Your Mid-Week Experiment

Apparently I wasn’t the only one thinking about the recession-that-wasn’t. Alan Murray wrote about it in his iconic newsletter, as did the Journal, which I’ll link to but don’t subscribe to so I can’t read hint hint. Hat tip to Elie Jacobs for passing those along.

Let’s get to it:

For my Austin readers —> “Was Zilker Park Intended to Preserve Barton Springs?” (neenz)

For my readers who are poets (Aunt Gigi, looking at you), Maggie Smith (no, not that Maggie Smith, this one, and this one) has a smart and useful newsletter (For Dear Life With Maggie Smith)

For my readers who are Orioles fans, this profile of Adele Rutschman is edifying. (The New York Times)

“On Wall St., ‘Socially Responsible’ Is Common Sense. In Congress, It’s Political.” (Jeff Sommer)

When I worked in PR, Ford was one of my favorite clients because they were pragmatically innovative. This essay is a good example of boring old Ford is doing some pretty exciting stuff. (Ezra Dyer)

I don’t often share clips from Politico, but this whole story about disinformation is so bonkers that Kafka would reject it as a bit over the top. (Heidi Przybyla)

The conversations quoted in this article should terrify journalists. (New York Times)

“The Most Interesting Think Tank In American Politics” (Molly Ball)

This is great writing advice—>

Billy Oppenheimer @bpoppenheimer

10 habits and principles for sustained creative success. From working with Ryan Holiday:

I roasted a chicken and then made chicken stock from its bones in a slow cooker. Made me feel like a character in an old-timey children’s book. (recipe)

Ann Hornaday liked Creed III, and we did, too. I say, give Jonathan Majors the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but the soundtrack was a little lacking.

Hated Babylon. Loved this scene.

David Astramskas @redapples

Margot Robbie and PJ Byrne are so great in the "Hello College" scene from BABYLON. This is probably one of my 3 favorite scenes this year

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Thanks to Noom, I lost 40 pounds over 2020-21 and have kept it off since then. Click on the blue box to get 20% off. Seriously, this works. No, this isn’t an ad. Yes, I really lost all that weight with Noom.

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Buy the book Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick banned from the Bullock Texas History Museum: Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of the American Myth by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and myself is out from Penguin Random House. The New York Times bestseller is 44% off and the same price as a paperback now!