Detroit's Urban Oasis, Jazz and Physics, Lynch on Happiness, etc.
In which we are not supposed to be sad...
😾 Bad news about Aunt Helen: cats ate her face.
🌳 Detroit is planting a giant sequoia tree forest in its downtown in the hopes of creating an “urban oasis” that will provide shade, sequester carbon and reduce the city’s air pollution. “With ample rainfall, no risk of wildfire, and enough space to stretch skyward, Detroit may become an unlikely, yet welcoming, new home for these botanical titans.”
🏀 I remember this game like it was yesterday: every bucket from Kobe Bryant’s iconic 81 point game.
🎧 (18/50) The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds: Is there a more perfect pop song than “God Only Knows?” Is there a more perfect pop record?
🎹 Learning to play when there is no recital. “All year, I've sat down at my piano and played my silly little songs just for me. There’s no recital. There’s no endgame. I'm far too embarrassed to play for anyone else. I’ve learned to give myself grace, allow myself to be bad at things, and play a nocturne. I’ve discovered there’s value in something like the process of plunking some keys in your room, just for you.”
🇯🇵 While Louis Braille's original system was designed for alphabetic languages like French, Japanese posed unique challenges due to its use of characters. The development of Japanese Braille not only enhanced educational opportunities for the blind, but also reflected the country’s commitment to integrating disability-inclusion into its modernization efforts.
🎷 The link between jazz and physics. Both Einstein and Coltrane viewed their respective fields as intuitive and improvisational pursuits, with Einstein using thought experiments to conceptualize complex theories, akin to musical improvisation.
💰 The David Lynch estate is now up for auction. Congrats to anyone that can spend over $10k on one of his Twin Peaks or Mulholland Drive scripts.
🧧 Speaking of Lynch, his secrets to happiness. Practice meditation. Pursue meaningful creative work. Stick to daily rituals you love. Seek peace and joy internally rather than externally. “You know they say, human beings are not made to be suffering. Bliss is our nature. We're supposed to be happy. We're not supposed to be sad. We're not supposed to be suffering. We're supposed to be happy campers enjoying life. And, you know, being kind to one another, and getting along, and making sure that we're all happy and we're all together on this trip. Beautiful trip.”
📖 From Martyr!, which I loved: “Eight of the ten commandments are about what thou shalt not. But you can live a whole life not doing any of that stuff and still avoid doing any good. That’s the whole crisis. The rot at the root of everything. The belief that goodness is built on a constructed absence, not-doing. That belief corrupts everything, has everyone with any power sitting on their hands.”
✌️Keep the Hoping Machine running.
Love,
Luke
