[Easier to write a few notes per day than one manuscript page per day.]
[Ideas don’t mingle in an archive: let them play together.]
[The skill of independent research is determining what is the most important task at any moment; following a plan prevents you from learning this.]
Archiving ideas, even if you write them in your own words, doesn’t prompt making connections.
So many of us throw out orange peels..
[Turn orange peels into an insect repellent for your body or plants by boiling and cooling, then strain the liquid into a spray bottle.]
[Or peel the orange part of the peel, rinse with cold water, blend, then mix with a teaspoon of baking soda and water into a paste for a natural teeth whitener you can brush with weekly.]
[Chop them up and use as fertilizer.]
How to get rid of a pimple fast!
[Make an overnight pimple treatment by combining one teaspoon of baking soda and honey with two of apple cider vinegar, then mix into a paste.]
[Turn a bag of baby spinach into powder by dehydrating at 125°F until crispy and dry before grinding.]
Let’s talk about toxic masculinity and men’s movements….
[Glorification of violence convinces stupid people to fight in wars of a state.]
Identity | Language | Knowledge
[When we’re starved for deeply meaningful experiences, it becomes easy to counterfeit consciousness and sell us a shell of it.]
[Most of what exists is likely unknowable.]
[Religion and science collapse the super-container into incomplete representations.]
[The world is fundamentally one being first, unless we separate it into distinctions. Therefore if we destroy it we’re destroying ourselves.]
Hank Green Unpacks YouTube’s Biggest Problems
[There was a period when books were considered dangerous because we didn’t have the social structures to deal with everyone having access. We’re currently in the messy equivalent with video.]
Let’s expand the discourse about Empire
[America is a business.]
Genius way to clean carpets / couches!
[Make a natural carpet cleaner with baking soda, dish soap, 2 cups of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and some fresh lemon juice; mix until foamy. Dip in and squeeze a towel, then wrap a saucepan lid to use as leverage before scrubbing.]
Brad Mehldau: The Greatest Jazz Pianist of Our Generation
[Written chord changes are an expedient way to quickly coordinate playing together, but they lack precision to specify things like voice-leading even from more popular songs like Blackbird.]
[I like to add a note to so-called ‘stock voicings’ for crunch.]
[The intellectual aspect of improvising happens as you make sense of music. WhT happens in real-time while playing is an natural reflexive response based on everything you’ve learned.]
[Can you tell the same story with just two notes?]
fluid switches between discussion and piano playing
Why Can’t We Make Simple Software?
[Complexity is an inevitable result of internals interacting with themselves, and can’t be solved by tools.]
[Starting over will not avoid complexity, but can reset the clock to give you some breathing room.]
Is it funny, or is it hurtful and ppl are laughing to defuse the tension?
[Just like tickling, pseudo-comedy evokes laughter as listeners relieve discomfort and misinterprets their response as enjoyment.]
What’s your role in creating true systemic change?
[If you call yourself an ally to certain people and aren’t getting hit by the stones thrown at them, you’re not standing close enough.]
[Healing without allyship is spiritual bypassing and privilege. Protesting and organizing without healing will undermine the efforts you support. Protest without litigation becomes self-serving, and litigation without protest lacks teeth. Critique without counter-growth creates burnout. Building systems without addressing the ugliness of the current one is detached.
3.5% of the population can shift the entire political reality of a nation.
[Protests spark a sense of possibility and can easily bring newcomers to want more.]
We interviewed the Mozart of Gen Z - Colin and Samir
[Your heroes make things possible.]
[Finding your voice involves trying stuff; not possible to ‘contribute’ by waiting to find your voice first.]
[Try making the worst song ever.]
[A question culture versus answee culture.]
[Questions last longer than answers.]
[My room is my spaceship and I can command it to go wherever I want. My job is to tune in to the internal weather: what’s turning me on today?]
Jacob Collier edits his own videos?
[Desire always implies you don’t have it.]
[Trills are like musical edging.]
[Disavowal let’s someone get what they are afraid to want and without risk of exposure that comes from asking.]
How to make the most of the garlic you buy from the store!
[Feed soil with dry garlic skins.]
[When someone always criticizes you: 1) ask if was meant for you or if they just wanted to hear it out loud; 2) ask “how am I supposed to do that?” to tease out whether they have actually thought about it practically; and 3) confirm that “what I’m hearing is…” to clarify if there’s anything constructive.]
Let’s talk about what an iconic photo can tell us about Border Patrol….
Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.
Collective intelligence with Conor White-Sullivan
[Your past self is another person.]
quick tips for difficult conversations
[Have a difficult conversation by: 1) avoiding small talk or “how are you?” and starting with “thanks for making the time to speak with me”; 2) state that you need help with what to do or feel about the subject; and 3) finish by sharing that you feel settled or like the direction, and then ask “how about you?”]