Writer, artist, filmmaker, columnist for Outside Magazine. My newsletter about creativity, adventure, and enthusiasm goes out to 15,000+ subscribers every week.
Friday Inspiration 452
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This is from 2015,but as a fan of old sports photos, I was definitely interested in why they all (at least the indoor ones of basketball and boxing) had a bluish haze, and photos taken nowadays don’t have the same haze. I laughed when I found out it basically has nothing to do with photography. (via Kottke.org)
Someone in the comments of this post on the Things Cut In Half Porn subreddit reminded me that I saw so many illustrations like this when I was growing up (and wow did I love them), but it seems like it’s kind of a thing we don’t do anymore. But I wish we would.
I love Marty Brodsky’s Substack, and when I saw the headline of this post, “Hitting the Doomsday Prepper Convention,” I knew he would write something interesting about it, while still holding on to empathy, and give me something to think about.
My friend Kevin sent me a copy of Delinquents and Other Escape Attempts by Nick Rees Gardner, the latest book he edited and published through Madrona Books, and I am happy to say I really enjoyed it. It’s a collection of linked short stories around addiction and recovery, and the easiest comparison is Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son, another book of short stories with a substance misuse theme (and also set in the Midwest). People say short story collections are a tough sell, but I’m a sucker for them, especially when they work well together. It's not in the public library but you can buy copies here (and your local indie bookstore can order it too):
Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble
A few weeks ago at The Rut Mountain Runs, I delivered the presentation I made for my Ultra-Something book tour for the last time (I’m pretty sure). I did shows in DC, Chicago, Boulder, Seattle, and Portland, in April and May, and afterward, I recorded a video version of the presentation (titled “30 Questions You May (Or May Not) Have About Ultrarunning”) for Patreon supporters who couldn’t make it to one of those five cities. I just made it public on YouTube this week, sort of as an afterthought, but it seems like it’s getting a lot of views and interaction, so if you’d like to watch it, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyT8wkbMbLE
This is maybe a little more cynical than the usual stuff I put in this newsletter, and I kind of considered not including it, but then I laughed so hard at it, I felt like I should keep it.
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Semi-Rad
Writer, artist, filmmaker, columnist for Outside Magazine. My newsletter about creativity, adventure, and enthusiasm goes out to 15,000+ subscribers every week.
Friday Inspiration 520 I didn’t know that much about Tara Dower before watching this film, but I particularly like how she would rather introduce herself as “trail folk” instead of “ultrarunner,” and that one of her biggest talents seems to be inspiring an entire squad of friends to help her achieve her insane goals (and they all seem to be having so much fun doing it)(video) Apparently a huge swath of the northern United States could see the northern lights this past week. I missed them, and...
Sometimes You Just Gotta Cut Up Some Wood Kevin and I were running on the trail, chugging along, talking about why people write. Because if you ask a writer, they’ll tell you it’s often essentially a form of self-torture. Yet, we—writers—are compelled to keep doing it. But why? We were on the fire road that cuts across the face of Mt. Sentinel about 800 feet above town, a double-track of dirt that goes for almost two miles of wide-open views and is a fantastic place to go if you enjoy talking...
Friday Inspiration 519 A heads-up: Registration opened for my Running To Stand Still writing + trail running course on Tuesday, and we have a $300 Early Registration discount if you sign up by midnight MST on Saturday January 17 (that’s tomorrow). If you like the sound of six days of mellow trail running, talking about writing and creativity with a group of fun people, and hanging out in the mountains of Montana, here’s the link for more info. — This [professional enduro mountain biker] guy...