Explosions: of choice, thoughts, songs, topics, and football
Hello,
It’s been a while. Thank you for not unsubscribing.
Especially after the last post that 53% of you read (thank you, analytics).
The word for today is EXPLOSION…
Photo by Spenser Sembrat on Unsplash
The catalysts for this exploration into explosions (try saying that five times) are my book, meditation, a podcast, Netflix, a newsletter, and Maradona. I really need your opinion on the first one. Let’s dive right in.
Name, Place, Animal, Thing, aka, my book: the talented folks working on the cover have been hard at work. And now, we’d like your opinion on what ended up being an explosion of choice. And colors. And formats. Pretty please…click on the Big Blue Button below and weigh in.
Meditation - my recent journeys into exploring this in more depth, and my consequent daily meditation practice are a constant reminder of how many thoughts constantly explode in our heads. Quieting them gently is no mean task but is getting a whole lot better. Heads up- lookout for an essay on this in the near future.
My friend, Gwyn, introduced me to Song Exploder, a podcast by the very talented Hrishikesh Hirway. I’d finished listening to two fifteen-minute episodes over a trip to Costco when I learned that Song Exploder is now also a Netflix show. The R.E.M. & Lin-Manuel Miranda episodes are now on my watchlist. Check out the podcast too- beautifully crafted, and a masterclass on podcasts. Heads up- the NPAT podcast launches in Jan 2021. For real, this time. Recordings underway. Here’s my new makeshift studio. Plan B is to start a passport photos business.
Exploding Topics is one newsletter I look forward to reading every week. It’s the one I wish I wrote. It combines data, narrative, and newness. It’s a constant reminder of what makes our race so quirky. Milkadamia and Microlearning. What will we come up with next? Ask Exploding Topics.
Heads up - I’m fascinated by product companies whose products are ‘intelligence’ without a typical product user interface. Like academia. More research needed, and a startup idea is brewing.“You burst on the scene already a legend” - Joan Baez’s evocative line from Diamonds & Rust beautifully describes Maradona’s 1986 appearance in the World Cup. After the infamous Hand of God goal, he gave us this bout of truly explosive football.
PS: the above link includes Victor Hugo Morales’ passionate football commentary- with subtitles. Watch it just for this. It’s audio-visual gold.
At the time, my fourteen-year-old self was inspired by this short man’s persona and by the magic in his feet. Those days, I was among the shortest in my class, and passionate about football. Hence, the Maradona posters that adorned my wall for the next five years spoke to me in so many different ways.
Gracias, and RIP, senor while you finally return that hand.