Five things friday

1. RUNNING

I just shouldn't say anything. As I just wrote yesterday, I had one good run, and then came today. Oh, it wasn't terrible. I guess I did manage 3.5 miles without stopping. But my chest/lungs kind of burned again. I managed to average an 11-minute pace. I was just hoping the chest thing was gone. By the way, I was doing some reading last week, and it may be like heart burn. I've noticed that once I burp a couple times I feel better. So... there's that.

2. 50 SHORT RULES

I came across this dandy article '50 Short Rules For A Good Life from the Stoics,' by Ryan Holiday. They are a series of one-liners he's put together from stoics through the ages. Things like, "Remember you have the power to have no opinion;" "Don't suffer imagined troubles;" "Live as if you've died and come back (every minute is bonus time);" "Define what success means to you;" and "Find a way to love everything that happens." I really like some of these, and want to figure out a way to keep them before me.

3. BOB ROSS MAY BE DEAD, BUT...

I had no idea the scandal over the late painters, life, image and marketability some 25 years after his death. The Alston Ramsay article 'Sex, Deceit, and Scandal: The Ugly War Over Bob Ross' Ghost' is a tad long, but I found it quite interesting. I especially like the ending about Bob's son.

4. WHAT'S UP WITH THE MIDDLE EAST

I don't claim to understand the whole fiasco over Israel, Palestine, and the fighting that's been going on forever. However, I will say, I can see why it's happening. I am probably among the minority in American-Christian sentiment towards Palestine, but what do I know. Matthew Hughes put together this piece for History Extra, 'Israel & Palestine: A History of Conflict in 8 Key Episodes.' It's an interesting read if, you know, you're interested.

5. BOOKS FOR MEN??

I don't know that this list of '35 Books Every Man Should Read in His Lifetime' is specific to men, but Perri Blumberg wrote it for Men's Journal, so I suppose he had to say it. Anyway, I've read a few, and saw some others that I'd like to read sometime. So I'll keep it around and wrap things up with this.

***

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are already doing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11