July 2011
Declaring war on subtlety.
Subtlety is possibly the worst invention in human discourse. Not because I think everything needs to be blatant and clearly visible to all, but because subtlety is often used as a way to make courage seem undignified. This occured to me while I was talking to a friend about relationships.
Here’s the definition of subtle:
...
So, I bought an xbox.
Currently sitting at home, setting it up.
Because doing things YEARS after everyone else did is the new cool.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-24) →
Plan B (29)
MellowHype (27)
Theophilus London (24)
Big Sean (21)
Fall Out Boy (16)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
People who are not impacted negatively by...
Examples include:
racism
sexism
the class system
xenophobia
religious discrimination
credentialism
eleven million other things
Important note:
I still want you to TALK about these things, LEARN about them, ASK about them, SHARE experiences relating to them, and feel welcome to contribute to discussion of these ideas, making sure that others understand your perspective, and making sure...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-17) →
Radiohead (114)
Fall Out Boy (37)
Lupe Fiasco (20)
Beastie Boys (18)
The Roots (14)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Every morning I wonder:
“Am I the only person under 40 in this neighborhood with no tattoos?”
“I ain’t got that much to lose, just a laptop and some dusty shoes.”
– Stop It, Theophilus London
“This Painting is Not Available in Your Country” →
In a Perfect Tech World..
adamhaider:
Click to view the rest of the series
dear internet-based businesses,
I really wish that online businesses, especially those operating in the social space, would understand the same thing they’ve been muttering under their breath at music labels, tv networks, and book publishers.
Just because a business model worked in previous situations, doesn’t mean you need to keep selling the same damn thing your industry was always selling.
There are situations...
attention industry: my problem with offices. →
attentionindustry:
When people talk about coffee shops these days, the phrase ‘third space’ comes up. A third space, in these situations, means a place outside of work and home, where people feel comfortable spending some of the time in-between that makes up their lives.
An office, on the other hand, is a…
Why I hate working in offices, and what I’d do different. Traditionally...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-10) →
Big Sean (56)
Jean Grae (47)
Eminem (39)
Bad Meets Evil (38)
Frank Ocean (35)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
i'm starting to feel jealous of the weirdest...
in the last couple months, i’ve been utterly convinced i’m getting old.
the things i want, the things i worry about, the way i feel (mentally and physically) and the awkward fit i find in trying to merge my current interiority with my current externality.
if my quarter life crisis was worrying that i didn’t know what i was doing, who i wanted to be, or how to get there, then...
To Create Real Change, Change The Heart →
I just had an idea.
And it isn’t (directly) about understanding the impact of technology on behaviour.
Listening to Matthew Good Band.
Nothing is ever going to sound as much like the soundtrack to my life as the music I loved when I was 16.
Every ignorance, every memory, every first experience with an emotion, tied to music and lyrics like these.
I can barely stand to listen to it. I can barely stand to stop.
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key details left out of previous post:
in my university years / first 2-3 years in the workforce, what I do on a professional level now, was my hobby.
I’m hardly complaining, but I used to research and write POVs and recommendations (in the form of blog posts, mostly) regarding digital communications for fun. Now I get paid to do it.
As a consequence, the 1) amount of time I can spend doing it for fun, and 2) the specific...
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Issue identified.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m realizing just how much of a problem not having any hobbies is.
Put more bluntly, my life was a cycle of working very hard, then blowing off steam, for about two years.
Work would be time spent at the office, or writing and research and networking done in the pursuit of getting better at what I do. Blowing off steam was essentially drinking with...
Digital presence and information nomads →
I broke 4,000 posts on tumblr.
that seems excessive.
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odd realizations.
I don’t think many songs have made me cry. But a few of songs make me WANT to cry, if that makes any sense.
I’m listening to ‘The Last Broadcast’, by Doves.
It’s reminding me of that exact moment when a massive rush of emotion crests and you just… surrender.
I don’t surrender to much, these days.
“There was a point in the late ’90s where all the graduating M.B.A.’s wanted to...”
– Marc Andreessen on the Dot-Com ‘Bubble’ - NYTimes.com
yeah. what he said. (via bijan)
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Our biggest language problem.
We use words negatively, as approximations of what they actually mean, without considering the impact.
And I’m not talking about saying something is ‘gay’. I always find that particularly infuriating, because 99% of the time, the person using ‘gay’ negatively isn’t referencing anything even tangentially related to homosexuality.
I’m thinking of words...
“Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best...”
– George Bernard Shaw [The World, 15/11/1893] (via wilwheaton)
I've been a bit of a hermit for the last few days...
Lots of reasons. Possibly the largest of which being that I’m on an alcoholiday (not drinking), which inherently limits my options re: hitting my normal haunts for normal fun.
That, and I’m trying to figure a few things out. That doesn’t really serve to make me more social.
But tomorrow is another day. Another day I plan to spend cleaning and running errands.
Some things aren't to be explained.
I’ve spent about a dozen hours this weekend trying to write about the relationship that race has played in my fascination with, and exploration of, online identity over the last 15 or so years.
I learned that I can’t do it. I can try, I can explore, I can make notes, but I can’t express it properly. I can barely make it past the first paragraph.
When talking about this out...
Lazy cooking.
I’m always amazed at how many of my tastiest meals include one or more pre-packaged elements. Instant thai rice noodles are my soup base of choice.
I’d rather drive myself crazy in the pursuit of perfection, than in the pursuit of accepting failure as inevitable while trying to proceed.