If this email was forwarded to you and you want to subscribe, you can do so here. Or follow me on Twitter here. I have good tweets, I swear.
Hello Gabaghouls,
Halloween is almost upon us and I don’t have a costume yet. I’m so ashamed. I really don’t even have an inkling of an idea of what to be. I am a poor planner what can I say.
Speaking of planning! I’m planning for the future of this here newsletter. A HUGE thank you to all those that took a few minutes out of your day to complete the survey I put out. I’ll keep it open a bit more for anyone that hasn’t completed it yet but would like to. You can check out the survey right here. It won’t take you more than five minutes.
ALSO. I just finished reading a book. If you’re curious it was Transit by Rachel Cusk, the second in her Outline trilogy. I would highly recommend them. They are experimental memoir writings and they’re awesome. That being said, I want to take a break between this and reading the third installment of the trilogy. So please send through any book recs. They don’t have to be new books either. I’m down for classics as well! You won’t believe how many classics I haven’t read! Any and all suggestions welcome. Fiction. Non-Fiction. Memoir. Erotica. I’m game for all!
Ok time for the usual linkies. Enjoy.
Coming Back From Organized Crime
As Japan’s Yakuza Mob Weakens, Former Gangsters Struggle To Find A Role Outside Crime
I found this article illuminating but also a bit odd. In American gangster/mafia films and television it seems like the only way to quit the gangster life is via death, but apparently the Yakuza are much more forgiving and allow people to walk away whenever they want?In Venezuela, A Rum Maker Offers Gangsters A Life Outside Of Crime
Venezuela has crumbled over the past decade and crime has run rampant throughout the country, but an award winning rum maker, one of the few wealthy Venezuelans who didn't flee the country, is trying to reform gangsters from within the country. It seems to be working.My Father, The Hitman
The story of a long deceased Texas mob member, as told by his son trying to come to terms with their relationship.
We Love Finding Shit In The Ocean!
An Extraordinary 500-Year-Old Shipwreck Is Rewriting The History Of The Age Of Discovery
Ships from this era don't survive very well because deep sea clams tend to eat them, however this wreck off the coast of Sweden did for a variety of reason they get into in the article and it proves to be a missing link. For like the history of ships, that is. If you are into 1500s boats and exploration this is the article for you, my friend!Have Sumatran Fishing Crews Found The Fabled Island Of Gold?
It was known as the Srivijaya Empire and was one of the most powerful and wealthiest of the ancient world. The crossroads of what was known as the maritime silkroad, it was a river city that eventually sank and now the vast riches (gold, jewels, lifesize buddha statues) are being pulled out of the river by local divers and sold away before they can be studied.Diver Finds 900-Year-Old Crusader Sword Off Israel's Coast
Oh just taking a dive to hunt for some tasty langostines or some shit and holy hell is that a 900-year-old sword from the crusades covered in clams and seaweed?!
Tree-Related Things In Danger Of Dying Out
The Last Wild Coffee Forests
Coffee is a heavily cultivated cash crop for obvious reasons – the whole world is addicted to it – however, in a few small patches in Ethiopia the Arabica variety (the good one) grows wildly. It is incredibly important as well because it is estimated that these wild coffee trees house 99.8% of the biodiversity of the plant in the world. So, we gotta figure out how to keep it around in case stuff goes down with the domesticated Arabica crops and they die off.Meet The Artisans Keeping Tuscany’s Bookmaking Culture Alive
Books still matter to some and in Tuscany, well, they really fuck with books. Author Lisa Abend travels through the Italian state in search of the few small shops still doing magical and beautiful things with books. It sure beats a monogrammed Kindle, I'll tell you that much.Remarkable Trees Throughout The World
There are a lot of absolutely stunning trees out there. We gotta make sure to keep them around. This is more of a listicle than an informative essay, but there are some dope looking tall boys in here that may be in danger if we don’t take care of them.
Weird Internet Resource Of The Week
Ok so this is a resource meant to help you get off the internet actually. My friend Geoff just launched Nine Arches which is a card game meant to get you out in the world and outside of your comfort zone. It is sort of like a real-life choose your own adventure game meant to nudge you in the direction of doing things you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t yet. I did some super early gameplay testing for them and they’ve come a very long way by the looks of the final product. Other people seem to think so too because Nine Arches met their Kickstarter goal in literally 6 minutes and are now at like 7x their goal. This newsletter is all about knowledge and being privy to interesting things, well this game might help you do some actual interesting things out in the world as well. Check em out.
Other Interesting Things You May Or May Not Care About
How South Dakota Became A Global Tax Haven
The short answer to this is by charging zero in taxes and allowing billionaires extreme privacy by making it pretty much impossible for courts to get ahold of financial records. So literally the only way to figure out who has massive amounts of money squirreled away in South Dakota is when there are leaks like the Panama Papers.Harnessing The Power Of Venom Could Lead To New Medicines
The headline for this is a little click-baity because of course we have been harnessing the power of venom for a while now to make (mostly) super useful pharmaceuticals. Some of the compounds in venom, when isolated, can have major health benefits for the same reasons that they kill us when part of a whole complex venomous cocktail (e.g. the venom that kills you by slowing down your heart so much you can’t pump blood throughout your body can be useful in high blood pressure meds, etc). Please don't try milking Gila Monsters at home though folks!The Rise And Folly Of The Refugee Cookbook
I found this essay on what the publishing world gets wrong as it relates to the recent boom of Arab and Middle Eastern cookbooks to be incredibly insightful. The nuances of this world are not anything I have ever thought about, a blind spot to be sure, and I like reading about things I know nothing about. If you're into food or global politics or humanitarian issues this piece touches on all of them with nuance and grace and will open up your eyes to a few things.Vienna Museum Moves NSFW Images To OnlyFans
You love to see when institutions that are supposed to be old and stuffy (e.g. European Art Museums) do cool and innovative things. Obviously the museum knew this would drive a lot of press when it did it, but it is still a big brain use of existing technology to skirt restrictions from other, essential and monopolistic technology businesses we rely on regularly.Why So Many People Undercharge For Their Work
If you provide freelance services you probably undercharge. This piece looks at the psychological reasons why we tend to undervalue ourselves. So next time you're throwing out a price, double it.
A Person You Should Totally Follow On TikTok
Geodesaurus has spent the whole month of October doing “Spooky Lake Month: 31 Days of Haunted Hydrology” and just going deep down the rabbit hole on bodies of water all over the world and what makes them so interesting. It’s super cool. She also has a great NPRish voice. Very soothing.
Let’s Just Looks At Art Because Reading Sucks
The Astonishing Resilience Of Sierra Leone’s Amputee Footballers
Colorful Patterns of Stained Glass Nestle Within Repurposed Sea Defense Timber
A Visual Essay ExploringThe Beauty Of Nature InThe Urban EnvironmentFrom Hessnatur
Lists Are What The Internet Was Made For!
If You Enjoy This Email Newsletter Please Forward lt To Your Friends And Tell Them To Subscribe. It’s The Best Way To Help Me Grow.
“You Can’t Handle The Truth or The Breads!” - Colonel Jessup
Please excuse any typos or mistakes. If you want to send me corrections to feel good about yourself feel free to do so but I can assure you they will only make me cry.
Any comments, questions, feedback send to info@thebreadsnewsletter.com or just reply to this email.