Writing for Ourselves
Envying those with bigger audiences was never part of the plan
In March 2020, after a string of quarantined days obscured the traditional delineation of days of the week, I decided to start journaling for the first time in my life. I made up a format that I thought would help me reflect on the day and try to do better the next. Six questions, written by hand in my notebook before bed:
What I ate
What I did for a workout
Something I did
Something I learned
Something I want to get better at
Something I’m proud of
This nightly exercise is the bookend to my morning meditation, which I have a very similar relationship with: I know it only takes a few minutes, I know I’ll feel better after I do it, and yet I sort of dread doing it.
Somewhere along the way, I wrote down that I wanted to get better at writing publicly. Around the same time, Justin and I had spoken about starting a newsletter as an outlet for writing about whatever we felt like, with some pressure to do it regularly. And since February, we have been doing exactly what we set out to do:
“Our promises to you: we’ll only write when we feel like we have something to share, we’ll write primarily for ourselves, and we won’t be offended if it’s not for you.”
Recently, however, I was feeling a bit of cognitive dissonance about this mission. Specifically, the “writing for ourselves” part. Perhaps jealousy or envy of those with larger audiences or possibly fallacious expectations of having more readers by now — either way I’ve had bouts of uncertainty on how to feel about our modest triple-digit audience.
And then I remember why we set out to do this and I feel okay about it all. This exercise of bi-weekly, public writing continues to be a rewarding endeavor. The two hours or so I spend writing are completely absent of the dread that precedes my nightly journaling or the procrastination and distraction that cloud my daily work. Sitting down to write Just a Thought is one of the rare places I can achieve flow state. So I’ll keep doing that, no matter who reads it, or how many, until it is no longer a thing I enjoy doing.
The Story Behind Palace, the World’s Most Entertaining Fashion Brand
Palace often gets lazily characterized as “a British version of Supreme.” While both are skate/streetwear brands that have expanded beyond those traditional confines, they have very different sensibilities. Where Supreme is more mean-mugging and tough, Palace is more cheeky. Palace’s flavor of not giving a f*ck tends to lean more toward adolescent hijinks, which in my opinion makes it particularly endearing. (If you haven’t already, treat yourself to a read of Palace’s product description copy on its website. The off-the-cuff haiku style is genius.) Like Supreme, Palace is pretty tight-lipped, but this band profile in GQ by Noah Johnson (a friend and also a damn good skater in his own right) offers a peek behind the curtain. And it turns out the folks behind the brand are having exactly as much fun as it seems they are (if not more.)
—Justin
Affogato from Caffè Panna
The best ice cream (technically it’s gelato) and whipped cream (panna, in Italian) in New York City is at Caffè Panna in Gramercy Park – owned by Hallie Meyer, daughter of Mr. Shake Shack, Danny Meyer. During my travels over the last year or so with a group of friends from NYC, Panna was the most-discussed NYC food item. Last week in NYT Magazine, Eric Kim wrote that “the best coffee break is an affogato” and I read it mostly to make sure that Panna was included. It was. If you’re in lower Manhattan before summer ends, treat yourself. You deserve it.
—Andrew
Dubai Is A Parody Of The 21st Century
Dubai is without a doubt the most disappointing city that I’ve ever visited. So disappointing that I’ve strongly advised multiple people from visiting. Seriously, don’t go. It’s not worth it. But aside from my impassioned rambles, I’ve struggled to really convey what exactly sucks so bad about Dubai. A few days ago, I stumbled upon this video (a rare W for the YouTube algo) and finally feel like I have something to send people when they ask for Dubai recs. Instead of rambling, I’ll just send them this video and a brief accompanying text: “don’t go.”
—Andrew
Pharrell Goes Sneaker Shopping
Complex’s Sneaker Shopping series is fairly procedural—talk about sneakers from growing up, talk about sneakers after being famous, shop. That doesn’t make it bad. I enjoy watching most episodes, but wouldn’t necessarily include them here. The latest one with Pharrell breaks from the pack and is definitely worth a watch. It’s more honest and thoughtful than most and Pharrell’s diverse sneaker history with multiple brands leads to a rich discussion. It’s also filled with great anecdotes, like the reason why Pharrell’s sneakers were blurred out by BET in the “Drop it like it’s hot” video.
—Justin