The Friday Focus #6: How to Vote, Leaving Legacies, and Ralph Nader's Pens
Hey friends,
Happy Friday!
Earlier this week I told you about why I, as a Republican, think that voting for Kamala Harris is the only conservative choice. You can read about why here. You can disagree with me (and feel free to do so in the comments!) but what’s truly important is that you vote. And vote for the candidate, not the party.
Head to vote.org to make sure you have everything you need to vote on Tuesday, and go vote!
Here’s everything else I wanted to share this week:
Legacy (6 minutes): What legacy will you leave behind when you die? How do you define legacy? We often conflate legacy with the idea of people remembering and repeating our names for generations, but what if it meant something else entirely? Does Norman Borlaug or Lucille Ball have a more lasting legacy? Perhaps it’s less about people remembering your name and more about the ideas you leave behind.
Why do Ralph Nader’s pens keep drying out? (18 minutes): I don’t think I’ve ever had an article surprise me as much as this one. Green Party legend and hero/villain of the 2000 election Ralph Nader reached noticed that his favorite pen brand has been drying out faster than they used to. So he reached out to the New York times. What followed was a comically obsessive investigation that ends up actually explaining a lot about our world and how we interact with it.
Make it awkward! (14 minutes): I’ve written here about the challenges, perils, and joys of the creative process—especially the awkwardness of it all. We often avoid doing important things in our life or the lives of our loved ones in fear of awkwardness. But as this article discusses, we should embrace awkwardness and disarm the forces that keep us from being genuine with one another.
Spotify Bricked The Car Thing, So I Hacked Mine
What happens when a company stops supporting the product you love? When Spotify shuts down support for their “Car Thing” this coming December, it will become e-waste for many. But there’s another option for those who have the gumption to experiment with code! This video gives an interesting perspective into how someone figures out how to jailbreak a device and save it from the landfill.
The Genius Design of Communist Memorials
Monuments matter. They serve as a mirror to the moments, men, and ideas that we idealize. What, then, should we make of the oddity of communist memorials? Why do they look so different from all of the other monuments from the same era? And what do they tell us about the hearts and minds of their creators?
Porter Robinson, SMILE! :D
I went to a Porter Robinson concert this week, and I have to tell you: it might have been my favorite concert of all time. Robinson straddles a seemingly endless sea of genres, using them as tools to tell stories. Stories of hope, despair, suffering, and joy. Check out his most recent album for synth-pop filled discussions of mental health, longing, nostalgia, and so much more.
Listen Here
Rose Haven Motor Hotel, Things Don’t Stay
“Things don’t stay like they used to, all the same if it kills you.” The opening lines of Rose Haven Motor Hotel’s new EP prepare you for the rest of the album. Backed by a folky-shoegazey band, the lyrics grapple with change, and struggle with accepting the impermanence of the world around us: our memories, our bucket lists, our fears. An overlooked album filled with gems from an unknown band, this is worth the listen.
Listen Here
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