Writer, artist, filmmaker, columnist for Outside Magazine. My newsletter about creativity, adventure, and enthusiasm goes out to 15,000+ subscribers every week.
Friday Inspiration 486
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Years ago, I was climbing a multi-pitch route with a French friend who was pretty fluent in English, and we paused at a belay to eat a snack and drink some water. Simon pulled a small stuff sack from his pack and from the stuff sack a few food items, including the most battered energy bar I had ever seen. He held it up and said to me, “Theese ees my friend. He goes weeth me everywhere.” I of course understood exactly what he meant, as I, like every one, had the one bar that I kept bringing on hikes and climbs, but never eating, because I had better options. It was like an emergency ration that I kind of knew I would never eat unless I was on the verge of starvation. If you know what I mean, you will love artist Cy Whitling’s latest comic, “The Eternal Granola Bar.”
I was clicking through Substack yesterday, wanting to find someone who wrote an actual story, a narrative of something that happened in real life. It wouldn’t have to be anything spectacular, just a story. And I found it. It was titled “I Agreed to Help Pick Up a Couch and Ended Up Participating in a Street Performance” and it made my day. If you read it, I am betting you will say to yourself, “Yes, I know or have met someone like Moonbeam.”
If you are from the Midwest or have just spent some time there, perhaps you might enjoy this short poem by New Yorker poetry editor and T.S. Eliot Prize winner Kevin Young, "Ode to the Midwest."
I have spent some time over the past few months thinking about AI and how it’s going to affect (or is already affecting) our lives, and I am not sure I have much of a measure of understanding of it, except that I am trying to embrace things that make me feel human. And I think this piece, titled “The Who Cares Era,” captures something similar to what I’m feeling. (via Kottke.org)
Many of the links in this newsletter lead you to videos or articles that require a few minutes to fully experience. This Reddit post will take you six seconds to watch and will provide a small bit of wholesome joy.
I have mentioned before in this newsletter that I have been enjoying the live DJ mixes I often find on YouTube, but I think the production of this one might be my favorite yet: camcorder footage, a few different angles, a little bit of video editing, and a bunch of R&B tracks (and some live drumming). Plus the title is “the homies mixing R&B and chilling with a pineapple.”
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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 530 I think I know probably a dozen people who will be VERY excited reading the words “Hey, there’s a documentary about Mary Oliver coming out soon,” and I hope I am the one to deliver this news to them (video) As I understand it, this guy was replacing the stairs in his multi-floor townhouse, took out the spiral staircase, and then realized that his passport was on the top floor, which was bad because he was leaving the next weekend for a cruise. So he put an ad on...
Sure, I "Trust The Process," But, The first time I remember ever hearing the phrase “trust the process,” I was interviewing my friend Mick about the house he’d built. It had taken him eight years of evenings and weekends, and started, kind of ironically, with him spending an entire weekend peeling three 20-foot logs before he realized he’d had the draw knife backward the whole time. He stuck with it, of course, and built a house so beautiful you’d never guess he had no idea what he was doing...
Friday Inspiration 529 If you watch this video, be warned that a) there are a couple verbal mentions of male anatomy and also an animation of male anatomy, b) that it won Best Nonfiction Short Film at Sundance in 2024, and c) you might cry a little bit. (video) If you had “Read a brief but wonderful poem about holding an iguana like a baby and feel a tiny bit better about everything” on your to-do list for today, go ahead and cross that off after you click here. Since I 1) am running a lot...