I have rediscovered Again by Lenny Kravitz. Playing on repeat. So good.
“Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.”
― William Martin
From the book: The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents
Helicopter Install of Power Line Marker Balls
I will never look at those Power Line Marker Balls the same way again.
(via)
Design Matters: Jessica Hische
“Living unapologetically… You don’t have to apologize because you want to live your life a certain way.”
— Jessica Hische
This Question:
What’s your most important life lesson that you wish you learned ten years earlier?
— Julie Zhuo (@joulee) January 7, 2020
I found so many gems in the answers to this Tweet.
Link Pack
Turn of Mind, filmed in my motherland, Switzerland. I miss the mountains.
– All of the paper sizes. All of them. (via Chris)
– Rob Walker: It Hurts to Be Present
– Did you know you could turn your AirPods into a makeshift hearing aid? If you have ever had difficulty hearing someone during a conversation, AirPods can be your on-demand hearing aid. Apple introduced a feature, starting with iOS 12, called Live Listen. Once set up, you can place your iPhone closer to the person you want to hear, and the AirPods will produce clearer audio for you. To set up this feature, go into your iPhone Settings and click Control Center.
– Why Does Time Slow Down and Speed Up?
– So many books. So much art. This apartment! Wow.
_ I agree with Libby, this is one of my favorite new Instagram accounts.
– This peanut sweater made me smile.
– Now this is a smart travel shampoo and conditioner bottle set.
– This skylight. Wow.
– It’s a stool. It’s a scratching post for cats. I love it.
– A New York woman dressed as a unicorn has made something as mundane as clearing snow from her driveway a little more magical!
– This reference call question is everything.
– How Do I Make Plans Without ‘Getting a Drink’?
– I love these paper kits from Japan.
– This toy storage bag is perfect for LEGO, building blocks… etc
– What to Focus on: Happy!
– Are you looking for a new job? Did you know CreativeMornings has a global job board?
– A big thank you to Parsons at Open Campus for sponsoring my blog this week.
Brené Brown — Strong Back, Soft Front, Wild Heart
Brené Brown says our belonging to each other can’t be lost, but it can be forgotten. Her research has reminded the world in recent years of the uncomfortable, life-giving link between vulnerability and courage. Now she’s turning her attention to how we walked into the crisis of our life together and how we can move beyond it: with strong backs, soft fronts, and wild hearts.
Real Religion
“Real religion is the transformation of anxiety into laughter.”
— Alan Watts
Dog With Sign
I previously posted about the Dude with Sign account, now here comes the Dog With Sign. I like the dog better.
Two-Mountain People
“The basement of your soul is much deeper than you knew. Some people look into the hidden depths of themselves and they realize that success won’t fill those spaces. Only a spiritual life and unconditional love from family and friends will do. They realize how lucky they are. They are down in the valley, but their health is O.K.; they’re not financially destroyed; they’re about to be dragged on an adventure that will leave them transformed.”
— David Brooks
Thank you Jocelyn for reminding me of one of my favorite reads of 2019: Two-Mountain People
♥ / Jump-Start Your Career in UX/UI Design
A big thank you to Parsons at Open Campus for sponsoring my blog this week.
Do your New Year’s resolutions include changing careers, advancing in your current organization, or diversifying your professional skills? Prepare for career moves in 2020 with Parsons at Open Campus, The New School’s destination for continuing and professional education. Parsons at Open Campus offers an array of noncredit certificate programs, drawing upon the vast resources of Parsons School of Design, a top-ranked art and design institution.
This spring, create world-class user experiences for websites, apps, and more with an online certificate in User-Centered Design (UX/UI). In this five-course online program, you will:
– Become familiar with the UX design process, which begins with research and discovery and moves to concept and strategy brainstorming, then to prototyping, and finally to user testing
– Apply principles of human-centered design to increase users’ satisfaction and encourage interaction with systems, services, or products
– Learn how to design effective usability tests and conduct research surveys to gain the input and insights needed for successful product development
– Prototype software products (apps or websites), services, or physical products
– Build a portfolio to share with potential employers and clients
(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)
Blow Torch And Hair Dryer Popcorn
This video on How to Make Popcorn Using a Blow Torch & Hair Dryer is pure delight. Kudos to the creative duo of Zita Bernet and Rafael Sommerhalder.
We Have To Stand Up To Evil
“If our leaders are evil, what does one do? . . . If God gives us free will, we are responsible for what we do or what we fail to do . . . . I can’t do what I believe is wrong. We have to stand up to evil.”
Timely quote from the stunning movie A Hidden Life by Terrence Malick
Mous Lamrabat
Loving these photographs by Mous Lamrabat.
Are You Satisfiable?
On my walk home from work yesterday, I listened to the most recent Hurry Slowly episode. It completely stopped me in my tracks, to the point where I would catch myself standing on a street corner, completely immersed. The minute I came home, I sat down on my couch and started the episode right over again, taking in all of Adrienne Maree Brown’s thoughtfulness and questions. Are you satisfiable? What does it mean to be satisfiable? How do you recognize when you have “enough”? Questions central not just to our own well-being but to attaining a more just and equitable society. Have a listen, it’s nourishing and thought-provoking.
In The Presence of Unconditional Love
“When you are in the presence of unconditional love, that is the optimum environment for your heart to open, because you feel safe, because you realize nobody wants anything from you. The minute that heart opens, you are once again letting in the flow. And that flow is where you experience God.”
— Ram Dass
Link Pack
(via)
– What not to do on your work computer.
– Love this list by the DO Lectures: 12 Books To Help You Write Better
– The Decade the Internet Lost Its Joy. What began as cheerful anarchy was devoured by vulture capital and ruthless consolidation
– This made me laugh so hard. Watch the video.
– Our new Designer at Tattly, Minjoo, created an incredibly sweet calendar for 2020.
– This. Right in the heart. The hug at the end with his mom completely pushed me over the edge.
– Billie Eilish Carpool Karaoke. Fun.
– A table on wheels, looking for conversations.
– Building a More Honest Internet (via Dense Discovery)
– Visualizations that make no sense. It keeps on giving.
– Looking for a last minute gift that keeps on giving? Tattly Subscriptions!
– A big thank you to Baleen for sponsoring my blog and RSS Feed this week.
The Ultimate Touchstone of Friendship
”But no matter the medicinal virtues of being a true friend or sustaining a long close relationship with another, the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the self nor of the other, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.”
— David Whyte
2020 Framework
This 2020 Framework is wonderful. Thank you for sharing, Marie Andrew.
Fantastic Fungi
That’s the trailer for Fantastic Fungi, a feature-length documentary about the worldwide network of mushrooms & mycelium that thrives beneath our feet. I am beyond intrigued and am a complete mushroom aficionado.
Emotion As A Currency for Remembering Content
“According to numerous studies, emotion is a basic currency for remembering content. A listener must connect emotionally to what they hear in order to remember what the speaker says. Simply, we remember most vividly the events in our lives in which we were most emotionally impacted.”
Do You Need Charisma to Be a Great Public Speaker?, by Sarah Gershman