"[E]very time you accept the opportunity to be cruel, you increase the ambient level of cruelty in the world, which makes all of us more likely to end up on the wrong end of a pointed finger." – Adam Mastroianni
I only really began to read Adam Mastroianni's writing over the weekend. His Substack is all bangers (pro tip: Underrated ways to change the world, vol. II), and his published papers I perused were impressive too: i.e., The Illusion of Moral Decline & Do conversations end when people want them to? (Spoiler alert: most conversations appear to end when no one wants them to. 😮)
I recently bookmarked his three-part guide on how to be less awkward because, hell, I'm sure there was something I could learn. Well, I did, and you can too! For starters, awkwardness has layers – like an onion:
- The Outside Layer: Social Clumsiness: "the key to mitigating your social clumsiness: give up on the coverups"
- The Middle Layer: Excessive Self-awareness: "If you’re really as bad as you say, why not stop thinking about yourself so much and give someone else a turn?"
- The Inner Layer: People-phobia: "a first-line remedy for people-phobia, then, is to rub your nose in the pleasantness of your everyday interactions"
Adam's anti-awkwardness manual concludes with the wisdom that even if you can’t rid yourself of your own awkward onion, you can at least refrain from fertilizing anyone else’s.
You can help yourself, you'll find, by keeping others in mind. : )
as always, thank you for reading,
Jon
p.s.
🎵 Some new releases that have been on loop: Poison Ruïn, Hymns From The Hills, trauma ray, Carnival & Snail Mail, Ricochet
Twotone turns 12 in '26 & we're offering 12% off to paid subscribers! If this newsletter is a valuable part of your week, give this offer a peek:
April
- 🇳🇱 7 MAAP Amsterdam PRIME Early Ride (6:45)
- 🇳🇱 7 False Flat Tuesday After Work Ride (5pm)
- 🇳🇱 8 Wheelrunner Wednesday AM Ride (6:30am)
- 🇳🇱 9 Gregario Gossip Club Thursday AM Ride (7:15am) & Fridays 18:45!
- 🇳🇱 17 Victoire & Distance Day at Gregario
- 🇳🇱 17 Kamu in Breda Turns 10!
- 🇳🇱 19 Noordt Bike Fest in Rotterdam
- 🇬🇧 23 Bespoked Pre-Show Mixer hosted by Quirk Cycles
- 🇳🇱 23 Mechanics of Joy
- 🇬🇧 24-26 BESPOKED London
- 🇳🇱 26 King of Amsterdam | Monster Cash-Up BMX Jam
- 🇳🇱 30 Claire Tayler Documentary Screening at Workspace 6
May
- 🇪🇸 1-3 The Traka
- 🇳🇱 8 Bike Gear Swap | JOOP Schoorl (vintage MTB special)
- 🇳🇱 8 Dox Under The Tracks Nº15 w/ Sam Newbound
- 🇳🇱 9 Bright.nl E-Bike Party with TMD Locks
- 🇳🇱 9 Bike Gear Swap | Vogelfrei Utrecht (The OG-party)
- 🇳🇱 15 Bonanno at Echelon Cycle Sport in Amsterdam
- 🇩🇪 15-17 Fenderfest
- 🇩🇪 30 Mini Bike Fest w/ OMNIUM
Bikes
TMD Security Pivots From Bank Vault To Bike Lane
SILCA Named Official Chain Lubricant Partner of UAE Team Emirates – XRG
Quirk Cycles Bespoked London Launch Night | 23.04.26
Ideas
Cal Newport: There's a Good Reason You Can't Concentrate
Joe Laverick's Peloton Economy Investigation
Joe Laverick
Joe is publishing a full seven-chapter series on the topic. Each chapter will also be published as a standalone piece on his Substack in the coming weeks. At the end of April, a limited run of physical copies will be made available as a ‘Zine’. I hope to get a copy! Great work, Joe!
AI Panic and the Long History of Bad Predictions
John Biggs
John Biggs reminds us that upheavals have hit humankind in waves, each one reshaping how people live, work, and understand the world around them. Biggs does acknowledge that "People are not just using [AI] to check answers. They are using it to form the answers in the first place. That changes the relationship between the user and the tool. It also changes the user." And after wading through centuries of misproven doomsayers, he concludes, "In short, AGI will be born into a world with two terrible foes: human brilliance and human incompetence. We’re already seeing one of those personified by the modern rise of populist governments. We’re just waiting on the brilliance." Hopefully, we won't be waiting long!
Friends
ENABags' Latest Newsletter: Community, growth, and citizen action!
VERA Cycling's Hell of The North Collection
Max at Gravgrav's Cyclingworld 2026 Recap
Max Riese
If you needed more convincing to make sure you're here next year! Great recap, Max!
Radness
Sofiane Sehili: I Need the Sky Above My Head
Thank you for reading!
Here's to being less awkward & keeping others in mind this week!