Such is Life

First - there are exactly 30 subscribers to this newsletter. The idea is to have a sort of "invite only" newsletter where I'm only sharing with family and friends. Rather than ramble on about one or two of these things to a random handful of you over the course of a week - why not summarize and share with a slightly wider group and discuss more deeply with those who care about specific topics?

My goal is not to scale and start selling coaching or some online course. I just did this to share what I’ve been up to and what I’m thinking about with the people that I’d want to talk about these things with. If you do end up reading, please respond with thoughts/comments. Even if it’s “watched this move - it sucked”, I appreciate that you’re actually sharing these things.

To further incentivize participation and discussion, I'm starting a weekly giveaway.

This week, the top response will get a postcard (wow!)

Curation

To me, the value of human, expert curation is increasing over time. A few examples of why I believe this to be true:

1. Spotify - all kinds of features exist to help you "discover" something new. However, each of these lists are essentially for sale to the highest bidder. Artists and record labels pay to be placed on "Discover Weekly" for certain users, etc.

2. Google - search results are based on who pays most to show up highest for key words

3. Yelp / Trip Advisor - top restaurants on travel sites have the same issue. Either pay to rank higher or restaurants can give away a free sample for a massive tour group to give them a 5 star review.

There is much more value in the opinion of a friend you trust who knows music to recommend some new albums you haven't heard yet or an artist you

This weekend I actually caught up on sleep and went surfing twice - once in Rockaway & once in Long Beach.

As of last week, I’m officially under contract on a property in the Arverne section of Rockaway Beach (~71st St). I’m super excited but not ready to celebrate anything until I have keys in my hand. Contract signing is a big step, but several things still need to happen between now and actual closing.

I might do a dedicated post about why Rockaway / Arverne / why this property but high level:

Rockaway

Only ocean beach in NYC

Accessible by car, bus, ferry or A train

Surf culture and Brooklyn x California vibe

Arverne

Beach 67th st is first stop on the A train

End up going there to surf most of the time because it’s easiest for those without cars

Ton of new development in the area

This Property

2 units - can rent one and keep one for now

Place to keep boards, shower, work, not have to commute back and forth constantly

Backyard

1 dedicated parking spot

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54814676-crying-in-h-mart

I’ve always been a fan of her music (Japanese Breakfast) and have been meaning to read this book for a while. I randomly decided to start the audiobook and I’m 80% through after 3 days. It’s an intensely personal and emotional account of her tumultuous relationship with her mother and details how she copes with her mother’s death after a battle with cancer.

I was literally crying on the subway on Friday listening to it. I’ve never been an audiobook person, but it’s been nice to get deep into a book while walking around doing errands, etc. It’s also intense to hear this kind of extremely personal story read by the author.

Monkey Man

https://letterboxd.com/film/monkey-man/

I went in expecting “Indian John Wick” - which it delivered on but also much more. This was Dev Patel’s directing debut and he crushed it. Jordan Peele was a co-producer and his level of originality was felt throughout.

Highly, highly recommend this one.

American Fiction

https://letterboxd.com/film/american-fiction/

This one has been on my list forever and I finally got around to it. Thank god I did because I loved this as well. Jeffrey Wright plays a struggling novelist who struggles to find commercial success. Without ruining it, he fakes a hmmm - alter ego? - and it resonates well with the industry that had shut him out. There are actually a lot of parallels between this concept and that of my actual favorite movie - Sorry to Bother You.

I had too much to dream last night

Spent late night 4th of July on YouTube watching videos of animals surfing and then came across this actual surf film (no animals involved :/ ).

Shaq Tax Rabbit Hole

https://x.com/ohara76/status/1810071303426068609

I came across this video on Twitter of Shaq talking about how he saved on taxes by creating an LLC and paying salaries to his parents. The comments section was a lot of conflicting, half baked explanations of how this worked and whether it was even true. I decided to go down a rabbit hole and create a thread explaining it step by step.

Upcoming

Tomorrow marks the end of my third decade on the planet. Party on Friday.

Next week, Chattanooga, TN → Atlanta, GA → Phoenix, AZ

WNBA All Star weekend in Phoenix Jul 20th

Billy Strings in CT Jul 25

Beck at Carnegie Hall Jul 29

Off to Barcelona for Moritz wedding after that.

Random

Ned Kelly - Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer.

Many believe that the last utterance by Ned Kelly just before his hanging were three simple words, 'Such is life'.