From time to time, I’m going to list a bunch of things I’ve come across that I really like a lot, stuff you might not have heard of but that I think you will really enjoy. I’ll stick to about five things per “Stuff I Dig” blog, and the things I feature will be all over the cultural map.
I don’t expect everyone to be moved by or interested in all the things I find moving or interesting. But I”ll bet you find some of these stuff I list here to be a total delight, either because it makes you think or it makes you feel (or it makes you do both).
There’ll be authors, podcasts, books, articles on politics, interviews, musicians, skin care products, essays, blogs and websites. If it was unusually impactful for me, I’ll pass it on in this series of blogs.
Let’s start with five of my favorite things for October 2017. I love all of them. I hope you find a few you love too.
1. Podcasts: The Tim Ferris Podcast.
Tim Ferris is an extremely bright, thoughtful guy who made his fortune in Silicon Valley, then became an iconic biohacker, and the author of blockbuster books like The Four Hour Workweek and The Four Hour Body. He’s also a world-class interviewer. Download The Relationship Episode, where he interviews Esther Perel, whose work I’ll be talking about in the next Stuff I Dig column.
2. Music: Allen Stone.
Allen Stone is an awkward-looking white boy from Washington State with the soul of an angel and the voice of Al Green. With frizzy red hair and thick coke bottle glasses, he sings and writes unbelievable, feel-good music that just pours out of some miraculous place and spreads love and joy wherever he and his band perform. Anytime he’s on tour within 100 miles of LA, I’m there, and I’m usually high for two days afterwards. Here’s a great sample of what he does.
3. Essays: Mark Manson
Mark Manson started out as one of those NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) guys who studied Neil Strauss’s The Game, became a notorious Hollywood Pick-Up Artist, and wrote a successful book on how to get beautiful girls (Models). Then, much like Strauss, he got bored with it, and started turning his attention from the challenges of picking up models to the challenges of living a meaningful and authentic life. (His next book was the NY Times best-seller, The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F…….. ) He’s a terrific writer whose subject is anything that impacts how people relate to each other, and his essays are consistently wonderful. You can check him out here: https://markmanson.net
4. Politics: “Were Trump Voters Irrational?”
Written by Keith Stanovich, the author of The Rationality Quotient and a professor emeritus of applied psychology, this article is thought-provoking, challenging, fair, balanced and extremely well-argued. It also arrives at surprising—and counterintuitive—conclusions that will challenge people on both sides of the political spectrum. This article takes some time to read but it’s totally worth it.
5. Skin Care: Annmarie Skin Care.
I’ve tried a lot of skin care products in my life—including the very good (but outrageously expensive) stuff by Perricone—and I can honestly say that for now, this is the best stuff I’ve ever used and it’s great for both men and women. It’s all organic, there isn’t a toxic chemical in any of their formulas, it smells and feels unbelievable and it makes my skin look great. You can try a trial pack to see what I’m talking about.
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Jonny Bowden is my hero. My mother has always kept her health to herself. She also had a talent for finding interesting and relevant people and things. When she started quoting Jonny, I didn’t pay much attention. She urged me to “at least look at this page”, and I would, with profound cynicism.
Then, gradually, I began noticing changes for the better in her health, attitude, and overall “person-ness” (?).
To shorten: I believe Jonny Bowden with his wise advice and magnetic writing gave my mother at least one and a half more years of life. She was healthy and happy. I had No Idea she had cancer until her doctor told me she had only 1 or 2 months to live. She’d been diagnosed with lung cancer about 3 years before, and it spread to other areas. She had refused any kind of therapy or treatment. Doctors told her she would die within a year without treatment.
I knew nothing about this until after her death. I realized when she started reading everything this man wrote and actually living and eating according to his advice she was battling her cancer, quietly and privately. After she died, i had access to all her private papers and found that she should have died long before she actually did! I credit Jonny for those extra years I had with her. I believe every word he utters with the faith I reserve for God.
I may not always like what he says, but I will try my damndest to follow the advice given. Read Bowden’s books. Watch his videos. Visit his website. Read the bible. Take all that input, apply it to yourself, and be amazed at the positive changes happening to you!!