Quality and Politics
November's Curated Ingest
I have been trying to roll through the waves of my emotions and be more aware of my reactions, which was productive after a particularly deep depressive stretch. I had a wonderfully present and restful few weeks afterwards. (I think my newfound confidence and boisterousness made me want to express myself through clothing and my credit card bill ran up pretty high 🤭). Unfortunately, after expending a lot of social energy the week of and before Thanksgiving, I now feel incredibly detached from my regular routine. I have found that turning my phone to black and white and uninstalling social media has helped… but, my brain feels like it’s filled with molasses and the words that do come out do not match the thoughts in my mind. I have been feeling more but can’t seem to get the feelings out yet. It feels like burnout but very different from the ways I've experienced burnout before.
I've also been thinking a lot about the relationship analog and digital experiences have - how one of the oldest technological challenges has been digitizing music or theater. Interface-heavy technologies like screens, speakers, audio codecs, etc. have been stalling in innovation the last decade. While there are many reasons that help explain this, I do wonder what else there could be. Makes me think of Pirsig and his metaphysics of Quality. Someone in England is making a Pirsing inspired DAO called ZEN Bikers Guild, and I want to start the NYC chapter.
I have a fun collection of links below! Some music, political economy/urban development, poetry, etc. Let me know what you found most interesting 🙂.
The Sensual
Visual programing language for synthesizing music and creating visuals from the sound. I want to play with it!
One of my favorite directors - Jonas Lindstroem - created a short film for Reebok. I liked this a lot.
I got to see this exhibit at MoMA and I think it may be one of my favorite experiences ever. Plays at the analog/digital divide I mentioned earlier.
Beginning to understand Kanye’s compound.
The story behind ALD, one of my favorite brands. I been extra materialistic the last few weeks and have turned to the world of fashion a lot.
A cool personal portfolio that’s made to be like an OS.
A new holding company has been created for Square, Cash App, Tidal, etc. called Block. I like their site.
I’ve been enjoying the writing of someone I know recently - here’s her blog.
A fun, simple, free version of a world building game - feels meditative to me.
Morning Love Poem
Dreamt last night I fed you, unknowingly,
something you were allergic to.
And you were gone, like that.
You don’t have even a single allergy,
but still. The dream cracked. Cars nosedived
off snow banks into side streets. Sometimes
dreams slip poison, make the living
dead then alive again, twirling
in an unfamiliar room.
It’s hard to say I need you enough.
Today I did. Walked into your morning
shower fully clothed. All the moments
we stop ourselves just because we might
feel embarrassed or impractical, or get wet.
The Political
“What Does It Mean To Save A Neighborhood?” A good NYT piece on the LES and how efforts to build public works have been stalled. A commentary on why the US cannot seemingly build great public works anymore - something my generation hasn’t seen essentially at all. I liked the way how they included photography with quotes in this piece, and the comments were also interesting to read.
“After Michigan Killings, Students Praised Shooter Drills. But Do They Really Work?” Reading this NYT article just made me tired and upset.
Fintech in the Metaverse - was fun helping bring this to life :)))
Misc. Life Updates
That is all, I hope you all have a holiday season filled with rest and good conversation,
Andrei
To make it into another Curated Ingest is to win the lottery. Happy Birthday brother <3
The more I read your blog, the more I understand your world, your thoughts and your challenges. Happy birthday my son! Enjoy the rest of the year and I cannot wait to see you back home for the holidays. Basil is waiting too. Love, dad.