PicoBlog

He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. (Proverbs 13:24) While this verse is usually used to promote spanking our children, I think more is included within the meaning of this passage. In ancient Israel, the rod was something that shepherds carried with them when they were in the field with their flocks. The rod was a long, slender staff with a hard wooden ball carved at one end from where the tree’s trunk connected to the roots.

If you can’t say something good about someone, go sit by Alice Roosevelt Longworth. The Washington socialite, wit, and daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt had words to that effect printed on a throw pillow, which is as good a way as any of laying claim to a quip. Mrs. L, as she liked to be called, was an aphorism snowball: A big personality who said some clever things to get things rolling and then picked up credit for all sorts of lines, even when she insisted they weren’t hers.

When the Republican conference in the House went to their fifth in line, Rep. Mike Johnson, and decided, in collective utter exhaustion, that they would unanimously back him for Speaker, my first reaction was, “Who?”  And this is from someone who follows politics quite closely. After hearing that he was a Christo-Nationalist extremist, whose wife, as he claimed, had been on her knees in prayer for the last weeks—hoo, boy—my second reaction was “I’ll bet there are tons of skeletons in that closet.

Buen día, Ever since I shared that TikTok where I explain the differences between Salvadorian, Salvadoran and El Salvadoran, I’ve been thinking a lot about language and how our geographic location in diaspora affects how we speak and experience Salvadoran identity. I was born in Los Angeles and raised in the sprawling LA-metropolitan area, where the largest number of Salvadorans outside of El Salvador reside, but are still vastly outnumbered by the historically large Mexican-American population.

In this special report, you will find out how it feels to be published by The Guardian. Reading these words still gives me the jitters. In the best way. In this deeply personal essay, I bare my soul to 88 million readers around the globe. It is a confession, a declaration and a hopeful look to the future, all in less than 900 words. Writing it was cathartic. Seeing it published means the world.

It is a question I’ve often been asked over the years, most recently by Felicity Cloake from The Guardian. If you are not Belgian, Dutch or German, you will think of Biscoff biscuits when you read speculaas or speculoos. In fact, on my recent book tour to the USA, I’ve spotted Biscoff speculoos often, there are even Biscoff kiosks at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Biscoff biscuits are to us Belgians what Walker’s shortbread are to the British: just another biscuit, but one everyone buys and everyone loves.

Following on from my recent articles about braking, I’m now going to tell you what not to do. But first… “Don’t use don’t.” That’s one of my core approaches to coaching. Instead of telling someone what not to do, tell them what to do. So, let me correct my article title. Trail brake less. “What? Huh? I thought you were always telling me that the timing and rate of release of the brakes is the key to going faster, and that means trail braking.

A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.

Happy 4th of July! This weekend, I’m making Philadelphia Fish House Punch for a big group of friends. I strongly suggest you do the same. This week’s newsletter is arriving a day early so you can prepare. And because it’s a holiday weekend, it’s going to the entire list. I am frequently asked about batching cocktails for parties, and Fish House Punch is always the first drink I recommend. It’s subtle and fussy enough to please your favorite finicky cocktail obsessive, but it’s also quite accessible to normies who just want something cool and sweet to drink.