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​Friday Inspiration 452​

I was really happy to see this episode of “PaddyO Sucks At” come out, especially given the ending, and was a little bummed that it would only exist behind the paywall at OutsideOnline, but then they randomly put it on YouTube for free, so everyone can watch it. (I do make a small cameo in it) (video)

​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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