Hi All!
Here is the first issue of my weekly “Sunday Share,” a list of what I have been engaging with, excited by or otherwise found intriguing.
What I’m listening to —
Go Wild: Eat Fat, Run Free, Be Social, and Follow Evolution’s Other Rules for Total Health and Well-Being by John Ratey and Richard Manning. Every now and then I get so excited by the information I am learning in a particular book that I share it with friends at every possible moment. Go Wild is one of those works, just jammed with eye-opening arguments, studies and stories about how and why to re-introduce evolutionary survival skills back into our overly-domesticated lifestyles. What I like is how intuitive, actionable and sensible the authors’ approach is.
What I’m reading —
Show Your Work! By Austin Kleon. I just love Austin Kleon! And guess what, a section in this book inspired me to finally put this Sunday Share out into the world. I read a small section in the morning and a small section in the evening, which has proved more than enough to stoke the fires of my imagination and nudge me into practical action. The bad news about Kleon’s books: they end at some point and you want them to go on forever. The good news? You want to read them again — and perhaps again.
Dance style I have taken up —
Brazilian Zouk. Perhaps because of having being brought up originally in Africa, I’ve favored free-form dancing to African and Reggae. I’ve shied away from more formalized dancing, although I did do a one-year stint of Argentinian Tango around the year 2000. A few months ago I was getting a chemical peel to clean up my sun-ravaged face and my diminutive Guatemalan cosmetician told me about her obsession with Zouk. After checking out a few videos of this highly sensual, flamboyant style, I was attracted and am welcoming a new addiction into my life. Here’s a sample for you: https://youtu.be/4CncoyoIbYA
What I have watched recently —
Son of Saul by Lazlo Nemes. My illustrator/collaborator Judit Tondora told me my Wild Boy stories had a cinematic perspective that reminded her of the approach in Son of Saul. Now, this brilliant film is also harrowing in the extreme as it portrays a brutal story of the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz-Berkenau. No surprise it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It takes a lot for me to stare man’s inhumanity to man straight in the face but the payoff personally is almost always immense. Given the current level of prejudice, hate and divisiveness being engendered in our country right now, this masterpiece is one to watch then reflect on the fragility of our civilization.
What I am putting into my body —
TRU Niagen I first started using flush-free Niacin in the early 90s, on the recommendation of Qigong/Tai Chi master and all-around wild man Gary Clyman. He would pass it out before classes to help stimulate qi and blood flow. I have used it pretty well every day since then and swear by it. So I was intrigued, if initially skeptical, when I started seeing ads for a supposedly more potent version called Nicotinamide Riboside. I have been using it now for several months and am convinced that it is indeed more powerful than the regular Niacin.
Newsletter I love to get —
5-Bullet Friday from Tim Ferriss Every Friday I ALWAYS open and read Tim’s newsletter. And it is a rare issue where I don’t follow it up by watching a great film, reading an excellent book or picking up some other golden nugget from one of my favorite guys. You can see I’m kinda imitating his approach here in my own Sunday Share. Learn from the best, then implement, right?
Most thought-provoking quote —
“What we call thinking is the evolutionary internalization of movement.”—Rodolfo Llinas
Thoughts, comments, wishes, suggestions? Hit me up by email at johnrducane@gmail.com