Casablanca. I finally got around to watching this 1943 classic. What’s funny is that it’s so embedded in our culture that I thought I’d already seen it. But while I knew the famous lines and the general story, I’d never actually watched the whole thing. Now that I have, I can understand why it’s so iconic — it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. At just 1 hour and 42 minutes, it doesn’t waste a single frame. Every scene moves the story forward. The ending got me: I teared up watching Rick put Ilsa on that plane. When I had Waller Newell on the podcast to talk about the code of manhood, he mentioned Casablanca as a perfect example of how love can inspire noble actions. Rick goes from cynical café owner to a man willing to sacrifice everything for a greater cause. If you haven’t seen this classic yet, queue it up this weekend.
Why a College Basketball Coach Writes Hundreds of Handwritten Notes Every Month. The New York Times recently ran an article about Buzz Williams, the men’s basketball coach at Maryland, who writes 200 to 300 handwritten notes each month. Every week, each player gets a note in his physical mailbox. Williams also has his players write weekly thank-you letters to people who’ve helped them, then shows them how to address the envelope and mail it (not always common knowledge these days!). One of his players, Pharrel Payne, followed Williams from Texas A&M to Maryland in part because of the bond they formed through those letters. We’ve been big advocates of the handwritten letter for years. Great to see an example of its power out in the wild.
Burberry London. I featured this cologne in our recent article on three signature fragrances every man should have. I picked it up because I wanted something specifically for the holidays; something that smelled like Christmas. Burberry London delivers. With notes of port wine, cinnamon, and leather, it’s like walking into a Fezziwig party. Most guys stick with one cologne year-round, but there’s something satisfying about having an annual rotation. It adds a bit of seasonal texture to life and marks the passage of time in a small but tangible way. If you’ve been wearing the same fragrance for years regardless of season, consider spicing things up by reaching for something warm and festive during the holidays.
Practice in Still Life by Adam Robbert. This book is a slow, rewarding read. Robbert explores how different practices — whether prayer, contemplation, or philosophical study — actually reshape how we perceive reality. The core idea is that askēsis, spiritual exercise, isn’t just about self-improvement. It fundamentally changes what we’re able to see and experience. The book draws from mystics, monastics, and philosophers across centuries, showing how their disciplines weren’t abstract theorizing but concrete methods for encountering truth. It’s a dense book. You’ll need to sit with it and maybe reread sections. But that’s part of the point. Understanding takes practice, and this book embodies what it’s teaching.
On our Dying Breed newsletter, we published How I Work: The FAQ and Sunday Firesides: Yes, Whammies!
Quote of the Week
People who honestly mean to be true really contradict themselves much more rarely than those who try to be ‘consistent.’
—Oliver Wendell Holmes
