The Tickle of a Feather

“If you’re open to learning, you get your life-lessons delivered as gently as the tickle of a feather. But if you’re defensive, if you stubbornly persist in being right instead of learning the lesson at hand, if you stop paying attention to the tickles, the nudges, the clues—boom! Sledgehammer.”
― Gay Hendricks

From the book The First Rule of Ten: A Tenzing Norbu Mystery

How We End Things

“If you can change one thing about yourself then please be kinder and change how you end things because it matters way more than how you begin them.”
– Sartaj Anand

How We End Things, by Sartaj Anand

♥ / Nuno

Big thanks to Nuno for sponsoring my blog and RSS feed this week.

Nuno makes reusable fabric gift wraps that are so special they might just outshine the gift inside. They’re stylish and super easy to use—and because they’re reusable, that means less paper waste and more gifting joy. (Psst, you can also wear them!)

Each of Nuno’s products are made from 100% recycled materials. Pretty cool, huh? Don’t forget to sign up for their newsletter—new products will be launched soon and you’ll definitely want to hear about it.

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(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

No Is a Complete Sentence T-Shirt

A while back I tweeted “No is a complete sentence”, which Debbie Millman surprisingly turned into a t-shirt over at Cotton Bureau. HOW FUN!

20 Historical Paper Clips

I have never thought of paper clips having historical significance. Apparently they do.

Beer Can

“This seems to be an era of gratuitous inventions and negative improvements. Consider the beer can. It was beautiful – as beautiful as the clothespin, as inevitable as the wine bottle, as dignified and reassuring as the fire hydrant. A tranquil cylinder of delightfully resonant metal, it could be opened in an instant, requiring only the application of a handy gadget freely dispensed by every grocer. Who can forget the small, symmetrical thrill of those two triangular punctures, the dainty pfff, the little crest of suds that foamed eagerly in the exultation of release? Now we are given, instead, a top beetling with an ugly, shmoo-shaped tab, which, after fiercely resisting the tugging, bleeding fingers of the thirsty man, threatens his lips with a dangerous and hideous hole. However, we have discovered a way to thwart Progress, usually so unthwartable. Turn the beer can upside down and open the bottom. The bottom is still the way the top used to be. True, this operation gives the beer an unsettling jolt, and the sight of a consistently inverted beer can might make people edgy, not to say queasy. But the latter difficulty could be eliminated if manufacturers would design cans that looked the same whichever end was up, like playing cards. What we need is Progress with an escape hatch.”
Jon Updike

Originally appeared in The New Yorker (Jan. 18, 1964).

(via Clay)

Several Kinds of Love

“There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-improtance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you – of kindness and consideration and respect – not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn’t know you had.”
John Steinbeck

Read the full letter. It’s delightful.

David Bowie’s Verbasizer

The nerd in my admits that the Verbasizer was my favorite part of David Bowie’s exhibit currently at the Brooklyn Museum.

36 Questions that Lead to Love

What happens when 3 couples try to answer the “36 Questions that Lead to Love”? Authentic connection.

Eames Coat Rack T-Shirt

I’d wear it.

Friday Link Pack

Austin Kleon speaking on how to press forward when doing creative work, even when times get challenging.

Instagram Stories gets ‘quote tweet’-style feed post resharing

Tim Ferris interviews the wonderful Debbie Millman. 1h 55mins well spent.

– Put some greenery on your walls.

I got to sit down with Seth Godin this week and chat about the Tina Universe.

– I am speaking at 99u in NYC this May. Excited they’re having me back! It’s a fantastic conference.

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts are delightful.

– There are some entrepreneurial nuggets of wisdom in this thread.

How to Separate Your Work and Personal Life on Your Devices

Netflix is getting the entire Monty Python Catalog! WOW!

– Lots of questions being answered about eating right in this interview.

– Oh, I want to play with this!

Amanda Palmer shows us how the Patreon model is changing everything for artists.

How to be Good at Meeting People Offline (via)

– Oh, I remember having one of these baskets.

How to Think for Yourself When Algorithms Control What You Read

– This is a beautiful laundry basket.

Polishing tinfoil balls? It’s a thing.

Facebook and Google store a lot of information about you without you even realizing it.

-When we don’t have the capacity for solitude, we turn to other people in order to feel less anxious or in order to feel alive… It’s as though we’re using them as spare parts to support our fragile sense of self.” Ways to Keep Technology from Ruining Your Relationships (via Jocelyn)

Facebook Container Extension: Take control of how you’re being tracked (via Chris)

Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia

– Need to stop procrastinating? Watch this! This made me laugh.

– I love Eucalyptus. And now I can wear it, as a scented Tattly.

– A big thank you to Newspaper Club for sponsoring my blog and RSS feed this week.

Do Not Choose The Lesser Life

Nayyirah Waheed’s poems get me in heart. Always.

Steve Jobs on Privacy

“Privacy means people know what they sign up for.”

(Thanks Bailey)

Creativity

“Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence.”
– Osho

Cluttered Desk

I can definitely relate to this illustration by Gareth Strange.

GIFs By Thoka Maer

A post shared by Thoka Maer (@thokamaer) on

I love love love Thoka Maer’s GIFS.

♥ / Newspaper Club

A big thank you to Newspaper Club for sponsoring my blog and RSS feed this week.

Newspaper Club helps everyone make their own newspaper. With flexible print runs – starting at 1 copy! – and fast delivery around the world, putting your ideas in newsprint is easy.

Some of the world’s most creative brands and designers use Newspaper Club to share their work and stories. Together we’re reinventing newsprint to make it more exciting, versatile and affordable than ever. Get free samples!

(I am totally going to give this service a try with my company CreativeMornings!)

The End Goal

“The goal isn’t credit. The goal is change.”
– Seth Godin

When your ideas get stolen.

David Attenborough’s Light on Earth

David Attenborough has a new documentary about Earth’s most otherworldly wonder: bioluminescence.

(via)

Balance

Mexican artist and designer Joel Escalona has created 10 objects that challenge the laws of equilibrium. These bowls are one of them. They are beautiful and make me uncomfortable at the same time.

How To Email Busy People

“If you want a meeting, ask for a meeting. Provide some time options and ask for a specified length. If you want an introduction, ask for an introduction. If you’re looking for funding, tell him you’re currently fundraising and ask to meet to show him your pitch. Don’t be sly. Don’t hint. Make the process ridiculously easy by just asking for what you want.”

How to email busy people, by Jason Freedman

Fabric Sculptures

How breathtaking are these fabric sculptures?

Chow Crown

Yes, I am totally going to get a Chow Crown for my kids. I’ll put Broccoli on it. Just kidding.

The Era of Blind Faith in Data Must End

“Algorithms don’t make things fair. They repeat our past practices, our patterns. They automate the status quo.”

Interesting and timely talk by Cathy O’Neil, a data skeptic.