Smorgasbord #17
Mikey, Natalia, Taegan, Wil, Diana, and Kent
Hello friends! Welcome to another edition of Smorgasbord, a self-service buffet of ideas.
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Aperitif
Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci is a 27-year-old Italian-American from New Jersey who’s also a five-time IBJJF1 black belt World Champion. He eats once a day, and his diet consists of pizza and pasta that he makes every night. He’s notorious for submitting opponents via heel hooks, which are applied by controlling the knee/hip joint(s) and the heel bone. Then, force is applied transversely, medially, or laterally, twisting the heel. This motion will force a torque on the ankle, which transfers the torque to the knee, causing possible injury to multiple joints and ligaments.
He will do what he needs to do to win, but he won’t hurt anyone on purpose, and he shows tons of respect and care for his adversaries after fights. But why am I talking about Mikey?
On October 25, 2023, Mikey competed in a non-title open-weight grappling match against Shinya Aoki, which he submitted with a move his opponent invented, the Aoki foot lock. He almost didn’t fight that day, as he was sick the week prior, and still won. What caught my attention was something he said in the post-fight interview.
I want to live my life doing what I love. My favorite thing in life is being uncomfortable; my favorite thing in life is having obstacles. I really doubted myself; I didn’t know if I could win this match. I was barely able to train this whole week. I was trying to do one hour of training in the morning, and I felt so crappy doing it, but I told myself: ‘It doesn’t matter how you feel; it matters that you ignore the feelings and keep pushing yourself, and that’s what’s going to make you grow.’
I admire and am inspired by his mental toughness. What he said reminded me of Marcus Aurelius in a “the obstacle is the way” mindset. I know that growth lies outside our comfort zone, but the comfort zone is so comfortable. From the desire of being comfortable, deliver me Jesus.
Soup du jour
Then I returned to that needed silence to listen to my heart speak the truth. The truth that is in those sunsets. The truth that is shining in the present moment. The truth that is in the simple things like breathing.
Natalia Lafourcade is my favorite Mexican singer-songwriter. I’ve seen her evolve as a musician since I got her debut album in 2002. In October 2022, she released De Todas las Flores, her first album in seven years to be composed entirely of original songs. Track 5 in this album is titled El lugar correcto2, a song I haven’t been able to stop listening to due to the lyrics I quoted above.
The song is about being introspective and recurring to silence to hear the truth about the here and now. I wrote about silence this week, so including this song in today’s Smorgasbord felt right. Let me know how you like it.
Hors d’oeuvre
- published WORKS, which focuses on one piece of work from an artist he admires. This first issue happens to be a piece by who writes , and his piece “Homeblind” is featured in this first episode. Taegan and Wil discuss the creative process, fatherhood, and immigration, which I enjoy.
- published Eight Quick Years, where she talks about eight lessons she has learned since she became a mother about eight years ago. I agree wholeheartedly with everything she says, and I think this would be helpful for parents of younger kids. I’m saying it because I wish I had read something like this a few years ago.
I stumbled upon
a couple of weeks ago, and I wish I had discovered it sooner. Kent’s Tales From a Rolltop Desk starts with a blank piece of paper, his Royal Tab-o-matic typewriter, and one or more hand-carved rubber stamps—that he makes. What comes out is analog artisanal magic. The writing is also good; for example, this is titled The Grin Reaper.
Digestif
This week’s Spanish lesson is:
Brincos dieras!
Literal translation: Leaps you’d take.
Meaning: This is the Mexican version of “You Wish!” It’s used to tell someone that what they want to happen or be true will not happen or become true.
Example:
X: I intend to retire at sixty!
Y: Brincos dieras!
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
Which translates to “the right place.”
Nice, man! You did a good job with the description of the heel hook. A lot of folks don't think about how you have to isolate the hip, not just the knee.
Mikey is so ridiculously good right now.