T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 52

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #52!

Here are some things I really like and that you might too.

Financial Independence/Retirement Articles

Startup FIRE (Minafi) – “The idea of Startup FIRE is one of the reasons why I believe creatives thrive so much in financial independence. It’s all about finding exciting projects that fill your days.”

The Pursuit of Childhood Joy (Retirement Manifesto) – “Now that I have some time in retirement, I’ve found a new love for those things I enjoyed in childhood.  Funny how that works.  They’re different at this age, but they’re amazing nonetheless.”

Video

Every once in a while you need some Danny Macaskill action. He’s spiderman on a bike and this feature is one of his best. It’s all real tricks, no fakery, as you can see by the crashes and bloopers at the end.

Who’s Inspired Me

The American and Japanese WW2 Vets in this documentary.

I’m a huge WW2 history buff, I’ve devoured literally hundreds of books and documentaries about every aspect of the war. This documentary of an American Marine veteran of the battle of Peleliu meeting a Japanese veteran that he fought against had me riveted.  Seeing the two men who were fighting to kill each other with every ounce of strength in their bodies in 1944 meet as old men in their 80’s and laugh and cry is about as intense as you can get.  They then go back to Peleliu where they fought and revisit the ghosts of destruction and death.  This is a 53 minute documentary but well worth it.

What I’m Grateful For

Every single customer who’s purchased a product with one of my designs on it, or hired me to create a logo.  I don’t take it for granted. 

Lyrically Speaking

I wonder about conversations you’re having
You know, the ones with yourself
Where you feel like a failure, and you’re losing heart
And that race has barely gotten started
And you wanna ask God about things like cancer
But you don’t think that you’ll get much of an answer
I hope you will find, and I pray you will see all the joy that your life brings to me
And the baggage that we all carry around has this way of dragging you down

From “The Kidz On Drugs (or life)” by Bill Mallonee

I’ve said this about another artist before, but Bill Mallonee is one of the greatest songwriters in history that you’ve probably never heard of.  If you were an alternative rock fan in the 1990’s you may remember the band Vigilantes of Love who had some radio hits.  VOL as they’re called was basically Bill Mallonee with a rotating cadre of Athens, Georgia musicians.  VOL released an album pretty much every year in the 1990’s, and that sheer prolific output only accelerated after Mallonee went solo.  Mallonee has to date released over 80 albums in total.  Yes, 80.  His Bandcamp page takes a while to scroll down. 

The lines in the song “The Kidz On Drugs (or life)” above are being spoken to a kid and when I first heard them I froze.  It’s as if he were singing to the 10 year old me.  It’s a haunting song, heavy stuff indeed, but Mallonee’s songwriting often swims those waters.  This week I published a post about letting things go that weren’t meant to be.  Don’t let those things become baggage, because that baggage has a way of dragging you down. 

Miscellaneous

What animals think of death – “We humans like to think of ourselves as a unique species. However, little by little, all those traits that we have been relying on to ground this uniqueness have been falling, as the science advances and reveals the staggering diversity and complexity of animal minds and behaviour.”

The US food system is killing Americans – “Among the most significant risk factors for hospitalization and death in Covid-19 are the presence of diet-related chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease and obesity. America’s starting point? Nearly three out of four American adults are overweight or obese.”

What Would Happen If We Slowed Down? – “We care a lot about doing well with the work on our plate (as we should), but not nearly enough about asking how big that plate should be in the first place.”