Quality and Politics

November's Curated Ingest

*head massage* GIF to start off this post

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 🙂.

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The Sensual

• Idk what this jam sesh was but it was dope to experience

• 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.

• Teenage Engineering made an ITX case?!

• 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

  Tara Skurtu (bio)

  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.

• A 5 year old climate essay.

• “After Michigan Killings, Students Praised Shooter Drills. But Do They Really Work?” Reading this NYT article just made me tired and upset.

• Paris Marx op-ed on web3 and misc. new internet trends.

• Fintech in the Metaverse - was fun helping bring this to life :)))

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Misc. Life Updates

I am 21 now! Thank you to those who helped make it a special night <3

I titled this one ‘The Weight of Academia’

That is all, I hope you all have a holiday season filled with rest and good conversation,

Andrei