Task of Genius

“The task of geniusis to keep the miracle alive,to live always in the miracle, to make the miracle more and more miraculous, to swear allegiance to nothing, but live only miraculously, think only miraculously.”
― Henry Miller

GUS Ceramic Mushroom Planter

This past weekend I had the pleasure to meet the person who designed and fabricates GUS, the ceramic mushroom planter for your home. It’s stackable. It’s beautiful. And waitlisted.

(GUS is short for Fungus and I just think that’s the cutest product name ever.)

Join or Die | Trailer

Join or Die is a film about why you should join a club—and why the fate of America depends on it. Screening on Saturday February 24 in NYC at 3.30pm at FIT. Tickets and more info here.

(Thanks Casper)

As They Are

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
– Anaïs Nin

The quote that is normally attributed to the writer ANAÏS NIN, but it is also a Talmudic idea about dream analysis: People can only dream about things they have encountered or thought about, and so their dreams consist not of reality — whatever that is — but is instead a version filtered through the lens of the dreamer’s experiences.

Light the Torches of Others

“At my age, in this still hierarchical time, people often ask me if I’m ‘passing the torch.’ I explain that I’m keeping my torch, thank you very much – and I’m using it to light the torches of others. Because only if each of us has a torch will there be enough light.”
Gloria Steinem

How To Discover Your Own Taste

This episode of The Ezra Klein’s Show on How To Discover Your Own Taste is absolutely wonderful. I will make sure my teenage kids will get to hear it too.

(Thank you Annie)

Jazzercise

I can’t stop smiling.

We Don’t Need More Sleep

“No, we don’t need more sleep. It’s our souls that are tired, not our bodies. We need nature. We need magic. We need adventure. We need freedom. We need truth. We need stillness. We don’t need more sleep, we need to wake up and live.”
Brooke Hampton

Kiko Miyares

Loving these sculptures by Kiko Miyares.

(via)

Link Pack

This conversation moved me deeply. The question of “Are you engaging in your own campaign of misery?” stopped me in my tracks.

– “A walk-and-talk is a moveable salon. A small group of invited people walk together for a week, having casual conversations side-by-side during most of the day. In the evening the group sits down to an intense hours-long discussion centered on topics chosen daily by those present. A moderator keeps the conversation on that day’s single topic to sharpen it and make it memorable” How to walk and talk (You can download a PDF)

– I have never seen anything more soothing than Pandas playing in the snow.

This Troika team exercise is fantastic. We have done it at few times within my teams now and it’s incredibly powerful to help others think through their challenges. Empathy building!

– Wow! The exact moment tv news switches from black and white to color in 1967!

– ‘Arquitectura Libre’ is a site collating the colourful, rule-bending buildings of India & Mexico.

– A week ago I hosted a Coffee-Shop-Pop-Up in my home and it was a big hit.

– Yes to a Stainless Steel Sharpie.

Gastro Obscura’s list of 50 Places to Eat and Drink Before You Die, including a pizzeria w/ a volcano oven, a Bangkok bistro serving 45-year-old stew, a BBQ vending machine, and a farm serving moose milk cheese. Jason curates the best stuff.

A unified theory of fucks, by Mandy Brown (via Chris)

– Excellent read: People Are More Generous Than You May Think

– So. Many. Beautiful. Shelves.

– I am dreaming of buying a Wood Fired Hot Tub. This post is thorough.

AudioPen converts voice notes into text that’s easy to read & ready to share.

This resonates.

– Where in the world do mean man sit down to wee? Interesting statistics.

A guide to getting rid of almost everything

Puzzmo. Fun!

– The New York Times gathered and analyzed 121 menus from restaurants all over the country. Love this visual article.

– The Basecamp crew just launched Campfire, a super simple group chat, without a subscription. One time fee of $299. Wow! (I love Slack but it’s cost-prohibitive for larger groups!)

Focus On The Good Tattoo

To Love Many Things

My Doggy Ate My Essay

My doggy ate my essay.
He picked up all my mail.
He cleaned my dirty closet
and dusted with his tail.

He straightened out my posters
and swept my wooden floor.
My parents almost fainted
when he fixed my bedroom door.

I did not try to stop him.
He made my windows shine.
My room looked like a palace,
and my dresser smelled like pine.

He fluffed up every pillow.
He folded all my clothes.
He even cleaned my fish tank
with a toothbrush and a hose.

I thought it was amazing
to see him use a broom.
I’m glad he ate my essay
on “How to Clean My Room.

Darren Sardelli


(thank you Ella)

Not Want it Back

“You can miss something,
but not want it back.”
– Paulo Coelho

Modern Birdhouse Matz

Now this is a stunningly minimal and beautiful birdhouse. Designed by Michael Hilgers. Would gladly adopt. (Looks like it will be available in their online store later in February)

Be Like A Choir

“My mother always says to me, that there is a reason that we have a choir. It’s because sometimes you have to take a breath, and the tune continues. So right now, I keep singing, but there might be a time where I can’t, and I ask you to keep the tune going while I take a breath.”
Diana Buttu

Windowsill

I love Estelle Winwood and the word windowsill.

Fear

“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”
– Jim Morrison

Guineafowl Pufferfish

This Guineafowl Pufferfish Illustration by Ben Rothery made me giggle. (It’s not a photograph!)

How To Live

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”
– Von Goethe

Why Having Fun Is the Secret to a Healthier Life

This resonates: “Fun is a feeling, not an activity.” Thank you Catherine Price.

Jad Abumrad at CreativeMornings/NYC

What a gift! This talk! Wow!

Last Friday, the remarkable Jad Abumrad unwrapped a gift on stage, in talk from, in front of our CreativeMornigns/NYC community.

It’s a talk about wandering and wondering. Thoughtful. Thought provoking. Beautiful. Well worth 20 min of your time.

Your heart

“A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.”
– Von Goethe

Tree.fm

Tree.fm allows you to listen to a random forest. This is beautiful.

(Thank you Book of Joe)

Our Society Lacks Nurture