Friday Inspiration 546

Running a 1400-mile loop around Ireland, shooting scenery with an inner ear camera, Jack Johnson was a hardcore kid?

I love these Track Star interviews, and it’s a real challenge to not put one in this newsletter every week. But the story Jack Johnson tells about meeting the drummer from Wilco in an elevator (starting at about 3:54) made me laugh out loud. (video)

Do you want to read an essay about a guy who was an editor at The Atlantic and quit his day job because he became obsessed with rebuilding stone walls in New England? Yes you do. [GIFT LINK]

I am a big fan of Craig Mod, and consider him a sort of an inspiration of how to think about making a living as an independent creative—i.e. write for the people who like your stuff, and figure out the most direct way to get it to them, even if it doesn’t match up with the traditional idea of “success” as a writer. So when I saw he was on the Design Matters podcast with Debbie Millman, I made the time to listen to it, and it delivered. Multiple times in the interview he mentions self-worth and how it influences so much of what we do, and it really hit home for me.

I have been running in PATH Projects gear for I think five years now, ever since my friend Josh gifted me one of their first hats (back in 2019?). I was happy to reconnect with PATH co-founder Floris Gierman a few weeks back and catch up, and we chatted about the possibility of them sponsoring this newsletter, and we talked about some of the pieces of their gear that are staples in my weekly running routine. Like the Wadi LS Hooded Tee 2.0, which I have put hundreds of running miles on over the past couple years (and quite a few hiking miles too). It’s lightweight, comes in five colors, and I’m not the biggest tech nerd out there, but I’ll tell you what: the single snap under the chin is genius, and keeps the hood over my head, where I want it when the sun is beating down (and also in the late fall and early spring when it’s a tiny bit cold). This link will take you to the PATH website to check them out.

We interviewed Adharanand Finn on The Trailhead podcast a couple weeks ago, and I’d read his book The Rise of the Ultrarunners years ago and loved it. But when I was researching what he’d been up to lately and found out he’d run a loop around Ireland over 68 days (1400+ miles!), I thought, “Dammit, that’s such a great idea. Why didn’t I think of that?” We got into that and more during our interview, and I am pleased to report that he seems like a great guy.

I love these kinds of articles that The Ringer puts together: Ranking the 15 Best (and Worst) Football Coaches in Movie History. Maybe because it’s just fun, maybe because I know these writers probably watched all of these movies as part of their research for this article, or maybe just because it feels light compared to the stream of stuff I get in my feeds every day. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone, but I will say I heartily agree with Nos. 1 and 2 on this list.

File under “The Internet Makes Me Sad Sometimes, But Then Again, It Also Provides Stuff Like This”: This guy took an inner ear camera around his neighborhood and shot photos with it, and they’re delightfully … nostalgic?

I feel like I need more context for this video of this dad laughing his ass off when his daughter hands him a copy of her mugshot from her college years, but even without the story, this guy losing his shit for almost a minute straight made my day.

PS if you missed the 2-minute film I put on YouTube yesterday, here it is again:

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