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Bread Infographic
A London bakery used a loaf of bread as a graph to illustrate the costs of running their business. “The Dusty Knuckle is a ‘purpose-driven’ business: ‘we strive to use our busy operations to help at-risk youth take forward steps in their lives through on-the-job training and mentorship.’ The Insta post says that ‘all the…
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Hard things are supposed to be hard.
From The EQ School: “Changing old patterns, ending relationships you’ve outgrown, raising children, creating from your core, letting go, stretching, growing, and stepping into the unknown. The more worthwhile endeavors require you to show up vulnerably & honestly, and they leave space for something new to happen.” They go on: “All of my familiar self-protective…
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On Tyranny
John Lithgow reads 20 lessons on Tyranny, penned by historian Timothy Snyder. 1. Do not obey in advance 2. Defend institutions 3. Beware the one-party state 4. Take responsibility for the face of the world 5. Remember professional ethics 6. Be wary of paramilitaries 7. Be reflective if you must be armed 8. Stand out 9.…
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Guerra de las Galaxias, Presentado por ¡Cerveza Cristal!
The original Star Wars trilogy didn’t air in Chile until 2003, and when it did, it had only one sponsor, a beer company that in lieu of traditional commercials, hilariously inserted scenes featuring their beers. This is something I think about often. Apologies for the poor Spanish in the title. (Via Kottke)
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A “Brief Respite from a Harsh Reality”
A “chess set made from paper in the Buchenwald camp by political prisoner Hermann Rautenberg, a Jew from Berlin.” “On an old fishing boat, posing as a group of innocent boating enthusiasts, Herman Rautenberg from Berlin met with other youths involved in anti-Nazi activities. In spite of being arrested a number of times, Rautenberg was…
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“If you can’t be a good example, at least try to become an interesting cautionary tale.”
Not sure what is exactly that Merlin Mann is up to, but he’s been posting words of wisdom on Github. Lots of gems.
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Rest in Peace, Steve Albini
I know there’s “cooler” albums to talk about, but In Utero and Surfer Rosa were profoundly important to my teens, and I haven’t stopped listening to Mclusky Do Dallas since seeing them in San Francisco this past March. My friend Tom had the good fortune of studying under Albini in the early 2000s and had…
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American Moviemakers on Letterman
Rewatching American Movie unlocked fond memories of Mark and Mike on Letterman. I cannot stop laughing.
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Brain Scans of Jazz Musicians Reveal Secrets to Creative Flow
As reported in The Conversation: “Flow, or being ‘in the zone,’ is a state of amped-up creativity, enhanced productivity and blissful consciousness that, some psychologists believe, is also the secret to happiness. It’s considered the brain’s fast track to success in business, the arts or any other field. But in order to achieve flow, a…
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Charles Schulz Drawing Peanuts
“I wish I had a better education but I think that my entire background made me well-suited for what I do. If I could write better than I can, perhaps I would have tried to become a novelist and I might have become a failure. If I could draw better than I can, I might…
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Pop (T)art(s)
From Wikipedia: “Introduced in 1964 and initially called Fruit Scones, the name was soon changed to Pop-Tarts as a pun on the then popular Pop Art movement.” (File under “things learned watching Jeopardy!)
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Best Debut Albums
I know I just mentioned him, but longtime music critic Steven Hyden recently ranked 100 debut albums for your reading pleasure. Some that stood out to me: The Go-Go’s, Beauty And The Beat (1981): “This band is in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame, and this album is 90 percent of the reason why.”…
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Benedict Cumberbatch and Ian McKellen Read Letters by Kurt Vonnegut
From two Letters Live events, great letters filled with great advice from one of the twentieth century’s best minds. Key takeaways: Reduce and stabilize your population. Stop poisoning the air, the water, and the topsoil. Stop preparing for war and start dealing with your real problems. Teach your kids, and yourselves, too, while you’re at…
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Attainable Aspirations Inspired by Great Humans of the Past
A friend has been going through what they are confident can be defined as a “midlife crisis.” I too have been thinking about a lot of the “big picture” stuff the last year or two, and have been trying to get better at living life. I do a lot of reading, offline and on, and…
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The Beatles and Productivity
I spent all of the Sunday after Thanksgiving watching Get Back, arguably not the most productive way to spend a day. But The Beatles’ productivity stuck with me, months and months later. Unsurprising, their staggering output is undeniable proof of just how productive they were in such a short period of time. Former journalist Tom…
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The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders
A small pop-up restaurant in Tokyo where “no one knows if what you ordered will come out OK.” It is aptly named The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders, and all of the servers taking those orders have dementia. Founded by former news organizer Shiro Oguni, after he stumbled upon Yukio Wada’s group home for dementia care.…
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Films Are Allowed to Make You Think
Had a conversation last night about this video from Bill Maher that I saw via a tweet from Scott Adams on this year’s Best Picture nominations, which Adams calls, “feel-bad ‘entertainment’ that gives you brain damage.” I haven’t seen all of the films (yet), but I wonder if Adams or Maher have either, or why…
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If You Ever Wanted to Know What the Inside of My Head Looks Like.
Pretty sure the Kadokawa Culture Museum in Japan nailed it.
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“All we want to do is make people happy, make people smile.”
This year thousands of people turned their homes into floats for Mardi Gras, capturing so much of what makes New Orleans great: creativity, positivity and resilience.