Another "Strook" featuring something I've drawn, read, and listened to.

Read "Strook" in English on my blog

Drawing

After finishing the octopus and my 30-year memories drawing project—which got a bit out of hand—I haven’t drawn much. So this week, something from my archives: a European Otter I drew on commission a few years ago.

Reading

Benjamin Franklin is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. From Walter Isaacson’s1 biography, I learned that the Declaration of Independence—which marks its 250th anniversary this weekend—was just one of his many achievements. At the age of 18, he traveled to London. After returning, he established a publishing house and printing press. His curiosity was boundless.

He mapped the Gulf Stream. He proved (using a kite in a thunderstorm) that lightning contains electricity, and invented the lightning rod. And bifocal glasses. And a much more efficient stove, the Franklin stove. In Philadelphia, he founded the country’s first fire department and fire insurance company.

Even in his own time, he was regarded as a famous scientist, including in Europe. In America, Franklin experimented with the Leyden jar, which can store energy. He connected several of them together and called this a “battery.” We also owe other electrical terms to him, such as “positively” and “negatively” charged.

Franklin practiced self-improvement by focusing on a different virtue each week. Thirteen virtues, such as calmness, justice, and moderation. Four cycles per year. In a little book, he recorded his moral progress, measured in terms of self-control. Each mistake earned him a dot. A habit tracker, nearly 300 years before the app.

Our times could certainly use a Benjamin Franklin.

Listen

My favorite folk artist, Truman Sinclair, released a fitting song this weekend to wrap up the newsletter: “You know there was a fire on the 4th of July.”

See you next week!