Our weekly-ish roundup of things we watched, thought about, and did this week
Streaming:
Paul enjoyed the Avicii documentary on Netflix, Hi, I'm Tim, about the young Swedish producer/DJ Tim Bergling who rose to fame in 2011 with his hit "Levels". Prodigiously talented but increasingly fragile, Bergling took his own life in 2018 at the young age of 28. The documentary rises above troubled young musician tropes, giving a nuanced and sympathetic picture of the talented musician, and his struggles.
On the Site:
We had a new podcast episode out this week with Paul and Howard on fitness flexing and New Year's resolutions. You can find it here. Be sure to subscribe to the Simplavida podcast on your favorite streaming platform. Or on your least favorite one. But either way, subscribe.
Podcasts:
Four things Paul listened to this week while running:
- The history of revolutionary ideas (PPF)
- The art of uncertainty: living with chance, ignorance, risk, and luck (LSE)
- Counting the cost of bowling alone (RSA)
- We never evolved to exercise. Why exercise is not always effective (BJSM)
Books:
Paul is in the middle of re-reading Peter Pomerantsev's terrific Nothing Is True and Everything is Permitted, on modern oligarchic Russia. It is uncomfortably informative about the rise of oligarchs in many countries around the world.
Music:
Mostly because he watched the Avicii documentary, Paul has been listening to various collections of Avicii's best, as well of songs on which he did work. You can start with This is Avicii on Spotify.
Tech:
Paul recently changed watches, again. Having had a Garmin Fenix for forever, he changed late last year to a Garmin Forerunner 265. That lasted about two weeks, after which he changed again, this time to the Forerunner 965. The latter has better battery life, a larger screen, and supports and backcountry skiing, which the 265 doesn't. And, if you're curious, Paul decided the current generation Fenix ridiculsouly expensive and most offered features he would never use, so that was not an option.
Gear:
Running shirts are among Paul's least favorite things to buy, mostly because he likes the lighweight Patagonia capilene trail shirts, and hates thinking about such things. He finally decided to branch out this past week, and bought a Vuori trail shirt. He will report back.
Back next week with more updates and insights.