The Week Ahead, 1/20-1/24
Improving your Monday-Friday experience 5 things at a time.
This wasn’t what I had intended to post today, but more time is needed to put the finishing touches on the other thing, so here we are.
I’ve been giving a great deal of thought lately about what I want this newsletter to be going forward and have arrived at the conclusion that in the next week or so it won’t matter what I want it to be, it’ll just be whatever’s manageable. Yes, I intend to continue publishing newsletters in the early fog of fatherhood and because I tend not to bank posts weeks in advance that’ll mean just sitting down to write what I can, when I can. I already find the idea of this liberating because it eliminates the feeling of responsibility I typically saddle myself with to write longwinded “think-y brain” pieces every time I’m able to sit down in front of the computer. More often than not I don’t end up publishing those anyway, I just keep them for myself as a way of working through one thing or another. Writing shorter and more easily digestible pieces has been a goal since I re-launched This Nice Life as a newsletter and finding my way to a complimentary format like this where I can just share things that I find interesting is a good start.
The last thing I’ll say before getting to the links is that as I’m rethinking my relationship to the internet overall, I’m especially keen to figure out where Substack is going to fit in. I know I’m not the only elder millennial going through this, but having read some truly bad takes on the state of things, as well as a few decent ones, I’ve decided that’s not a vein of thought I want to mine, at least not publicly. I’m intent on leaning into the title of this newsletter and keeping things positive, at least for the most part. There’s plenty of negativity out there, the modern media ecosystem thrives on it and I don’t want to be a part of the race to the bottom. I’m certainly not saying I’m above it, Instagram and Threads often drag the worst out in me, but I’m weening myself off both apps and hell bent on keeping a positive attitude here. I’m not advocating for throwing your hands up and burying your head in the sand. You should stay informed to the degree that it feels healthy and productive, I certainly aim to. However this won’t be the place to come for that. There’s a lot of good things happening in the world right now and they’ll continue to happen in the future. Let’s get to some of it and see if we can’t make the day to day a little nicer.
1.) Land Rover Defender OCTA First Drive w/ Top Gear
2.) The Rake on Pitti Uomo 107
3.) Mr. Porter on How To Make Your Clothes Last Longer
4.) Silodrome looks at Arthur Miller & Marilyn Monroe’s Land Rover Series II that’s headed to auction.
5.) Arc’teryx Presents: Every Island Has A Name