7 Things I Paid Attention to This Week #015

surfing in May, documentaries galore, reading for pleasure, and more...

Hello, my friends… and Happy Monday!

Yes, it’s not Friday. But I thought, hey, why not start the week off right with a little 7 Things… of Awesomeness? Hope you had a nice Mother’s Day however you celebrate, or don’t. 

Let me get right to it. In these rainy and often cold spring months, I dream about the ocean. I’ve even prayed for the Pacific ocean to arrive on our Midwest shores. No such luck. 

But I’ll keep asking…

In any case, I hope you are well and the weather is giving opportunity to get your hands in the dirt, or toes in the water, or perhaps feet on the pedals. Maybe the change of seasons is stirring up in you something that needs to be created?

Here are seven things I paid attention to last week:

1. Do you know How big the largest wave ever surfed is on record? I do, a 78 foot beauty by Garrett McNamara. Technically, this is Eye Candy, but I had to show my kids 100 Foot Wave. A documentary on big wave surfers in search of the world's largest waves. I miss surfing but I never wanted to ride 100 foot waves. Seems like a death wish. Garrett McNamara is an interesting cat, and worth a follow.

2. Eye Candy: Apple TV has a plethora of shows and films worth your attention these days. The actor and activist Michael J. Fox made a documentary about his life. The legendary actor contracted Parkinson’s in his late twenties and speaks of the journey. A very inspiring story and person. I will also say, one of the more creative documentaries I’ve seen in a bit. One of my favorite Sci-Fi book series, Silo by Hugh Howey, is now a TV series. Tim Robbins and Common, I mean, come on. And yes, Magic Johnson is still one of my favorite ballers of all time. A nice documentary tribute to the legend. And, how could I not mention another super creative “live” documentary on the Beastie Boys? 

3. Are you a Bible reader? The challenge of reading these sacred and ancient texts in English is readability. I have a renewed love for the Message translation of the Bible translated by Eugene Peterson. Beautifully rendered, poetic, and tasty. Start with the Psalms, if interested. I also enjoyed this interview with Eugene Peterson and Bono and his love of the Message. 

4. The Book Shelf: what are you reading this summer? I find summers are built for breezy and fun reads like genre novels. You know, the ones people say aren’t written well, and only for commercial purposes. The ones you can’t put down and thrilling to the end? Ew, gross, who wants that? I do. A book you can throw in a bag and pull out while watching the kids swim, or at the park, waiting in the doctor's office, or on the porch in the evenings. A book with great characters and an interesting plot, yes please. Here are a couple series I will reread, or dig into their new offerings: 1. Michael Connelly Lincoln Lawyer series. A lawyer who works out of his car, what’s not to like? A new book in the series just released. 2. Sci-Fi fans will enjoy the Silo series or any of Hugh Howey’s books (mentioned above). Wool is one of my favorites. 3. Craig Johnson and the Walt Longmire series is worthy of your time. 4. Confession time, I have never finished a Harry Potter book. I read some of the first, and bailed. I will try again this summer. The movies are wonderful. 

5. A quote on reading from Alan Jacobs. I’m on a mission to get people to read because I believe it’s an important part of cultural care. The problem is we’ve made reading too precious and for a select few. Here is a quote of why we should read, and permission to read for pleasure. Read on a whim!

“We should affirm the great value of reading just for the fun of it. . . . In my experience, Christians are strangely reluctant to take this advice. We tend to be earnest people, always striving for self-improvement, and can be suspicious of mere recreation. But God doesn’t just create, he takes delight in his creation, and expects us to delight in it too; and since he has given us the desire to make things ourselves—has allowed us to be “sub-creators,” as J. R. R. Tolkien says--we may rightly take delight in the things that we (and others) make. Reading for the sheer delight of it—reading at whim—is therefore one of the most important kinds of reading there is.”

“Read what gives you delight—at least most of the time—and do so without shame. And even if you are that rare sort of person who is delighted chiefly by what some people call Great Books, don’t make them your steady intellectual diet, any more than you would eat at the most elegant of restaurants every day. It would be too much. Great books are great in part because of what they ask of their readers: they are not readily encountered, easily assessed.” (From The Pleasures of Reading).

6. I never liked school because they forced things on you before you were ready. Things like Art History. I’ve grown to love art in my later years, and Pablo Picasso is one of my favorite curiosities. A good documentary here. 

7. Latest on the podcast.

Go make some great art with your life, and thanks for following along!

Ryan