Tiptoe Tiger E01 🐯| Humble Beginnings
Edition #1 | You wouldn't download a book, yoga you can hum to, literal gems, the French have done it again, Midnight at the Oasis
Hello there!
You’re probably wondering, “What is this? What have I signed up for? Is this the email with my 6-digit flight code?”
Well, wonder no more, you are reading Edition #1 of Tiptoe Tiger.
Each weekly newsletter will deliver deep cuts– personal recommendations from myself and some of the most interesting people I know with a little healthy dose of commentary from the editor, yours truly.
We live in an algorithm saturated world. It even feels cliché to point it out. Tiptoe Tiger is an effort to provide human curation as an alternative (or perhaps just as a supplement) to the ceaseless and impersonal effort of algorithms to drive our interest and attention. Let some cool humans distract you for a change!
Without further ado, this week’s cuts:
Find a PDF of Almost Anything
You all know I don’t advocate piracy in this newsletter outside of the high seas. However, in theory, if there was a book out there that you really wanted to find or a subject to read about… here’s how I would find a pdf of any book if I were so knavishly inclined:
First thing’s first, just search google for the book title + .pdf. This usually doesn’t work but you’d be surprised.
No dice? Search these two websites:
Warning: These websites can have broken links sometimes… and other spammy qualities. eh
If your search is fruitless, it’s time to hop over to the Russian internet. (Cue dark heavy 90’s Russian synth techno.) Head to Yandex.com and search again for your title name + .pdf. (Yandex is also great for finding movies and other media; it’s less filtered somehow.)
If it’s an older book and it’s not anywhere else, see if it’s on Archive.org. You’ll have to create an account but, honestly, you should have an account there already.
If all else fails, just hit me up and this common criminal will find it for you. 😉
Yoga But Not Like You’re Used To (+ Bonus Amazing French Accent)
So even though I’m an occasional yoga enjoyer, I’ve always been a little skeptical of yoga in the west. The exercise aspect of the practice gets placed front and center. It’s been hustle-culturalized. The result is like eating off the leaves of an artichoke but throwing away the heart. The leaves are good but come on, you filthy food-waster.
Apparently T.K.V. Desikachar, who helped popularize yoga in the U.S., felt the same way. Desikachar’s focus places the somatic & breath elements of Yoga front and center.
Curious to try it out? Please enjoy this wonderful French man, Francois Lorin, as he guides you through some Desikachar inspired breath & sound focused yoga. And PLEASE, be soothed by this man’s beautiful accent and presence.
Literal Gems
This newsletter is in the business of delivering gems. This one is a little on the nose.
I like to look for books in the public domain at Gutenberg.org. The books often have really cool art, fun cultural artifacts, and just interesting forgotten ideas.
Here’s one of my favorite books I’ve found: The Magic and Science of Jewels and Stones
What a title.
What a cover:
It doesn’t skimp on the magic. The book is full of literal gems that I promise you you’ve never heard of or seen in your whole life– and they have the most badass names ever. There’s shiny little alien rocks inside of our planet!
For example, behold The Great Opal “Flame Queen”:
The book is also chock-full of histories of famous gems. Did you know Queen Isabella II was saved from assassination when a dagger’s blade glanced off of a diamond she was wearing?
The book gets very esoteric too (which I live for). Apparently there are astrological tie-ins for the gems??? I haven’t read enough of the book to really wrap my head around this one but consider this story of The Orloff Diamond and how it was a bad omen for Czar Nicholas II. There’s a certain romance to it all.
To fully enjoy: google the stones mentioned in the book (it doesn’t feature pictures of the vast majority of them)
Saâda Bonaire
Ever been to a smoky, sexy, feminist, Moroccan-French disco? Only in your dreams? Same. However, another way to attend is through the music of Saâda Bonaire.
Here’s a little background:
“Formed by Bremen DJ Ralf Behrendt in 1982, Saâda Bonaire was a unique concept band centered around two sultry female vocalists (Stefanie Lange and Claudia Hossfeld) who would be joined by dozens of Kurdish musicians recruited from the local immigration centre.” [source]
The music that came out of this unique blend is fantastic, exotic, and contains some wonderful lyrics. “I need a man… or a cigarette” from Your Touch is one of my favorites.
Unfortunately, Saâda Bonaire’s music remained unreleased until 2013 due to record label complications. It’s a bleeding shame but that’s why we have to maximally enjoy their music today:
+ You Could Be More As You Are
Waiting for Guffman
Many know I can’t shut up about this movie. Just mentioning it makes me want to go watch it right now. It’s one of the funniest, most endearing movies I’ve seen in my whole life.
It’s a Christopher Guest (Spinal Tap) film shot mockumentary style about Corky Sinclair, a failed Broadway actor, directing a musical in the small town of Blaine, Missouri.
Almost all of the dialogue in the movie is improvised. Apparently they shot ~127 hours of footage which was whittled down to the final movie.
If you have any connections to small towns or if you’ve ever been in a bad play or musical, this will hit super hard.
Here’s Catherine O’Hara and Fred Willard in one of my favorite scenes:
Thank you!
Well that’s all for Edition #1 of Tiptoe Tiger. Thank you so much for your early support and readership, it means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this stuff as much as I do.
Please reach out if you have feedback, suggestions, ideas, cookies, or money. I don’t bite, I tiptoe.
Also please please please tell your cool, eclectic, and nerdy friends about this newsletter. Forward them this email, send them the link, do whatever it takes. If you’re really about this newsletter, you might even force someone to read it at knife point! My legal consortium informs me that that’s not something I can personally suggest, but you could do it if you only had the stones.
Oh and, if you liked it so much that you want to send me a tip, feel free to do so here: buymeacoffee.com/robhogan
Much love… stay interesting, sexy, and untouchable,
Rob Hogan
Tiptoe Tiger’s Headiest Honcho
Congrats on the release Rob my friend!