Here’s this week’s list of recommendations:
- The Oatmeal: I haven’t read the Oatmeal in a long time, but we were doing some shopping yesterday for Rhonda’s class and I chanced upon a collection of Inman’s cartoons in the book section. This one in particular, about running, made me laugh and see myself at the same time (see the cartoon below). I too am an introspective person full of self-doubt and insecurities, and the net effect of rowing for me does help with that (plus I look better, generally speaking). While physically rowing, I go into dark corners of my mind. I anticipate this, but the me that emerges from the basement is a better version of me. It’s a kind of est or cathexis or primal scream. I flipped open to this cartoon in a moment of synchronicity, perhaps, a delightful, ephemeral, human moment that only great humor can invite.
- Headway: I’ve seen the ridiculous Blinkest “Be the Most Interesting Person in the Room” ads and was wondering what Blinkist was. Turns out, it’s a kind of Sparknotes or summary service for books you want to read but maybe don’t have the time to. Headway is basically the same thing, and this month, there’s a big sale. So I took the leap.
- Blackstone Griddle: We picked up one of these four-burner models at Walmart a couple of years ago, and it’s the size of the professional grill at which I toiled in my long-ago part-time high school job at Atkinson’s Takeout. I make all kinds of things on it: eggs, stir fry, burgers, salmon, stir fry. They are great and worth having, even if you usually grill on a charcoal or gas grill most of the time.
The Oatmeal
Headway
Blackstone Griddle