Today is a gift worthy of thoughtful consideration. What will you do with it?
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Category: Personal Reflections
Lessons learned about life; pearls of wisdom I’ve gleaned through pain, failure and honest reflection
My Thoughts On Seth Godin’s “I’m Sorry Takes Guts”
I greatly appreciate the mind of Seth Godin. Here’s what I read from him today:
“I’m sorry” takes guts
I recently saw two men arguing about who got to use the urinal next.
As a result, neither got what he wanted, and neither could honestly say that his day got better.
The need to win every interaction, the inability to apologize, the short-term over the long-term–this isn’t a sign of strength, it’s a symptom of immaturity and weakness that almost always leads to suboptimal results.
If apologizing engages the network and makes it more likely that we can stay in sync, it pays for itself many times over.
For years, so much of what passes for debate in our culture isn’t, well, debate. So often it’s simply shouting past each other. How many social media posts are titled “My political person just pwned yours”. We don’t value thoughtful discourse, the exchange of ideas, and the basic notion of respect. Right now, we’re about “winning”. And even the illusion of winning gives us a sense of satisfaction. This will not move us forward.
We will never work together, fully, as a society with this model. As long as we value this our divisions will remain. And whatever potential we have will remain unfulfilled.
Streaming Music On YouTube
I’ve been exploring music on YouTube for years. I’ve found the YouTube Music feature pretty lackluster, but that’s probably mostly due to my eclectic musical tastes and interests.
Lately, I’ve been obsessing about a couple musical things. First, the Hang Drum. Imagine a steel drum that’s much more portable. I find them rather ethereal and lovely. I particularly like the video below. The music is delightful, and the imagery stunning. My favorite combo on the platform. Here’s a playlist I’ve started, and will add to as I go forward.
Another recent musical obsession: these long playing live streams. I’ve been bopping in and out of the one below for months…maybe years.
Design Matters Podcast Featuring Derren Brown
I love to listen to podcasts. As I try to go for a walk every evening, that’s one of my favorite times to listen. One of my favorites podcasts is Debbie Millman’s Design Matters. This week’s edition features mentalist, hypnotist, and what I’m going to label “anthropological psychologist” Derren Brown.
I was unfamiliar with his work until this evening. And when, during the introduction, they described his performance work, I disconnected some. Which really helped me actually listen. Most often, I’m feeling compelled to capture every detail. But mental magic/hypnosis? Yeah…and I was pulled in.
Listening to his description of what’s happening in the minds of the audience spoke to my old fascination with psychology. And then I was able to see the connection to all the things I love. Communications is psychology. The mind is the key component for this inter-human facilitation of information transfer. Even my haiku reflect that. I love the challenge of communicating an idea with a few words as possible. The stripping down to the essential.
Also, I appreciated the notions of suggestibility and how it plays out in multiple human contexts. And reminders of how malleable memory is.
So, with all that, I highly recommend you take an hour and listen. It was very enlightening.
Quote of the Day: October 4, 2019
Someone, somewhere, won’t like you no matter what you do. If you’re the nicest person ever, someone will despise you for being nice.
Therefore, be true to yourself.
A Happy Birthday Haiku
As I expect most of you know, I have a thing for writing haiku. I actually have a whole blog dedicated to them. They’re fun and packed with meaning in such a small package.
Since today’s my birthday, it seemed like a fun subject.
Anyway, enjoy! And enjoy the day. Seattle’s looking to have quite a lovely one.
My Own Save The Wave Playlist
Inspired by C89‘s DJ Trent Von and his Save The Wave show, I crafted my own playlist in Spotify. Give it a listen and let me know what you think. What’s left out? What shouldn’t be on this one?
If you’re a fan of Trent, here are a few places to connect with him online:
And here are some sites to learn more about his style, background, and, well, listen to his playlists.
- C89’s Archived Shows
- Soundcloud
- MixCloud
- Article about him in the Seattle Weekly from 2006. I remember his sessions at Neighbors on Capitol Hill back in the mid-90s. It was a huge part of my life.
Watch “Watch This Before You Make Another Decision” on YouTube
Ah, good ol’ Gary V! I deeply appreciate his raw “get the fuck off your ass and get to work” videos. See, I dive deep into over-thinking. Churnimg through “what-ifs” is reflexive. And second guessing my choices? I’m a master at that, too. And it drives me nuts. I KNOW it’s a waste. I KNOW you can’t know how any choice would play out differently. Yet my brain churns through this nonsense. These videos are a good reminder to be vigilant against that and stop that waste of energy, that degradation of confidence. Forward! Move forward. Move, and forward. Don’t look back.
Do you remember?
So, do you remember?
Watch “Earth, Wind & Fire – September (Official Music Video)” on YouTube
Some thoughts on sound
The past few days have brought a few opportunities to edit some sound files. I’ve used Audacity in the past, but it hit me that Adobe’s Audition is part of my Creative Suite subscription. I found it slick and fast. Now I was only trimming the files and boosting the audio. It felt much easier to me. That might be due to my decades of experience in Abode products. This, their UX is somewhat natural.
Next. I want to spend some time exploring balancing sound, cutting out noise and such. It should be fun.
What’s your favorite tool? I lean towards Audacity mainly, if for no other reason, free!