The Friends of Eddie Coyle. This week I watched this 1973 crime film during my Zone 2 cardio, and man, it’s awesome. Robert Mitchum, in one of the best performances of his career, plays Eddie Coyle, an aging, small-time Boston gunrunner who’s facing prison time and has to decide whether to snitch on his associates to stay out. It’s based on the novel by George V. Higgins, who worked as a prosecutor in Boston and filled the book with dialogue that sounds like how actual criminals talk. Everything about the movie is well done: the story, the acting, the gritty and washed-out 1970s cinematography. Also, Dave Grusin’s funky soundtrack is top-notch. One of the most ’70s movies I’ve seen.
Pentel Sharp Premium Mechanical Pencils. I like a good pencil. While Blackwings are my mainstay, I also appreciate a well-made mechanical pencil, and these fit the bill. They’re a dressed-up version of the classic Pentel Sharp drafting pencil that’s been around since 1970. They feel nice in your hand and lay down some smooth graphite. I’ve been using them lately to make notes in books as I read them; the fine 0.5mm lead works well for cramming comments into the margins. A pack of four runs about sixteen bucks.
Don’t bunt. Friend of AoM Michael Easter writes one of my favorite Substack newsletters, Two Percent. In this installment, he shares some advice from the legendary adman David Ogilvy: when you’ve got a job to do, don’t bunt. Swing big and “compete with immortals.” Easter then digs into the psychology of why we tend to bunt; we overestimate how much other people notice and judge us, and our brains treat the possibility of social rejection like a survival threat. A good kick in the pants if you’ve been hedging on something.
David Ogilvy was a fount of good advice, by the way; we’ve got a great write-up of all his rules for creative success here.
Rebel Yell by S.C. Gwynne. Back in 2019, I had S.C. Gwynne on the podcast to talk about his book Empire of the Summer Moon. It’s one of my favorite narrative history books, so I’ve been wanting to read more of Gwynne’s work. I finally got around to reading his big mamajama of a biography of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson called Rebel Yell. It’s an incredible story. Before the Civil War, Jackson was a socially awkward, intensely religious professor at the Virginia Military Institute whose students mocked him behind his back. When the Civil War started, he transformed into one of the most audacious and effective generals in history. He became a celebrity not only in the South, but also in the North. People around the world were comparing him to Napoleon. Gwynne does a great job of not only describing the fascinating character of Jackson, but also the ferocity and savageness of Civil War battles. If you liked Empire of the Summer Moon, you’ll like this one, too.
On our Dying Breed newsletter, we published How My Favorite Personality Test Changed How I See Myself and Others and Sunday Firesides: Keep Looking Over Your Shoulder.
Quote of the Week
People smile at the ‘enthusiasm of youth’ — that enthusiasm which they themselves secretly look back at with a sigh, perhaps unconscious that it is partly their own fault that they ever lost it. — Charles Kingsley
