I Found It! (But Have Nothing Else to Say)
I don't have much to share today, but for the best of reasons
Dan Lewis
May 02, 2025
Happy Friday! If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format differs from the rest of the week. On Fridays, I pause to write the "Weekender," my "week in review" type of thing, or to share something else I think you may find interesting. Thanks for reading! — Dan
I Found It! (But Have Nothing Else to Say)
Hi!
I was writing this morning and something cool happened — while writing, I found what I was looking for. Here’s how today’s Weekender was supposed to start:
Writing Now I Know is fun. I find interesting little facts, explore further, fall into rabbit holes, and dig my way through by sharing what I discover with you. Sometimes, though, the story ends up being a dead end, and with nothing to share, I move on. That’s annoying but not a big deal. This week, something weird happened: I found a story that may actually be sharable, but not for the reasons I originally thought, and that totally threw me off. And I couldn’t validate the coolest part of the story — which tainted the whole thing, at least to me. So I didn’t write it up this week. Instead, I’m going to give you a behind-the-scenes view of my process (and frustration!) around this story.
But it can’t because something very cool just happened: while writing up this backstory, I checked one last source, and validated the cool part of the story. Stay tuned next week for:
The fun fact I discovered and the story behind it, probably on Monday or Tuesday;
The behind-the-scenes story of how I found the topic, almost gave up, and — as a last-ditch effort to verify that there was no “there” there, found that, yes, there was. That’ll be next Friday’s email.
As a result, though, I don’t have anything to share for today 🙃
Before I jump into the Week in Review, though, a quick thank you to everyone who responded with your donations after my gentle (I hope!) call-for-support last week. I really appreciate it! And to everyone else who wrote in with their thanks, I appreciate that too!
The Now I Know Week In Review
Monday: Maybe There is Such Thing as Bad Publicity: If you’re a fan of the movie My Blue Heaven, you’ll really like this.
Tuesday: He Sent an SOS to the World, 2000 Times: A lot of messages in a lot of bottles.
Wednesday: The Belgian Grandmothers That Helped Win the War: Knitting as spying.
Thursday: The Rain of Fish: I joked in the subhead that “rain” was “not a typo,” but then I had a typo/brainfart later where I wrote “email” instead of “whale” somehow. What a strange mistake! I corrected it on the archived version.
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And thanks! — Dan
Long Reads and Other Things
Here are a few things you may want to check out over the weekend:
1) “Bad Dojo: Tiger Schulmann Didn’t Get to Be America’s No. 1 Karate Kingpin Without Busting a Few Faces” (Esquire, 54 minutes, April 2025). Normally, I shy away from sharing exposés because the person under the microscope doesn’t participate in them. But in this case, the subject agreed to an interview — and then some. It makes for a very fun read. Here’s a pull quote:
By the time we meet at the Challenge of Champions, Tiger Schulmann has already decided that I’m writing a hit piece. “If it’s going to be that,” he says, “write it without me.” But soon the bobbing and weaving switches into rope-a-dope. Schulmann can take the hits—and counterpunch too. He has a different story to tell if I will listen: how he forged a culture of discipline, personal growth, and honor—and defended it without apology. “You might even change your whole mind,” he says. “I’m gonna leave out all the bullshit.”
There is plenty to boast about. Ten fighters—all homegrown at his schools—that he placed in the UFC. The wayward young cousin he molded into a loving father and successful franchisee. The dozens of school owners—some netting up to $500,000 a year—who lead lives of meaning and purpose. Schulmann’s induction into the New Jersey Martial Arts Hall of Fame. The five hundred instructors, franchisees, and friends who recently raised a glass at the company’s fortieth-birthday party.
And those embittered former senseis? The dojo storming and stacks of cardboard boxes filled with litigation? “All those things only made me stronger,” Schulmann says. To his detractors, he has some advice: “You’re responsible for your own life. You’re responsible for what happens to you. Stop blaming other people. Stop being a wimp. Stop being a wuss about it.”
2) “‘I Have Cancer,’ the TikTok Star Said. Then Came the Torrent of Hate.” (New York Times/gift link, 30 minutes, May 2025). I rarely get hate mail, and I tend to think that’s (in part) a function of the medium I use to connect with all of you. It takes a good amount of effort (and chutzpah) to write an email to someone ranting about something inferred or otherwise. I don’t think I could stomach the comments on TikTok and the like.
3) “The Diabolical World of Phone Scams” (Maclean’s, 18 minutes, March 2025). We’ve all been the target of a phone scam by this point, and thankfully, the vast majority are so obvious we don’t fall prey to them. But many people do, and authorities struggle to stop the scammers. Here’s a look at Canada’s efforts and the barriers to their success.
Have a great weekend!
Dan