Vero Smokey Bear Watch. I’ve been looking for a nice field watch and was stoked to come across this Smokey Bear edition watch from Vero. It’s very well-made and handsome (as is the box it comes in, which would make it great for gifting), and it features an automatic movement with a 41-hour power reserve. If you’ve read the site for a while, you know my grandfather had a big influence on the Art of Manliness. He worked for the US Forest Service during his entire career, so I love the nod to the organization emblazoned on the watch’s face. Whenever I look down to check the time and see Smokey Bear, I think about my grandpa . . . and the admonition to put out my fire completely when I’m camping. 10% of proceeds from each watch directly support fire prevention efforts. Grandpa Hurst would dig that.
The biggest issues facing youth sports? Early specialization. Former NFL tight end Greg Olsen, now a Fox broadcaster and youth sports coach, tackles what he calls “the single greatest issue facing youth sports”: early specialization. Kids and families feel immense pressure to pick one sport young or risk falling behind peers who’ve been grinding at basketball or baseball year-round. Olsen’s solution? Buck the trend and expose kids to as many sports as possible for as long as possible. Each sport develops athletic aptitude in its own way and imparts different lessons — baseball teaches mental toughness and how to handle failure, basketball sharpens speed and situational awareness, football builds grit and the ability to grind through pain. Seek to raise well-rounded competitors rather than narrowly-focused specialists. This piece reminded me of a podcast I did several years ago about the myths around kids and sports.
The Red Shoes. I’ve been having ChatGPT randomly suggest movies from the Criterion Collection to shake up my usual viewing habits. When this 1948 film about a ballerina popped up, I was dubious. But I really enjoyed the film. The movie is visually stunning, and the acting is top-notch. What really hooked me, though, was the story. It’s about the sometimes agonizing choice between love and professional ambition. It’s a theme that transcends ballet and hits anyone who’s wrestled with competing passions. No wonder Scorsese and Tarantino cite this flick as a major influence on them.
On our Dying Breed newsletter, we published Sunday Firesides: The Sandals That Never Wear Out and Why I Love Reading Biographies.
Quote of the Week
Cynicism such as one finds very frequently among the most highly educated young men and women of the West results from the combination of comfort with powerlessness. Powerlessness makes people feel that nothing is worth doing, and comfort makes the painfulness of this feeling just endurable.
—Bertrand Russell
