Finkel's Fast Five - Issue #30

August 24th, 2018

Half the time this author writes a new book I think it'll be a cool movie while I'm reading it...then it usually becomes a cool movie: You might not recognize the name Ben Mezrich but you've definitely heard of his work. His first book, Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of How Six MIT Students Took Vegas for Millions was a monster bestseller and became the movie 21. His next biggest book, Accidental Billionaires, was turned into The Social Network. His newest work tackles a slightly different topic, but as I'm reading it I think it will probably be on screen some day. It's titled Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History's Most Iconic Extinct Creatures. Great idea, right? You can get it here.  I should have bought this ten years ago: I'd say I spend 40% of my time writing at a makeshift standing desk (cardboard box on my desk), 40% of my time writing while sitting at that desk and 20% writing on a couch or chair with the laptop on my lap. Usually I'll put the laptop on a pillow or blanket or something. No more. I just bought this all-purpose laptop desk and it is PERFECT. Micro bead pillow on the bottom. Non-slip desk with wrist rest on the top. Super light. It's an absolute game changer. Check it out here.  This is the most absurd/mesmerizing (and only) 3-minute Taekwondo showcase video I've ever seen: These guys are like Jet Li, Bruce Lee and Tony Jaa all rolled into one synchronized martial arts team. One dude flies about twenty feet in the air for a spinning kick. Half of these moves would barely be believable in Mortal Kombat. It's hypnotic so click here to watch it.  As long-time readers of the FF5 know, second to my being a sucker for cold brews I'm an easy mark for new kinds of tea: My go-to tea will always be matcha. Cold. Hot. Doesn't matter. I love the stuff... But I don't mind some variety and when I saw Onnit's new King Tea: Purple Tea, I knew I had to give it a shot. It's a cross-bred tea from Kenya that supposedly has more polyphenols than any other tea and, well, it's purple, so that's weird for tea so I'm in. See it for yourself.  A tremendous joke from Rodney Dangerfield about his childhood that I remembered when telling my kids what to do if they ever get lost: "Boy I was an ugly kid. Once when I was lost I saw a policeman and asked him to help me find my parents. I said to him, "Do you think we'll ever find them?" He said, "I don't know kid. There are so many places they can hide."   Have a great weekend and may you get more respect than the Rodney!  THANK YOU SO MUCH! So many of you with friends last week and I want to say 'hello' to all the new FF5 readers. You're one of us now. Welcome.  If you haven't shared it, all I ask is that you send this next link to two people who you think would like it. It would mean a ton. THANK YOU:

- Jon