Outermood #03

Recommendations with the occasional reflection.

I'm still thinking about where I want this newsletter to go and the intersection I want it to sit at. I love sharing things I come across and find interesting, but I also want to go deeper into other topics. I had a great discussion last week with someone about giving a talk if I ever have an in-person Outermood event. Lots of ideas came up, and that conversation helped me get clarity on where I want this all to go.

I would love to hear from any of you about what you would like to get more out of this newsletter, so replies are appreciated. Anyway, here are some recommendations from the past week or so.

A beautiful book can do wonders for a room. I love the bold type on this one's spine and the colors. Inside, the photography is incredible. The price and the option to get a matching $80 candle to accompany it are another story. The book is a work of art nonetheless, and books should be on display in your home.

I’ve been looking at a lower-to-the-floor bed for a couple of reasons. It would make it easier for my aging dog (don’t like that) to get into. Also, I think they look great, and I've never had one. This one from Karup in the oiled oak is beautiful. I plan to get this for my next place, which I’ve been looking for far too long.

I love a dual-purpose business. Clements Lock and Security is a locksmith by day and a bar by night. They’ve been around since 1973, cutting keys and handling lock installations, all the things a locksmith would do. But on Thursdays (or by chance) from 4 to midnight, they’re a bar. One with a visually pleasing aesthetic, at that.

Also, St. Louis is incredibly underrated. I don’t live there, but I’ve been beating this drum for more than a decade. St. Louis’s food and art scenes punch above their weight. Hit me up if you ever find yourself there and want more recs.

I had no plans to see The Weight. But Ethan Hawke always draws me in. I knew almost nothing about the movie, yet I really enjoyed it. It's a movie about perseverance and a desperate father. Nothing groundbreaking in the premise, but the acting was great.

Ome Dezin does it again. Longtime friends Joelle Kutner and Jesse Rudolph founded Ome Dezin in 2020 as a design-build studio that restores character-driven homes in Los Angeles. The home shown here is currently for sale. I’m especially a fan of the large artwork seen in multiple rooms. There’s also a cohesion that many homes miss, and they nail it here. Big fan. Also, when looking at homes like this, no matter what your home looks like or its size, there are always elements you can borrow.

A four-year course to read and discuss a collection of the finest works of literature, philosophy, history, and social thought ever written? The University of Chicago offers this certificate to anyone. After speaking with someone who has taken it, I learned that many students are retirees and that it’s an exceptional course if you have the time to commit. It's primarily online, with occasional optional in-person sessions. I’ve been fortunate to attend executive education courses at the University of Chicago, and all the professors I’ve had are top-tier, so I’m not surprised to hear firsthand high praise for this course.

I took this picture last week in Columbia, Mo. I wasn’t familiar with Steve Garber, but his talk was excellent. He shared that the goal of our work should not be perfection but to make the world around us "more honest, more right, more true." I was captivated by the poetry of his speech. The question in the photo above stayed with me on my drive home. I think it’s a good one to ask yourself often. What do you care about, and why?

Thanks for reading. I never take your attention for granted. It is only appreciated.