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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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September 2nd, 2022 | by Kyle Brennan
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Awesome book, especially if you’re from Long Island. Nelson DeMille @nelsondemilleauthor tells a fictional story about a WASP family on Long Island getting tangled up with the mafia boss who just moved into the house next door.
It’s funny, dramatic, sexual, violent, and really well-written in a sarcastic first-person dialogue. This was the first DeMille novel I’ve read but I’ll definitely be checking out some more after this one.
Rating: 4.6 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Lacrosse was the first sport I truly fell in love with. I started playing in sixth grade, which is late for Long Island standards. I dedicated so much time, effort, and focus to becoming the best player I possibly could. Having not really known the rules of the game, I had to learn it in my own unique way. The best way for me was to replicate what the best were doing and copy their moves. I started watching videos of my favorite players religiously, over and over again. I watched videos of Mikey Powell to learn his dodging techniques, I watched Kyle Harrison to learn his explosive running jump shots, and I watched Paul Rabil to understand how I could copy his speed, power, and down-the-alley shooting. In fact, from sophomore year on, I wore #9 just like Paul Rabil wore at Johns Hopkins, where he won two national championships.
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It's a beautiful game, but unfortunately, the professional tier of the sport has always been way behind. While college lacrosse games can fill stadiums for the NCAA Championships, local Major League Lacrosse teams were lucky to get a couple of thousand fans. Until Rabil came along. Paul Rabil was the first player to take lacrosse mainstream in an effort to make it a standalone career. With early sponsorships from Under Armour, Red Bull, GoPro, and Chevrolet he quickly became "the LeBron James of lacrosse" and ultimately the sport's first millionaire.
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But he wasn't done. In 2017, Paul and his brother Mike set out to create a legitimate pro lacrosse league that could draw serious crowds, have national broadcast television coverage, and take care of its players with great pay, health benefits, equity, and best-in-class facilities. Enter the Premier Lacrosse League. In just its fourth season, it has been a major success, with a national broadcast deal from ESPN and major backers like Kevin Durant, The Chernin Group, Joe Tsai (owner of the Brooklyn Nets), Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and many more.
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The documentary follows Rabil's journey, from a successful college lacrosse player, to the best player in the world and ultimately the sport's first major businessman. If you're a fan of lacrosse or want to understand the dedication it takes to start a pro sports league from scratch, check it out on ESPN+.
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“Grown-ups” are people just like you taking a guess at life. Teachers, parents, coaches, mentors, and bosses all do their best, but even they would admit they’re flying by the seat of their pants.
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Dr. Andrew Huberman has become my go-to expert for science-based tools for everyday life. He is a neuroscientist and associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
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In this podcast episode, he breaks down the physiological effects that drinking alcohol has on the brain and body at different levels of consumption over time. Since alcohol is one of the most widely consumed recreational substances, this episode ought to be of relevance to everyone. Even, low-to-moderate alcohol consumption negatively impacts the brain and body in direct ways.
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I honestly think that in 30 or 40 years, we will look at alcohol the same way we now to cigarettes. And the only reason I say 30 to 40 years is because that's how long it took for cigarettes to finally get the shunning treatment by all of society, despite how blatantly obvious it was to the scientific community how harmful cigarettes were even back in the 70s and 80s. We all know how bad alcohol is for us, yet we still drink it regularly because it's so ingrained in our social lives. I think there is a much larger consensus in society to either go fully sober or cut back on drinking in a more meaningful way.
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I recently stopped drinking for a whole month and I can't tell you how positively it affected me. My sleep and energy levels were through the roof. My stomach issues were non-existent, and my inflammation levels were as low as they've ever been, allowing me to recover from workouts quicker and develop more stamina. After listening to this podcast, I really am going to start making a more conscious effort to limit the amount of alcohol I consume in a given week, or night for that matter.
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“You can’t make fun of people if you don’t love them.”
- Louis CK
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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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