Mostly, I Write

Una influenza nei cartoni animati e fumetti giapponesi, cioè anime e manga, è la seconda guerra mondiale, che ha segnato molti degli autori principali. Ma non è accaduto per caso: è l'animo dei giapponesi ad essere predisposto a metabolizzare le influenze usando la loro poetica. Money quote: "Si può capire come possa essere attraente una storia d’invenzione confezionata su un quadro storico, se solo si tiene conto che la storia giapponese ha un gusto quasi fabulistico fino a oltre metà ’800, momento della sua apertura all’Occidente, che lascia indietro un mondo medievale tutto proprio: un teatrino fatto di fascinose geishe, samurai che all’improvviso si trovano a girovagare per il Giappone senza un padrone, sotto un ordinamento politico che si snoda attraverso le caste dello shogunato, fatto di signorotti arroccati in un mondo silenzioso di giardini chiusi e porte scorrevole che sa di antico ancora alle soglie del secolo scorso. Un mondo che viene sconvolto senza ritorno all’arrivo dal mare di misteriose Navi Nere." http://storiaefuturo.eu/lombra-della-seconda-guerra-mondiale-nellanimazione-giapponese/

Arriva Freeform, l'app di Apple per il brainstorming: come funziona? - l'ho spiegato su Italian Tech https://www.italian.tech/2022/12/15/news/lapp_per_il_brainstorming_di_apple_diventa_disponibile_per_tutti-379156840/

"Avatar 2" è un film da vedere (e poi dimenticare) - la mia recensione per Fumettologica https://fumettologica.it/2022/12/avatar-2-recensione-film/

La soluzione di un informatico per restare in contatto con le persone a cui vuole bene: uno script Money quote: "Some months ago, I built a small script to help me stay in touch with those who matter to me. The concept is fairly simple: I want to stay in touch with person p every t period of time. If t has passed, and you haven't talked to p, you get a reminder. I've been using this script/system for the past 5 months, it has served me well. I've been keeping up with mentors, ex-managers, family, and friends - without much effort. Which is the goal. It's not that I don't like editing a bunch of markdown files every week - but I wanted something smoother." https://duarteocarmo.com/blog/infrequent

Vi sentite soli? La scienza spiega come fare. Anche la nonna e pure Tinder, se è per questo, però questa volta proviamo con la scienza, va. Money quote: "“HEARTBREAK IS AN OPPORTUNITY.”" https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/strategy-heartbreak-science

Un gioco di memoria per ingannare l'attesa dell'autobus. https://easylang.online/games/

Siamo tutti strani, visti da vicino, qualcuno anche alla media distanza e (per fortuna relativamente pochi) anche alla lontana. Tuttavia, c'è persino poca saggezza in molto del pensiero che si rivolge a chi soffre, ai modi che vengono costruiti, alle strade che cerchiamo di pavimentare versouna vita che si possa vivere con pienezza. E non vi sbagliate, in misura più o meno variabile, soffriamo tutti. Money quote: "The chief problem with many contemporary interventions is that they are one-dimensional. For example, psychotropic medications aim at making people feel calmer if they’re anxious, or more energised if they’re depressed. Cognitive therapies aspire to change so-called irrational thoughts (such as fear of flying or a sense of worthlessness) into rational, evidence-based thoughts. Behavioural therapies aim at reinforcing adaptive habits to replace maladaptive habits, and so on. However, the problem with these strategies is that they work on a limited basis. If one wishes to live more efficiently along clear and culturally approved lines, then one is notably helped by such techniques. If one wishes to live a comparatively regimented and low-risk life, these remedies are appropriate. However, if one is among the sizeable and perhaps growing population that seeks more dimensionality in life – more meaning, more vitality, more personal and interpersonal richness – then something more challenging might be called for." https://aeon.co/essays/to-feel-the-awe-of-living-learn-to-live-with-terror-and-wonder

Domenica. È il momento di Mostly Weekly. La trovate qui e ovviamente potete abbonarvi, la mia newsletter è gratuita e aperta a tutti https://antoniodini.com/weekly/197/

Riassuntoni di libri: in questo caso Atomic Habits di James Clear Money quote: "Our habits shape our identity. Atomic Habits by James Clear offers a step-by-step plan for building better habits for a lifetime. The backbone of the manual is composed of a four-step model which includes: cue, craving, response, and reward. The book is full of practical advice, stories from famous leaders and worldly recognized athletes. A must-have for everyone looking for a way to change his life and direct it towards greatness." https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/atomic-habits/

Riassuntoni di libri: in questo caso The Inevitable di Kevin Kelly Money quote: "We’re not totally doomed and robots won’t replace us – at least not in everything we do. In his book, The Inevitable, Kevin Kelly gives us a glimpse in the possible future. He showcases twelve technological forces he believes will shape our future. And though robots might not enslave us, massive tracking and total surveillance are here to stay." https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/the-inevitable/

La tribù delle VSCO Girls. Qualsiasi cosa siano. Money quote: "As much as adults are confused about and fascinated by VSCO girls, a new tribe of adolescent female—and we are—I think teenagers might be, too. I say this after conferring with a bunch of in-the-know young sources. I hereby present my findings." https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/09/vsco-girls-explained-by-teens.html

Ho intervistato ChatGPT, ecco cosa mi ha detto: https://www.macitynet.it/le-ragioni-del-successo-di-chatgpl-spiegate-da-se-medesimo/

Si possono citare le neuroscienze, si possono citare analisi psicologiche e addirittura le nostre nonne. In ogni caso, la carta e la penna (o il lapis, dipende) è la cosa migliore in molti, moltisismi casi (anche se lo scrivo sul computer mentre lo penso). Money quote: "It might sound impractical — archaic, even — but if you’re struggling with productivity or creativity, it might be time to grab a pen and paper, and let your brain flow out onto the page. I’ve been using the old-school tools, and sure, they can feel a little clunky. In my notebook, there are crossed-out words, lines, arrows, and mistakes everywhere. My hand cramps up every now and then." https://forge.medium.com/to-do-better-work-use-pen-and-paper-26c4575ffcf3

Il mondo di domani visto ieri l'altro. Video spettacolare. ‘Yes, life will be richer, easier, healthier as space-age dreams come true.’ https://aeon.co/videos/smart-homes-bountiful-oceans-and-casual-sexism-the-future-as-envisaged-from-1967

Quando l'industria del porno diventa un affare di famiglia: una inchiesta molto ben raccontata di Jezebel. Money quote: "The two have proven formidable on their own, but increasingly so in collaboration. Kross and Ferrara—who have a child together and live next-door to Ferrara’s ex-wife, with whom he has three children—have been called porn’s “golden couple.” They even have a Fleshlight “Couple Goals” package, which includes a dildo molded off of Ferrara’s penis and a flashlight-like tube featuring silicone labia modeled after Kross. Now, though, they frequently come as a different kind of package deal: director and performer." https://jezebel.com/the-mess-of-complexities-in-directing-your-porn-star-pa-1837406736

La forma delle lettere dell'alfabeto ne evoca il suono? Secondo me no, e il fatto che debbano menare il can per l'aia così a lungo mi fa pensare che non ho torto. Money quote: "In the Cratylus Dialogue, written by Plato, Socrates confronted this same linguistic dilemma: do names belong to their objects “naturally” or “conventionally," he wondered? Why do we name things the way we do? In 1690, John Locke wrote that because there are many different languages, and different words for the same objects, there couldn’t be a “natural” relationship between words and their objects. Saussure agreed in his seminal text, A Course in General Linguistics from 1916: “Signs do not directly evoke things.” Later, the linguist Charles Hockett wrote this one of the “design features” of language. " https://www.vice.com/en/article/4awqz3/why-are-letters-shaped-the-way-they-are

La signora delle criptovalute che è scappata con la cassa. Se pensate che le criptotruffe siano una cosa di oggi, pensateci meglio. Money quote: "Dr Ruja's genius was to recognise that established MLM sellers with huge downlines were the perfect vehicle to market her fake coin - a plan the FBI says she privately referred to as "the bitch of Wall Street, meets MLM". This was the secret of OneCoin's success. It wasn't just a fake cryptocurrency, it was an old-fashioned pyramid scheme, with the fake coin as its "product". No wonder it spread like wildfire. Fairly soon Igor Alberts was making more than €1m a month from OneCoin, which quickly became the biggest product in network marketing. "No other company even came close," Alberts says." https://twitter.com/oslimoke/status/1198896825660583936?s=20&t=n6ewvnJed-wG1_9BW5gOFw

Come fu che, partendo dalle "quote giudaiche" della Società del mercoledì si arrivò alla clamorosa faida con Jung sull'idea del sesso rendendo insieme un pessimo servizio alla causa della psicoterapia e aprendo una ferita che non si sarebbe più sanata. L'innesto della piccineria quotidiana degli uomini è capace di sabotare qualsiasi avventura del loro spirito. Money quote: "In Freud’s mind, the greatest obstacle faced by ‘the Cause’ was anti-Semitism. Freud himself was an atheistic Jew, and all of the analysts who huddled together in Freud’s living room to found the Wednesday Psychological Society (the world’s first psychoanalytic association) were Jews. Freud feared that psychoanalysis would become so associated with Judaism that it would never catch on in mainstream science. ‘Our Aryan comrades are,’ he wrote to a friend, ‘quite indispensable to us; otherwise, psychoanalysis would fall victim to anti-Semitism.’ So Jung was everything Freud could hope for: talented, public-minded, a scion of the scientific establishment – and, above all, born without a drop of Jewish blood in his Swiss Protestant veins. ‘Only his appearance,’ Freud confided, ‘has saved psychoanalysis from the danger of being a Jewish national concern.’" https://aeon.co/ideas/freud-versus-jung-a-bitter-feud-over-the-meaning-of-sex

Un pezzo bello e ritmato nella storia degli anni Ottanta è Kid Creole and the Coconouts, una band di New York che ruotava attorno al suo frontman, il polistrumentista (preferibilmente un bassista) August Darnell (nato Thomas Darnell Browder), una specie di Prince del Calypso. Riascoltandoli adesso (ma si fa un po' fatica a trovare tutto) si scopre che è una delle influenze più potenti del sound di quell'epoca e non solo. Money quote: "Kid Creole and the Coconuts began as an offshoot of the disco group Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, known primarily for its hit “Cherchez la Femme.” The group was nominated for a Grammy nominated in 1976. With its Jay Gatsby champagne attitude, that single also immortalized the band’s manager Tommy Mottola. “Hearing my name in ‘Cherchez la Femme’ five times a day on the radio was so strange — almost surreal,” Mottola explained in his autobiography Hitmaker. “At that age [27] and at that time it became very intoxicating, even dangerous, and I was only their manager.” Years before singer Michael Bublé could read Sinatra’s sheet music, Dr. Buzzard’s crew wasn’t simply reinterpreting the Great American Songbook, they were also contributing to the canon by combining disco with a brassy big band sound. The band also consisted of curvy chanteuse Cory Daye and Darnell’s older brother Stony Browder Jr., who was the group’s leader and main songwriter. Darnell played bass and penned the songs’ words. “The lyrics have bite, real wit,” critic Nik Cohn wrote in November 1976. However, three years later, as the group began to falter, various members mutinied and soon became sonic forces on their own musical merits." https://longreads.com/2019/12/18/wonderful-things-the-kid-creole-and-the-coconuts-story

Questo sì che è un pezzo grosso della mia adolescenza che se n'è andato per sempre. Ciao Christine. --- È morta Christine McVie, cantautrice e tastierista dei Fleetwood Mac - Il Post https://www.ilpost.it/2022/11/30/morta-christine-mcvie-fleetwood-mac/