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​Friday Inspiration 464​

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I’m just going to preface this by saying you might not be the type of person who wants to deeply nerd out about wildlife crossings, but if you are, you will enjoy this, and perhaps even moreso enjoy this line: “I love a good federal highway administration handbook” (video)

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NEW YEAR, SAME DISCOUNT: Given that a lot of people like to use the beginning of the new year to try something new, we've decided to keep the $50/20 percent discount going on my How To Tell One Story online writing course for another nine days—if you're interested, here's the link, good through January 5th.

I think the comparison of smartphones/social media to cigarettes isn’t necessarily a new one, but this essay by Robbe Reddinger, using a scene of him lighting a cigarette at a party in 2010 and feeling very out of place, really captures it in a poignant way—how smoking gradually, then almost suddenly, became something we used to do.

I don’t know who needs this, or who has time to read the whole thing, but I appreciate all the thought and discussions that went into this enormous Ringer piece, The 30 Best Years Rappers Have Ever Had, Ranked​

As a writer who has done a book tour in many venues that don’t sell books, I appreciate and am maybe a bit envious of Curtis Chin holding events in Chinese Restaurants, to promote and sell his book, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.”[GIFT LINK]

When I heard about this Freeflow Institute course author Heather Hansman is facilitating on the White Rim at the end of March, I was a little envious because it’s such a great idea. And I have no doubt it will be awesome, based on a) Heather is rad and b) my experience biking the White Rim, which is the best kind of bikepacking light the way most people do it (like the Freeflow trip).

“I still love going out to eat, but I find there’s a level of disengagement that can come when dining out becomes the default mode of socializing. We’re just throwing down credit cards, waiting to be served. Potlucks, by comparison, require thought and active involvement. You don’t have to do the most or spend the most, but you do have to make some effort.”
—Bettina Makalintal, The Year I Embraced The Potluck​

I will just warn you that if you have a problem with impulsively buying coffee table books, the photos in this piece, a sample from George Steinmetz’s book Feed the Planet, might cost you $60.

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