Foretaste Nº 17
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Foretaste Nº 17
An occasional newsletter as a deep dive into the minds, habits, obsessions, affairs, and influences of our friends and fam.
Together & Jon
After another summer hiatus with to work/travelling/family schedules, here’s our 17th issue of the Together& Foretaste! Cycling has been always a big part of the network we build around Another Something, and thus, around Together& as well. Although we only did one semi-official Together& group-ride it def feels as if we at leas should do more of that. And with Jon Woodroof in our circle it makes it even more relevant. We met Jon at few of the most obscure long distance rides, always dragging us through the miles of cold rainy gravel or windy Dutch mountains with his never lacking optimism and humour. Since his arrival in Amsterdam Jon and his Two Tone team has helped numerous niche and mainstream cycling and sports brands gaining attention in the Dutch and European market, and if you love cycling you should subscribe his infamous newsletter as it will suck you in that rabbit hole even further. So it is no surprise that this Foretaste is jam-packed with cycling culture, with a very nice series of analogue picture to accompany that. Enjoy!
Currently reading
“The future of transport looks very unequal”: A conversation with London-based journalist, Ali Griswold (who writes "more than you wanted to know about the sharing economy") and Alex Shapland-Howes and Tatseng Chiam, co-founders of U.K.-based mobility startup RideTandem that works with local transport providers like taxis or shuttle buses to provide flexible transit options in small towns and cities in the U.K. that are underserved by public transport. It caught my eye as I often feel allergic to the 'micromobility' term and Ali nails it:
"We talk a lot about the ‘future of transportation,’ but an unspoken assumption in those visions is often that they’re situated in dense urban environments. That overlooks the many, many people don’t live in cities and haven’t been able to benefit from the billions of venture-capital dollars poured into ride-hail, micromobility, and other transit tech."
I'm also reading Circular Cycling, From Marginal Gains to a Circular Revolution by Erik Bronsvoort & Matthijs Gerrits.The book is about sustainability in the cycling industry and that thought the bicycle is a great way to reduce CO2-emissions related to transport; the cycling industry is still an industry.
"The current linear economic system of ‘Take, Make, Waste’ is not sustainable. It requires finite resources, causes pollution, climate change due to CO2-emissions and vast amounts of waste ending up in an incinerator, a landfill or, worse, in nature. With an increasing global population that is getting richer at the same time, the pressure on our planet is growing every day. Changing this requires us to completely rethink the way we do business."
Read a great interview with them on Shift Cycling Culture & catch Erik on stage at the SHIFT‘22 conference, taking place October 18-20, 2022, in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Currently watching
All the short clips the Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) has begun to share on their insta. The BFF will be back in Amsterdam Dec 2-4th, by the way! Hope to see you all there!
Currently listening
So many good answers for this one. Best answer is what's in the Mechanics of Joy playlist.
60 tracks & 4 hours of music curated for our monthly radio show on Echobox.
A recent highlight? The Secret Cosmic Music of the East German Olympic Program 1972-83 as chosen by our recent guest Hahn Rossman. Read more about the album here. (Worth the click!)
Currently eating
My favorite Indian takeout in Amsterdam, 9 years running!
Currently drinking
A 1500mm bottle of 2019 Delas Les Challeys Saint-Joseph, a red wine from the Rhone Valley in France gifted to me by a recent intern named Félicie & her family from that region. Also a staple, various brands of bourbon conveniently stashed behind my desk for celebratory moments at the office. ; )
Currently obsessed about
For four months already, the fact that women lost their constitutional right to end a pregnancy in the USA.
It is a heartbreaking and bleak turning point as that country seems to flush itself down the toilet somehow only further.
We're all powerless about a lot of things but this injustice is something I just can't shake outta my psyche.
I think it is because my kids are growing up in that culture and it really troubles me.
Currently distracted by
Tig Notaro's fully animated stand-up special, ‘Drawn’
“Notaro’s deadpan style might seem like an odd fit for animation”
lol. Yeah it is & very distracting!
Currently trying to avoid
Ha! I'm afraid that I'm kinda confrontational and rarely try to avoid things. ; )
But can be prone to procrastination...
So, on a real note: I've been avoiding going to therapy for depression caused by losing my kids to the USA in an ugly custody battle waaaay back in 2018. Well, I'm finally getting that process going now in 2022. It's overdue and certainly something I've unfortunately avoided for far too long. My first sessions were recently scheduled. Its a big step.
Currently frightened by
a new emotion that the era of climate change has created: Solastalgia, the distress caused by environmental change.
Currently transcended by
This story my friend Martijn recently shared about cycling along in Amsterdam and was stopped by someone to ask for directions.
That person is someone he's followed on insta for over a decade in Brazil that was visiting the Netherlands and they had never met in person. I ran into a new acquaintance from a wedding in Piemonte, Italy at the Leiden train station this week too!
Crazy coincidences are pretty enchanting! I also had an acquaintance from Poland recently visit my office.
We have a soviet kids' bike hanging up in the space. I inherited it when I took over the office.
it was nearly the exact model that Borys had learned to ride on in Soviet-occupied Poland in the 80's.
Kinda blew his mind! Mine too!
Currently fulfilled with
Memories from this summer!
But I had my kids visit for nearly 8 weeks and we had a magical time.
The finale before my son & daughter had to fly back to the land of relentless gun fights & receding reproductive rights was a bike touring trip from Verviers to Malmedy in Belgium with my wife Kristy & her youngest son as well.
The 5 of us continued onwards from there to Monschau & spent some days there before taking buses & trains back to Amsterdam. Bike trips are always fulfilling! : )
—
Thank you Jon 🙇🏻
Quick highlights from the Slacks (in no particular order):
The New Stijl, via Jordi (💸 !PREORDER NOW! 💸)
Recover Athletics, via Thomas
District Vision + Suicoke Interlocking Sandals, via Joachim
‘Clothes to lie in’, via Chris
The Axios Guide to Writing Well, via Joachim
Makaya McCraven new album, via Matthijs
Mark Giordano for Atelier Munro, via Joachim
A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven, via Daniël
This interview between Peter Saville and Brett Anderson, via Joakim
Fitzcarraldo Editions in the NYT, via Joachim
The rise of the main character accessory, via Samuel
The Search for Intelligent Life, via Kimberly
The brands starting a running revolution, via Joachim
Read Cloud Cuckoo Land, via Joachim
AI Art Wins Fine-Arts Competition, via Michael
How Culture is Made, via Joachim
Hope you enjoyed this one - And as always, let’s get Together soon on Slack & IRL!
PS. There are enough bots and ghosts in our lives. We’ve always seen Together&, human and alive, so please enjoy, participate, share and forward this. And we'd love to see you in Slack to discuss things often. If you know people who should join, let us know!