ISSUE #97 - December 6th, 2019

ONE

ADVENTURE WRITING - Do you remember the photo of a human traffic jam at the top of Mt. Everest that went viral earlier this year? It was both terrifying and fascinating.   My first thought upon seeing it was: How the hell does the top of Mt. Everest suddenly look like the non-TSA pre-check line on the day before Thanksgiving at LaGuardia? And my second thought was: These people all might die. Fortunately, Joshua Hammer wrote a fantastic piece in GQ about the photo and the perilous hike that includes lines like this: "Standing still for long periods in the so-called death zone above 26,000 feet dramatically increased the risk of frostbite, heart attack, stroke, pulmonary or cerebral edema—and death." I thoroughly enjoyed it and you can read the whole thing here.

TWO

ROCKY - I grew up on Rocky. You likely did, too. If you have any die hard fans you're looking to get a unique gift for on Christmas or Hannukah, then I'm about to do you a solid.  Fun fact: Sylvester Stallone has his own online store that sells all kinds of officially licensed gear and clothes based on his movies. Some of the stuff is cheesy, for sure, but there are some great vintage Rocky T-Shirts and sweatshirts in there, including a cool 'Mighty Mick's Boxing Gym' sweatsuit, a classic 'Win Rocky Win' shirt and the tee I just ordered for myself, an Apollo Creed 'Master of Disaster' shirt. Awesome stuff. Reasonably priced. Check it out.

THREE

MOVIES - There's this movie I discovered on Amazon Prime that stars 4 Oscar Winners/Nominees and was directed by an Oscar nominee and it came out this year and I somehow never heard of it. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Djimon Honsou, Diane Lane and, well... it got a 20% score on Rotten Tomatoes.  I didn't look any of this up when I decided to watch it. I just thought the trailer looked cool and figured I'd give it a shot. Overall, it's a memorable movie and there is a big reveal at some point that I don't want to blow for you, and I can kind of see why some people didn't like it...but I kept finding myself enjoying the, I don't know, weirdness of it. Kenneth from 'Succession' also has an important minor role and that upped the interest as well. I don't know anyone else who has seen it, so if you do, let me know what you think. The plot/idea/theme has definitely stuck with me for a few days. Also, there's a lot of insider tuna/swordfish fishing off the coast of Florida. I hope it gets a cult following so we can talk about it. Here's the trailer.

FOUR

JOCKS IN CHIEF IS #1 - This was my most popular post on Instagram this week... And it was just me on the stairs flashing a #1 sign while holding my book, because Jocks in Chief topped the charts as the #1 Sports Essay book on Amazon for most of this week.  Here is the photo if you like shots of dudes on stairs with books. I can't thank everyone who bought the book enough. It means a ton. It's building great word of mouth and it wouldn't be spreading without so many of you buying it and telling people about it. So... Thank you!!!

FIVE

A QUOTE ABOUT FISHING  “There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process."  — Paul O'Neil

Special Holiday BOOK SALE!  If you are looking for the perfect gift for the sports fan/history junkie in your life, then Jocks In Chief is the PERFECT GIFT!  ON SALE NOW FOR ONLY $14.99!!!

BUY IT BELOW. THANKS!