Friday Inspiration 330

Don’t ask yourself, “Why would someone write a song about the DMV?” Ask yourself, “Doesn’t this song perfectly capture the DMV?” (video)

 

It would have been the perfect crime, had the javelina been able to get back out of the car after eating the rest of the bag of Cheetos (thanks, Anna)

Maybe you’re not on Twitter. If you are, I suggest you follow Jon Bois, who makes documentaries, but is also (in my opinion) one of the funniest people on the internet

It seems like every six months someone makes a short video profile of Geoff McFetridge, and every time one pops up, I watch it, and I learn a little bit more about his art, and art in general. 

“If your relationships with friends and family are leaving you a little cold, you might be suffering from excessive usefulness in your activities. Maybe the solution is cultivating a taste for baseball, or maybe instead for opera, chess, or Jeopardy.”
—Arthur Brooks, “Sports Are Great Because They’re Pointless”

“In a study involving more than 1,000 people, Swedish music psychologist Alf Gabrielsson showed that only a little over half of strong experiences with music involve positive emotions. Many involved “mixed emotions” (think nostalgic or bittersweet love songs), and about one in ten involve negative emotions. We listen to music that makes us feel like this for many reasons. We can use it to help express how we’re feeling – sometimes this might make the problem worse (such as when we use music to ruminate), but other times it helps to give voice to an emotion we otherwise could not communicate. As a result, we may feel more emotionally aware or stable afterwards.”
—Nikki Rickard, “Chills and Thrills: Why Some People Love Music – and Others Don’t” (from 2014)

You can donate your used outdoor gear (even if/especially if it needs some repair) to support the nonprofit The Outdoorist Oath

—Brendan

This installment of Friday Inspiration, like every Friday Inspiration since September 2017, was made possible by the wonderful human beings who support my work via Patreon. To join them because you a) want to help, b) want access to Patreon-only stories and essays, c) want free stuff, or d) all of the above, click yourself over to my Patreon page and find out how