I am definitely not what I would call a serious cyclist, but I love a lot of the Global Cycling Network’s videos, especially when it’s stuff we can all understand, like this one, “What Happens When A Bodybuilder Goes Cycling?” What’s especially great/British about it is that you might think, “Oh, these guys are just going to make fun of this bodybuilder,” but no, the butt of the jokes here is: everyone appearing on-screen. (video)
I don’t know if I have the right words to explain why this story—in which a writer tracks down the cast and crew of a famous 1990s Sears commercial to talk about that commercial—was so good, but I wish our current attention economy could support more journalism like this.
I definitely feel underqualified to be a guest on The Morning Shakeout podcast, but I had a lovely time talking to Mario about injuries, creativity, running for fun, and trying to figure out how to be a dad. (podcast)
Somewhat related, because I found out about this wonderful video through Mario’s fantastic Morning Shakeout newsletter, which is great whether or not you’re a runner: The Foo Fighters perform “My Hero” during their tribute concert to late drummer Taylor Hawkins, featuring Hawkins’ son Shane on the drums. Hard to not get a little emotional watching Shane’s face during this performance (video).
I respect anyone who makes art, but making charcoal drawings on floating blocks of ice and photographing it? I mean, what’s a word for “respect,” but like, tenfold? (thanks, Mordy)
I just found out about this website, a) can’t believe it took me this long, b) can’t believe it’s 11 years old, and c) kind of can’t believe how affecting it is when other people reminisce about old photos
I don’t know how many people who read this Friday newsletter will be interested in this kind of thing, but there’s been a bit of Twitter conversation about how lots of books only sell a handful of copies per year, and this is a very illuminating piece on the accuracy of that statistic (if you really want to nerd out/get to the bottom of the stats, read the first comment from Kristen McLean, lead industry analyst from NPD BookScan).
I’m not saying this is the best thing I’ve ever written, but in 5+ years of working with Outside publishing my Semi-Rad stuff, this was the fastest they’ve ever posted one of my stories online.
—Brendan
