Pat Metheny Group: Secret Story (2007)

Eclectic sonic materials throughout that resemble the album cover’s collage, yet it all seems to belong together. There’s always emotion and sentiment despite compositional complexity. Generally enjoyed the cinematic moments, mood of the 1970s, and the mixing of orchestra with electronic sounds. My favourite moments: an interesting vocal texture to start the album in Above the Treetops; the sound of a sitar played like a guitar in Facing West; the raw earthy vocal scatting and hard sever-meter groove in Finding and Believing; the high-energy vortex soloing environment, abundance of lush harmonies (typical of Metheny’s music) in See the World.

[Emotionally immature people can push humor on others as opposed engaging in it to strengthen bonds.]

[Too much sarcasm can mean a closed person who fears connection.]

Charlie Haden, Pat Metheny: Beyond the Missouri Sky (1996)

Each track is like a short story, with an arc painting different emotions and a clear melody. I admire the timbral simplicity of an acoustic guitar and bass duet. Occasional dubbing of other instruments. My favourite Two For The Road, with guitar soloing that explores various rhythmic feels and ‘out’ harmonies.

[Parents may be able to relax and tolerate more openness when they sense you seem strong and no longer need to win their attention or approval.]

Let's talk about a message to conservative parents....

[Every parent aims to raise their kids to be better than they are, and in your case they succeeded.]

James Long on ActualBudget

[CRDTs gave me undo for free.]

The Source of Sadness

[By tolerating discomfort we actually broaden our comfort zone.]

• Meditation might seem abstract for various reasons, but it can be thought of as simply 'practice and observe what happens'. If thoughts flood us asking 'are we there yet?', then we can step aside and allow it to pass without identifying with it: recognize it as part of what's happening at the moment.
• Success can mean 'helping others recognize and act from their place of abundance'.

Friendships, Scenes, and Growth

['Yes and' over 'one up'.]

[A rhythm for improvising together.]

BASU: BASU (2021)

Badass, unapologetic burst of weird energy from David Binney and Kenny Wollesen. Filled with swirly saxophone solos, glitchy effects, synth accompaniments. Constantly mixing electronic with analog, improvisation and composition. Lots of multi-layering soloing. Note the separate cover art for each track.

Tom Misch: Tiny Desk Concert (2018)

Uses simple, common musical forms and devices, but with tasteful harmonic surprises. Everything is rhythmic, including the singing. Body-shaking, head-banging grooves, makes you go ‘ooooh yea’.

Blood and Dust: Around Your Grave I’ll Light a Ring of Fire

(2021 single). This new release very quickly enters a world of their own creation. Kind of impressed how someone like me who doesn’t listen to music with this aesthetic can thoroughly enjoy it—still not sure why. The intense and dark beat becomes into something simultaneously slow and fast. Love the crunchy noise synths throughout.

[Sign language illustrates reality as opposed to representing it.]

The global streaming boom is creating a severe translator shortage

[Netflix lost about half a million subscribers in the United States and Canada, but gained over a million in the Asia-Pacific region.]

[Translating Korean to French through English makes as much sense as translating English to French through Korean.]

Try these two smart techniques to help you master your emotions

[Having a small emotional vocabulary makes it easier to reduce situations with a broad brush.]

[People with larger emotional vocabularies tend to have less health issues.]

[Make the butterflies in your stomach fly in formation.]

[Categorizing as 'not about me' saves energy when you're down, and is useful when you're up to put the emotions in perspective (the result of social reality).]

Daniel Vassallo

[Good interviews help me understand something new about myself or good ways to phrase things.]

[With 5000 email subscibers before launch, endorsements from Netlify/Vercel, number one on Product Hunt, $1500 revenue on launch day, it seemed like the signals were pointing in the right direction. Yet it didn't grow as expected and ended up earning $10,000 over two years.]

[Can't validate an unpredictable market.]

[I work to sustain my ideal lifestyle.]