Friends, gonna need to make this a quick one this week…I’m in a mood, so watch out...
A few comments and reminders:
Resist the urge to get sucked back into the daily vortex of 🐂 💩 on social media platforms like Facebook and X (fka Twitter). At the very least, turn off your notifications for these apps. Don’t respond to idiots….especially idiots you don’t know who are very likely bots. None of this is necessary — and I know most of you remember a time when we did more productive things with our free time than participate in stupid banter and baseless arguments that you will never win. Your life can be full (and more healthy) without Facebook...
If there was one thing I could go back and time and tell my twentysomething self, it would be this: ration the f&cks that you give. There is a diminishing amount of f**ks you can possibly have at one time. The Shel Silverstein book our moms all read to us back in the day to foster co-dependence (google it) was called the Giving Tree, not the the F^ck Tree — Friends, I assure you there is no F*ck Tree growing outside your house that will hug you and give you apples. So use those fu%ks wisely. Spend most of your f%ck allotment on you and then the people closest to you who are willing to trade their f^cks with you from time to time. If someone monopolizes your f#cks like a F&ck Miser, don’t blame anyone but yourself. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. And if you need to remind yourself or someone else of this fact, get them this. There may not be a tree, but there can sure as f&ck be a jar of them….
This one is primarily for the male FoDs: tell someone close to you that you love them today…..and, no, I’m NOT talking about a person that gives you sexual favors. It is okay to tell a buddy, a friend, a neighbor or anyone that is close to you (someone who is worthy of some of those f^cks you have to give) that you love them. It doesn’t have to be mushy or weird. It doesn’t make you less than. Sure, that particular person might KNOW they mean a lot to you. But here’s the thing — people simply like to be reminded they are loved. So don’t wait until a perfect moment. No build up is necessary. Don’t be scared. Don’t make a joke of it. Just get in touch with the feeling and make it genuine. Guaranteed you will make someone else’s day — and SAYING IT OUT LOUD will make you feel good about yourself as well.
Keeping with the going back in time motif, I recently watched Hot Tub Time Machine for the first time….with my 14 year old son….silly, nostalgic on many levels (it was released the year my son was born but is full of so many clever and subtle Gen-X culture easter eggs) as much as it was just flat out wrong. Fairly sure it disqualifies me for Father of the Year, but we certainly had a few good laughs over the the immature humor and jokes. We give this one 👍👍.
As you may know, SNL is celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary in a few weeks. I was on a plane recently and caught the fictional retelling of the lead up to the first episode —the movie Saturday Night (recommend) Frenetic and quirky, you walk away with a better appreciation for how groundbreaking (and almost entrepreneurial) the show really was at the time — whether you are a fan of the show or not. And for you mashup fans, I also STRONGLY RECOMMEND checking out this 7 min compilation of musical guests done by Questlove done for the special now streaming on Peacock….unbelievable how he paired artists from different eras.
That plane crash in Philadelphia last Friday night sure did disappear from the spotlight fast….🤔
Speaking of Philadelphia….I was convinced after the crash that the NFL was going to ride the wave and make it a story line leading up to Super Bowl LIX this weekend…..but now, a week later, I don’t think so. While my heart (perhaps influenced by my wife’s Philly area roots) has me wanting the Eagles to win, my head says the fix is in for the Mahomes/Kelce lead Chiefs to pull the three-peat and satisfy the dedicated army of Swifties viewing worldwide.
Final score: Chiefs 38 - Eagles 20
XOXO
Dave
And now a few things to make you smarter…
The US administration is considering imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with a 10% tariff on imports from China.
This map illustrates the top import partner of every U.S. state as of November 2024. The data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Part of what it means to be human is to be aware that we will, one day, die. To be human is to be aware of, and concerned with, our mortality. The mystery of death has, for millennia, led us to ask existential questions. Here are a few prompts to help you excavate what ideas we may hold about death without even knowing it, and where they might come from.
So often we can’t solve a friend’s big problem so we shy away from trying. Here is a cheat code to helping a friend in need — a simple, specific question that can provide a piece of comfort by offering something direct and actionable in the moment.
Waffle House is adding a 50-cent per egg surcharge to customers' orders, citing the impact of ongoing egg shortages and rising prices caused by bird flu. IHOP and Cracker Barrel are unimpressed….
The 2024 biopic, Saturday Night delves into the tensions in the opening show. One of the many fiascoes covered in the film was the blossoming feud between rivals John Belushi and Chevy Chase. Though dramatized in the film, the comedians' relationship was just as charged in real life.