🖋️ LongForm
Want to reduce the noice and just focus on things with a little more meat - the this category is for you. Like so much on this site we have a ‘WIP’ as i take some out - and put some in - but safe for at least starting in 2026.
You Can't Buy Snow Leopard via Apple.
Spoiler alert - I am talking about the book by Category Pirates, not Apple’s OSX.
I don’t recommend many business books .. in fact I don’t really recommend any, rather I recommend the authors, based on what I know, read and see them talking about. Christopher Lockhead is one such person and last week I recommended him again.
Email received this morning …
I tried buying Snow Leopard on Apple but only the audiobook is available.
I was more than a little surprised, but he’s not wrong. I even thought I’d sorted it ..by visiting the book on the 🔗 Category Pirates web site, see the link to ‘Apple Books’?
Yeah No. Apparently - click on that button and you are taken to Amazon.
Which is a good place to buy the hard copy - but this takes you to Kindle and sorry, no, not going to be doing that.
I wonder why no Apple Books? I was wondering whether it was the name - and its clash with an earlier OSX. But that was FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, and as mentioned above, the audio book is available.
Weird - right?
Fear not - I am on the case and if I get answers I will report back.
By the way - don’t try visiting that book page on a phone, or even the mini iPad - looks like there is something askew with the media settings for the site.
🎵 Nothing Absent At The Supermarket
Twenty Two Years Ago - give or take - my friend Bob told me to take a listen to an album he has just found called ‘In Abstentia’. Still at the top of my memory banks sees me sitting beside him at the back of some grey boring conference room in Sunnyvale listening to somebody droning on as he silently passed me his wired ear buds connected to his new iPod and watched me have my mind blown as I listened to …
🔗🎵 Blackest Eyes - Song by Porcupine Tree - Apple Music
He dropped me the MP3s that evening - and in turn they got moved to my iPod for my listening pleasure. That weekend I was up in San Francisco and did a detour to this store.
Yes ‘that’ specific one - it had served me well thought the 90s and though Amazon was beginning to creep into my world - Tower still held a special place for me - particularly for special music.
… and the rest is history - I have heard it all (ok - not ‘all’ - the dude is prolific), but I do have over FIFTY of his albums in CD format and seen him live in different formats maybe eight times across two continents.
All this as a backdrop to this morning’s trip to the Supermarket.
.. and to say that if anyone spotted me this morning in the Supermarket - smiling, taking my head, bouncing even … this is why. (Jax believes Wilson’s music is sad and makes her sad.) Me? Yes it is sad - but I am with Wilson on this
“I don’t tend to write songs about things that make me happy. I tend to write songs about things that make me angry or melancholic or sad. Those are the things that make me want to express or exercise something through my songwriting. There’s a lot of beauty to be found in sadness and melancholia."
💬 Steven Wilson
In no particular order - other than this is the order the tracks got played .. and Yes … Apple Music - because why wouldn’t you?
🔗🎵 The Watchmaker - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Pariah (feat. Ninet Tayeb) - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Permanating (Ewan Pearson Mix) - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Trains - Song by Porcupine Tree - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Sectarian - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Four Chords That Made a Million - Song by Porcupine Tree - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 The Raven That Refused to Sing - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Grace for Drowning - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Index - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
Belle De Jour - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Postcard - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 PERSONAL SHOPPER - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music - featuring Elton John on ‘Shopping List’.
🔗🎵 Luminol - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🔗🎵 Deform to Form a Star - Song by Steven Wilson - Apple Music
🎥 The Sleepover, 2020 - ★★★
If you have run out of movies from the ‘Spy Kids’ franchise, well now you have one not from the franchise .. but that is pretty much the only reason to watch it .. with your kids/grandkids .. oh … and get ready for the question …
> If mom was a baddy and all her old gang are not in prison .. how did she swing being in Witness Protection?
The answer?
Don’t be persnickety .. it’s a movie.
🎥 The Foreigner, 2017 - ★★★½
On the whole, when I eventually get to them (7 years in this case) I do enjoy Jackie Chan movies. This was no exception. If you aren’t into Jackie Chan movies, this won’t change your mind.
🎈182/366 The Monkees Predicting ATS software THIRTY YEARS before it appeared.
A friend on LinkedIN recently made a comment and referenced a video clip in support of his argument, which truth be told, I can’t recall - but it definitely wasn’t about ‘ATS’.
🔗 📼 This is the video clip .. it’s a scene from the Monkees TV show - this particular one directed by Bob Rafelson, written by David Panich - who I had never heard of - but given the subject matter of the clip, was intrigued enough to look him up .. IMHO - serious writing chops.
All this to say that if you have EVER been on the wrong side of one of those bloody ‘ATS’ machines that sift resumes before any human gets to it - this clip will resonate. It is from 1966 Series 1, Episode 3. The reality of ATS in business kicked off THIRTY YEARS LATER.
🎥 The Bricklayer, 2023 - ★★★
Netflix doesn’t do the best movies .. but it they do seem to have a knack of pushing out better than average. Like this one.
🎈176/366 AGE - It Catches Up On You.
I read this today
in 🔗 Austin Kleon’s Newsletter.
Now let me be clear - I am not so old that I ever used one, BUT
I do know what it is and where it was used … and sadly I am old enough to have had a boss who did have such a thing on his desk.
I just looked up Austin on Wikipedia - we aren’t that many years apart … FTW.
LATER THOUGHT - In my younger years I was in the U.K. and Austin will have been in the U.S.A. (Clutching at Straws?)
Is This How You Get 'Silenced'?
Over in a more ‘private’ group there was a side discussion on Music … specifically .. ‘Country’ and someone had brought up Beyonce .. and well, time to throw in a comment …
Beyoncé does ‘Country’ and not one word about ‘cultural appropriation’ 🤪 no comment from this section of the Peanut Gallery … even Tay Tay had to break out of that genre. I will look up Garth’s contribution to the Muppets Multiverse.
Feeling that my strategically placed emoji was sufficient to indicate that there was a certain amount of playful humor going on. (Or so I thought.)
It took a few days for this reply (my bold)
I understand you were just making a comment, but I feel it is important to check your facts before making claims about cultural appropriation that may just be fuel for a false fire. ….
… and the writer went on about the contribution of black musicians to the genre " who have been unheard and unacknowledged, and who have contributed so much in largely unrecognized ways." .. etc etc, stuff anybody with a pulse would know .. and then went on about what they have done in ‘Country’.
… and .. what facts?
I resisted responding how the Beatles at the beginning and the Stones - almost forever - did exactly the same thing, as did Led Zeppelin - oh and Elvis. I KNOW - well documented ….
I elected not to respond at all. And instead became decidedly less vocal in there at least 😵💫)
Curious that back in April 🖇️ I had cause to write this. I didn’t highlight it at the time - but I wrote it in response to a different thread in this exact same group where I was accused of using tired and well worj sterotypes and tropes.
My approach is not to respond and ignore. Easy.
But - is there something else going on?
Thoughts?
Prompted to write all this because - well this reminded me …
🎥 Lift, 2024 - ★★★
Not totally bad .. but confused .. and definitely below expectations. Vincent was great. The rest .. meh.
🎈168/366 Guestbooks, Blogrolls, Reciprocity and Paying It Forward
Trying to tie it all together for the occasional visitor.
It all started with Guestbooks. ( 🖇️ I have one ) and yesterday I caught up on reciprocating and getting ahead of the curve. ✅
I then created a new page that is connected to and referenced from my guest book page - so that there is a quick check for those I have visited. 🖇️ You can find that here. - and anyone signing mine can move on to the next …
And then I added a new blogroll. If I sign your guestbook, I add your feed to my NetNewsWire and from there it appears on my 🖇️ ’Guestbook Blogroll’
Enjoy.
Image courtesy of ChatGPT 4o - prompt - “Guestbooks, Blogrolls, Reciprocity and Paying It Forward”
🎥 Safe House, 2012 - ★★★½
Somehow missed this in 2012 .. good cast, good director, good film .. and what a YOUNG Ryan’s Reynolds … it was only 12 years ago.
Worth a watch - though a relatively predictable story arc.
🎈165/366 🎵 Memories Moving To The Future
A Musical Box - no, not 🔗 🎵 that one - though in itself well worth a watch - Gabriel at his theatrical finest in 1974.
I happened to drift around some music videos on YouTube last night - and well - some of them just needed to be shared …
Starting with a couple from Robert Plant with the Shape Shifters
🔗 🎵 1 - Robert Plant at Austin City Limits
🔗 🎵 2 - Robert Plant at Austin City Limits
And Then …
Moving on to why Music has a problem. 9 minutes from Rick Beato - listen.
🔗 🎵 Rick Beato on Music created by AI - All AI generated tracks come from 🔗 Udio
Lets see how long it takes AI to do this …
All is not lost - except it might be because we have seen time and time again how the extraordinary is not always understood and often ignored.
🔗 🎵 Guthrie playing .. in The Hans Zimmer Show … just watch Zimmer’s face during this 2 minute solo …
Who the hell is Guthrie (apart from the finest living exponent of the guitar you will ever hear.)
🎥 Hit Man, 2023 - ★★★½
Not bad, not bad at all. Knew nothing about it going in, but all added up to a nice delivery beyond my expectations.
🎈155/366 The First Vision Pro Concert Movie
I have touched on this before but after reading a Lefsetz post over the weekend, decided to expand a little and log the thinking for posterity.
🔗 Lefsetz Letter - Company At The Sphere - that’s the link to where 🖇️ this quote came from that I published this weekend. I said I’d be back…
Around 2016 - ‘the term ‘spatial’ was being coined’. - though I personally think Apple’s ‘spatial’ is a light year or two ahead of where Mr. Scoble was at the time (He’s very quiet these days, isn’t he?)
🖇️ But February this year I made some pretty logical predictions about the first Vision Pro Movie.
🖇️ And in October last year I was predicting that The Sphere was a pretty good place to start on a ‘Vision Pro Concert Series’ - and I think Apple will be the one to do it. Well, maybe not ‘doing’ it - but certainly financing it.
I still think that.
But who will be the director and/or subject matter for this groundbreaking event?
Who’s Out?
Despite Tay Tay’s global appeal, it won’t be her. The Swifties don’t have the money to buy the Pro.
Peter Jackson is deep into the latest tech to do great things, definitely a friend of Apple - and his foray into music with The Beatles is interesting - but no, no Sphere experience and besides 🔗 he is deep into his next Trilogy .. as Producer - not Director, but still ..
Original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the movie and “will be involved every step of the way,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during an earnings call Thursday.
Phish? I dunno - not seeing it.
So Who’s In?
Two very real possibilities …
U2 - deeply intertwined with Apple - remember the album? And then they were first up at the Sphere - and Zane Lowe hanging out with them, talking with them. We have seen some of the footage, but who knows what was taken off the ‘back stage’ for the first Vision Pro movie?
… but I am wondering - and well out of left field - but …
The Grateful Dead - who have always been at the bleeding edge of touring and spectacle
- The ‘Home’ band for Bay Area based Apple
- Sphere residency happening - even as I type
- Residency coincided with Earth Day 2024 (very ‘Appley’)
- Lots of San Francisco through time imagery featured in the show
- 🔗 and then there is this - Huff Post - so maybe a pinch of salt is needed, written eight years ago …but written by Bill Bradey, so not his usual subject matter - but certainly no slouch.
- Note that Mayer is also part of The Sphere residency.
It’s all fitting in for this bear.
The only hard thing to reconcile is that ‘Tay Tay’ problem. Is there an overlap?
I think there just might be.
What do you think?
🎈152/366 Politics - Again.
My reply to @ridwan got a little long, so I thought I might not reply and start a new thread.
🔗 This is Ridwan’s original post
This is my reply to his comment under that post …
We are in for a Labour government, which is a done deal. However, Is Keir Starmer’s the PM after 14 years of Tory squander? I see him as just another politician who will say anything to get elected and turn his back on the people who voted Labour. I guess, even if people do vote for Labour, how many really vote for Keir?
My Reply
Like all good British elections - very few people will get to vote for The PM .. 😀
The problem however is the same as ever it was - who the hell would want to get into politics anywhere these days - so you are left with those that do and when they do - you want to know what is wrong with them - and why - and …. I have a three thousand word introduction to the book about all of this - that I have in my head - but it will never reach paper or screen of any kind.
Here’s what I do know …
-
Vote or Don’t Vote - BUT if you don’t vote - you don’t get to complain later.
-
If you chose the first option - understand what principle(s) you are voting for - what problems you are wanting solved etc - and base your choice on the best of the candidates to do that. (There is no other choice.)
2.1) sometimes those calls are things like - ‘he’ll bring back school lunches - the other guy took them away
2.2) sometimes they are broader in nature - this candidate will ensure that billionaires pay the ‘same rate’ of tax as the rest of us, the other doesn’t get it
2.3) sometimes the choice is that there is a clear and present danger to me, society, my country and the world … with the other - not so much.
ALL ARE VALID
.1 , .2 and .3 will vary by voter - sometimes on the day but more importantly - because of their general inability to
a - conceive of, b - understand, c - see the impact on themselves should it come that, d - concern themselves with others - so long as ‘I’ am ok e - just grok …
The possible outcomes of the wrong solution to ‘2.3’ and/or don’t believe them.
So - if enough people at the 2.1 level voted for one person and enough people didn’t vote for the ‘other’ person because they are too old, trips on stairs, mumbles .. guess who wins?
(Apologies a US biased set of criteria that is very real at the moment - but you get the drift - e.g. - back in Blighty - compared to David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris (the THREE Prime Ministers that served when Jeremy was the Leader of the Opposition for just 4 1/2 years .. how much worse off would we be?
I do know that JC was and is on the side of PEOPLE - and has served in Govt fighting the fight for over 40 years. When he was ousted - he didn’t slink off like the last 4 Tory PMs did to reap their financial rewards, cashing in with the Corporations .. he’s still there , serving the people of Islington and still fighting the fight.
At a broad character level who would you rather have run the country for the past FOURTEEN YEARS? Seriously - FOURTEEN?
Heres the thing - the country is being ALLOWED to vote for a party that with one outcome would put Kier in charge. That’s not a bad thing … since Cameron - every single PM has actually been APPOINTED by a few people - it is a few in the Tory party ..
Cameron won in 2010 He won again (just) in 2015 - and I recall resigned over Brexit Theresa May was then appointed As the incumbent she then won the next election, but not very well, so was ousted and Boris moved in Who went on to win his election until Truss was appointed and then little Rishi.
Despite being in power for 14 years - Cameron was the last PM that actually won the election without first having a dry run as a PM because they had previously been appointed.
If Kier turns out to be no good - it is within the power of the Labour Party to remove him and put in someone else - it isn’t the first time - as the Tories continually demonstrate.
The UK isn’t the same as the US. Keep the prize in mind. 14 years of Tory Rule might be broken. Don’t not vote (for Labour) just because you think the leader is
just another politician who will say anything to get elected and turn his back on the people who voted Labour.
You vote for him to get Labour get in power. Don’t like Labour? Vote Tory … clearly they know exactly what they are doing. Just look around the UK - it is clear.
If anybody doesn’t like all of this? Then it is time for action and to do something about it. Get others to join your cause. Change things. Too hard?
That’s why we are where we are.
PS - I know you all know all this. Sometimes I just have to wave my cane!
You Just Can't Tell. Nobody Can.
I love listening to knowledgeable 🎵 people steeped in ‘the lore’, ‘the history’ .. I can swim in it forever. An inevitable question appears somewhere in the conversation .. “did you know it was going to be a hit?”
no clue mate
… is the usual and correct response.
Same with newsletters. You just can’t tell. I keep reading over and over different writers that are surprised when their ‘magnum opus’ falls flat and a ‘throwaway’ goes viral.
My throwaway newsletter from a couple of days ago gave me an equal numbers of unsubscribes and subscribes … no viral accelerator for me .. but after being flat for over a year - my ‘paid subscriptions’ increased by around 10%. Not only that, but the subscription broke a psychological barrier - paid for subscriptions hit ‘double figures’ 🥳
The point is that you just don’t know - right?
If you want to read it - 🔗 you can
🎈146/366 Today Is My Anniversary 🚧
It’s 🔗 Towel Day ( thank you @odd ) - but today also happens to be my 25th Anniversary
Yup - 25 years. Truth be told it had been going on a lot longer - but it was 25 years ago that we actually tied the knot .. and I have had my ‘personal space’ on the internet ever since May 25th, 1999 (Creation Date: 1999-05-25T20:14:36Z).
Now of course, we had known each other a lot longer than that - long before the web in fact, but you know when you first connect you don’t really note the dates do you? It’s like a permanent honeymoon. Hours merge into days into weeks into months … who really knows when ‘it’ really all started?
I can tell you that I first got ‘involved’ with the internet in 1985. I mean it wasn’t what we know today. My own internet experience in those days was email around our international offices .. but it was the internet (ok, ok - intranet - there’s a word you don’t hear much these days.)
Although Google Trends suggests I am wrong …
.. again!
Anyway, I do remember being annoyed that my messages wouldn’t go out to the people I wanted to talk to - you know customers, partners, vendors - all the people a business should be talking to. .. we could only talk amongst ourselves. I mean the Cerne account team could connect to their customer .. why did I have to use Compusurf (sic)? … but that’s a different story.
( .. and no I didn’t do AOL, Prodigy, Compuserve .. they were never for me - maybe even back then I had the innate desire to avoid being locked into a silo.)
Anyway, that’s it … 25 Years with my 🔗 own domain ✅
Onwards.
How will I celebrate? Why - taking my towel down to the beach of course.