It always hits you in the heart because it is simply so good.
Fill your weekend with architecture, parenting, basketball, Scandinavia, and running.
In the curved arches of the Great Mosque of Isfahan (above), you will see the seed of inspiration from which the Sydney Opera House grew.
In his book After Words, Paul Keating said of the Opera House:
“Utzon’s building, like all great art, never weakens. No matter how often you see it or from what angle you look at it or in what light it is cast, it always hits you in the heart because it is simply so good.”
1️⃣ Jorn Utzon: The Man and The Architect tells the story of the Opera House, and the life of its creator, Danish architect Jorn Utzon.
The warmth of his children’s recollections of him, the love that pours out of the letters written to him by his wife Lis, his approach to parenting, and even the grace with which he endured the nightmare of getting the Opera House completed… it all feels wonderfully genuine, and authentic. It’s not often you find new heroes in life, but Utzon is worthy of being one.
Jorn Utzon: The Man and the Architect
On the topic of loving Danish couples, a shout-out to my latest TV obsession - Borgen, on Netflix. Borgen is a Danish political drama that draws suspense and emotion from the travails of the prime minister of Denmark, and it’s worthy of much more than the mere Honourable Mention it got in the NY Times’ 30 Best International TV Shows of the Decade list.
2️⃣ The World Wants More Danish TV Than Denmark Can Handle, (NY Times, 2019)
“Netflix, Amazon Prime and their ever-growing number of competitors have dramatically reordered television, creating a boom in TV shows as well as jobs for actors, directors, producers and writers. A lot of that content is being developed far from the usual hubs in Hollywood, New York and London, as the streaming services mine international productions from countries including France, Japan and Brazil.
Perhaps nowhere is that expansion more evident than in Denmark, where thanks to years of rising demand, there are many more critically-praised series and movies being made than ever before. But what there isn’t, in this country of just 5.6 million people, is enough skilled professionals to produce them all.”
Abstract: The Art of Design | Bjarke Ingels: Architecture | FULL EPISODE | Netflix
3️⃣ This Is The Highest Praise, (Daily Dad, 2020)
On the topic of fatherhood, I loved this quote this week, sent to me by my dear friend Andrew:
“There is one way to judge, in the end, whether you’ve done this thing right. It’s not based on how rich your kids get. It’s not whether they make it into Yale, or whether they turn out handsome or beautiful, smart or famous.
In the end, the ultimate test of a father’s worth is, do your kids want to spend time with you? Of course, we can make some exceptions for those rough teenage years, or whether they like being seen with you in front of their friends. What we’re talking about is simply this: does your presence make their lives better or worse? Accordingly, do they want to have you around or not?”
Hal fixing a light bulb (from Malcolm in the Middle S03E06)
And finally, on the topic of heroes, LeBron James is one of mine, and his legacy grew this week, as he won a fourth championship, and a fourth Finals MVP. It is hard to put into words the career he’s had.
4️⃣ The Legend of LeBron Keeps Growing, (The Ringer, 2020)
“LeBron takes the court in the same way any other star would, but he is playing an entirely different game at an entirely different scale. At a certain point, mythology is simply our most efficient means of understanding the vastness of his impact and how it makes a championship like this one possible. It is the closest we can get to the truth.”
Related: I was excited this week to become a fractional owner of this LeBron James rookie card through Otis.
LeBron James Movie - A King's Metamorphosis 3
5️⃣ Spotify CEO - Daniel Ek, (The Observer Effect, 2020)
“I've always been a really, really insatiable, curious person. It really starts with that. It started when I was a five year-old kid getting my first computer when my family couldn't really afford that kind of purchase. It broke down and I didn't know what to do with it. So, I decided to try to fix it myself. For a while, I couldn't figure it out. When I finally did figure it out, the liberation and the empowerment I felt was incredible. I remember it vividly.
It's been one of those things that has stuck with me throughout my life. I realized at a young age that even for problems that are messy and complicated, if you put enough direction, energy, and focus into solving them, it’s very possible to figure them out.”
THE CHAMPION'S MIND by Jim Afremow | Core Message
I have been running a lot more lately, and have just discovered the power of a Garmin watch. I bought the Forerunner 735XT (currently 55% off on Amazon), and have been loving two features in particular:
Not having to take my phone, but still getting awesome data on my runs.
Being able to program workouts into my Garmin, and having it guide me through them.
One track workout I’ve been loving is this one, which I found in my favourite running newsletter The Morning Shakeout:
What: 3 sets of 400m/400m/800m all at goal 5K pace. Recovery: Equal time after each rep, e.g. if you’re running your 400s in 90 seconds and your 800s in 3 flat, rest for 90 seconds after the 400s and 3 minutes after the 800s. [Sometimes I’ll have my athletes jog a very easy 200m after the 400s and a very easy 400m after the 800s—if they’re going slow enough it usually works out to about a 1:1 work/rest ratio.]
Why: To “mold the tissues,” as the legendary coach Bob Sevene put it to me 15 years ago.
When: Early in a training block when re-introducing speed/track workouts into your weekly routine.
Where: On the track, preferably, but a road or treadmill are fine substitutes if you don’t have access to an oval.
Justin Grunewald | Brave Like Gabe
There is a German word for everything, or so the meme goes. But really, there’s a German word for everything. This time, it’s Feierabend:
6️⃣ How ‘Feierabend’ helps Germans disconnect from the workday, (BBC, 2020)
“‘Feierabend’ has two meanings,” says Christoph Stengel, a 41-year-old Berliner who works as a software developer at price-comparison website Idealo. “First, it's the moment you stop working for the rest of the day – of course, [it’s] a good feeling then. Second, it's the part of the day between work and going to bed.”
Minari | Official Trailer HD | A24
7️⃣ Sade - Diamond Life (Pitchfork, 2020) - Spoiler, they give it a 9.6
“The band had a weapon in lead singer Helen Folasade Adu—Sade for short—a modest contralto who wore hoops with a classic red lip and moved in silence like Carmen Sandiego. Despite early comparisons to the likes of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Sade, then 25, saw not jazz but Black American soul as her band’s core influence.
“I’m frightened of anyone for one minute thinking that we’re trying to be a jazz band, because if we were, we could do it a lot better than we’re doing now,” Sade said in 1985. “Our music is clearly pop, because it’s easy to understand.” More precisely, their sound liquified soul and jazz into new-school pop.”