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​Friday Inspiration 465​

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I just love Global Cycling Network videos—they do some serious stuff, sure, but mostly they seem to be sitting around throwing out ridiculous ideas to each other, and then filming them. (video)

A quick note from me: I'm excited to share that Precision Fuel and Hydration is sponsoring this newsletter starting this week. It's a genuinely authentic partnership since I've been using PFH chews, gels, and electrolyte mix since May 2024, and I've been drawing illustrations for their social media + newsletter for the past several months as well. And: They are genuinely funny people—like I believe they hired me because we are kindred spirits, not because they were sitting around going, "We need to be more 'fun' as a brand—who can we get?" Anyway, the good news for you is that you get discounts because you read this newsletter! I'll share more stuff in the coming weeks but for now, this link will get you 15% off your first order at PFandH.com. (For whatever it's worth: I've been using a ton of the Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, PF 30 Chews, and despite not being a gel person in the past, I have been loving the PF 90 gels for my long training days.

Now then:

I don’t know how many people discovered them in the same order I did, as opposed to reverse order, but I had been listening to Kevin Morby’s music for years before I started listening to Waxahatchee, aka the musical project of his partner Katie Crutchfield—which is quite funny, since I think she’s way more widely known. Her newest Tiny Desk concert is a fantastic listen (once again finding myself recommending music here, breaking my personal rule).

I have mentioned cartoonist/comedian/actor/writer Jason Chatfield’s work here before, but I haven’t mentioned his Process Junkie newsletter, in which he digs into the idea of the creative process. I loved this last installment, which seems so simple and obvious when he says it: turn down the volume to hear your own voice.

I missed it when this “Toddler Book Tolerability Index” came out last year, but the chart and comments below it are hilarious. I am never again going to be able to look at the cover of “I Want My Hat Back” without exclaiming “murder bear!”

​This, in which young Daniel simply answers a worksheet question as part of a class assignment, but illustrates the imagination and innocent thought of a child, is one of the ways social media keeps me from deleting it altogether.

My friend Syd and I had a long discussion one time about what actually constitutes a pizza, and I don’t think we ever figured out any real “requirements.” But this article is telling me that Pizza Hut Taiwan is having a lot of fun pushing the limits of the genre: “A reaction—whether positive or negative—is exactly what Pizza Hut Taiwan aims for. When it comes to developing new pizzas, their main criteria are clear: 'How do we appeal to the Taiwanese tastes and how do we make Italians angry?' Anthony Leung, general manager of Pizza Hut Taiwan says."

Lastly, I want to mention this one more time before January 5th: 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 the first few days of 2025—if you're interested, here's the link, good through January 5th. (We had 100+ people sign up in the first six weeks, and I am eagerly awaiting to hear what they think of the course as they complete it!)

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