Art Matters
#66 and so do other things
Mini-pitch before the normal newsletter: Yesterday I went to a great event to fundraise for cancer treatment in Mexico for Elijah. He’s a great guy that goes after everything passionately. He performed with his old band and also had a great showing from the local community to support him. If you fancy yourself a giver, check out and donate on his gofundme.
Again?
I bet you’re wondering why both #64 and the midweek article this week are both similar and feature the same podcast. Or like many, you didn’t notice.
The thing is that many ideas and habits aren’t permanently ingrained, they’re being temporarily tested or getting their featured airtime for a few weeks or months at a time before receding in lieu of something new. At the moment, I’ve started listening to podcasts again and browsing Wikipedia more.
This isn’t always the case. I try to keep my “content diet” pretty varied, though some channels are harder than others to avoid. Books are the obvious source I try not to let slip, but sometimes even the reading comes to a screeching halt and I get wrapped up in some TV series or playing a specific game. That’s ok. As long as the inspiration comes from somewhere, it doesn’t matter where that somewhere is. It will likely alter your perspective or output though, like it or not, but in this instance, I’m not sure I’d agree with old tech adage , “garbage in, garbage out”. You can produce quality works by looking at “garbage”, you just have to put a nice spin on it.
This flows in quite nicely actually, that’s luck though, it was not intentional..
Art Matters
Simply a short collection of writing from Neil Gaiman, of American Gods fame, this mini book is highly worth the read — whether it’s because you’ll find it inspirational, motivational, or simply enjoyable. (Note: I linked the series, but I’ve never seen it, just read the book, which was really fun to read)
I listened to the audio book which may take away some of the enjoyment since I missed out on the illustrations, but maybe in the end it doesn’t matter.
I do feel like I need to write more because of it. And make other things that are “art” — whatever form that make take. So stick around to see how the outputs end up here or elsewhere!
Here’s Neil’s short credo that opens the book. It’s probably lazy of me to just copy and paste, but it’s more likely you read it here than check the book out and see it then. You can listen too, if you prefer.
I believe that it is difficult to kill an idea. Ideas are invisible and contagious, and they move fast.
I believe that you can set your own ideas against ideas you dislike. That you should be free to argue, explain, clarify, debate, offend, insult, rage, sing, exaggerate, and deny.
I do not believe that burning, murdering, exploding people, smashing their heads with rocks (to let the bad ideas out), drowning them, or even defeating them will work to contain ideas you do not like. Ideas spring up where you do not expect them, like weeds. And they are as difficult to control.
I believe that trying to stop ideas spreads ideas.
I believe that people and books and newspapers are containers for ideas. But burning the people will be as unsuccessful as firebombing the newspaper files. It is already too late. It is always too late. The ideas are out. They are hiding behind people’s eyes, waiting in their thoughts. They can be whispered. They can be written on walls in the dead of night. They can be drawn.
I believe that ideas do not have to be right to exist.
I believe you have every right to be perfectly certain that images of god or prophet or man are holy and should be kept unspoiled. And I have the right to be certain of the holiness of speech, of the holiness of the right to make fun of, to comment, to argue and to speak.
I believe I have the right to think and say the wrong things. I believe your solution for that should be to argue with me or to ignore me. And I should have the same solution for the wrong things that you think.
I believe that you have the absolute right to think things that I find insulting, stupid, ridiculous, or dangerous. You have the right to speak, write, or distribute these things. I do not have the right to kill you, injure you, hurt you, or take away your liberty or property because I find your ideas threatening or insulting or downright disgusting. You probably think my ideas are pretty awful, too.
I believe that in the battle between guns and ideas, ideas will, eventually, win.
Because the ideas are invisible, and they linger, and, sometimes, they are even true.
Eppur si muove: and yet it moves.
Busier, happier, more productive
Don’t get upset with me for changing the lyrics, thanks Thom.
Growing up I always skipped this song, but the opening phrase always comes to mind since the words are pretty common.
Unrelated to Radiohead, the point I was going to make before getting sidetracked naming this section is that the more things I have going on, the more I tend to get done. I have mentioned inertia before and I think this slots into that same topic.
If you’re already busy, up and about, it’s easy to fill time with other “movement” and production — especially when it’s so radically different from work, for example.
As I begin a new project with Microsoft, I’ll find myself with much less free time, and yet I don’t really worry about having time to explore and intake inspiration for these newsletters nor do I worry about having time to write it. I did it the whole time on my last project with no issues.
I might even go as far as saying that in the absence of work I found it harder to find topics to discuss. Without daily communication with multiple people you have less vectors for spontaneous curiosity. In addition, I’m on the computer much more often so the likelihood I pop open a tab to read later and watch it blossom into a thread before my eyes is far greater.
I hope I don’t jinx myself here. Have you noticed this?
This might be contingent on being interested in the things that are keeping you busy. If you hate what you are doing then maybe it’s more likely to feel burnt out and want to veg out in your free time. I’m really not sure, this is just us pondering something together today ;)
Niche Knowledge
Many people are on the fence or against TikTok. Especially with some videos of live streaming tip-based reaction videos went viral this week. However, there is such a vast repository of knowledge (and yes terrible misinformation) on the internet and hiding in these videos. Most companies don’t know how to convert social media into money. Many try and fail. Some however use these platforms to entertain and inform and become a valuable and/or enjoyed part of the global community. It doesn’t always target the right people but it gets their message across and (with scale) probably will hit those who can actually impact them.
In this case, I wanted to share a particular new favorite account talking about redwood forests, preservation, and conservation. (Redwoods Rising)
There are countless topics that have experts making content, you just have to find it. And have a keen eye to decipher which are just conspiracy theories, jokes, and crack pots. Hint: If they’re using the spooky music it’s probably a conspiracy theory. Though there may be some truth to the things they’re saying, make sure to use this as a springboard for research and don’t just take it face-value.
Happy exploring!