💪Finkel's Fast Five 143 - October 23rd, 2020

Welcome to Finkel's Fast Five #143. Thanks for reading and subscribing!

ONE
BOOKS - One of my absolute favorite books last year was Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote by Craig Fehrman. I loved it for so many reasons, but chief among them was that it separates the genuinely excellent writers we've had in the oval office (Lincoln & Obama) from the total phonies (JFK).

A huge perk of writing this newsletter is that I get to meet so many authors I admire and sometimes get sneak peaks at their books to share with you all. I recently got Fehrman's next book, The Best Presidential Writing, and it's just as good as the first. When it comes to the presidency and intelligence and creativity, we've definitely had our swings and misses, but we've also had some brilliant thinkers and writers and orators. From Ulysses S. Grant on the ratification of the 15th Amendment ("a measure of grander importance than any other one act") to Truman on the Atomic Bomb ("it is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe") to Reagan after the Challenger exploded ("nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue") this book is a must-read for any student of U.S. history.

TWO

HEALTH - Like many of you, I'm always game to try new and different ways of getting caffeine in my system. I love green tea. Coffee is "eh". Once or twice a week when I'm really dragging ass or have to be up late writing I'll grab a Bang energy drink or 5-Hour energy... But I had yet to try a "pinch" of all natural caffeine. That's a new one for me.

No, this is not like chewing tobacco or hanging a fat dip in your mouth. What I'm talking about is a pinch of caffeine powder made up of all-natural ingredients: Bele Spinach, Moringa, Katuk, Cacao, Green Coffee Bean and Coffee Fruit. The powder is made by Kauai Farmacy and it's called Green Energy and it's great. It comes in a little 1.5 oz jar that will probably last a year. If you're dragging, just eat a little pinch (tastes like a tiny salad in your mouth) and let the warmth of energy wash over you. I was skeptical...but now I like it. Kauai also has a Curry Blend (caffeine free) that I like to add to my tea for a kick. If you're sick of drinking fluids to get your caffeine, this might be something you'd like. As always, I reached out to the company and if you want to try them, just use the code "Finkel10" at checkout and you'll get 10% off. Don't say I never do anything for you. Check out their site here.

THREE

MOVIES - Sylvester Stallone is filming his new movie called Sumaritan and there is a scene in it where it looks like they need a completely realistic replica of Sly's head.

One day on set, Sly was walking and ran into someone from the prop department carrying his head around on a stick and...I mean... the head is so realistic that it really looks like she's carrying around Stallone's dome on a spike. It freaks him out. It freaked me out. It'll freak you out. Really, it will. The fake head is that good. Here it is.

FOUR

MOOD - Sometimes I like to share stuff on here that is cool and uncomplicated and will put a smile on your face. This is one of those posts.

Remember crowds? Like huge, massive college football-sized crowds? Where you'd get 100,000 strangers together all cheering for the same thing or singing the same song. This week would have been Tom Petty's 69th birthday and if you didn't know, the University of Florida started a tradition after his death of singing 'I Won't Back Down' at home games. It's one of those quirky things that can only happen in a college football atmosphere...and it is tremendous. 100,000 fans and players on the field belting out "and I'll keep this world from dragging me down, gonna stand my ground". Just hit me right this week and I thought you'd enjoy this cut that Florida released. You'll love it.

FIVE

A great line from one of our greatest president-writers

"The love of books and the love of outdoors, in their highest expressions, have usually gone hand in hand."

- Theodore Roosevelt

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