Thursday, October 3, 2019
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Stop Glorifying Meal Prep!
Stop glorifying meal prep!
It's awesome that people are planning their food for the busy work week, but this is also a sad indicator that work-life balance is non-existent in our society. We all need to eat, so food shouldn't be something we manage but rather something that is supported and enjoyed.
Stop glorifying meal prep and demand you be treated like a human being. We are more productive than ever and compensation has not kept up.
It's awesome that people are planning their food for the busy work week, but this is also a sad indicator that work-life balance is non-existent in our society. We all need to eat, so food shouldn't be something we manage but rather something that is supported and enjoyed.
Stop glorifying meal prep and demand you be treated like a human being. We are more productive than ever and compensation has not kept up.
Monday, March 18, 2019
John Oliver's Show is a Gem!
John Oliver embodies, with actual success, all of my failed comedic endeavors. I've praised him before, but I still don't think he gets enough credit.
I grew up thinking I was going to be an "artist," but slowly learned I was no good at that. The creatives I looked up to always taught me that artists have a social responsibility to comment on the world around them. I hope I was able to capture that sentiment with whatever I did. John Oliver & Team does it with nuance, intelligence, humility, care, and while being incredibly funny.
In this episode he interviews Monica Lewinsky. How she was able to put her life together after going through a meat grinder is beyond me — I know I am not strong enough to have withstood what she went through. What an incredible individual with a great sense of humor.
I grew up thinking I was going to be an "artist," but slowly learned I was no good at that. The creatives I looked up to always taught me that artists have a social responsibility to comment on the world around them. I hope I was able to capture that sentiment with whatever I did. John Oliver & Team does it with nuance, intelligence, humility, care, and while being incredibly funny.
In this episode he interviews Monica Lewinsky. How she was able to put her life together after going through a meat grinder is beyond me — I know I am not strong enough to have withstood what she went through. What an incredible individual with a great sense of humor.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Privilege & Fraud — Academia Is Still Important!
Academia is still a very important institution — it's a place where we: test ideas; gather & share knowledge; challenge each other; and give people the tools to navigate the complicated world around them. That is why the recent news about admissions fraud is even more disappointing. Those that value academia need not turn their back on it, but should be critical & honest about the ethical failures of these schools.
My parents worked multiple jobs and saved for years so that we could move to a nicer school district. In the end, I wasn't able to attend Wayzata High School because they re-did district borders (because you can't have the poorer part of Plymouth coming to such a pristine school). It all worked out for me because I met some of my best friends and had some of the best teachers at Osseo Senior High School. But this is why my professional career will be about breaking down barriers, giving people more access, and helping people to see privilege.
My parents worked multiple jobs and saved for years so that we could move to a nicer school district. In the end, I wasn't able to attend Wayzata High School because they re-did district borders (because you can't have the poorer part of Plymouth coming to such a pristine school). It all worked out for me because I met some of my best friends and had some of the best teachers at Osseo Senior High School. But this is why my professional career will be about breaking down barriers, giving people more access, and helping people to see privilege.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Go Out to L.A or N.Y if You're Truly Skilled
Critical mass and economies of scale certainly matter, but the objective need not be the hoarding of wealth, but rather the gracious diffusion of it. Feed your roots for they shall feed you.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Donald Trump: A Catch 22
I really wanted to see Donald Trump succeed as president because we all thrive if he does a good job. I remained pretty quiet during the onset of his tenure because even Donald Trump deserves a chance. Also, it’s not like I have any real influence on a large, or even moderate, scale. However – minus Nazis, Klan members, and members of the alt-right – I think we have all seen an immense degradation in morality and ethics in the White House and the political space due to President Trump. This is to say I support and believe we need to strengthen the resistance against this failed experiment. But there is a catch 22 to keep in mind when correcting President Trump’s wrongs – even when we win, we lose.
Politics is often a game of optics. If we let President Trump and his team do what they want and we let them run this vehicle into a burning ditch then we get to point at the wreckage at the end of this and feel validated. Yes, we’ll have to put the fire out and clean the mess up, but at least we get to say, “I told you so.” We’ll have some cleaning up to do to a certain degree regardless – we have a lot of apologizing to do in the international space, marginalized groups domestically, and to the future generations of this country and world. However, if the resistance is successful and we are able to mitigate the damage this administration plans to enact history will be able to claim Trump’s efforts weren’t so bad. History will also be able to claim that the resistance overacted. Even if we win, we lose.
Hitler gets a lot of ink in your high school history book. What doesn’t get a lot of ink are the numerous alternative timelines that did not occur because a good group of people prevented a tyrannical leader from burning the house down. A negative occurrence – present & absent and not benevolent & malevolent – doesn’t get any ink because it’s a non-occurrence. You might prevent the ship from sinking, but you won’t get any credit for it because a floating ship looks like business as usual.
So should we prevent President Trump from enacting horrible ideas? Of course, but I wouldn’t expect a lot of praise for doing that work because most of it will be invisible. This notion will be disappointing to some, but it’s important to keep in mind. Cheers to a better tomorrow.
Politics is often a game of optics. If we let President Trump and his team do what they want and we let them run this vehicle into a burning ditch then we get to point at the wreckage at the end of this and feel validated. Yes, we’ll have to put the fire out and clean the mess up, but at least we get to say, “I told you so.” We’ll have some cleaning up to do to a certain degree regardless – we have a lot of apologizing to do in the international space, marginalized groups domestically, and to the future generations of this country and world. However, if the resistance is successful and we are able to mitigate the damage this administration plans to enact history will be able to claim Trump’s efforts weren’t so bad. History will also be able to claim that the resistance overacted. Even if we win, we lose.
Hitler gets a lot of ink in your high school history book. What doesn’t get a lot of ink are the numerous alternative timelines that did not occur because a good group of people prevented a tyrannical leader from burning the house down. A negative occurrence – present & absent and not benevolent & malevolent – doesn’t get any ink because it’s a non-occurrence. You might prevent the ship from sinking, but you won’t get any credit for it because a floating ship looks like business as usual.
So should we prevent President Trump from enacting horrible ideas? Of course, but I wouldn’t expect a lot of praise for doing that work because most of it will be invisible. This notion will be disappointing to some, but it’s important to keep in mind. Cheers to a better tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Millennials Need To Step The F Up
Fellow Millennials,
Like with any failed episode there ought to be a sound exit strategy in place. We are going to have to answer a lot of questions and do a lot of cleaning up after Trump. We better start planning how we are going to mend our relationships with the rest world, with marginalized groups, and how we are going to explain all this to our children. I doubt, "I thought grandma, grandpa, and my cranky neighbor knew what they were doing," is going to satisfy our children when they see the world they have inherited. Let us organize.
Like with any failed episode there ought to be a sound exit strategy in place. We are going to have to answer a lot of questions and do a lot of cleaning up after Trump. We better start planning how we are going to mend our relationships with the rest world, with marginalized groups, and how we are going to explain all this to our children. I doubt, "I thought grandma, grandpa, and my cranky neighbor knew what they were doing," is going to satisfy our children when they see the world they have inherited. Let us organize.
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
A Review of 2018's Music
Really enjoyed reviewing last year's music and making this episode. Please give it a listen and let me know if I should make more episodes like this one.
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