Listening to: Various albums by Jorge Ben Jor
- Samba Esquema Novo
- Gil E Jorge (with Gilberto Gil)
- Africa Brasil
Taj Mahal is stuck in my head… 🎵
Listening to: Various albums by Jorge Ben Jor
Taj Mahal is stuck in my head… 🎵
Listening to: Aman Iman by Tinariwen. I am a newcomer to “desert blues,” but so far I really like the sound. 🎵
Listening to: “Walking Backwards” by Clutchy Hopkins. Who is Clutchy Hopkins anyway? 🤔 🎵
Southwest dropping open seating isn’t just a change in policy, it’s a change in their brand. As Seth Godin says:
A brand is not a logo. A brand is a promise, a story and a shorthand. A brand tells us what to expect the next time we engage with you.
Being named Fred is not a brand. Fred is your name, not your promise. If you’re an unreliable, selfish hustler, that’s your brand.
Listening to: Tourist by St. Germain Good background music for work this week. And, to my old ears, it still holds up well 24 years after its release. 🎶
Allowing “Team orders” has never improved the racing or the show for the fans. It’s just a sideshow for points and money. 🏎️
Amongst all of the racing this past weekend, there was some great racing below the radar. First was the Xfinity race in Chicago with SVG battling with Kyle Larson and then, while, you can watch the end. Second was the there was an epic battle between Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert in Townsville. 🏎️
Listening to: Ki-Oku by DJ Krush and Toshinori Kondo I was able to find a used copy on eBay. Unfortunately, this album is not available anymore. For me, it is an album worth saving and supporting. 🎵
This episode reminded me of a quote for a recent post by Ted Gioia:
We don’t need to destroy the bad stuff, because there’s some kind of quasi-evolutionary process at work that will eliminate it anyway. But goodness is more fragile, and needs our support.
Listening to: Stan Getz: The Bossa Nova Albums I need to learn more about Stan Getz’s connection to bossa nova. There is something about his playing that sounds perfect in this context. 🎵
Listening to: Into the Wind by Bei Bei & Shawn Lee Shawn Lee’s collaborations are always worth a listen. This is a fun combination. 🎵
Listening to: 15 Years of West Coast Cool by Greyboy 🎵 Two top tracks are “Got to be a Love” with Quantic and Sharon Jones and “Genevieve” with Bart Davenport.
Currently reading: The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge 📚 Skimming/Reading through this book as a primer on Systems Thinking.
Listening to: An Evening with The Sound Providers by The Sound Providers 🎵 This is one group I wish was still making music…
Gizmodification: Transforming a useful product, or service, into something less useful and less resilient through the continuous addition of unnecessary gizmos. 🤔 📐
My apologies to anyone who already came up with this word and/or created a better definition…
Has anyone attempted building a “zettelkasten” in Miro? I was about to start using Obsidian, but IT at my employer isn’t a big fan so I need another option. Since Miro is approved, has tagging and links, and can rearrange content via tags, I am starting to think it might be viable. In case of Miro going extinct, there is always the imperfect CSV export option, PDFs, and images. Let me know if you have any thoughts or advice… 🤔📓💻
Listening to: Arvo Pärt Choral Music by Polyphony & Stephen Layton 🎵
Top tracks are Solfeggio (sounds like softly reverberating bell tones) & Alleluia-Tropis.
I really like James Clear’s post on muddy puddles vs leaky ceilings. I spend too much time splashing around in the puddles when I should just go for a walk… 🤔
Some problems are like muddy puddles. The way to clear a muddy puddle is to leave it alone. The more you mess with it, the muddier it becomes.
Other problems are like a leaky ceiling. Ignore a small leak and it will always widen.
Listening to: Kofi by Donald Byrd 🎵
I appreciate Seth Godin’s post on incompetence. Humility plus a recognition that growth isn’t easy helps you make progress. 🤔
If you’re not open to the tension that is caused by knowing you could do better, it’s unlikely you’re willing to do the work to get better. As you’re doing that work, there’s the satisfaction it brings, but also the knowledge that just a moment ago, you weren’t any good.
Below are my (current) thoughts on how creativity works. Core to this framework is the idea that patterns are everywhere (behavior, natural world, human creations, etc…). Patterns organize how we live and interact with the world. 🎨📐🤔
There are other elements involved, like how to recognize when a new pattern is (potentially) needed. Or, more importantly, the steps needed to make sure the new pattern solves the issue or create a better outcome. A different framework is needed to assess the proper “fit” of the pattern - and I currently lean towards integrative, or systems, thinking over customer-centric or business-centric models.
Listening to: Rounds by Four Tet 🎵
Not sure why it took so long for me to listen to Four Tet. I took the plunge today after seeing a recommendation. Looking forward to hearing more…
You can’t solve for what you don’t understand.
I saw a pitch for a design concept today (not my project but related, and by another firm) and it was obvious that whoever came up the the ideas did no research, had no understanding of context (the space, adjacent spaces, the institution, etc…), and (for some reason) didn’t lead with listening and asking questions. Have I done that before? Yes. But not for a long time. Today was a good reminder why not to do it again. 📐
It’s a good day when you find a fresh, new roll of Bienfang tracing paper in the studio. Do the tools and materials make a critical difference for a designer? No. But good tools and materials are nice to have. 📐
Listening to: Tractus by Arvo Part 🎵
Some tracks I have heard previously sung by the Tallis Scholars. They sound a lot different when played by a smaller string ensemble. As of now I prefer the voices to the strings.
Currently reading: Funny! by Disney-Pixar 📚
The loose sketches are great, and it is fun to see how the gags and jokes are developed. It’s a good book to get from the library, not developed enough to merit purchasing for reference.