Good Good Things – Issue 32
Goodbye August, your humidity almost killed me but it has only made me strong… kidding, I’m completely wiped out. You won. Hoping September goes easier on all of us, we deserve nice weather and nice things. Speaking of, here are some people, places, and things on the positive tip.
Incredible Finish at The OCC
Love it when the most prestigious 50K mountain race (it’s actually a 60K) of the year comes down to the final few meters! Lauren Gregory and Naomi Lang battle it out in full-on, edge-of-your-seat mode all the way to the finish line of the iconic OCC. (I correctly picked these first two finishers in Freetrail Fantasy but completely bonked the rest of the picks. The field was too stacked!)
Watch the video and then read more about this thrilling race and the other epic UTMB events that took place in Chamonix last weekend.
Lauren has been on a heater all year and has a great YouTube channel and Naomi is an elite Scottish crusher who can do it all…
SCTV is Now on Netflix
Attention older folks (like me): Your favorite show that you loved much more than SNL and still talk about and quote frequently is now on Netflix. 6 seasons of John Candy, Robin Duke, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara, Harold Ramis, Tony Rosato, Martin Short, and Dave Thomas, is now a click away if you have a Netflix subscription. I will admit I am a SCTV newbie but will be firing up Season One to see what all the fuss is about.
Second City Television centers on the regular broadcast day of a cheap, low-budget, and humorously incompetent television station (later network) located in the fictitious town of Melonville.
Cat Boss
There’s a fun little trail that follows a creek near my house that ends on a small side street. One house has a surveillance camera that makes a noise and says some dumb garbled alert message when you walk by. In my mind, there’s a robot in the house motoring around, swinging its arms, knocking over house plants, blaring “Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!”
It’s not the most peaceful way to end your nice little trail jog but recently, on the same street, I have come across a very welcomed sight…
This guy’s name is Gandalf. He’s not really supposed to be outside but his neighbor said he is outside all the time and is the boss of the block. This is the fourth time I’ve seen and petted him. Don’t let the steely gaze fool you, he’s a sweetie.
They Call It a Pity Potty
I am a little biased but this scene from the new season of “Tires” is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long while. It stars my buddy (and podcast partner) Chip Chantry as Kyle who is known for his inveterate fibbing. Chip’s intense and hypnotic story telling is matched by Shane Gillis’s subtly expressive eyes that do all the necessary comedic heavy lifting. The mid-scene cutaway to the other employee’s reaction is pure gold.
Will Yip Talks Gear, Songs, and the Philly Hardcore Scene
Will Yip has made Philly proud producing some of the best-sounding punk and hardcore records over the past two decades — Blacklisted, Circa Survive, mewithoutYou, Balance & Composure, Turnstile, La Dispute! — as well as poppier fare like Lauryn Hill, Panic! at the Disco, The Fray, and Keane. Hooray for a local boy!
Producer and engineer Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Code Orange) has spent his entire career within a few miles of where he grew up. From sweeping the floors at a local recording studio to engineering Turnstile’s Grammy-winning “Never Enough,” he’s become one of the most successful rock producers of his generation.
And yes, Will produced “Floral Green” by beloved (colossal understatement) PA band Title Fight. It rules.
The 11 Best Book Covers of August
Lit Hub always delivers with their roundups of top-notch book cover designs.
Favorite Jason Statham Movies
- The Crime Job
- The Guy Fighter
- Meg 3: The Shark Fighter
- Fist & Chips
- Snog
- Defibrillator 5: Adrenalin O.D.
- The Birder
- Cockney & Racy
Graphic Designers are Trying to Fix People’s Terrible AI Flyers
I saw an AI ad for a cheesesteak recently and I honestly gagged. It looked like a roll teeming with grey maggots. It’s obvious when a print ad is generated by AI and there is usually something gross or unsettling that jumps out if you look at it for more then one second.
Please enjoy this AI-free article written by an actual human filled with many examples of talented artists rectifying the bad art situation our tech bro overlords have put us in.
Suddenly everything from your local church’s car boot sale to the food truck on the pavement outside it is presenting itself with AI-generated visuals. And despite the theoretically infinite creative possibilities that AI image generators afford, most of them look mediocre, if not outright traumatic when it comes to AI menus and food imagery.
Climbing Philadelphia’s Manayunk Wall (or at least attempting to)
Every time we visit Manayunk or drive up Green Street on our way to Roxborough I always say, “How do people do this??” The incline is formidable. When I train for trail races I do hill repeats once a week in the Wissahickon. Up and down the same hill over and over, usually for 5 to 7 miles per session. It is hard and slow but necessary when you are trying to complete a race where there is a lot of elevation. It is a similar slog for bike riders. Let’s see how some journalists and one local cycling legend did battling the 17% grade!
For more than 30 years the Philadelphia Cycling Classic challenged professional cyclists to ride the infamous Manayunk wall. The Wall asks these pros to climb 210 feet at an average incline of 8% to 9% and with some particularly steep sections reaching a whopping 17% grade. But we are not professionals. We’re journalists from The Philadelphia Inquirer and somehow we were convinced to test our grit against former pro cyclist and PCC veteran Carlos Rogers to see who can make it up the wall the fastest.
Quick Hits
- I’m the Guy Who Destroys Antique Books After We Scan Them into Our Company’s Insatiable AI Platform
- Five Great Campus Novels
- ‘An intoxicating mix of humour, high camp and danger’: remembering Tim Curry
- Deafheaven at Outbreak Manchester 2025
- Antiuniverses, Deepfakes, and Clone Children: September’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books
- 11 Forgotten Books Every ’90s Kid Loved Growing Up
- “Poster Boy” by Coop
- The year of Domhnall Gleeson: ‘No one talks about actors’ dedication. But I had a perm for five months!’
- US Government UFO (UAP) Footage
Dolly Facts
As of 2026, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has delivered books to over 120 million children worldwide. The Imagination Library program currently sends roughly 3 million books to children every month.
Dolly Parton wrote “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” around the same time in 1973. Both songs were featured on her 1974 studio album titled “Jolene.”
Dolly Parton agreed to do “9 to 5” on the condition that she could write the theme song for it.
Peter Gabriel had Dolly Parton in mind to sing the duet “Don’t Give Up,” but she turned it down, and his friend Kate Bush stepped in.
The duet “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers was written by The Bee Gees.
More Very Good Music Fun Facts >
Meet Our Four-Legged Ground Crew: Goats on the Go at Carolina Tiger Rescue
A couple years ago a bunch of hungry goats were brought in to eat a large swath of poison ivy on the Cynwyd Trail. This is a pretty sweet gig for a goat. You get to travel to scenic places and spend your day eating with friends al fresco.
A herd of goats has joined Carolina Tiger Rescue as our four-legged ground crew, helping clear dense, overgrown vegetation across the sanctuary through natural targeted grazing. This quiet, sustainable approach reduces the need for loud machinery while improving habitat areas for the animals in our care. That equipment can create persistent noise that adds stress for many of our rescued animals, so this method makes a meaningful difference in their daily environment.
Daisy!
This is lovely. We briefly met Daisy on the day we adopted Hazel at the rescue. She was in a bad situation and had to have her leg amputated. After some healing and PT, one of the directors took her home to meet her dogs… and that’s where she stayed. ❤️
How This Overpriced Jacket Invaded Corporate America
Ugh, gorpcore bros. This is both informative and funny.
Music
“Thread The Needle (ft. Dynamite MC)” by Hoax, So What, Dynamite MC
“Rapture, Or…” by Sweeping Promises
“Still Coming Down’ by Wild Pink
“Come Undone” by Why Bother?
“Bring Me The Axe” by Vanishing Twin
“Blind Smile” by Cor de Lux
“Seventh Seal” by Russian Circles
Behold @sarahlynnja behind the kit for the Descendents!
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The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Wendell Berry
from The Peace of Wild Things And Other Poems (Penguin, 2018)
Ten Great Punk Videos – Volumes 1 through 5!
Want to watch some of the all-time best punk videos, new and old? Well, I compiled FIVE volumes for you to watch and most likely, start a pit in your living room with your cats.
Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe
If I see the words “Gundam” or “Mobile Suit” in anything, I am watching.
Hathaway Noa leads a rebel group in a fight against the corrupt Earth Federation government. But when he meets a mysterious woman, his resolve is tested.
Rest in Pieces, City Gardens
They are finally demolishing the legendary punk venue, which has been vacant for eons. I had so many crazy, sweaty fun times as a clueless, punk-loving teen with my friends at the Trenton landmark. The energy was infectious and the sound was decent, what more could you ask for at a punk club. Thanks for the memories.
I wrote a brief homage last year.
Bluesky
[doctor turning the laptop around] okay so this is what a normal serving of ranch looks like
— slop enjoyer (@slop.guru) August 15, 2026 at 10:31 PM
sweeping the “hooters breakfast menu” category on jeopardy then looking out in the audience to see my wife giving me a thumbs down
— m@thew (@tweetpotato314.bsky.social) August 15, 2026 at 11:29 AM
I wonder if twins ever get really high and forget which one they are
— dan mentos (@danmentos.com) November 16, 2024 at 11:31 PM
I converted to Catholicism last week. Here’s what the Sermon on the Mount gets wrong.
— NY Times Pitchbot (@nytpitchbot.bsky.social) September 1, 2026 at 9:34 AM
on their fucking minibikes again the neighborhood teens are. call the police i have.
— LongFormHoe (@libbycwatson.com) April 25, 2026 at 1:16 AM
An account with this avatar was just blocked.
— Christian Alsis (@christianalsis.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 10:05 PM
— Patrick Cosmos (@veryimportant.lawyer) September 1, 2026 at 1:22 PM
That long-rumoured Martian Manhunter PJ Harvey duets album is finally coming out.
— Elephant Mastodon (@emath.bsky.social) September 1, 2026 at 6:47 PM
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