Look Up At The Sky!
Disconnected Japan walk, ultra running, and cigars factory readers
I wanted to start with the title of this newsletter, Look Up At The Sky.
Earlier this month, I was walking to meet someone and was on my phone instead of looking around me. Suddenly, an older woman biked beside me and said "Look up at the sky". She was right, the sunset was beautiful that night and much better than my smartphone screen.
We often are glued to our screens and several pieces of content in this issue made me reflect on that as I am trying to be more present in my daily life.
✨ Highlights of last month
I ran a 10K in Nantes with some Crisp teammates, it was awesome!
My teammate from Mexico, Pedro came for ten days in Nantes, so we spent time with the team and had a blast!
I visited 3 friends in Québec for 2 weeks, I first spent around 12 days in Sherbrooke to see 2 friends, before going to Montréal for my last days to see another friend. It was such an amazing 2 weeks, making memories abroad.
📚 What I liked consuming last month
Let’s dive now into what I consumed last month and especially liked
Let’s start with a quote that made me rethink how I wake up, from this Offscreen interview with Craig Mod.
“If I wake up and touch my phone, I’ve already lost hours. Not because I’m browsing social media for hours, but because the mind has already been agitated, made unquiet, and the context switch back into thoughtfulness can take the whole morning. In other words, the addict part of my brain takes over and contaminates my ability to be contemplative. I lose the grace to dive into other worlds, the worlds of writing or programming or images.” - Craig Mod
Articles
The Glorious, Almost-Disconnected Boredom of My Walk in Japan by Craig Mod
Craig Mod is someone I discovered last month and I have been into a rabbit hole of his content. I am really inspired by his writing, his photography work, and how he makes hiking a mindfulness activity, to the point of boredom sometimes. As someone living in Japan, he explores the country while walking, meeting people, and recording the little things that make the country beautiful.
He made me fall in love with Japan and made me want to visit the country someday, a country I did not want to visit at first. Check out his various newsletters!
He also goes into detail on how he modified his digital tools to create a fully disconnected experience while still creating daily content for his audience. I love the ingeniosity!
And the disconnection from online chaos and the creating of space to think, to be present, does feel somewhat religious, even if it’s a religion of contemporary woe: to stop being a ding-dong who can’t pull his eyes away from Twitter.
The Albanian town that TikTok emptied by Isobel Cockerell
This article is about the town of Kukes in Albania, which has lost around half its population in recent decades as thousands of young people, mostly men, have migrated to the UK seeking better opportunities. It focuses on the impact of social media, especially TikTok, on this situation.
In addition to inspiring young people to move to the UK by watching local influencers sharing their lavish lifestyles abroad, the platform is also impacting other aspects of Albanian lives. TikTok is also used by smuggling gangs to advertise and recruit for cheap crossings to the UK and trap them in low-paying jobs to pay their debts.
The article also explains how this mass emigration is impacting the infrastructure locally.
Our modern (content) diet by Cissy Hu
Cissy Hu, someone I discovered more than 2 years ago while using a meditation app, has been creating super insightful content that made me reflect a lot on life. This post is one of my favorites from her because of how her silent meditation retreat made her observe the world even more around her.
Growing up in the 2000s was about the here and now — no social media, no FOMO. Life was simple and actually social.
I saw people glued to their phones while on walks, at dinners with their partners, in the middle of conversations with friends – scrolling away in pursuit of getting to the bottom of endless feeds and making it to Inbox 0 just in time for emails to pile back up.
She reflects on what we consume, how distracted we are, and how we consume content is similar to how we consume food.
“when we feed our minds and bodies with what’s most readily available, we’re consuming the most processed, dopamine-fueled options.”
When we view food and content as something to be consumed rather than the primary fuel source for our body and mind, it’s no wonder why we gravitate towards to the ultra-processed options.
Choosing what we want to consume has become more and more difficult with dopamine-giving platforms but making the effort is worth it.
We can start trading dopamine hits for delayed gratification as soon as we’re willing to rethink our relationship with the content we’re consuming.
I highly recommend her other blog posts, including the one on her silent meditation retreat.
How to Find Good Information by Gurwinder
To create a great content diet, you need to know how to find good information. Gurwinder’s post is great for explaining how to optimize this.
“There are two ways people obtain info online: fishing and hunting.
Fishing is passive. You don’t know what you want to know and just casually scan the screen till something catches your interest. Examples include scrolling social media, browsing news websites, and idly refreshing the YouTube home page.
Hunting, on the other hand, is an active process. You have a clear idea what you want to know about and consciously search for it. Basically, any time you’re researching something, you’re hunting.”
Having a great content diet is dedicating some time to hunt for high-quality content, and then focus on this type of content without losing time on passive fishing.
Why note-taking apps don't make us smarter by Casey Newton
“The internet’s arrival briefly speeded it up […] but the more we stared at our screens the slower our productivity improved. He worries that AI will have a similar effect on the economy — promising to make us more productive, while simultaneously inventing so many new distractions and entertainments that they overwhelm and paralyze us.” - Casey Newton
Note-taking apps are still just tools to display and manipulate notes, but not make sense between them, to go further.
Reading Well by Simon Sarris
With productivity people speed reading, reading as many books as possible, and listening to audiobooks at 2x speed, I liked this article because it is about the quality of reading, and not reading as many books as possible.
“You should embrace the visceral quality in reading. Read mostly fiction. Read slowly. There is a kind of marinating that happens with very good works, they are always more than their story. The goal is not to digest information, but to layer over your reality with a fresh coat of moss. Your own world becomes colored by these stories, so it is worthwhile to spend time seeking the excellent works from across cultures and history.” - Simon Sarris
Why container ships probably won't get bigger by the BBC
The Evergreen container ship made news 2 years ago in the Suez Canal by blocking the entire canal width. With many new ships able to carry over 20,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), we may wonder if there will be even bigger container ships, and this article goes into detail on this question and why it won‘t be the case.
They love their job, reading to cigar workers in Cuba by Associated Press
Cigars factory reader, that’s a job I didn’t know existed. Since around 1865, cigar workers have been paying people to read newspapers and books to them while they work, and it’s something that shaped their work since the beginning.
A visit to the one-man computer factory by David Pierce
This guy built a wood computer to be fully focused on a certain activity, and even an OpenAI founder is getting his own version.
Books
A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
When we think about a dystopian totalitarian future, we often think of George Orwell’s 1984 with Big Brother, but it’s not the only book on this topic. A Brave New World is about a different kind of future world, a future where pain is nonexistent and pleasure is everywhere, where people are conditioned not to think too much and simply enjoy the pleasure of life, filled with drugs and sex. Like Neil Postman said in Amused Ourselves to Death:
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism.
L'île des âmes by Piergiorgio Pulixi
For the past 2 weeks, I have been reading this thriller book taking place in Sardinia around ritual murders happening for years without any answers. I really like this book and recommend it if you like thriller books. Well-written and discovering the island as you discover the story is nice.
I bought this book while traveling in Québec. If you are in Sherbrooke, QC, I highly recommend the bookstore Appalaches where I bought it.
Videos
[In French] Norseman 2023 : L’enfer du Nord
Recommended by Antoine Goret
A great video on the Norseman, a non-Ironman branded triathlon taking place in Norway, composed of 3.8km of swimming, 180km of biking, and 42km (marathon) of running.
You follow Richard aka BeIron as he does the race. Super inspiring, which got me in a rabbit hole watching videos on Ironman and also the UTMB (Ultra Trail of the Mont Blanc).
Creator Roundtable: Ryan Trahan, Zach King, Michelle Khare, Cleo Abram, Ammar Kandil (Yes Theory) by Colin and Samir
I love Colin and Samir’s work so when they organize a roundtable with other creators I love, I am definitely here for it! This video is especially interesting if you are a content creator but still full of learnings if you are just following in the space.
The Rise and Fall of Somali Pirates by Johnny Harris
Somali pirates have not been in the news as several years ago and there are reasons why. Johnny Harris explains how Somali pirates became super successful and rich, the response from attacked countries, and how it generated the downfall of piracy in the region.
Hot Ones: Every Celeb’s Favourite Interview Show
Dodford is just an editing master and I am so glad I discovered him thanks to Michelle Khare in the roundtable shared above. In this video, he dives into the Hot Ones phenomenon. Why do celebrities want to do the interview and suffer for it, and why the interviews are so good?
The French adaptation of Kyan Khojandi is also really good.
Meet the Editor Living In Ryan Trahan’s Van by the Editing Podcast
Recommended by Léo Pereira
I am a big fan of Ryan Trahan's work so it’s super interesting to learn about behind-the-scenes of one of his most successful series, the Penny series, from the Editing point of view. If you don’t know Ryan Trahan’s channel, you should definitely check it out for his creativity and original video ideas.
How One Building Changed Filmmaking (368 Broadway)
368, the building I discovered thanks to Casey Neistat when I discovered him as he started daily vlogging. For many years, many people have gone in this building and countless stories have been made.
Nowadays, 368 is helping upcoming creators grow. What I did not know was the backstory of this building, which is crazy. So many talented creators, filmmakers, and more came by this building before doing huge stuff in various industries.
Why Ice Baths Are The Latest Cult by Answer in Progress
Ice baths have been a self-improvement trend for a while now, but is it science or a scam? Answer in Progress answers this question and experiments its potential benefits. This channel is a cool one where a couple of creators are exploring various societal topics. Have you tried ice baths?
[In French] Et si on parlait de Picsou
Picsou is a childhood souvenir for many kids now adults. I have read several ones as a kid and watched one or two movies so I got fully nostalgic watching this video on the billionaire grumpy duck and the story behind him.
I am writing this back home, before searching for the Picsou magazines I have back home in our bedrooms 😁
[In French] Le projet fou de Free qui a devancé Twitch, … et qui a échoué by Sylvqin
Twitch before Twitch itself, that’s what Xavier Niel and Free built years before Justin Kan with justin.tv. So interesting to hear how they built it, the challenges they faced, and why it didn’t work in the end.
[In French] Commencer à Courir a Changé ma Vie pour Toujours by Eric Flag
Interesting experience of running a marathon from a street workout athlete, and this impact on his body, mind, and life in general. As someone who wants to lift and run, that’s a great video to watch.
The Digital Natives are Taking on Big Tech by Jules Terpak
The Gen Z people fighting for less distracting and dangerous platforms for our mental health are super inspiring and much needed in 2023. This exchange sparks some conversations and explains how each of them is fighting for change. I also love Jules Terpak’s work in general for the quality of her analysis so check her work too.
Documentaries
I watched this documentary on the plane going to Canada and wow, what an emotional documentary. It tells the life story of Chainsaw, real name Stevie Smith, a Canadian VTT legend who died in 2016 in a VTT accident. I definitely got emotional at the end of the documentary.
[In French] "Zone Interdite" : Écrans, malbouffe, sédentarité : alerte rouge sur la santé de nos enfants !
Definitely an interesting investigation on the impact of screen time, unhealthy diet, and sedentary on children. Quite scary! I was unable to find it on the M6 website so here is a YouTube which is sadly blocked in France (A VPN is your friend)
Music
Marlon Hoffstadt Boiler Room x Glitch Festival 2023
Such an incredible Boiler Room 🔥 The tracklist is fantastic, and the energy is through the roof!
ANOTR 2-HOUR SET at Gashouder, Amsterdam
I am never tired of listening to some ANOTR music or sets, it’s always a great experience. A 2-hour set is a treat 🤌
Artist Discovery: Coronita
While in Montreal, I partied at Piknic Electronik dancing to Carlita and DJ Tennis, but also Coronita, a Montreal DJ I didn’t know, who impressed me a lot with her set. Mixing really well, with a great tracklist, while dancing, smiling, having fun with friends, and making people dance, nothing else is needed 🙏
September Monthly Playlist
A new monthly playlist dropped! Not the longest one as many tracks I listened to were for my sets.
👀 What I’m up to this month
This month, I am going full speed into DJ Mode 😎 With APEX, we have four gigs in two weekends in Rennes and Le Mans. I can’t wait to play these sets!
In September, I learned a lot about hybrid training. Being a hybrid athlete means combining multiple training disciplines to achieve a well-rounded fitness level. After reflecting on it, I think it would fit how I want to be active from now on.
I am going to experiment with it this month. In my case, the disciplines will be running and weight training.
In addition to exercise, I would like to get back into some routines in other aspects of my life this month. We will see how it goes!
And that’s it for the September issue of Full-Time Curious 😁 If you enjoyed reading this monthly issue, you can like this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ below, subscribe or respond to this email so we can chat.
Thanks for reading and see you next month!
Alexandre
Full-Time Curious