Matt's Mix Tape, Vol. 107
Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson, a guy who reads, writes, and works out. This is Matt’s Mix Tape, a weekly Mix of ideas for the creator and athlete in all of us.
This week’s Mix:
Today’s Mix Tape logo
Cynthia Thurlow shows us how to captivate a large audience
The important service of Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary”
Quick Mix
This week’s Florida photo
This week’s Mix Tape logo: college football returns (for real this time)
Last season was all cope.
The pageantry, anticipation, and excitement was surgically removed as we watched televised scrimmages reflected in empty aluminum bleachers. Lifeless matchups, stood up to scrape up a few ad dollars and slow the financial bleeding.
The patient was alive, technically. But the game’s soul was gone.
Now color and spirit and emotion have returned. My Michigan State Spartans take on Northwestern tonight. And tomorrow features a slate of appetizing matchups.
It’s college football, vibrant with full stands and high stakes. It’s fun again.
Enjoy it, if you’re so inclined.
Go Green.
How to captivate a large audience
At a moment’s notice, a business owner can get the chance to go on a big podcast, or do a TV interview.
Would you be ready?
It’s tricky. Suddenly you’re outside your niche audience. The people you’re reaching won’t be familiar with the inside jargon and concepts surrounding your solution.
Cynthia Thurlow focuses on intermittent fasting and wellness topics, and recently appeared on Megyn Kelly’s podcast—a leap outside her usual health-focused audience.
Her appearance was a masterclass in how to adjust your messaging to a bigger and more general audience.
I broke down five ways Cynthia did it here—techniques you can use to tailor your messaging to a also.
The important service of Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary”
“Project Hail Mary” is another harrowing and funny outer space adventure by Andy Weir, who also wrote “The Martian.” Like The Martian, Project Hail Mary will end up on the big screen, with Ryan Gosling rumored to play the lead.
Fair warning: there are a couple of small spoilers in this review.
The book opens as Dr. Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher, wakes from a coma. He has no idea where he is. He has no idea who he is.
Person and place are just the first of many mysteries Grace must solve.
Weir advances the narrative by having Dr. Grace work through mystery after mystery. Weir also works backwards, using flashbacks to fill in the backstory. Eventually, we come to understand the weight and urgency of Grace’s situation.
It’s a great story. And here’s something I really loved about the book: Weir doesn’t use it to trash humanity. Contemporary literature and pop culture often reduce us to negative common denominators: we’re all racist, eco-destroying creatures.
It’s self-flagellation as art. But not this book.
And while Weir doesn’t shy away from our shortcomings, he restores a sense of wonder to our accomplishments, and to the miracle of simply being human. Through the commentary of Rocky, an alien creature, Weir helps us rediscover the miraculous in the both the common (eyeballs are incredible!) and the complex (man’s technology and scientific knowledge is more advanced than the alien species.)
That’s unusual.
Dr. Grace’s character arc also illustrates our potential for growth and achievement.
Grace grows from a man who always shrunk from life’s challenges to one who must selflessly, and singularly, address the greatest challenge in human history.
In addition to telling a great story with humor, Weir reminds us to express gratitude for all humanity has accomplished, and to look, with some reverence and awe, at what we are.
Quick Mix
MG Siegler posted a fun rant on the absurdity of not having a native weather app on the iPad:
“This despite the fact that such an app launched on day one with the iPhone, fourteen years ago. And despite the fact that a Weather widget, made by Apple, has existed for a few years now.”
[…]
“Apple has outsourced its soul to an absolutely awful weather.com webpage.”
Twitter experiment: My ten favorite health and fitness tweets of the week. It includes info on why coffee is an easy health power up, how to exercise with pain, and much more.
Finally, a parting thought on health, fitness, and COVID:
This week’s Florida photo
Just a couple of ducks, and (I think) a Blue Heron in flight. Took this on a walk.
Welcome to 21 new subscribers
Including Arlene, Angie, and Daniel.
And thank you for reading.
Please reach out and say hi, ask a question, whatever—anytime.