Magic shell chocolate • Cute but not Dumb • Jansch on TV • Dead body in the harbor • Running with Friends • Marriage Stories
A highlight of my week is often running with my local run club on Saturday mornings. We wake up with sunrise, align with each other’s tempos, and then talk for about two hours. This article makes the point that Ethiopian endurance training is distinguished not by tracking, diet, or weight training, but by the social aspect. I’ve never thought about that, but it makes perfect sense. The mental model of another human pressuring you in a positive direction is much stronger than any smart watch. It’s a long article, but this was my main takeaway.
Rarely does one see steadicam tracking shots on public television. Rarer still is Bert Jansch, guitar impresario, playing live on Norwegian television. Misty and impressionistic, the lyrics paint vignettes of life in a new city — like scenes fading in and fading out, without any context or backstory.
Brilliant juxtapositions. I love movie trailers. Often more than the movie itself. The trailer for Marriage Story is one of the finest. Within the arc of two minutes, you’re drawn in the world of a relationship that is bending. What I love about this trailer. With just a few brush strokes, you witness the poetry between two people, but as context is added, your understanding of the past takes a new shape.
Also, I just like the music. No one does it like Randy Newman.
Played this song about 5x in a row on Monday morning in the kitchen. Danced with the kids and they did not approve of how many times I repeated the song. I haven’t really scrutinized the lyrics, but the concept is clear — when someone gives up on the sacrifices required for a relationship, you become your own favorite lover.
My favorite LLM interactions from this past week:
“Cute, but not dumb.” Describing a Japanese retail shop in the East Village.
and
Describing a NYC walking itinerary: “That’s not a stroll—that’s a low-grade endurance event.”
Me: “…I am a low-grade endurance event.”
[Updating memory…]
A body was found floating in the harbor at my favorite swim spot. Very early on Saturday mornings, often before dawn, I like driving to this spot and looking out over the lake. The tall buildings recede into the background. It’s one of the best places in the city to get an unimpaired panorama of the lake. The horizon is so big, you can’t take it all in at once. When you descend into the water, the barrier wall blocks the view and it’s just you, and the waves. Few environments in the big city give you a sense of pure awe. I’ll continue to go, but the filter of next context will make it look different the next time I swim.
At a small shop in NYC’s Fur District, I spent some time at the NY Pigment Company, which sells exactly what the name implies. This is one of the few places where you can buy Imperial Purple, a pigment derived from the shell of the murex snail. The price is over $1,000 for ⅛ gram. In the back, they were hosting a small exhibition of paintings. Including a large canvas by Elaine Dekooning, wife of the famous abstract expressionist. They had difficult years but stuck it out and she took care of him during his late years of dementia.
Magic Shell chocolate may appear to be a low-brow product, but I would argue that it can be a transformative ingredient. Try it on yogurt, fruit, pancakes, good vanilla ice cream and crunchy granola. Crunchy and smooth, lightly sweet, magic shell chocolate may be one of the most underrated products at conventional American grocery stores.
—Michael Neault, May 2. Written (mostly) while sitting through my son’s baseball practice.