Toots Shor was the owner of an eponymous midtown bar and restaurant in the middle of the last century that played host to all manner of celebrities, including Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio. Shor was a master of one-liners, and one of the more famous quips that’s attributed to him (who knows if it’s actually true) is his derision of New Year’s Eve as “amateur night.”
Shor’s maybe-he-said-it-maybe-he-didn’t line came to mind recently when Andrew suggested we do a Just A Thought Gift Guide. I am no stranger to the concept. I helped create and edit Sports Illustrated Kids’ “Gear, Games, and Gadgets” guide for more than a decade. Each year, my office would be slowly gobbled up by the selected products that we would photograph. And I’ve written about products for many other publications over the years.
But recently I’ve felt more ambivalent about gifts come holiday time, and I think a big part of it is tied to the “amateur night” POV. The holidays are when everyone is paying attention to “stuff.” There are hyper-specialized gift guides focused on audiences like “Rad Dads” and “Plant Aunts.” For people who spend the other 48 weeks of the year checking out gift-worthy products, it can feel like a bunch of Johnny- and Janey-come-latelys crashing the party. So instead of engaging with the added attention, I tend to withdraw.
Trust me, I understand how snobbish this sounds. And while I generally don’t think that being a snob is an inherently bad thing (it’s just a less flattering way of saying “discerning”), in this case I recognize its stupidity. There’s nothing cool about saying you were into gear before everyone else was into gear. No one cares.
Which in some ways leads to the bigger reason why I’m turned off by stuff at this time of year. I’ve got more than I need. In rare moments of clarity, I see that talking about having even more is a form of gluttony. And that that gluttony has led to a lot of ills that are way more important than whether or not I have the new, cool [insert product du jour here].
That’s what I find myself wrestling with. The devil on my shoulder says, “You should want this thing,” while the angel says, “You should not want that thing. And more importantly, you should critically examine why you want that thing and what wanting that thing can lead to.”
For today, the angel wins.
P.S. Since we’re coming to the end of the year, I wanted to take a moment to thank all the folks that read Just A Thought. You rule. I also want to thank Andrew not only for his amazing and insightful contributions but for his motivating nudges to not let a lull in writing turn into complete abandonment. I know it’s been a minute since we put one of these out (more on the reasons for that in a later post), but I feel grateful for the opportunity to continue doing so and pledge to keep doing so more frequently in the weeks and months ahead. —Justin
Noz Vid
Noa Deane surf edits don’t come along all the time, and that’s what makes them so worthwhile. Lamenting the trend in action sports toward throwing up a constant barrage of clips on social media is the modern day equivalent of olds talking about how music was so much better “back in my day.” But watching a full 30-minute video of Deane surfing weird, unfamiliar waves and boosting ridiculously high airs with grace is such a superior experience than a Reel on your phone. Plus, there’s endearingly crappy claymation.
—Justin
What Font
I’ve talked about wanting a Shazam for fonts for awhile, and a colleague just recently put me on to What Font. This Chrome extension lets you hover over any web page and see what type, style, and size is being used. For an amateur typeface nerd like myself, this is revelatory.
—Justin
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Rachel watched this movie over Thanksgiving week with her sister (shoutout Jessie) and reported back with rave reviews. I’ve been home alone this week, so I was able to watch it last night and it was probably the most engaged I’ve been in a movie at-home in a long time. Per my 4.5 star (out of 5) Letterboxd review, it is “perhaps the most I’ve ever felt for a movie couple that most certainly should not be together.” Need to watch Cooper Raiff’s 2020 movie next.
—Andrew
True Grit
Looking back on the books I read this year, there is a whole lot of “meh.” A few months back, I decided that if I’m going to read a novel, I’d prefer to focus on the classics, until I’ve made my way through at least the consensus top 100 or so. Reading “True Grit, ” a truly perfect novel, has made me more confident in this decision. Come for the fantastic covers (there have been many great ones over the years), stay for the story, leave with a couple of movies to watch.
—Andrew