Scree

noun : an accumulation of loose stones or rocky debris lying on a slope or at the base of a hill or cliff.

A big part of their vapid and shallow social lives →

Published November 7, 2018  ·  All posts on Nov 7

I think what I notice with people who are a little older is it’s really easy for them to dismiss social media as, like, this vapid and shallow thing in which you’re trying to get likes and engagement, but what they don’t realize is it’s like a huge part of some people’s social lives and it’s, like, very much a part of how you see this world and interact with the world. And it’s not just “oh I wanna get likes to, like, seem cool” it’s like “Oh, this is my social life in many ways, and it has been for a very long time.” And that’s kinda how I view applause at basecamp in many ways, too; It’s like my social life at work.

~ Tara Mann from, Please Don’t Like This — REWORK

slip:4uredo1.

Exactly!

It is really easy to dismiss social media, because it is vapid and shallow.

The insight here is that eventually you too will stop acting like a 14-year-old, become an adult, realize social media is vapid and shallow, and then dismiss it easily.

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Ville Leppanen: Life-long learning, coaching, and intervals →

Published November 6, 2018  ·  All posts on Nov 6  ·  

Ville Leppanen: Life-long learning, coaching, and intervals

What lessons can we learn about personal growth, community building, and training innovation through parkour?

Craig sits down to interview Ville Leppanen, a lifelong learner and member of the Finnish Parkour community. Ville discusses how he uses different tools in his coaching, how to work smarter instead of harder, and how he uses interval training to help him in parkour. Finally, Ville touches on how his coaching has evolved over the years and how his teaching has helped him learn things about himself.

For me, the process is, ‘okay, I have this idea and… I have no idea…’ Is it any good? Will it work? Will it be interesting? But what the hell, let’s give it a go!

~ Ville Leppanen (4:00)

The conversation highlights Ville Leppanen’s innovative approach to coaching, focusing on using tools, questions, and unconventional methods to inspire curiosity and adaptability in training. Ville shares his perspective on integrating scientific principles into parkour, aiming to combine rigorous research with the sport’s creative essence. Discussions also touch on interval training strategies for maximizing physical performance while balancing intensity and recovery.

The dialogue explores the Finnish parkour community’s cohesiveness, influenced by cultural tendencies toward collaboration and organization. Ville reflects on how confrontation and cultural differences affect community dynamics. He emphasizes the value of stepping outside the parkour bubble by exploring other disciplines, fostering a holistic movement practice, and gaining new insights to improve coaching and community-building efforts.

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Lessons from Sesame Street →

Published November 5, 2018  ·  All posts on Nov 5  ·  

You will get hurt. You will embarrass yourself. You will wish you did things differently. You will forget things that are too important to forget. You will lose things you can’t afford to lose.

~ David Cain from, Secret Lessons From Sesame Street

slip:4urase1.

Once more. Louder, for those in the back.

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Stem cell research →

Published November 4, 2018  ·  All posts on Nov 4  ·  

Things that are every bit as great happen every day in scientific labs, and no one cares. Maybe as a society we’ve become anesthetized to science — when really, it’s so exciting. We have so much to gain as a country if we invest in science and knowledge and understanding. I don’t blame the public for not understanding, though, or even legislators for sometimes not wanting to invest. They all look so much like my family.

~ Renee Reijo Pera from, In the Ticking of the Embryonic Clock, She Finds Answers | Quanta Magazine

slip:4uquse1.

There are several science-y details in this interview that really startled me; Our knowledge of embryo development is vastly improved since last I looked.

…but mostly I just like the sentiment of wonder she expresses. “When is the last time I learned something new?” is a question I try to update the answer to every day.

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Same purpose, different style →

Published November 3, 2018  ·  All posts on Nov 3  ·  

While I’m worrying in my little apartment about getting my writing done or doing my laundry, it lends me some perspective if I can remember that somewhere out there, precisely as I’m tending to my human to-do list, there are beavers taking down trees, ants hustling to feed their queen, rabbits feasting on backyard gardens, and elephants showing their children where the water hole is.

~ David Cain from, Same Purpose, Different Styles

slip:4urasa1.

Perspective is a wonderful thing.

In the beginning, a few months of summer vacation represents a significant portion of your life’s memories. Years later, each month flies by. In the beginning, the first project you create is the greatest idea the world has ever been shown. Years later, the projects are too numerous to recall, and the next one is considered with a weathered gaze before being sent out into the world. Challenging physical activities are dopamine-fun in the beginning. Years later, the physicality brings only a pleasant, difuse joy.

Perspective is empowering.

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The letting go →

Published November 2, 2018  ·  All posts on Nov 2

When our mind is tranquil, there will be an occasional pause to its feverish activities, there will be a letting go, and it is only then in the interval between two thoughts that a flash of UNDERSTANDING—understanding, which is not thought—can take place.

~ Bruce Lee from, Artist of Life (Bruce Lee Library) by Bruce Lee

slip:4uliwo3.

I’m not sure I’ve experienced the not-thought which is that flash of understanding. I think things are even more simple; Year after year, as I quiet my mind, understand simply expands into the new space.

Regardless, tranquility is key. Pausing is key.

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The secret to connecting with people →

Published October 31, 2018  ·  All posts on Oct 31  ·  

Let the other person have the privilege of being the first one to be understood. The biggest distraction to understanding someone else is self-importance. Needing to say something means you have to be thinking about it, and thinking about it means you have very little mental capacity left for empathy. Free up yours, and it will free up theirs.

~ David Cain from, The Secret to Connecting With People

slip:4urate8.

Empathy is the most useful ability I have ever developed. Sure, I first had to develop my abilities of self-awareness and self-assessment. But at that point, the need for empathy and compassion became plain as day.

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The malady of content →

Published October 29, 2018  ·  All posts on Oct 29  ·  

When there is communication without need for communication, merely so that someone may earn the social and intellectual prestige of becoming a priest of communication, the quality and communicative value of the message drop like a plummet.

~ Maria Papova from, Cybernetics Pioneer Norbert Wiener on the Malady of “Content” and How to Save Creative Culture from the Syphoning of Substance – The Marginalian

slip:4ubano1.

I find “creative culture” an alluring idea. What have I wrought with my own two hands? I find most competition pointless. I find observing others compete unequivically pointless. But creating—or even just watching others create, or observing the fruits of their labor—provides me endless pleasure and opportunity for growth.

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Nine thoughts worthy of immortality →

Published October 28, 2018  ·  All posts on Oct 28  ·  

Deep in the vast, mostly forgotten (yet immediately accessible) archives of the blogosphere lie billions of touching, hilarious and brilliant thoughts that humankind has been stockpiling for years.  Here are nine that moved me, with excerpts.  Bookmark this if you don’t have a lot of time right now.

~ David Cain from, 9 Thoughts Worthy of Immortality

slip:4urato3.

This is not like the think-pieces I’m normally drawn to share. This is literally a list of nine, individual blog posts (from among the billions) which are worthy of being called great writing. These are among the best things humans have ever written.

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What’s wrong with the world? →

Published October 26, 2018  ·  All posts on Oct 26  ·  ,

This type of view of the world — and like I said, I think it’s the prevailing view — stems from an ideal that many people have in their heads of what the world should be like. They might not realize they have that ideal, but it’s there. And the world will never reach this Platonic ideal, because it’s just this image of perfection that does not match reality. Reality and this ideal are incompatible.

~ Leo Babauta from, «http://zenhabits.net/2008/08/whats-wrong-with-the-world-not-a-damn-thing/»

slip:4uzewa1.

This ties in with yesterday’s comments about the Beatles’ Let It Be. There’s certainly a peculier passion associated with youth. But there’s a much nicer circumspection of age. When things are going badly, relax for they will not last. Whent things are going well, relax for they will not last. The error is in not relaxing, not in the circumstances being observed.

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