#25 - March 2025
Content, Faces, Baby Porcupines, Being Useful
Hi. It’s me.
A lot has happened since my last full edition of this newsletter. My wife and I welcomed a baby into the world. I left my job. I got a new one. I wore a suit and got to write for a living. That job expired. I watched a few good movies, had a few panic attacks, laughed a lot, and got used to a little person calling me “daddy.”
It’s been sweet and I’ve learned so much. About myself, about life, about how damn hard people are working every day just to get by. It’s worth celebrating, don’t you think? That you made it to this moment, and that we can share this little shred of time together?
I think so.
Moving forward, you’ll still be getting the list of 26 links as usual, but I’ve been considering injecting some of my own thoughts at the top of each edition. A few sentences, maybe a bit more. Who knows? We’re all being force-fed more than we can chew these days, so I think a bit of ruminating is warranted.
Thanks for sticking with me. Enjoy.
Amelia Dimoldenberg - The host of the wildly popular “Chicken Shop Date” YouTube series had a viral moment in her conversation with Andrew Garfield, but I find the entire video just as charming.
Batbible - Want to write the next Batman comic? There are some hard and fast rules you’ll have to follow.
Cure - Scientists have possibly cured HIV in a woman for the first time. Science is incredible. Let’s hope this treatment can be replicated.
Do It For The Gram - What does “Content Creator” even mean anymore?
Encouragement - “The secret to surviving cancer isn’t meditation.” Another piece of great writing from Caitlin Flanagan. (The Atlantic, possible paywall)
Familiar Faces - Some people never forget a face. Literally. They’re called super-recognizers. I can barely remember what I had for breakfast.
Glasses - These liquid-filled glasses can potentially be adjusted to adapt to your vision…forever?
Hats For Sale - The world’s oldest hat shop has been operating for 350 years!
Initiative - An 8-year-old snuck his own hand-drawn book into his local library. Now it has a massive waitlist. (Washington Post, possible paywall.)
Jed - My old boss has written a few books and just started his own newsletter. Take a look.
Kieran Culkin - A charming little Oscar acceptance speech.
Look - Captivating and haunting series of photos that shows the paths of birds.
Masters - PBS has a library of their “American Masters” documentaries some of the sharpest and most remarkable people in the world, featuring subjects like Maya Angelou, Stephen Sondheim, Marilyn Monroe, and Paul Robeson.
New Car Smell - Sorry, gearheads. The scent you love so much is just a mixture of new glue and plastic. And there’s an entire industry behind it.
Ozempic - The popular weight loss drug was discovered with the help of…venomous lizards?
Pandemic - No, not the one you’re thinking of. If you’re looking to play a collaborative board game with some friends, and keep playing it for months and months until you finally, hopefully beat it, might I suggest this one?
Quills - Baby porcupines are called “porcupettes” and they are…adorable.
Ruminating - Callback to the intro of the newsletter! Anyway, this word we use to describe being stuck in our thoughts comes from animals that throw up their food to chew it twice. So the next time someone asks what’s on your mind, just tell them you’re “chewing your cud.”
Sustainable - From this brilliant article: Even our definitions of sustainability revolve around trying to find the formula to ensure that we can keep on taking, far into the future. Isn’t the question we need, “What does the Earth ask of us?”
Train - A video taken from a suspended train in 1902 called “The Flying Train.” This German city is still using this technology today.
Use - A new favorite poem of mine, “To Be of Use” by Marge Piercy.
VW - Volkswagen is reviving the iconic mid-century “Scout” truck.
Wild Robot - You may have heard about the amazing animated film that was recently nominated for an Oscar (watch it if you haven’t already). But did you know it was a children’s book first?
X - Take 38 minutes to watch this incredibly poignant film about trees. Trust me.
You Are What You Love - A brilliant, moving scene from the film, “Adaptation.” Nic Cage at his best.
Zip It - “You don’t need to post through a crisis.” Well said.
Have a suggestion for the next issue? I want to hear it! Reach out to me by replying to this email. And if you enjoyed this edition, go ahead and forward it to a friend and tap the heart at the top of the page.
See you in a month,
-Brady