Category: Family and Musings

Kendrick Lamar interview

I’m a big Kendrick Lamar fan. Although some of his cultural references are hard to keep up with all the way over here in South Africa, I really appreciate his musicality and his creativity.

When I first heard him, the man seemed to be on a mission. There was more to his songs than a hit record. The depth of his music impressed me.

This interview is fantastic and confirms my suspicions. In particular I love how Kendrick describes his work as a sort of document for people in the future to look back on. It’s a really good interview. Kendrick Lamar’s focus and dedication to his art, with mindfulness of the broader community and heritage is something to aspire to, in my opinion:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/post/idsa.193137a0-2629-11e7-bb2e-fa528de050a0?mt=1&app=music

 

Painting versus writing

Yesterday I painted a wall from green to white. Not the most exciting thing I’ve ever done, but I learned something nonetheless.

For good results, there is a definite, clear, systematic way to best paint a wall in one single colour. (FYI, first comes covering up the parts you don’t want to paint, then comes painting the delicate edges, then comes moving systematically from one side of the wall to the other, filling in the gaps. Once dry, repeat). Not much room for improvisation, dawdling, doodling or spitballing. Not much creativity once the system is in place.

I love writing because it is completely different. The blank page doesn’t have to be filled with one particular type of word, it can involve as many or as few words as I like. The end result is variable. I can do what I want within the parameters of the page. I can take you to the moon or throw you into a hole. I can create a new world out of thin air, and I can drown it in a flood if I so choose. (I generally wouldn’t so choose – but you get the point) – this writing process is creative versus the industrial, repeatable painting job.

I’m glad I am not a wall painter. But at least I got another blog post out of the time spent yesterday :).

Desensitization

If something that is abhorrent, abnormal or unacceptable to society becomes your norm, what do you do? Of course this is a hugely subjective question. So some examples for a thought experiment.

If you are hooked on video games and can’t stop yourself from playing 5, 6, 7 hours a day, what do you do?

If you are used to seeing graphic images online and find yourself watching pornography far more than you care to admit, what do you do?

If you can’t stop throwing up the food you eat, because you feel like it will make you fat even though it is in fact a balanced healthy diet, what do you do?

If you accept bribes as part of your daily routine at work, what do you do?

If you don’t recycle your rubbish and burn fossil fuels every day in your car, what do you do?

Abstinence may form part of the solution. Letting go of preconceptions and control seems to play a part in some of the cases. Almost certainly the solution involves soul searching, a whole lot of courage, and a multi-pronged attack which can be draining and requires full commitment.

 

Side hustle

I need a new job… not a 9 – 5 job, but a 5 – 9 job.

This job will be working with one of my passions and it will involve creating something to sell. At first i will try and sell something…a single unit….with the price being the least possible amount I can turn a profit. And I will take it from there.

All I need now is a decision on what to make and sell!

 

A reboot reblog

I have fallen off the bandwagon in a big way in terms of regular blog posts, so to get back on the bandwagon (what is a “bandwagon” anyways?) I am going to reblog a Godin post about intention. Do everything with intention and you are in control of your live.

Something done unintentionally, is essentially done by someone or something else. And that amounts to slavery. Check out the post related to intentional media consumption.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2017/03/whats-on-tonight.html

Media – an African perspective

Seth’s latest is about the most succinct and important post I have read this year. Give it a read:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2017/02/nextstep.html

What interests me is the perspective that Seth has on the issues he raises – namely he is American and is at the heart of the most developed, sophisticated economy in the world – and the media he is exposed to is a reflection of that. On the other hand, I live in Africa.

In many ways, we Africans are leapfrogging Americans and Europeans in terms of consuming media – we are keen to use technology. We get the latest TV shows, movies and sports from all over the world. Premier league soccer games are passionately followed even in the poorest slums in Nairobi. We have access to Twitter, Facebook and the internet. Mobile telephones have been taken up far quicker here than they were in the developed world – so there is a case to be made that the surplus of the internet and the ‘race to the bottom’ trends Seth speaks of are likely accelerating quicker here than in the USA.

There is also huge scarcity in Africa – however rather than an artificial scarcity controlled by the FCC or its local equivalent, African scarcity is driven largely by poverty. Unfortunately poverty combines very neatly with any media agenda that is pushing us to think short term – to care about now and not later. I think Africa’s environmental degradation and lack of investment in culture or education is in part a reflection of this. Scarcity is in conflict with the ubiquitous internet. I am still getting my head around how this plays out locally in terms of media consumption. The pace of change and media consumption is slower because of scarcity. Access is restricted. Africans cannot contribute as much to their own media and culture because of poverty. We are influenced by other continents far more than we should be. Just ask a local if he’d watch South African or English soccer. My bet is England any day of the week because of the exposure it has gotten through the TV networks.

Despite these differences between geographies, Seth’s ending point is still completely true the world over: “We’ve been willing participants in this daily race for our attention and our emotions. But we don’t have to be.”

Every now and then we must get out and do something other than consume.

 

Speeches

Making an impact on an audience is difficult. Powerpoint presentation design, tone of voice, content, lighting, manner when speaking – it all needs to be thought of when you make a public presentation. The speech needs to be refined and rehearsed.

However, more important is what you have done in the years and decades leading up to that point. If you don’t have the message clarified over time due to a consistent history with the subject, then it will all sound a little desperate. I think you need to have a long track record behind you and the impact you make with a speech is not the result of a couple of nights’ work – rather it is the culmination of many bits of previous work. If you gain a reputation for a line of work that is channeled, focussed and weighty due to your reputation with the audience – you will probably make an impact. If a speech is grappling to be relevant and consistent with who you really are then it will fall on deaf ears.

 

 

 

Album Covers

So I am up early due to baby-screaming-in-the-night syndrome. It’s a tricky syndrome to manage… I have taken the “Stuff it let’s just get up at 430am” approach.

But I digress.

I have been thinking about album covers and how important they are still. Even without the physical album, digital streaming is enhanced by the album artwork and the information traditionally contained within the album cover. It’s all about the Metadata.

With a surplus of information, the trick is collation and turning chaos into a neat package to sell to folks. There is a premium for turning your messy downloads and MP3s into a cohesive library that looks beautiful. For proof – check out this product: https://roonlabs.com/

Besides, who wouldn’t want to look at a Tiger in a leather jacket while listening to CRX? Happy Tuesday!

album