It's ?F̷r̵i̵d̷a̸y̸ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̷1̶3̵t̴h̸? and you know what that means: Well, nothing in particular actually — only that it's time for this week's edition of our Friday Quality Linkage column!
Please enjoy this week’s collection of interesting and entertaining links. Brew a spooooky fresh cup of coffee, find a final resting comfortable place, and succumb to your fate relax.
Featured Links
Photo: Jeff Sheldon, Ugmonk
11 Things Jeff Sheldon's Learned in 11 Years of Running a Business »
After 11 years of running Ugmonk — one of our favorite indie brands — Jeff Sheldon has a lot of valuable wisdom to share. He somehow managed to condense it down into 11 hard-won lessons:
2. People are not numbers.
Follower counts. Open rates. Likes. Website visits. It’s easy to think of these as just numbers that need to be optimized. But the reality is that behind each number is a real human. When I see only 378 people viewed our site today, I can start thinking about SEO optimization and growth hacking, but those are 378 people that “walked into our shop” and gave us some of their valuable attention. Commerce is relationships. Place value on the people, not just their wallets.
Jacob Collier Deconstructs a Stevie Wonder Classic: "Sir Duke" »
I'm a Stevie Wonder fan in a big way, and even if I weren't, I would still consider "Sir Duke" one of the great songs. I defy you to listen to it from start to finish and keep your body still.
And yet, despite the hundreds of times I've sung along to it, there are things about the song's composition and history I wasn't aware of 'til I watched this video. In it, extremely talented musician Jacob Collier breaks down the jazz inspirations and genius use of music theory underlying what many would write off as merely a high-energy tune.
Vox's Estelle Caswell, who edited the video superbly, started an interesting conversation about it in the YouTube comments:
The most challenging part of making this video was visually interpreting the song and Jacob's explanation in a clear way for musical amateurs (just like me). There's one moment around 2:15 where Jacob says "A flat minor." Now, as I'm animating, I'm also learning new things about music theory, and fact checking them. This moment completely stumped me, because "A flat minor" - I learned - is the enharmonic equivalent of "G sharp minor." In clearer terms, they are the same chord, though many people find "G sharp minor" to be the simpler alternative.
So, should he have said "G sharp minor instead?" Please discuss that amicably below. From my perspective, it would have been more complicated and confusing to write "G sharp minor" as he said "A flat minor." Also "A flat minor" needs more love. Please clap for #Aflatminor.
Illustration: Marta Pantaleo, Outside Online
We've Reached Peak Wellness. Most of It Is Nonsense. »
Wellness truly isn't that complicated. A few basic daily practices will get you there, provided you stick to them. And yet, people are always turning to oddball "cures" (read: snake oil) to solve their physical and mental health concerns.
Brad Stulberg of Outside Online explains:
Across the country, everyone is looking for a cure for what ails them, which has led to a booming billion-dollar industry—what I’ve come to call the Wellness Industrial Complex.
The problem is that so much of what’s sold in the name of modern-day wellness has little to no evidence of working. Which doesn’t mean that wellness isn’t a real thing. According to decades of research, wellness is a lifestyle or state of being that goes beyond merely the absence of disease and into the realm of maximizing human potential. Once someone’s basic needs are met (e.g., food and shelter), scientists say that wellness emerges from nourishing six dimensions of your health: physical, emotional, cognitive, social, spiritual, and environmental. According to research published in 1997 in The American Journal of Health Promotion, these dimensions are closely intertwined. Evidence suggests that they work together to create a sum that is greater than its parts.
He goes on to cover the physical, emotional, cognitive, social, spiritual, and environmental practices you can cultivate to achieve true wellness, not the crap being peddled online by celebrities and influencers.
Adam Ragusea's Cast Iron Pan Pizza »
Although I've made J. Kenji's cast iron tortilla pizza many times and love it, I've never tried my hand at baking a true pizza pizza in my cast iron skillet.
When rising YouTube food star Adam Ragusea recently shared a foolproof recipe for a pan pizza with a deeply caramelized rim, it was an insta-watch for me. Will have to try this soon.
Miscellaneous Links
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?: Recently stumbled across Future Fonts, an online shop that sells experimental typefaces — as in, still being worked on by their respective designers — at a discounted rate from the final price.
The dual benefit of this is that 1) you get a front row seat for the design process as fonts you purchase get version updates, and 2) you get free updates in the future for whatever you purchase. The earlier version of something you buy, the cheaper it is. Extremely cool concept.
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?: A few months ago I linked to the gigantic murals of Melbourne artist Kitt Bennett. Today I'll point you to these similarly large-scale pieces by French artists Ella & Pitr.
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❗️✈❗️️: Ever wondered just how guilty you should feel about taking a flight somewhere, ecologically speaking? Shame Plane is a website that will break it to you un-gently. Plug in your departure and destination points and it'll show you the costs of that flight in terms of emissions and what you'd have to do in your personal life to offset them.
For example, a round-trip flight from Kansas City to San Francisco would result in the loss of 3.3m² of arctic ice and eat up about 2.6 years of sustainable travel, according to the terms of the Paris Agreement. [Insert "guilt trip" joke here.]
Neat Stuff We Published This Week
- Guide: Everyday Carry: Matte Black
- Stylish-looking way to keep your coffee fresher, longer: Fellow “Atmos” Vacuum Coffee Canister
- Power up your phone with ✨magical force✨, Legend of Zelda style: RegisBox “Sheikah Slate” Wireless Phone Pad
- This sturdy, comfy handled mixing bowl pours like a champ each and every time: Mason Cash Batter Bowl
- Beautiful new leather goods in a handful of colors: Ugmonk x Foxtrot Supply Collection
- Two new entries in Brad Meltzer's book series for kids: I Am Marie Curie and I Am Walt Disney
Got any suggestions for articles, videos, stories, photographs, and any other links you think we should be posting in our weekly Quality Linkage? Please do let us know on Twitter.