O.W. Root

Everything and everyone is saturated to the gills with political commentary, hot takes, discourse, and pissed-off snark. People and the internet are so filled with all of this they don’t really have time or space for anything else. Longtime followers know that I think this whole culture and drift is toxic and erodes the human spirit and the possibility of culture and life. You also know I am most interested in writing about, talking photos of, and exploring life in our modern world. Trying to make, and document, (honest) life as art in our age of clickbait-algo spectator reactive discourse. For the past six months I have been working on compiling a collection of short essays and vignettes I have written over the years into a single print volume and I am thrilled to share it with you. In curating this collection for print I was adamant about a few things. I wanted a classic, simple, beautiful design inside and out. I wanted a book that you could carry around, toss on your bed, put in your pocket, shove in your bag, manhandle on the beach, write in, write on, and everything else in-between. For me, the point of this collection isn’t to produce an epic hardcover tome. It’s something more informal and approachable. Something simpler and relatable. I’ve always loved those little paperbacks. You know, the ones they say they aren’t going to make anymore. Well, I want to still make them or something similar to them. I wanted this collection to be as close as possible to that rugged, personal, carefree spirit. The book itself is about 5 in. X 7.75 in.. About as small as you can get these days. The design is simple and (hopefully) timeless, the font is warm, the margins are ample, and the pieces honest. There’s a link in my linktree / bio to Amazon where you can Buy Modern Lives. Or of course, just search Amazon as we all so often do and that will work just as well. No politics, no hot-takes, no reaction, no discourse; just life.

Sometimes academically inclined people are unable to see the intelligence in others. They think other people might get lucky or might be crafty or something but they are unable to see the different form of intelligence.

If you are trying to figure out a way how to work for yourself, do your own thing and be in control of your own destiny one of the most important things you can do is lower your overhead. As soon as you start getting into more than you need you end up overextended and inflexible. It's so tempting to try to get the place at the top of your budget or keep up with whatever someone else is doing but it's kneecapping you. That extra 700 dollars you are spending every month on rent or mortgage is making you less flexible and keeping you stuck. You want to maximize your wiggle room and flexibility. That's the path to happiness, much more than a new bathroom.

@Empty_America One of the ones I stayed at last summer was a little motel way up in Copper Harbor (basically the northern most point) in the UP. The rooms were right out of the 50s! It was right across the street from Lake Superior and just dead quiet!

I can strongly recommend the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas NM. Real Keys, extremely old school, a nice old bar. Filming set for many movies, including "No Country for Old Men," many stars have stayed there.

Modern Lives - O.W. Root a.co/d/0ja8pRDD

Embrace the small paperback you can manhandle and fold up into your pocket.

I used a couple real keys like this at some old not-modernized hotels last summer. It was pretty sweet.

@NBlikes43312 They walked so he could run

@owroot You skipped the first person who did pb&j! Ants on a log is a massive shout-out too.

The first person who combined peanut butter and chocolate together deserves a posthumous Nobel Prize.

@Sparkylong We need to get them a presidential Medal of Honor ASAP

@owroot What if they’re not dead?

Color inspo

There's a line in Michigan where north of it you start seeing snowmobiles parked outside restaurants and bars. Real north.

A small house outside of town with a view of the sea and open windows so I can feel the breeze could fix me.

I love this photo. There’s a certain hue the hazy beach takes on days like this. The blue behind the streaks of clouds, the colors are so dreamy. Beautiful on film.

@hcfountain Hahahah

“If you want a picture of the future imagine the retard right podcasting you to death - forever.”

@zenoamericano 🤣

@owroot look man, i can't max everything. gotta draw the line somewhere. i will be moderation maxxing from here on out.

Are you pink university stripe on Oxford cloth pillow case maxxing anon?

@owroot You boldly travel to new unknown frontiers of preppiness I seek to emulate Bravo sir

Slowing down, taking a few deep breaths, and just counting three things you are thankful for will do wonders for your mental health.

It's easier to talk about problems than it is to offer solutions. You need to identify problems, but there's a reason why so many people spend so much of their time talking problems. It's easier, they don't have the harder to figure out answers. But because of this it makes it seem like there are only insurmountable problems in life which makes life seem worse. Even a simple answer is valuable.