Survival Tactics & Updates - 52223
"Because I'm a rida (yeah), just a soul surviver" - Akon
Let’s get beyond the Akon and Jeezy lyrics! Jumping in with some housekeeping …
On Friday I asked for your feedback, and many of you gave me a consistent theme to chew on over the weekend. You actually like (some of you even said you love - but who’s keeping track?) the content, but believe every day is a bit much. That’s actually an easier fix for me in the art of trying to distill the Internet’s lore and knowledge into a 3 min read than if the feedback was “change everything” or “post more.”
As of tomorrow, The Internet is Vast is moving to a biweekly1 newsletter. Twice a week, Tuesdays & Thursdays, you will continue to get the content you signed up for - and I’ll continue to experiment with what works best for you. Some posts will feature a cut-off at the 2-3 minute mark so you can know when to opt out of a long post, but I will try a few longer newsletters to see what you are enjoying.
I’ll be updating that across the site today, but thought it would be good to let you know that this will be your last email from me on a Monday for now.
If you haven’t yet - you should subscribe now and join 300+ readers!
Alright, back to the content - you ABSOLUTELY should check out at least today’s Rabbit Hole - it’s bonkers.
Survival Tactics - 52223
The Daily Rabbit Hole: Surviving a 10,000 foot freefall
“It was Christmas Day 1971, and Juliane, dressed in a torn sleeveless mini-dress and one sandal, had somehow survived a 3km fall to Earth with relatively minor injuries.”
Trust me when I say that this lede is only the beginning of the truly insane story of Juliane Koepcke.
“Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It's growing out of sour earth. And it's strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong. My children will be strong that way.” - Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The ‘Wait, What?’ Vortex: The drummer credited on “Stayin’ Alive” isn’t real
“Due to the death of backing drummer Dennis Bryon's mother in the middle of the sessions, the group looked for a replacement.”
The Art of Survivor …
44 seasons (2 per year), and counting - somehow, the show that was inspired by youth camp games that then inspired a million youth camp themes, Survivor persists. I recall watching the second season when I was a kid and being captivated by a few of the cast of characters, but it wasn’t until I picked it back up a few years ago that I appreciated how simple and approachable Jeff Probst and team made an incredibly complex game.
I was drug into watching a season with an eye roll when it was reintroduced to me, but now I’m convinced that almost anyone in America would have a hard time quitting the show entirely if they started by watching season 13, “Cook Islands.” There are a ton of reasons why the show works, but ultimately it comes down to the ease of understanding. You vote people off *but* you have to do so in a way that those voted off will still select you as the winner in the end. As soon as the competitors arrive on set, they are all anti-heroes, and that formula is a proven winner.
All this to say, Survivor as a show is worth a plethora of deeper dives. From people finding ways to cheat by sewing flint into their clothes, to contestants saying things in 2005 that aired on TV that would probably shut down entire productions in 2023, to secret relationships that the cameras had to hide (even a few involving the cameramen) - the show is aptly titled.
No matter what, it continues to … well … survive.
It is so dumb that biweekly can mean both twice in a week and/or every other week. Major language flaw. In this instance it means twice a week.
The story about Juliane is insane!