Journal

125 entries under "talk"

Monday, March 11, 2024

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.]

Friday, March 8, 2024

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.]

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

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?

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Twilight

[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.]

Friday, March 1, 2024

How to make the most of the garlic you buy from the store!

[Feed soil with dry garlic skins.]

Thursday, February 29, 2024

for the chronic criticizers

[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.]

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Let’s talk about what an iconic photo can tell us about Border Patrol….

Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Collective intelligence with Conor White-Sullivan

[Your past self is another person.]

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

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?”]

Monday, February 19, 2024

Phenology, Time and Synchronization

[Befriending a bird, the news spreads to other animals.]

[We refer to plants in English as “whats” and “its”, implying an object, rather than “whos”, implying living beings.]

What would it mean to speak a language thousands of years older than English?

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Let’s talk about a gofundme for Trump….

[Someone working at $15 per hour wanting to raise 355 million dollars would have had to start in the year 678, BC, and that assumes a twenty-four hour workday with no weekends or holidays.]

Thursday, February 15, 2024

for when something feels off

[When someone’s lying to you: 1. tell them you need to come back to the conversation (and walk away); 2. say “something feels off”; 3. simply wait, as it makes dishonesty uncomfortable.]

Monday, February 12, 2024

your defense against yelling.

[Add pauses around your verbs to appear more controlled in your speaking.]

Sunday, February 4, 2024

17 Foreign Words English Desperately Needs

[Abbiocco: Italian for ‘food coma’.]

[Schnapsidee: German for stupid ideas, like arranging furniture late at night while drunk.]

[Ubuntu: Zulu for “I am because we are.”]

[Sommer: Afrikaans for “just because”.]

[Tartle: Scottish for not remembering the name of someone you just met.]

[Mamilhapinatapai: Yámana for everyone wanting the same but noone acting on it.]

[Treppenwitz (staircase wit): German for thinking of a comeback too late.]

Jacob Collier Answers Instrument & Music Theory Questions From Twitter

I aspire to talk this deeply, fast, and fun.

Thursday, February 1, 2024

1.8 Million Subscribers (and no one cares)

[Musicians can play until they’re 98 years old and beyond, but nobody wants a YouTuber doing that.]

[Not making an industry money puts you in a somewhat adversarial relationship.]

[The YouTuber career inevitably ends in burnout.]

[YouTubers have no elders, only peers, and this is isolating. Musicians have those who have been doing it longer than them, and a community in the real world to engage with.]

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

how to respond to passive aggression

[Respond to passive aggressiveness by: 1. clarifying if that was ‘meant to be helpful or hurtful’?; 2. stating when you observe negative tone even when they claim to mean it positively; and 3. acknowledging that it’s okay to not be okay and communicate that it’s a safe space.]

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Let’s talk about changing American foreign policy….

[Build power for yourself and your community instead of borrowing it from elected officials.]

[If you want to make a difference in areas where the USA invades, you’re better off buying solar panels or an electric car because it helps shift the dynamics to not require the resources for that intervention.]

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Growing your own food is the highest form of meditation.

[Soak cardboard in water for fifteen minutes, wrap around a glass jar, and remove just before dry. Use as a plant pot and place in soil to prevent root interference.]