrestleMania III and Andre vs. Hulk Hogan. Can’t recommend it enough. Here’s the trailer.
An awesome photo of Arnold, Andre and Wilt:
The above-mentioned documentary had people posting their favorite photos with Andre all week and this one is my favorite. It’s from the set of Conan The Destroyer and it is peak Arnold looking like a shrimp next to The Stilt and The Giant.
A terrific piece of feature writing that bummed me out:
Sports Illustrated is up for sale. Again. It was easily the most iconic sports media brand of my lifetime until about ten years ago. For a majority of my writing career, a byline in SI meant more than a byline anywhere else. It was the mountaintop. Now? I hate typing this…But it’s almost irrelevant. Michael MacCambridge’s piece on the legendary magazine’s demise is incredibly well-written…and incredibly sad for those of us raised as sports fans on its pages.
A tremendously well said quote I can’t get out of my head:
“I’ve seen a look in a dog’s eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced basically that dogs think humans are nuts.” – John Steinbeck, long before #NationalPetDay
Have a great weekend and try to avoid being stared at with a vanishing look of amazed contempt.
ISSUE #10
The trick I haven’t been able to master this week:
I saw a video on Wired magazine’s website about how to fold a paper airplane that flies right back to you and I’ve watched it and folded a bunch of planes, hoping to have a big, cool reveal to my kids once I’ve mastered it… But I can’t. My folding is never quite right. My angles are a little off. I’m a moron. The video is super cool though and this guy is amazing. Let me know if you figure it out.
I started this book and it’s fascinating:
The book is called When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink. I heard Pink in an interview describe this as not a “how-to” book but a “when-to” book and I was immediately curious. As I sometimes do, I bought it on a whim from that statement and it’s brilliant. So far I’ve learned that our modern days are designed wrong (biology), our corporations schedule meetings illogically (chronobiology), you should never get surgery in the afternoon, and we are in dire need of a re-evaluation of why things are planned for when they are. It’s Moneyball for your life schedule. Read it.
An incredible moment in large Jenga Giant history:
Everyone loves Jenga and the “life-sized” version is pretty cool. We all dream of getting to that point in the game where it’s your turn, half the tower is on one block, and you Bruce Lee-level pull it out and the tower doesn’t fall. At least I dream of that. Well, ex-NFL player Pat McAfee’s father did it and the video is outstanding.
The 10-minute jump rope warm-up I started doing:
As loyal readers know, I work out early in the morning and one of the toughest things to do is get my legs out of “sleep mode” and into “let’s lift heavy things mode”. I started doing this jump rope warm-up routine to get things moving and it seems to be working. You just need a clock and a rope: 20 seconds two feet, 20 seconds one foot (left), 20 seconds one foot (right), twenty seconds rest. Do that for 10 minutes. OK, fine, here’s a lame shot of me cranking this out yesterday morning with some inspiration from Ric Flair.
A tremendously written sentence I can’t get out of my head:
“A tall, smiling kid with the charisma of a movie star, a smile like a sunrise, a swing as sweet as a banana split and the confidence of a riverboat gambler with his own deck has come along to rescue the game from the brink of anonymity…” – Legendary sportswriter Jim Murray, LA Times, November 28th, 1996, describing an up-and-coming golfer named Tiger Woods.
Have a great weekend and whatever you do, make sure you have the confidence of a riverboat gambler with your own deck.
ISSUE #9
The workout that killed me this week:
I use the word ‘killed’ appropriately because this finishing routine is called ‘Death By Slam Ball’. It seems relatively simple. You take a slam ball and slam it to the ground 1 time on minute one, then 2 times in minute two, then 3 times in minute three, 4 times in minute four and so on without stopping… I have a 20lb slam ball and by minute 15 my legs felt like wilted spinach. This is what I looked like in my driveway at the meathead hour of 5:15am committing slam ball suicide.
This is a high-protein new snack that saved me when I was starving during some loooooong meetings this week:
The Peanut Butter Perfect Bar is basically really tasty peanut-butter molded into a bar, wrapped and put in the fridge. They have 17g of protein and yes, a decent amount of sugar, but they were good and hit the spot. Full disclosure: I eat 2 bars at once.
An inexpensive purchase that’s already paid for itself:
Our dog, Mr. P, turned nine this weekend and we wanted a family photo to commemorate the occasion. Fortunately, this smart phone tripod by Yoozon I bought for $20 arrived last week and it’s awesome. Couldn’t be easier to use and got the whole crew in the big guy’s birthday pic.
My favorite new radio station (and best named station ever):
SiriusXM and LL Cool J just launched… wait for it… Rock the Bells Radio. It. Is. Phenomenal. I was a HUGE fan of backspin and this seems to be in the same spirit, but with a little of LL’s style and his era’s personality mixed in. Ludacris was a guest DJ on Day 2 and put out a sick playlist.
A tremendously written sentence I can’t get out of my head:
“Here was a champion before he closed his hand into a fist. The boy’s gumption was like the full steam of a locomotive. Plus he was a born liar.” – The Real McCoy by Darin Strauss. These are the first few sentences in the book. Fantastic start.
Have a great weekend and hopefully your gumption is like the full steam of a locomotive!
ISSUE #8
By far the best thing I watched this week was Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton on Amazon. It’s a documentary on the surfing legend that opens on Laird dropping in on a mammoth 100-foot wave that looks like a rolling blue avalanche mere humans have no business riding – and then the intensity of the doc picks up. I’ve long been a huge fan of Laird and whether you’re also a fan or you just want to watch a man defy death and conquer the ocean on his own two feet and a board, it’s an incredible film. Watch the trailer.
Sticking with the water and things no human has ever done before, bear with me for a brief swimming geek moment. Blake Pieroni, a freestyle swimmer for the University of Indiana, became the first swimmer in the history of swimming to drop a sub 1 minute, 30 second 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships on Wednesday, posting a 1:29.63. That’s EIGHT laps of the pool in less time than it takes to watch the new Avengers trailer. In my prime I did this race in about 1:50… So Blake did 8 laps in the same time I did 6 1/2. Insane. His splits are here, courtesy of SwimSwam.com.
I don’t always drink coffee, but when I do, it’s from a United States Veteran owned and operated small batch roaster I recently discovered called Black Rifle Coffee Company. I’m not a coffee connoisseur at all, but the flavor I bought, Black Buffalo Blend, was really smooth. I brewed it at night and drank it cold before my 5am workout the next morning and it was great. Also took this perfect sunrise shot of the cool bag with an American Flag and a buffalo on it. Highly recommend it.
While looking for a quiet place to do some writing outside this week I discovered a scenic park in Dallas that has famous literary quotes on every step of the centerpiece staircase – one of them from Robert Frost. That night I went down a bit of a Wikipedia wormhole about Frost and discovered that “The Road Less Traveled” isn’t even the name of his most famous poem. It’s actually titled, “The Road Less Taken”. How is that possible? Frost said his goal was to “lodge a few poems where they would be hard to get rid of.” He did that, even with the misquote. For a great breakdown of the poem’s impact on pop culture, read this.
Since everyone is freaking out about Facebook and privacy like it’s a new tech problem, here’s a trivia question: Any guesses on when the world’s first technology hack took place? 20 years ago? 40? 60? Nope. It happened 115 years ago in 1903. The story involves Italian inventor and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi and one of the first disruptors ever, Nevil Maskelyne. In June of 1903, Marconi set up an event to demonstrate for the first time ever that Morse Code could be transmitted wirelessly. Maskelyne (hired by a rival cable telegraph company) hijacked the wavelength Marconi was using from a nearby theater and sent this message: “Rats rats rats rats,” it began. Then he wrote a quick rhyme: “There was a young fellow of Italy, who diddled the public quite prettily …” And that’s when trolling was invented. Read the full story here.
Have a great weekend and try not to diddle the public quite prettily!
ISSUE #7 – March 16th, 2018
This exact week, 26 years ago in 1992, My Cousin Vinnie hit movie theaters and we all learned about positraction, the proper cooking time for southern grits and what a “yout” is. While that may have been the end of the road for Vincent Gambini for you and I, it wasn’t for author Lawrence Kelter, who wrote a sequel book to Vinnie titled Back to Brooklyn last year and has another coming out this May. I stumbled upon this book trying to see if Amazon Prime had Vinnie and I bought it on a whim on Kindle. I’ve been reading it on my phone in short bursts and Kelter nailed the Vinnie/Lisa chemistry. So far, so good.
In another bit of writing nerdery, author Ta-Nehisi Coates, who has been writing the Black Panther comics for Marvel the last two years, is set to take over a second storied character: Captain America. Whether you’re into comics or not, this short essay he wrote for The Atlanticabout his feelings/hesitations/excitement about taking the mantle of such a legendary super hero is cool. We all have these feelings when taking on a giant new challenge and his thoughts on confronting his own fears ring true.
What’s more meatheady than a kettlebell? How about a kettle bell molded to look like an angry, snarling gorilla? Every 3 or 4 months I try to add something awesome to my garage gym and this week I finally took the plunge and bought this primate kettle bell from Onnit. It’s only been a few days, but I love this thing, as you can see from this picture.
This clip of a 10-year-old kid fighting through tears to tell his hockey teammates that he loves them after their last game is like the end of a great sports movie. You can’t look away. Also, shout out to whoever’s little brother is sitting next to him, nonchalantly sucking on a Blow Pop as this kid pours his heart out. Classic little brother move. A nod to @spittinchiclets for the post.
March Madness is here and the first round always makes me think of one person: Harold “The Show” Arceneaux and the 36 points he dropped in round one of the ’99 tournament to lead 14th ranked Weber State to a MASSIVE upset over #3 UNC. I was looking for clips from this game and I found this incredible two minute, amateur highlight video of the win gloriously put to Green Day’s classic Good Riddance, ‘Time of Your Life’ song. Watch it.
Have a great weekend and take the photographs and still-frames in your mind, hang them on a shelf in good health and good time.
ISSUE #6 – March 9th, 2018
Remember the Seinfeld episode where Jerry gets the “ultimate comedian’s revenge” and goes to Toby’s office at Pendant Publishing to heckle her after she heckles him at a show? This incredible find by Bryan Curtis on Twitter is the writer’s version of this, where an author writes basically an ‘Unacknowledgements’ section, calling out the people who were no help writing his book. This guy opens with “I would like to point out the two following unpleasant individuals…” Then politely rips them. It’s tremendous.
Do you know what “tech neck” is? Don’t worry, you already have it. It’s the horrendous, slumped shoulders, hanging-head posture everyone has from being on their phones too much. A friend of mine who writes for The New York Post, Kirsten Fleming, wrote a story on the new generation of Millennial hunchbacks and how they’re coping with real issues of phone-caused neck and back pain. But have no fear, the article offers 5 Easy Stretches you can do during the day to reverse your transformation into Larry King.
I’m doing this full-body, heavy workout once a week now and it’s grueling and awesome and can be scaled for any strength or exercise level. It’s from my old Muscle & Fitness magazine pal, Doc Jim Stoppani, and it’s a twist on the classic 5×5 workout. He calls it 5×5 +1, and it’s a brutal twist because it throws a 1 rep heavy lift in the middle of the faster sets. This is perfect if you can’t train often or want to make sure at least once a week you hit everything hard. And that concludes our meathead moment.
Want to explode little kid’s minds at a birthday party that serves cupcakes? I did this at a friend’s house recently. Usually, watching kids eat cupcakes is a frosting-smearing, face-wrecking, sugar-coated disaster. Cupcakes are inherently poorly designed, especially for little hands and little mouths. Next time you’re watching kids struggle, tell them that you’re going to teach them to make a cupcake sandwich. How? It’s easy. Simply twist off the bottom of the cupcake and place it on top of the frosting. Done. Now you have two pieces of cake to hold on to. Don’t forget to take a bow as they stare at you in amazement. Trust me.
I’m a sucker for good features about space travel and rockets and visiting the moon and this incredibly awesome National Geographic article talks with astronauts about the experience of seeing their home planet from the cosmos. 555 humans in the history of history have been to outer space and the photos and the space travelers stories are great. Astronaut Samantha Christoforetti put it this way, “You’ve got this planet beneath you, and a lot of what you see, especially during the day, does not necessarily point to humans… On a geologic timescale, it’s almost like we are this flimsy presence…”
Have a great weekend and whatever you do, don’t be a flimsy presence!
ISSUE #5 – March 2nd, 2018
I love pizza and you love pizza and world famous Chef David Chang really loves pizza and on the pilot episode of his new show, Ugly Delicious, he waxes pizza poetic on everything from Brooklyn’s finest pie to the wonders of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana to the nostalgia and tech wizardry of Domino’s, all while traveling the planet talking to culinary legends. There’s even an animated segment about all the ways pizza can be eaten and they showed a technique called “the sleeping bag”, where people roll a slice up from the bottom to the crust and then eat it. Seems like an act of lunacy…but I will most likely be trying it this weekend.
A man exists named David Goggins who went from being an obese, 300-pound restaurant night-shift exterminator living on powdered donuts and chocolate milkshakes…to becoming a Navy SEAL, ultra marathon runner and 24-hour Guinness World Record Pull-Up holder (4,021) in three years. His interview on the Joe Rogan podcast is nothing short of phenomenal and if you need a heavy dose of inspiration, listen to it right now.
Ryan Holiday is one of my favorite authors and I just ordered his new book, Conspiracy, which follows the true story of Paypal founder Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, a $140 million verdict, the FBI, the 1st and 4th amendment and the President of the United States. Yes, all of that…and by a tremendous writer tailor-made for the subject matter. Holiday’s last book was on my ‘best of’ list for 2017. You can read about it here.
Most protein bars are wannabe Snickers bars with soy protein mixed in. My inner meathead was recently looking for one that didn’t have more sugar than a Devil Dog and I came across something astonishing… A protein bar made from actual protein. EPIC Chicken Sriracha bars have 15g of protein and zero grams of sugar. To be clear, I don’t like Sriracha, or the pseudo-frenzy around Sriracha, at all – but I like these bars and they’re perfect for an hour after lunch when I’m starving again. Meathead corner over. As you were…
A young writer recently e-mailed me asking about how to get assignments and what to do after you get rejected, and it reminded me of a story about John D. Rockefeller Sr. from Ron Chernow’s biography of him,Titan. When Rockefeller was 16, still a few decades away from being the wealthiest man in the world, he was poor and jobless with zero prospects for work. Chernow writes: “Despite incessant disappointment, he doggedly pursued a position. Each morning, he left his boardinghouse at 8am, clothed in a dark suit and high collar, to make his rounds of appointed firms. This grimly determined trek went on each day – six days a week for six weeks – until late afternoon… Because he approached his job hunt devoid of any doubt or self-pity, he could stare down all discouragement. “I was working every day at my business – the business of looking for work,” Rockefeller said. In the middle of the 7th week, he was hired. I told the young writer he was in the business of becoming a writer and he can’t care how many “no’s” he hears on the way to his big “yes”, just like Rockefeller.
Have a great weekend and hopefully you’re only a few decades away from being the wealthiest person in the world!
ISSUE #4 – February 23rd, 2018
I highly recommend this long form feature on Merv Bodnarchuk, a man fond of Coors Light and Clamato juice who spent half a million dollars on a curling “super team” with one caveat – he had to be on the squad. It is so good I can’t believe the Coen Brothers haven’t turned it into a movie yet. It was written by Guy Lawson (@GuyLawson2) almost twenty years ago and with the Winter Olympics front-and-center, it’s the perfect time to curl up to a good piece of writing on…curling. There’s a 40% chance it winds up as an Amazon Prime series at some point. You read it here first.
I love when inadvertent typos completely change the meaning of signs or titles and this one for the Peter Rabbit movie is fantastic and hilarious. It was spotted by the always-clever author Steve Rushin and he tops it off with the perfect comment.
There are two kinds of TV watchers in the world… Those who think The Wire is the greatest show of all time…and those poor unfortunate souls who haven’t seen it yet. If you’re in the first group, one of my favorite writers, JP Abrams, has a new book out this week, All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire. It is a dream come true for Wire fans. I loved Abrams’ first book, Boys Among Men about LeBron, Kobe, Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett’s entry into the NBA so I’m psyched for this one. Just got it yesterday. You can also check out www.jonathanabramsbooks.comfor more info.
My brother recommended the Netflix documentary Icarus to me and it is one of the more insane docs you’ll ever see.
It begins with an amateur cyclist trying to replicate Lance Armstrong’s doping regimen and evolves into an inside look at the greatest Olympic sports scandal in world history with former KGB agents, secret rooms in doping labs, people “disappearing”, death threats and international statements by Vladimir Putin denying absolutely everything, including a statement that the needles inserted into Ivan Drago’s shoulders in Rocky IV were just B-vitamin shots. You should definitely watch it (and I added the part about Drago…even Putin wouldn’t go that far).
I just finished the awesome book, Sting Like A Bee: Muhammad Ali vs. the United States of America, 1966-1971 by the great Leigh Montville. The book is fascinating and contains some of the best anecdotes about Ali’s fights and opponents that I’ve ever read, including this one, involving Ernie Terrell complaining about the font of his name on fight promotion posters: Terrell demonstrated early in the promotion [of the fight] that he wanted respect. Upset that the billing on posters for the fight had his name listed in a smaller typeface than Ali’s name, he said that he would pull out of the fight if this was not changed in 48 hours. “In some cases my name looks like the fine print on an insurance policy,” Terrell said. “In other cases, the letters on my name are no bigger than the cheapest price for a ticket. I have an 89-year-old grandmother and she knows better than to do something like that.” The posters were changed.
ISSUE #3 – February 16th, 2018
Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was this week and I’ve been fascinated with this photo of the items he had in his pockets when he was assassinated courtesy of Michael Beschloss (@beschlossDC). Two pairs of glasses, a pocket knife and all kinds of other regular stuff from 153 years ago. He was carrying the $5 bill around for ID, obviously. (That’s a joke. The first $5 note had Alexander Hamilton on it. Lincoln didn’t make it onto the bill until 1914).
Do you know where the largest casino in the world is? Any guesses? Well, I had the pleasure of playing blackjack and craps there this past weekend and if you guessed it’s in the town of Thackerville, Oklahoma you’d be correct.. It’s called the Winstar and it’s bigger than any casino in Vegas, Atlantic City, Europe or anywhere else with 600,000 square feet of gaming. Who knew? They have a saying regarding going to other casinos after the Winstar: Once you go Thackerville, you never go back-erville. (No, they don’t but if they want to use it they can have it for free.)
My former co-author and 3x NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion, Nate Robinson appeared on one of my favorite podcasts, the FatPacks, this week to talk about the contest this upcoming Saturday night. He also discussed what it was like being Mr. Basketball and Mr. Football as a senior in high school in the state of Washington, what it felt like to throw down over Dwight Howard, block Yao Ming, and of course, inside info on the NBA Dunk Contest. Also, here’s video of 5’7″ Nate blocking 7’2″ Yao.
I love omelettes and I love making omelettes and I came across this write-up of a 10-egg omelette masterpiece called The Maserati. The article is from dinedelish.com and it’s worth a few seconds to check out the near dozen-egg beast that must weigh about 4 pounds. I occasionally make 5-egg omelettes and they’d look like, well, Nate Robinson standing next to Yao Ming (Ming being the Maserati in this analogy).
Once a month or so I like to try the Navy SEAL fitness requirements test as a single workout. I’m not a SEAL and don’t think I could have been, but trying to perform the test is an interesting baseline for where I am compared to some of the best athletes in our military. There are minimum requirements, but those don’t guarantee entry to the SEALS because competition is so tight. Minimum is the following, performed back-to-back: 500-yard swim in 12.5 minutes, 50 push-ups in 2 minutes, 50-curl ups in 2 minutes, 10 pull-ups in two minutes and a 1.5 mile run in 10.5 minutes.
That’s more than doable. The ‘Optimum Standards’ are not: 500 yard swim in 8.5 minutes, 100 push ups in 2 minutes, 100 curl ups in 2 minutes, 20 pull ups in 2 minutes, 1.5 mile run in 8:50…all done back-to-back. Got it? Good. Go for it!
ISSUE #2 – February 9th, 2018
While I’ve always considered myself a matcha man, I took this online tea quiz and it turns out I should be consuming a tea called Iron Goddess of Mercy – Ti Kuan Yin – and I’ve been questioning my masculinity ever since. Not really, but well, yeah… I’ve been on the tea train for a long time and I’ve mostly stuck with loose leaf green tea, Sencha and sometimes white tea. This quiz on Art of Tea’s website (takes one minute) asks you all kinds of questions about your lifestyle, when you drink tea and why and then spits out the kind of tea that fits your lifestyle best. Evidently, I’m in dire need of the Iron Goddess of Mercy. I’ll let you know how it tastes in a future issue of FF5.
The brilliant director who made O.J.: Made in America is going to do a biopic of Roberto Clemente as his next project and it’s about time someone tackled this. I’ve always been fascinated with the baseball legend/humanitarian/philanthropist/leader that Clemente was and I can’t recommend David Maraniss’ (@davidmaraniss) incredible biography of him enough. You can get it on Amazon here. And for a glimpse of his athletic greatness, check out this absolutely insane throw from right field to third base. Maybe the strongest arm in the history of baseball.
I’m not gonna lie here… This article called A Kingdom from Dust by Mark Arax is a mountain of words (I read it in three parts). But it is a mountain of words worth climbing. If you’ve ever wondered where your POM Wonderful purple pomegranate juice or your mini-orange Cuties or your Wonderful almonds or pistachios or dozens of other wildly popular family-friendly grocery items come from and who grows them, packages them and invents the marketing campaigns behind the brands, then this article is for you (Hint: It’s ONE GUY). If you’ve ever driven up through the interior of California and wondered how there was seemingly hundreds of miles of desert filled with endless green vegetation during a water shortage, this feature is for you. If you simply love tremendous writing and research and storytelling, this is also for you. California Sunday Magazine dedicated almost their whole issue to this piece and it was worth it.
Good Will Hunting is one of my all-time favorite movies andthis episode of The Rewatchables podcast does a deep dive on everything from Will’s lifelong beef with Carmine Scarpaglia to what Skylar might say when Will shows up in California in his beat-up car after the movie ends to whether in the famous bar scene debate with Clark (ponytail guy) Ben Affleck and Cole Hauser would have cold-cocked ponytail in the face before a discussion about Gordon Wood could even take place. The attention to detail in this podcast is great and if you’ve watched this movie or parts of it more than twice you will love it. And if you don’t listen to the podcast, it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault… Actually, it is, but you get the joke.
I have a framed poster of Teddy Roosevelt with this famous ‘Man in the Arena” speech on the wall in my gym that I bought from one of my favorite blogs, ArtofManliness.com. I don’t read it every day or every week even, but I definitely read it more than once a month. I’m considering my next book/project right now and as a writer, there’s nothing more daunting than staring at the blank page of the first outline of a new project idea…because you know that once you commit, there are thousands of more pages that will need to be filled, edited, thrown away, rewritten and refined. Anyway, I read this quote again this week and it motivated me to get moving. Maybe it’ll do the same for you:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs; who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in the worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat.” – Teddy Roosevelt
ISSUE #1 – February 2nd, 2018
This is the best feature I read all week: Can You Say…Hero? is a sprawling profile of Mr. Rogers written by Tom Junod for Esquire that was originally published in 1998. You may have seen this week that Tom Hanks is going to star in a movie about Mr. Rogers. Perfect, right? America’s favorite neighbor played by America’s favorite actor. Well, this is the article that inspired the movie and it is, plainly put, absolutely brilliant. It’s a profile writing clinic on a fascinating subject that I can’t recommend enough. From Mr. Rogers getting ready for his daily swim to his sleeping habits to his apartment in New York City, this feature zeroes in on what made Mr. Rogers a very special human. Read it.
This was my favorite thing I watched on Netflix: Born Strong is a documentary about four contenders competing to become the Strongest Man on Earth at the Arnold Classic. It stars lifting legends Zydrunas, Eddie Hall, American Brian Shaw and Hafthor, AKA, The Mountain from Game of Thrones, all 6’9”, 400 pounds of him. You don’t have to be a fitness nut or power lifter to get sucked into this doc, which features a healthy dose of Arnold Schwarzenegger geeking out about the athletes, the physiques and the feats of strength. There are a few slow spots you could probably skip, but watching how much time these goliaths spend eating (all the time) training (all the time) and thinking about winning (all the time), is incredible. Even if you just watch the main section about The Mountain in Iceland, it’s worth it.
A runner-up Netflix favorite this week is this exchange from The Office,Season 1, Episode 1, which I decided to re-watch:
Michael Scott brings the camera to Pam’s receptionist desk.
Michael Scott: Everyone, this is Pam. If you think she’s cute now you should have seen her a couple years ago. Reawrrrrrrrr….
Pam (priceless stare into the camera): What???
Perfect moment in a near-perfect pilot. Highly recommend rewatching it.
These are my two favorite things I bought this week for a grand total of $4.17: Cinder blocks. Why? Why not? Actually, I got them for my garage gym so I could remove the lowest part of my deadlift (placing the bar on top), which I’ve been reading is where the greatest chance for injury and overuse is… I’ve read literature on both sides of this and I’m going with feel on this one. I’m not exactly trying to be an inside linebacker for the Patriots anymore so if I can get 90% of the benefits of the deadlift while removing some injury risk that’s fine. SIDE NOTE: There’s no better feeling than rolling up to a register at Home Depot with a cinder block in each hand and nothing else. Pretty sure every other dude in the Depot was jealous of that move. Also, I did a little cinder research and each block weighs about 30-35 pounds, so they’re good for some unbalanced farmer carries and curls too. OK, this meathead moment is over.
I never heard of this popular bottled mineral water until this week so I tried it and I hate mineral water but it’s actually good. It’s called Topo Chico. I came across this article about a guy who drinks five a day and decided I’d try it next time I saw it. As it turns out, I have no idea how I’ve been missing it. Topo Chico is literally everywhere, especially in Texas. It’s one of those things I never noticed because I don’t care about it, but now I see it’s in every restaurant, supermarket and store. Not saying I’m gonna drink 5 a day, but it’s refreshing and worth a shot. Had one with dinner this week and went down smooth.
Best late-night snack sandwich I made this week: Double-decker peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich on whole wheat. On nights I write late I often find myself absolutely starving at about 10pm. This is my “Code Red, I’m crazy hungry and if I don’t eat this I’m driving to McDonald’s in two minutes” sandwich and it always hits the spot with a glass of ice cold milk. The key is to not put the banana slices on the peanut butter, but to put the honey on the peanut butter and the banana slices on their own level. Enjoy!