What I’m watching/reading/listening to: Ascenseur Pour l’Échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows)
It’s kind of wild, kind of lonesome, kind of dark, kind of not. And it has a great soundtrack by Miles Davis

What I learned this week: Wow…this was a really good interview. Really life-changing actually.
In summary: Reality is bliss. Ignorance is suffering.
Finding Joy in a World of Suffering

What I enjoyed this week: Another Period. Craziness at its deadpan best

Quote o’ the week: One of the great attractions of tribalism is that you don’t actually have to think very much. All you need to know on any given subject is which side you’re on. You pick up signals from everyone around you, you slowly winnow your acquaintances to those who will reinforce your worldview, a tribal leader calls the shots, and everything slips into place. After a while, your immersion in tribal loyalty makes the activities of another tribe not just alien but close to incomprehensible. –Andrew Sullivan

Song o’ the week: Bjork – So Broken
Devastating. I like the studio version is better, but watching her perform is just something else

What I’m watching/reading/listening to: The Good Place. never has a show been more enjoyable the more you know about psychology and philosophy. I mean seriously, an entire bit based on the “Trolley problem”?!? awesome!

What I learned this week: The idea of moral luck is pretty mind-blowing
Why do we blame drunk drivers who hit someone more than drunk drivers who make it home OK? We all do this. But have you ever stopped to think about why we think that or how that makes sense?

What I enjoyed this week: Why Trying New Things Is So Hard to Do

Quote o’ the week: There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there. -Indira Gandhi

Song o’ the week: Miles Davis – Générique. Part of an amazing soundtrack for an amazing movie.

What I’m watching: kulning. what the heck? it’s transcendent. it’s magic. all is right with the world if this exists

What I learned this week: 30-40% of produce is wasted because of looks…*looks*…can we possibly be more wasteful?

What I enjoyed this week: No food is healthy. not even kale

Quote o’ the week: Brave men are all vertebrates. They have their softness on the surface and their toughness in the middle. But these modern cowards are all crustaceans; their hardness is all on the cover, and their softness is inside. -C.K. Chesterton

Song o’ the week: 100 Days, 100 Nights by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

What I’m watching/reading/listening to: Touch of Evil (reconstructed version).
The plot is iffy but the b&w cinematographgy is just incredibly atmospheric. I mean, even if you watch the entire movie with the sound off, your life will be better for having done it.

What I learned this week: stick figures can be incredibly touching

What I enjoyed this week: Gardening as metaphor. That…wow…that makes so much sense!

Quote o’ the week: Do not bleed before you are wounded. -American Gods

Song o’ the week: Max richter – the Trees

What I’m watching/reading/listening to: Force Majeure, a Swedish movie. And it’s got Kristofer Hivju!!
Then listen to the Very Bad Wizards podcast where they discuss this episode.

What I learned this week: 52 Things I learned in 2017, which contains such gems as GPS signals are being spoofed in some areas of Moscow: “the fake signal, which seems to centre on the Kremlin, relocates anyone nearby to Vnukovo Airport, 32 km away. The scale of the problem did not become apparent until people began trying to play Pokemon Go.”

Hmm…Pokemon Go as an instrument of government transparency…interesting!

What I enjoyed this week: NPR’s How I Built this podcast. Ben & Jerry’s: Ben Cohen And Jerry Greenfield
Such a good story, with so many good lessons about business and life.

Quote o’ the week:
Why’re you always in a foul mood?
Experience.
-Game of Thrones

Song o’ the week: The Black Mighty Orchestra – Ocean Beach (Cybophonia Cinematic Remix)
A great remix of Henry Mancini’s Lujon
“

What I’m watching/reading/listening to: Will, on TNT. It’s more of a guilty pleasure…production values are high, the script is a bit melodramatic, but there’s an earnestness in the acting that’s fun and touching to watch.

Recently affected by: Patton Oswalt: Annihilation. The first half or so is so-so, but when he starts talking about the aftermath of his wife’s death…wow…devastatingly raw

Weekly bits: How the sandwich consumed Britain. I know you can great sandwiches in London, and the last time I was there, Pret a Manger was my go-to place for a great and cheap lunch. But I had no idea the industry was such a behemoth. And the top selling sandwiches is a real eye-opener (spoiler: I doubt many Americans have had these flavors)

Quote o’ the week: He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery. -Harold Wilson

Song o’ the week: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, by Ryuichi Sakamoto. I’ve literally listened to about a dozen+ versions. This is one of my favorites.

What I’m watching/reading/listening to: Cerebus, the comic book. I’m (re-)reading all 300 issues. Can’t stop reading. This was really made for binge reading. It’s actually better than I remember.

Recently affected by: Radio Lab’s episode on Oliver Sipple
Why are people so threatened by other people who are different from them?

Weekly bits: Can Our Democracy Survive Tribalism? A very thoughtful read. I also just realized that this goes along with the above Radio Lab podcast and the quote below…for better or worse…

Quote o’ the week: You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. -Anne Lamott

Song o’ the week: Poor, poor Ed

What I’m watching/reading/listening to: American Gods, the tv show. I’ve read the book, and it’s great, but the show is an entirely different beast.

Recently affected by: How money can buy happiness, wine edition
“This is a non-trivial task, because of the way the hedonic treadmill works: you get used to stuff. Remember those lottery winners. People become habituated to nice things: while your bigger house or fancier car can indeed make you happy in the short term, you get used to it pretty quickly, and before long you just become scared to lose it.”

Weekly bits: The International Hide and Seek Championship Starts Today
3 words…World. Champion. Title.

Quote o’ the week: To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Winston Churchill

Song o’ the week: Dumun – urtiin duu
Some Monglian music have such a sense of longing, it’s heart-rending.

What I’m watching/reading/listening to: Success is not only not everything, but sometimes…it can be a horrible thing

Recently affected by: What exists, what does not exist?

Weekly bits: *This* is one major key to being the smartest guy in the room.

Quote o’ the week: Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.
― Thomas A. Edison”

Song o’ the week: Koop Island Blues

What I’m watching/reading/listening to: A Touch of Cloth. You can’t go wrong with a show that has John Hannah and Karen Gillan (ok, only for 1 season). And the dialogue is sometimes better than Police Squad:

I haven’t laughed since my wife died
Why did you laugh when your wife died?

Recently affected by: I’ve actually bookmarked this to see it every month. It’s good to have a reminder of your mortality. It’s a helluva motivator. As Steve Jobs said, “…Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.”

Weekly bits: Just a great, short story about Dreams of the Rocket Man

Quote o’ the week: Every day we change the world, but to change the world in a way that means anything, that takes more time than most people have. It never happens all at once. It’s slow, it’s methodical, it’s exhausting. –Elliot (Mr. Robot)

Song o’ the week: How ’bout a whole musical? Ragtime the musical…honestly I didn’t have very high expectations, but…Wow! This musical is amazing!