Tim Ferriss - 5-Bullet Friday — February 25, 2022

5-Bullet Friday

Hi All!

Here is your weekly dose of 5-Bullet Friday, a list of what I’m pondering and exploring.

What I’m using for recovery —
Marc Pro | Recovery Tool for Sore Muscles & Pain Relief. I recently injured my shoulder snowboarding, and nothing seemed to stem the pain and inflammation, even after a week of recovery. Kelly Starrett (@thereadystate) of The Ready State recommended the Marc Pro, and it reduced the swelling more than 50% after two two-hour sessions. The transformation was incredible. Of course, your mileage will vary, but I plan on traveling with one such device from now on. Since I can’t help but constantly break myself, I am also watching How to Fix a Pelvic Fault or Tweak for skiing-induced lower-back and SI pain. Maybe I should just grow up, but that sounds incredibly boring. My most recent interview with Kelly can be found here.

What I’m listening to —
“Una Rosa Blanca” (YouTube, Spotify) by Ibrahim Maalouf (@ibrahimmaaloufofficial). Ibrahim is widely regarded as one of the most gifted trumpeters of his generation. He is also a pioneer in fusing pop, soul, electro, hip-hop, and French chansons with the music of his Lebanese roots.

What I’m reading —
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Gwynedd M. Hudson. First Hodder and Stoughton limited edition 1982 reissue of 1922 first edition. Leather lettered and pictorially stamped in gilt. Marbled endpapers and twelve tipped-in plates. Here are some pics, which also feature Molly Puppins.

Gwynedd Hudson was a British artist and designer who created exceptional illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan.

Inspired by Michael Schur, I decided to buy a beautiful, old book with illustrations, just for the joy of traipsing through a tactile and visual feast. I decided on this 1982 reissue of the 1922 first Hudson-illustrated edition of Alice in Wonderland. It cost me $175 (here it is for $290), but there are many vintage editions available for far less. There are also some beasts for $52,000+! Browse here using different filters to see the range.

What I’m watching —
“Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension” and “Einstein’s Quantum Riddle.” I watch and read a lot more than I include in 5-Bullet Friday. These two PBS docs make the cut. They also pair together well. I suggest watching them in this order. For any fractal experts out there, what might you update as any corrections or breakthroughs since the first doc was released in 2008? Thanks for letting me know on Twitter @tferriss!

Poem I’m pondering —
“Antidotes to Fear of Death”

Sometimes as an antidote
To fear of death,
I eat the stars.

Those nights, lying on my back,
I suck them from the quenching dark
Til they are all, all inside me,
Pepper hot and sharp.

Sometimes, instead, I stir myself
Into a universe still young,
Still warm as blood:

No outer space, just space,
The light of all the not yet stars
Drifting like a bright mist,
And all of us, and everything
Already there
But unconstrained by form.

And sometime it’s enough
To lie down here on earth
Beside our long ancestral bones:

To walk across the cobble fields
Of our discarded skulls,
Each like a treasure, like a chrysalis,
Thinking: whatever left these husks
Flew off on bright wings.

— Rebecca Elson
(Many thanks to Sr. Pollo y Piña for the amazing recommendation.)

And, as always, please give me feedback on Twitter. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @tferriss and put #5BulletFriday at the end so I can find it.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. My heart goes out to all in pain, all at risk, and all who are experiencing fear. We’re all in this together. It’s easy but fatal to forget that for too long.

Much love to you and yours,

Tim

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