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The Observe and Rapport Newsletter
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A weekly guide of my favorite books, articles, products, and lifestyle habits.
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August 5th, 2022 | by Kyle Brennan
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This is a short book, but well worth reading. Junger's analysis of what makes a tribe and what brings people together and pulls them apart is very thoughtfully done. A well-written rumination on the basic human need for belonging and communal living. And how our fractured, alienating and isolating modern society opposes our tribal instincts which can lead to very unfortunate circumstances.
@sebastianjungerofficial
Rating: 4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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David Foster Wallace is one of the most gifted writers I’ve had the pleasure of reading. One need not care for the subjects he writes about to appreciate his genius. String Theory is merely a collection of five articles DFW wrote covering his favorite sport of tennis, which he grew up playing at a high level. His words capture the raw beauty, athleticism, mental gymnastics, and emotion of the lonely game.
Reading this during Wimbledon was a blessing in disguise, as Wallace's articles showed me a side of tennis I would otherwise never have fully appreciated. If you haven't seen it already, I suggest checking out his commencement speech at Kenyon College titled, This is Water.
We lost a good one.
Thanks @wharrington17 for sharing with me!
Rating: 4.6 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I'm not normally a reality TV show fan, but this show is legit. I grew up watching survival shows on the Discovery Channel or History, like Les Stroud's Survivorman, but this show takes it to a whole other level.
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The premise is that 10 people are dropped off in a remote wildlife area with limited resources and in complete isolation from each other. Whoever can survive on their own for 110 days wins the prize of $500,000. That means building their own shelter and sourcing their own calories to stay alive in the fall into the winter.
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The kicker is that they are in a territory with grizzly bears, mountain lions, and other dangerous wildlife, but they are only allowed to bring with them 10 primitive tools (i.e. no guns). So each can choose their own ten items from a larger list but they are limited to only those items - which can include things like an axe, a bow and arrow, firestarter, rope, pots for cooking, a multi-tool, or a fishing lure.
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Andrew Schulz is one of my favorite up-and-coming comedians. I say up and coming but at this point, he's made it. With his own Netflix show (Shulz Saves America), a top podcast (Flagrant), and now a self-produced special on Moment House, it's safe to say he's one of the top comedians, period.
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This special is special (pardon the pun) in the fact that Andrew Schulz shopped it around to all the major streamers (Netflix, Amazon, etc), but all of them wanted him to remove jokes that they found "controversial." As a matter of principle, he refused to edit his jokes, and I laud him for that. Comedy is meant to address controversial subjects and poke holes in them. If comedians can't do it, who can? As a result, Shulz made his special available for individual purchase ($15) for a limited two-week window on a host called Moment House.
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It's no longer available on Moment House but will likely be uploaded to YouTube shortly. You can still check out a ton of the viral clips on his Instagram @andrewshulz
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How do you know that the person you're dating is "the one?" There's no simple answer,
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but the process of recognizing if you are willing to spend the rest of your life with this person is more simple than you can imagine.
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@observeandrapport: Home office update👨🏼💻
Guitars are in. Need to install some bookshelves, add a couple more framed posters (Johnny Cash), and maybe some small furniture.
Any suggestions?
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It's easy to judge celebrities from afar. I've been guilty of it time and time again. You see a headline, or a tweet from an athlete and you instantly form an opinion about their character and the type of person they are and have always been. One thing I love about the modern era of social media, podcasts, and docu-series is that you get to hear from celebrities in ways you never had access to in previous decades. Think about Michael Jordan's interviews in The Last Dance, Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Tim Ferriss Show, or Elon Musk on The Joe Rogan Experience.
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We now have a chance to hear directly from these gigantic public personas, and hear them be vulnerable, speak honestly, and answer tough questions with nuanced, detailed answers rather than through journalists handpicking quotes and making headlines through a twisted narrative.
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My opinion on Aaron Rodgers was always that he's a great quarterback but based on the stories about how he treats his family, I assumed he was an asshole. When this interview came out, I knew Aubrey Marcus would be a great conversationalist (as he always is) and would allow Aaron Rodgers the opportunity to set the record straight and allow full-fledged access to his most personal thoughts.
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I'm not saying it swayed my opinion on Aaron Rodgers completely, but it at least allowed me to understand the man behind the helmet way better than a Sportscenter story ever could, and it's an important path he's paving to allow athletes to talk about their vulnerable side and their experimentation with plant medicines.
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"To attract good luck to oneself, it is necessary to take advantage of opportunities." - George S. Casson
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Kyle's Published Work
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33 Life Lessons on My 33rd Birthday
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Thirty-three was a big one. Mostly because I became a dad. Our daughter was born on New Year’s Eve — a fitting arrival for a kid destined to reset everything. It’s been a beautiful, if slightly sleep-deprived blur ever since. I’ve only been “Dad” for less than ten months, but if I’m being honest, I’ve been preparing for the role for over …
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Depth Over Downloads: Why Spending Time with Books Still Matters
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Everyone wants faster information. But no one asks if faster information leads to better understanding — or a better life. In the age of AI and tweet-sized wisdom, we’ve confused information with transformation. But there’s a massive difference between knowing what a book says and being changed by it. The Delusion of Instant Learning In a recent interview, political journalist Ezra Klein admitted he once believed …
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The Jack Reacher Approach to Never Being Caught Off Guard
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There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, ‘Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,’ and an optimist who says, ‘Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.’ Either way, nothing happens.” —Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia I don’t read much fiction, but I’ve always been hooked on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. He’s not your typical …
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