I’ve had to fight hard to stop from linking to all of these pieces, instead I’ll link to the entire issue. There are some deeply thought-provoking articles which deserve further mention and it will come… eventually. This week I’m focused on showcasing interesting publications, so that’ll have to do for now 😋
An interesting and thoughtprovoking publication, which aires towards the more unseemly and unintended consequences of modern technology's deep roots in society. Interesting that its funded by Snapchat, but so far as I can see, remains true to its promise of independence. There are no ads, no pop-ups, etc., just mindbending looks at modern culture.
I dig it, but I will warn you there are a few unflinching takes involving some fairly gruesome topics here. Take it, or leave it.
I've added the The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis to my reading queue but the synopsis from Tamsin Shaw highlights a grim trend: the injection of behavioural psychology into everything. I'm not here to preach the dangers of Big Data and a culture of analytics motivating business—in this case the business of politics—but it is a trend that we should be keenly aware.
A consequence of learning how we are motivated is an understanding of how to actuate those basic instincts. So it only follows that someone would eventually put that understanding to work. It makes sense, right? Even if that consequence feels morally repugnant, we should assume that it will make it out into the world, thus, we should live our lives accordingly.
Okay, so a quick update: I've finished my final (major) edit on the script. Having said that, I've made a note in my mind to only pre-announce projects when they're further along 😝 No matter though, working out in the open should motivate me to get it done. Transparency, amirite?
The next part of the process will be pretty intense. I have to come up with the visual style for my videos. Now, I realise my style doesn't need to be fully formed right from the beginning, but for a project to have long legs requires making some sound decisions beforehand. It's been a while since I've had a designer hat on for more than a hot-take, so this should prove to be quite involving.
Here's what that process looks like so far: screenshots of colours, textures, fonts and the like are strewn across my desktop. I've assembled a tickler file of ideas, influences and references which I keep pouring through. I must admit, it's been fun, yet at the same time tooth-pulling-ly painful to define a style and voice. I get how to do it in text and voice but communicating through motion is a new thing for me. The clock is ticking and I need to pull it all together.
It's been a whirlwind past few months. It's like there's a strange entrepreneurial bug that has bitten me and its fangs are sunk deep. This project is a direct consequence of that bite.
I'm exploring my options based on my circumstances (i.e., without a permanent residence, traveling abroad and working full-time). Like everyone, I want to try out ideas with minimal overhead to weigh me down. Therefore, I'm moving forward with mostly free kit and I am open to change as it becomes necessary. I'm lucky that I've developed some skills and know-how when it comes to working digitally but there is—if I haven't made clear by now—a high learning curve.
This first video will be 100% static assets, no animation, no stock video, just voice, typography and imagery (I might shoehorn in a sketch or two, depending on my mood; it is, after all, a goal of mine to do more illustration). Digital typography has exploded in recent years, so finding a free or inexpensive font family from a reputable foundry has never been easier. Even looking to Google’s font repository, there are some handsome typefaces in there each with their own attitude and style. Stock photography has similarly hit a high with services like Unsplash providing royalty free images for use in your projects.
I don't plan on using Photoshop or Sketch.app[1] for each “scene” so my idea is to fire up Apple’s Keynote. I haven't investigated this, but I assume this will limit me to 1080p resolutions, which would decrease its viability long term. Remember, work fast with what I have and make better decisions next time.
I enjoyed this process of sharing and perhaps it may become useful to someone else. Who knows if there will be more updates in the future but if you do find some value in it, or have questions, feel free to shoot me a message @TRST_Blog
I am (mostly) mobile-only at this point so desktop paradigm graphics and vector editors are largely out of the question. I have access to desktop computers; however, the goal is efficiency based on my current environment and not to focus on how I could do it “if only…” ↩︎
Perhaps as a consequence of the current political climate, resources about cognitive bias have been floating around. I think the fire behind this particular Medium list has subsided post-election but it still makes for some informative reading if you're unsure where to start training your mind.
Happy blind spotting!
I love skateboarding. Reading about the passion these two kids have for riding made my day. It's too easy to forget that skateboarding—perhaps sports writ large—are outlets for expression. I wanted to write “first and foremost” at the end of that sentence, but commercial enterprise tends to muddy the waters of fun and expression. The unfortunate artefacts of “my” generation.
Hopefully kids in this brave new generation my have the sense to enjoy skateboarding for what it can be:
If something is too polished, it feels fake to them. And they're not bound to a timeline. So they naturally skip from Speed Freaks to Cherry to Dressen to Hockey to Salba to Bones Brigade videos. To the twins, there's no cognitive or temporal leap to make between them. It's all just skateboarding.
I think the kids these days are going to be all right:
The twins frequently refer to [video] parts that show people who are having fun and are not “trying too hard,” as Indy explains. When I point out that both of them try hard tricks, they clarify that they're not motivated to do tricks people think are hard—it's about trying hard and having fun.
(H/T Umlaut)
A bit of serendipty this evening. I did not expect to read two pieces purporting to explain the dimly lit world of adolescence told through the lens of skateboarding, but that's exactly where I find myself.
I'm not sure how I feel about the a meandering take on angst, appropriation and race. Bleak, yes. A narrative about modern skateboarding (skateboarders?), maybe. I'll admit the ruminating about “modern” adolescent masculinity did seem to be the article’s tentpole, but my interests were piqued by the back-and-forth of cultural appropriation. A strange read when juxtaposed against the last.[1]
I might need a minute to work out my haze of thoughts. There's something here, I just can't put my finger on it. Gimme a second. ↩︎
When I started this goofy little blog, I made a conscious decision not to flip the design, burn down every word I’d written and start over as the wind changed direction, which is what I had done up until 2011. I needed a place to capture the ideas I had been reading and to serve as a platform to goof around publicly. Writing isn’t a passion of mine, nor am I all that proficient in the craft, its just been a means to an end. I felt an overwhelming need to express myself and text was cheap.[1]
In 2017, this site has survived a full redesign—a Christmas miracle compared to my previous design churn—and no less than 4 different technology stacks.[2] After all that, I’ve really grown to like this little blog. I want to be here more often, to do more with it because, honestly, in this dark corner of the Internet, I’m free to express myself however I want. It’s fun, you should try it.
Like my resolution post for the new year, I wanted to sort out my commitments to improve my home away from home. In the last few weeks I feel like I've gained some real clarity about what I want to explore creatively.
I wrote earlier about exploring certain threads or patterns that interest me and I’m still committed to that plan. The plan needs to be reviewed and clarified, but the outlines are a little less fuzzy than they were when I originally wrote down that thought. If I think more about how the things that I read are captured and grouped, I can do a better job telling their story, so that’s what I’ll do. It is not important for me to be the first to blog about a subject, that’s not my business (n.b., there is no business), so I better put a peculiar spin on the links I capture or the prose I write. I intend to be a bit more mature and wait until I can read the tea leaves from a bit further back. That’s (re)commitment numero uno.
There is another. I want to push a bit outside my comfort zone. Drum roll please... I have been working on a YouTube project. The script for my first video is in its final stages and the video itself is beginning. I don't have a release date, or a posting schedule—so make whatever assumptions you need about the strength of my convictions.
The idea behind the series is to explore what goes into being a modern human. So far its a mix of history, anthropology and sociology of fashion and technology (strange angle, right?). My heart has always been drawn to deeper questions of metaphysics, morals and existentialism, so I suspect that's a foreshadow of what may come. C.G.P. Grey, Kurzgesagt and other educational YouTube channels are a clear source of inspiration for me. Hopefully, I will bring some of my own flavour and won’t sound too similar :P
It would be a lie to say that the past six years had been anything less than enjoyable. With these two commitments (and another side project/experiment) I truly believe that my home on the internet will be that much richer. I don't want to get too teary-eyed but I honestly am astounded that so little effort and forethought over the years could bring me this much joy.
If you haven't yet, maybe you should try setting up your own homestead on the internet. You'll love it, it's a real peach.
Talk is cheaper, but podcasting comes with other costs. RIP Too, a short-lived podcast that used too many words to say too little. Also, what a garbage name. I'm surprised Ryan and I resisted the trend to lose a vowel or two. ↩︎
Not to mention the name change and metaphysical metamorphosis into a floating eyeball. “Hey Siri, remind me to blog that story for the website.” “I cannot understand what you want me to do...” Ugh. ↩︎
I don't often write in a long series of linked thoughts but when I do, I'll reach for this app to help manage the process. Genius.
Have you ever read one of those ”How-To” personal branding articles? You know, the ones that say something like, ”Think back to your core values and list those words that represent who you are to the world,” or something like it. I'm not sure why it popped into my mind this morning but I thought about it seriously.
These are six “values” I came up with:
I'm sure you can spot which one probably wouldn’t end up on a list of the most commonly shared attributes. That said, I tried coming up with something more accurate, but I couldn’t. It just works for me and my braaand.
I really do mean it. I will do everything I can for you because you’re another human being, regardless your stripes, viewpoints, or whatever. You deserve that and I recognise it, that empathy is a big part of who I believe we are as a species. There is, however, a point where I will be pushed no further. I’m not sure where, but I suspect if you take my sincerity as naïvety, or worse, then that’s where you’ll find it.
While I don't get the point of a personal branding exercise, I am interested to hear if you come up with anything unexpectedly honest. So, if you would, share your hyphenated phrase-as-an-attribute with me here: @TRST_Blog.
It's tough to define yourself using only a handful of words; tougher still, if those defining words are limited by your nascent vocabulary. I ought to think harder before I publish such a definitive list in the future. ↩︎
As someone who's deeply invested in the web, both as a developer and user, I've been flummoxed by recent trends in web development. Changes in design and taste aside, how sites and applications are built and the assumptions that are made in their construction are so very different from what I'm used to, let alone what I'm capable of producing. If, like me, you're trying to find out how so much has passed you by, then this is a must read.
(H/T Stephen Hackett)
Related to that history of the modern web I posted, comes this piece from Gina Trapani. (As an aside, I've always admired Gina’s willingness to explore and awed at her honest description of her journey in prose.) Not content to just describe the problem of modern web development, no, she's laid out a sensible series of resources that might help guide you through the current JavaScript landscape. That is, until the NEXT BIG THING drops on our doorsteps in the next ten or so minutes.