Finds: Duluth strings, Major Lance, chilis from Guizho, Taleb on weightlifting, Beirut and Brazil, winter raspberries in America
I saw a video of Alela Diane dancing alone in the sunshine to this song, which is the appropriate way of listening. The lyrics are reminiscent of the narrative of Eternal Sunshine and still sound fine in lyrical form.
Voice and looping violin. “Who are you really / are you really so important?” Gaelynn Lee has a distinctive vocal style (raspy, falsetto) that appeals to me, but won’t be appeal to everyone. She is from Duluth and has brittle bone disease, a condition that forced her to find an adaptive position for playing violin. Her playing style is sparse but fills the room.
Wildly underrated, yet with songs that many people will recognize, Lance was born in Mississippi and later relocated to Chicago. Coincidentally he attended the same high school as Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. Lance’s daughter (he had 9 children) was mayor of Atlanta starting in 2018. I love the opening of this song — it’s the drawing in of breath before dancing begins.
Chili Guiszhou Video. Deep dive into chili culture of Guizho. 8,000 tons of chili per day at the featured factory. Really nice overview of dishes and styles of chilis along with some sociopolitical history. Guest (named Swing) explains how the geographic reality (soil composition) influences Guizhou chilis (minimal soil → culinary inventiveness). Guizhou cuisine is not super spicy, more focused on subtlety of flavors. Scorched chili goat noodles look delicious. Watch the factory guy smoking a cigarette while sorting chilis.
Nicholas Nassem Taleb writes about a theory of strength training. Test the extremes. “Indeed, our body should be seen a risk management system meant to handle our environment, paying more attention to extremes than ordinary events, and disproportionately learning from these.”
The perception of weightlifting has changed in my lifetime. Video cites Arnold as the original influencer. I disagree. It’s podcasting. Huberman, Ferris, et al, have visibly influenced American bodies. We often talk about the negative influence of media, but this is a case where media (social media and podcasting) is an enormous public good.
Bassist from Beirut gives strong recommendations for Brazilian records and perhaps an insight into why they are so popular in Brazil.
Raspberries (Driscolls) at my local grocery store are excellent — tasty and fresh — consistently, year round. Apparently, Driscoll’s uses advanced plant breeding and shipping technology to make it happen.
Durable and comfortable headphones. Over holiday, I made the mistake of leaving my headphones in my running shorts and then sitting in a hot tub. After drying them off, the headphones worked completely fine. The same pair has also run through a full laundry cycle — washer, dryer, and still worked. Brand is Nothing ear. They are comfortable and reasonably priced. This is a full, unpaid product endorsement.