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Joined 9 months ago
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Cake day: February 26th, 2024

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  • I remember this type of discussions and the exact same arguments on Reddit, or was it Digg, way back when. Classic rock then was Phish or Grateful Dead.
    Well, as a result, I’ve never gotten into these two particular bands, but I did start listening to music that’s like 10 or 20 years older than the stuff I grew up with. In fact, only recently, I’ve gotten a record player and some vinyl records. Works great for lo-fi rock which is imperfect by design.



  • You might take the Q&A with Frank Lloyd Wright as a counterexample (abridged, emphasis mine):

    Q: Do you think that you are at any less rebellious, less of a radical in your art and life than you were a quarter of a century ago, Mr. Wright?

    A: Rather more so. Only more quiet about it. Warren McArthur, a very good friend of mine, once said to me, “Frank, hear, you don’t have to paint your shirt front red and stand out in the street and holler about this,” and I began to think it over and I think he’s right.
    If it is right and if it is good and it is sound, it’ll defend YOU if you give it a chance.
    Lloyd Lewis came to me once when I was rolling the reporters downhill in a kerosene barrel to get rid of them. “Frank,” he said, “these boys have to live. Don’t you understand that you’re bringing all this down on yourself just because you haven’t got the wit to be kind to them and to see that they’re sent out here to get something and if they don’t get it, they may get fired.”
    He said: “It takes all kinds, Frank, to make a world.”
    And so I began to give. Here I am, giving again.

    ~~

    Bear in mind that in this interview, he is looking back on a life full of accomplishments, and had to overcome strong headwinds at times. The other snippets on the page linked above can give you an idea of this as well.


  • Yeah, I’ve had a realization a few days ago when I checked out about a dozen songs that had north of 10 million views on YT, but I’ve never heard of them, at all, or of the artists behind them. And all of those were from some 10 years ago. So I guess my taste in music is kind of frozen in time and I’ve been trying for a while to complete collections of “old” artists rather than getting to know new ones.
    I do get occasional inspiration from the folks at I Love Music, though.









    • Language is by far the most important door opener, so put in one hour of learning every day for at least a year.
    • Mingle to get out of your comfort zone: Go to after-work parties and flea markets, take public transit. Use hobbyist/ meet-up apps. Read/ watch the local news.
    • Don’t expect to be invited, especially not to people’s homes. People might also be uncomfortable being invited to your home. Meeting in a public place is almost always the better option, unless you’ve gotten to know someone really well.
    • Irony/ sarcasm don’t translate very well between cultures.
    • Europe has some lousy weather, so get watertight coats and waterproof your shoes and backpacks.
    • Take it slow.
    • Also: Enjoy it! Europe is a fantastic little place at the crossroads between Asia and Africa and I would never want to leave.



  • Yeah but it is, though. Plus the psychological pressure from social media/ FOMO, plus enshittification everywhere, plus the constant undercurrent of wages and job opportunities eroding away from us due to inflation and upper-class greed.
    People were happy when mobile phones entered the scene and became affordable. It didn’t take long for employers to use them for asking tasks of us during off-time for profit maximization, though. Not to mention the constant feeling of being spied on and experiencing the gathered data being used for being bombarded with creepily targetted ads.
    I’m sorry for today’s youth, growing up thinking this is all perfectly normal and nothing can be done about it.