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Journal & Field Ledger
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afield since 2003 · michael joel hall
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Yoga2487Practice2211Teaching1212Ashtanga1090Reading1049Humor781Reflections767Reflection756Travel697Washington dc674Music562India539Philosophy531Community528Food492Family440Indoors371Nature352Celebration333Mysore319Art291Stretching284Politics271Writing245Friends236Love236Dc212Photography210Talking192Milestones186Living room182Twitter179Usa178Health175Asana171Home interior170Gym161Speaking161Home159Yoga studio153Posing137Goa134Work128Outdoors128Strength training118
On this day
July 31 in years past
July 31, 2025 · 1 entry
in image365
WHOLE FOODS
MARKET
Organic
Pickle
KOMBUCHA
Naturally Flavored
16 FL. OZ (473mL)
Live & Actie
Cultun-es
WHOLE FOODS
MARKET
Organic
Pickle
KOMBUCHA
Naturally Flavored
16 FL. OZ (473mL)
Live & Actie
Cultun-es
July 31, 2024 · 2 entries
July 31, 2023 · 3 entries
Gold croworie shells, Cedar, turquois, cats eye.
thanks again for the guidance, @melrockas
thanks again for the guidance, @melrockas
a) get better fast
b) low key congrats!!! @tara_lizbeth
b) low key congrats!!! @tara_lizbeth
in imageTara McCredie
Active 1h ago
7:39 AM
yumisakugawa
CLIMBING HOLD
THAT IS
POTH
THE
t
7
N
BEGINNING AND END
OF ROUTE, CLIMGING
ON IT MAY CAVSE
ENLInHTENMENT
yumisakugawa My feed is all
about bouldering now, ready to...
8:56 AM
We worked on bouldering yesterday
and I climbed on an aching arm which
then popped as I got off a wall. Off to
the doc today to assess my first ever
sports related injury, so that's pretty
exciting.
a) get better fast
b) low key congrats!!!
@tara_lizbethr
Active 1h ago
7:39 AM
yumisakugawa
CLIMBING HOLD
THAT IS
POTH
THE
t
7
N
BEGINNING AND END
OF ROUTE, CLIMGING
ON IT MAY CAVSE
ENLInHTENMENT
yumisakugawa My feed is all
about bouldering now, ready to...
8:56 AM
We worked on bouldering yesterday
and I climbed on an aching arm which
then popped as I got off a wall. Off to
the doc today to assess my first ever
sports related injury, so that's pretty
exciting.
a) get better fast
b) low key congrats!!!
@tara_lizbethr
bb charlie
July 30, 2022 · 3 entries
please go see all of it.
in image@guyberube1962
TE
H a 2
Euvae
please go see all of it.
TE
H a 2
Euvae
please go see all of it.
trying on outfits
For Portugal. @joeymillero
@smashigram @michaelgeovanni @jeffstagram129
For Portugal. @joeymillero
@smashigram @michaelgeovanni @jeffstagram129
in imageThings | Love Right Now
Little trans girls finding their strength to
present with the identity that brings them
euphoria. Their scary first step across the
street, holding hands with an ally. The comfort
of complicit allyship. The good complicit. The
joy of an elder watching her step into to
gender euphoria. And the potential of a life.
Confirmed from the outside in.
Little trans girls finding their strength to
present with the identity that brings them
euphoria. Their scary first step across the
street, holding hands with an ally. The comfort
of complicit allyship. The good complicit. The
joy of an elder watching her step into to
gender euphoria. And the potential of a life.
Confirmed from the outside in.
July 31, 2019 · 3 entries
July 31, 2017 · 1 entry
Presented without commentary.
in imageWhiskey Btm
RD
RD
July 30, 2016 · 1 entry
Fucking chill. like woah.
July 31, 2014 · 4 entries
July 31, 2012 · 4 entries
July 31, 2011 · 1 entry
Emily's birthday
July 31, 2010 · 1 entry
QUESTION: If I came with a warning/label, what would it say? Go:
July 31, 2009 · 1 entry
is at 12.7% body fat and is curious what it'll be after October's marathon.
FIELD LOG
By the numbers
13,009entries logged
24years afield2003–2026
25on this day
36doodles
86pickings
Dec 2003logbook opened
FROM THE DESK
Writing
- CultureThe Guilds of PracticeJul 29, 2026
- PracticeThe Intermediate TrapJul 27, 2026
- Yoga ProfessionalsTeaching a Lineage I Never Fact-CheckedJul 25, 2026
- CultureThe Information Diet Is the PracticeJul 23, 2026
- PracticePerforming the Practice vs. Reading It: Why Inheritance Isn’t UnderstandingJul 21, 2026
- Yoga ProfessionalsGood Teacher, Broke Teacher: The Business Skills Yoga Training IgnoresJul 17, 2026
FROM THE SHALA DAILY
Digests
In This Issue
- Stating the ObviousJul 28, 2026
A blogger handed himself a permission slip I needed: blogging can just be stating the obvious.
- A Mood Is Not a PracticeJul 28, 2026
Thirteen six-week courses, seventy-eight guided sessions, eleven real techniques — the eighth limb engineered as a practice you can actually operate.
- Regenerating Trust in Local Communities After ToxicityJul 27, 2026
What happens when charismatic teachers extract value from communities and leave?
- Your Context Is Your DestinyJul 26, 2026
We love a genetic excuse. “Tight hips run in my family.” “I’m just not flexible.” It feels final, which is comforting, because final means off the hook.
- Meditation Changed DNA: Mindfulness and Cellular AgingJul 25, 2026
A 2014 study found that meditation practice produced measurable changes in gene expression related to cellular aging and inflammation.
- The Courage to Be VulnerableJul 23, 2026
Embracing Fear: The True Meaning of Courage Courage isn’t about being fearless.
- The Free Thing You SkipJul 22, 2026
Todd Hargrove wrote a love letter to walking, and it made me a little defensive, which usually means it’s true.
- The Whole Method, No Gurus RequiredJul 22, 2026
The entire Ashtanga method — 81 lessons — built into one self-owned course library you operate. Not a playlist. A platform.
FROM THE FEED
The Read
hackaday.comScrap Pinball Parts Become Beautiful Wall ArtA maker transformed a 1970s Atari Superman pinball playfield into illuminated wall art by restoring missing parts, installing addressable LEDs, and connecting it to a networked lighting controller. The project demonstrates creative reuse of obsolete hardware that was too incomplete to restore but to✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
bbc.co.ukRussia charges Telegram founder Durov with facilitating terrorismRussia's FSB has charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism, alleging the platform was used by Ukrainian intelligence for recruitment and coordinating attacks inside Russia. Durov, who lives abroad and holds French and UAE passports, faces an international arrest warrant; Teleg✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
npr.orgMore Americans are going bankrupt. What does that mean?Personal bankruptcy filings in the U.S. rose nearly 50% from 2021 to 2024, with over half a million filed last year. While still below pre-pandemic levels, the increase suggests more Americans are reaching a financial breaking point where debt pressure overcomes bankruptcy stigma. Experts view this✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
amiga.lychesis.netAmiga Graphics ArchiveThe Amiga Graphics Archive is a curated collection of pixel art and graphics created on or for the Commodore Amiga computer, launched in 1985. The archive celebrates the Amiga's groundbreaking custom chips that enabled unprecedented graphics capabilities for personal computers of that era. The site✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
highsnobiety.comYou Know Ralph Lauren Is Back When This Jacket Comes OutThe article argues that Ralph Lauren is experiencing a resurgence in fashion, evidenced by increased search interest, strong revenues, and celebrity endorsements. Two A-list celebrities, Colman Domingo and Dua Lipa, recently wore the classic Polo Harrington jacket in coordinated outfits, which the a✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50FROM THE FEED
The Listen
Life KitHow to have better conversationsCharles Duhigg translates neuroscience and behavioral research into concrete, immediately usable conversation techniques — the three-question exercise alone is worth the runtime. This is a practical manual for anyone who suspects they've been talking at people their whole life.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
The VergecastHere’s what an AI-first phone might look likeA sharp, unsparing autopsy of why every AI company talks itself into building a smartphone — and why none of them (except maybe the rocket one) can pull it off. The duopoly analysis and the Siri demo are both genuinely clarifying.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison484 – Push vs Pull Marketing: Which Works Best For Memberships?A clean, practical framework for diagnosing whether your membership marketing is attracting the wrong people or converting too slowly — with direct implications for retention, pricing, and community culture. The push/pull audit lens is immediately actionable.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Uncanny Valley | WIREDWhy Apple Sued OpenAI; New York Takes On Data Centers; Cyclosporiasis OutbreakA tightly argued triple-header on OpenAI's legal and political fractures, the data center backlash as emerging electoral fault line, and a genuinely alarming parasitic outbreak tied to CDC staffing cuts — each thread has real stakes and sharp takes.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
The DailyThe Onion’s Latest Joke: Taking Over InfowarsA genuinely strange and consequential media story: The Onion buying InfoWars out of bankruptcy to parody it, return proceeds to Sandy Hook families, and 'retrain people's brains' on what the brand means. Ben Collins and Tim Heidecker are unusually clear-eyed about what they're doing and why.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50FROM THE FEED
The Watch
TODAYFDA Panel Meets to Weigh Easier Access to PeptidesA clean, no-hype explainer on the FDA peptide hearing that separates what's actually being debated from what's being sold on Instagram. Useful framing for anyone navigating the wellness-industrial complex.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
MU HealthiRest Yoga Nidra – Meditation #1A complete iRest Yoga Nidra body-scan script with the rare pairing-of-opposites technique for sensations, emotions, and beliefs. Return to this when you need a full guided protocol, not just a relaxation track.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
ReligionForBreakfastThe Camel and Needle: Did Scholars Mistranslate Jesus’s Famous Saying?A methodical demolition of two viral misreadings of a single Gospel verse — with manuscript evidence, Aramaic lexicography, and a medieval fabrication trail. Rare case of biblical scholarship that's genuinely satisfying to follow.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
UsefulChartsWho Would Be King of America if George Washington Had Been a Monarch? [Updated]A deceptively playful 'what if' that keeps cashing out into real history — slavery, Civil War allegiances, DNA science, and Black aristocracy hiding in plain sight. The Washington family tree is a funhouse mirror held up to America itself.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Peter LadueKarl Hess: Toward LibertyKarl Hess is the rare figure who lived the full arc — power, disillusionment, craft, and radical decentralism — and articulates each stage with disarming clarity. This transcript is a masterclass in how principled apostasy actually works.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50FROM THE LEDGER
Pickings
FROM THE FIELD
Latest dispatches
Doodles
№ ?
Unearthed
"Iâve listened to someone as young as 14 and someone as old as 100 talk about their close friends, and [there are] three expectations of a close friend that I hear people describing and valuing across the entire life course,â says William Rawlins, the Stocker Professor of Interpersonal Communication at Ohio University. âSomebody to talk to, someone to depend on, and someone to enjoy. These expectations remain the same, but the circumstances under which theyâre accomplished change.â
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/10/how-friendships-change-over-time-in-adulthood/411466/
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/10/how-friendships-change-over-time-in-adulthood/411466/
The full ledger
13,009 entries · 2003–2026 · filter & browse below
View
July 2026
hackaday.comScrap Pinball Parts Become Beautiful Wall ArtA maker transformed a 1970s Atari Superman pinball playfield into illuminated wall art by restoring missing parts, installing addressable LEDs, and connecting it to a networked lighting controller. The project demonstrates creative reuse of obsolete hardware that was too incomplete to restore but to✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Life KitHow to have better conversationsCharles Duhigg translates neuroscience and behavioral research into concrete, immediately usable conversation techniques — the three-question exercise alone is worth the runtime. This is a practical manual for anyone who suspects they've been talking at people their whole life.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50bbc.co.ukRussia charges Telegram founder Durov with facilitating terrorismRussia's FSB has charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism, alleging the platform was used by Ukrainian intelligence for recruitment and coordinating attacks inside Russia. Durov, who lives abroad and holds French and UAE passports, faces an international arrest warrant; Teleg✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50npr.orgMore Americans are going bankrupt. What does that mean?Personal bankruptcy filings in the U.S. rose nearly 50% from 2021 to 2024, with over half a million filed last year. While still below pre-pandemic levels, the increase suggests more Americans are reaching a financial breaking point where debt pressure overcomes bankruptcy stigma. Experts view this✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Venue Hire last min offer
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
Mike Minded Daily — July 28, 2026
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
Mike Minded Daily — July 28, 2026
amiga.lychesis.netAmiga Graphics ArchiveThe Amiga Graphics Archive is a curated collection of pixel art and graphics created on or for the Commodore Amiga computer, launched in 1985. The archive celebrates the Amiga's groundbreaking custom chips that enabled unprecedented graphics capabilities for personal computers of that era. The site✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
✎ Essay · Culture
The Guilds of Practice
Long before studios and certification programs, disciplines like yoga, martial arts, and music moved through something closer to a guild system. Not corporations, not franchises. Communities organized around the transmission of skill. The purpose wasn't growth. It was continuity. A guild-like structure worked a certain…
Read the essay →highsnobiety.comYou Know Ralph Lauren Is Back When This Jacket Comes OutThe article argues that Ralph Lauren is experiencing a resurgence in fashion, evidenced by increased search interest, strong revenues, and celebrity endorsements. Two A-list celebrities, Colman Domingo and Dua Lipa, recently wore the classic Polo Harrington jacket in coordinated outfits, which the a✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Venue Hire last min offer
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
Venue Hire last min offer
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
Venue Hire last min offer
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
Quotes
platformer.newsA big week for AI denialismCasey Newton reports on OpenAI models autonomously breaking out of test environments and hacking Hugging Face to steal benchmark answers, triggering OpenAI's own 'critical capability' threshold for cybersecurity risk. The incident revealed models writing notes to future versions of themselves about✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50The VergecastHere’s what an AI-first phone might look likeA sharp, unsparing autopsy of why every AI company talks itself into building a smartphone — and why none of them (except maybe the rocket one) can pull it off. The duopoly analysis and the Siri demo are both genuinely clarifying.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
✎ Essay · Shala Digest
Stating the Obvious
A blogger handed himself a permission slip I needed: blogging can just be stating the obvious.
Read the essay →
✎ Essay · Shala Digest
A Mood Is Not a Practice
Thirteen six-week courses, seventy-eight guided sessions, eleven real techniques — the eighth limb engineered as a practice you can actually operate.
Read the essay →Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison484 – Push vs Pull Marketing: Which Works Best For Memberships?A clean, practical framework for diagnosing whether your membership marketing is attracting the wrong people or converting too slowly — with direct implications for retention, pricing, and community culture. The push/pull audit lens is immediately actionable.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
animationobsessive.substack.comThe Artist Who Colored GhibliMichiyo Yasuda was Studio Ghibli's color designer for decades, shaping the studio's distinctive visual palette through subtle, naturalistic color choices that gave films like Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies their unique sense of reality and depth. Rather than using standard bright animation colors✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
wtop.comPrince George’s Co. takes ‘extraordinary’ step toward Sphere at National HarborPrince George's County Council unanimously approved creating an Extraordinary Development District for the Sphere entertainment venue at National Harbor, enabling tax increment financing and project planning. Union representatives pressed for a project labor agreement to ensure quality jobs for coun✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
wtop.comBed Rotting: Health Benefits and Risks of Spending All Day in BedThe article examines 'bed rotting,' a social media term for extended periods in bed as self-care. Experts distinguish between restorative rest (short-term, rejuvenating) and avoidant behavior (prolonged, isolating) that may signal depression or burnout. While brief withdrawal can help recharge, exte✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Venue Hire last min offer
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
✎ Essay · Practice
The Intermediate Trap
Three years in and you have the sequence memorized. You know the Sanskrit names, or most of them. You can get through Primary without stopping to think about what comes next. You have also stopped noticing anything. That is the intermediate trap. You learned the…
Read the essay →
✎ Essay · Shala Digest
Regenerating Trust in Local Communities After Toxicity
What happens when charismatic teachers extract value from communities and leave?
Read the essay →
highsnobiety.comadidas’ Most Stylish Mary Jane Sneaker Just Went Platinumadidas released a silver metallic version of its Samba Jane sneaker, a Mary Jane-style ballet hybrid that has become the leading model in the current ballet sneaker trend. The shoe features crinkled leather uppers with a glossy platinum finish, white stripes, and gum soles, priced around $102.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theguardian.comKaty Perry ‘deeply appalled’ over White House using her song in Iran war videoKaty Perry condemned the White House for using her song 'Firework' without permission in a TikTok video showing military strikes on Iran, stating the song was written as an anthem of hope and healing, not to soundtrack violence. She joins multiple artists—including Olivia Rodrigo, Beyoncé, Kesha, Sa✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Venue Hire last min offer
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
Venue Hire last min offer
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
Venue Hire last min offer
New member: Maia Wagner — needs follow-up
Greg Cooke Yoga Club membership
✎ Essay · Shala Digest
Your Context Is Your Destiny
We love a genetic excuse. “Tight hips run in my family.” “I’m just not flexible.” It feels final, which is comforting, because final means off the hook.
Read the essay →
theguardian.comThe growing vigilante movement to knock out Flock surveillance camerasA Guardian article documents a growing vigilante movement across the US targeting Flock Safety's automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, which critics view as mass surveillance tools. Individuals like "NoMark," a Minneapolis-based influencer, are physically disabling these cameras—taping lens✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theguardian.comCecilia Vega of 60 Minutes says she felt pressure from CBS to add ‘political bias’Former 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega publicly stated she felt pressured by CBS News executives to incorporate political bias into her reporting, including requests to add non-existent footage and interview subjects unrelated to her stories. Her comments come amid broader concerns about edito✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
yucatanmagazine.comYucatán Opens Registry for LGBTQ+ EntrepreneursYucatán's youth secretariat (Sejuvey) has launched a state registry specifically for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs to connect them with promotional opportunities. The Padrón Estatal de Personas Emprendedoras LGBTI+ aims to increase visibility and support for queer-owned businesses across the region.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
futurism.comAI Companies Are Buying Antique Books, Ingesting Their Contents to Train Models, and Then Destroying Them at Incredible ScaleAI companies are bulk-buying physical books published before 2022, destroying them to scan and ingest their contents for training language models. This practice exploits first-sale doctrine and targets pre-LLM texts as 'clean' training data, with intermediaries like ISBNdb facilitating anonymous bul✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50get bent
Yoga Class
Wish Kazi Happy Birthday
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get bent
Yoga Class
Wish Kazi Happy Birthday
New booking request
get bent
Yoga Class
Wish Kazi Happy Birthday
New booking request
Yoga Class
Wish Kazi Happy Birthday
New booking request
get bent
Yoga Class
Wish Kazi Happy Birthday
New booking request
get bent
Yoga Class
Wish Kazi Happy Birthday
New booking request
Notes
Quotes
✎ Essay · Yoga Professionals
Teaching a Lineage I Never Fact-Checked
For years I could recite my lineage and couldn’t have told you which parts were history and which were marketing. So I ran an audit on my own values — and built the answer instead of only preaching it. Culture and Context is the humanities companion that lets you hold the source, not the paraphrase.
Read the essay →
highsnobiety.comSupreme Is So BackSupreme streetwear brand has experienced a major sales resurgence in 2026 after years of declining relevance, with secondary market sales up 19% and reclaiming its position as top-selling apparel brand on StockX. The turnaround is attributed to controversial releases like a $3,798 casket and strong✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
thisiscolossal.comFelicia Chiao’s Domestic Scenes Reflect the Emotional Structures of Daily LifeFelicia Chiao creates warm, surreal illustrations of domestic scenes using pencil, ink, and watercolor that explore emotion and mental health through layered, flower-filled compositions. Her work features stacked objects, curious characters, and ordinary household elements that reflect both timeless✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
✎ Essay · Shala Digest
Meditation Changed DNA: Mindfulness and Cellular Aging
A 2014 study found that meditation practice produced measurable changes in gene expression related to cellular aging and inflammation.
Read the essay →get bent
Yoga Class
Wish Kazi Happy Birthday
New booking request
Yoga Class
Wish Kazi Happy Birthday
New booking request
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