The Friday Focus — Null Island, Wealth Waves, and Pomplamoose

Hey friends,

Happy Friday!

I hope you’ve had a great week! As I predicted on Tuesday, the Vice Presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz was pretty much a nothingburger. I think you can argue that Vance “won” the debate by overperforming expectations, but he likely didn’t do enough to move polls given the minuscule impact VP debates have in the grand scheme of things. If you haven’t read it yet, feel free to check it out here!

Anyway, here’s everything else I wanted to share this week:

The Many Lives of Null Island (22 minutes): The Prime Meridian meets the Equator at 0° latitude, 0° longitude. That’s also the location of “Null Island,” a place that does not exist. Rather than housing any flora or fauna, Null Island is the home of bad, messy, or corrupted data. Read for a fascinating story about data quality, mapmaking, and how a fake island is mysteriously growing.

The great wealth wave (18 minutes): Inequality has increased in the United States, but capitalism isn’t to blame. Additionally, it doesn’t necessarily seem that said inequality is inherently bad. Some counter-intuitive fact-slinging about the state of western economies, what it means for our future, and the risks that do exist on the horizon.

The Endless Quest to Max Out Happiness (12 minutes): We focus a lot on our moment-to-moment pleasure. From scrolling on TikTok to getting into Twitter arguments, we’re constantly chasing dopamine hits. And in recent years, we’ve started optimizing for pleasure! A great op-ed about why this is a flawed approach to life and what we can do instead.

A very fitting watch in combination with the third article above. Drew Gooden’s commentary videos always seem to cut to the core issue. In this case, it’s that internet companies have figured out the best way to keep you paying them money is to make you miserable while dangling the hope of a little more dopamine just over the horizon. It’s a commentary on what we prioritize in life, what matters, and how we can wrest control of our eyeballs and attentions back from Zuckerberg, Musk, and the rest of their compatriots.

All of Pomplamoose’s YouTube Shorts

I’m a big fan of Pomplamoose. The band consists of married couple Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte (the latter of which is also the founder of Patreon), aided by a rotating cast of their various musician friends. To be candid, their music isn’t my typical fare. But what I really love is how, with a camera-packed studio, Pomplamoose records just about every second of their creative process. You get to see their improvisational approach to songwriting and recording, and the various ideas that get pitched—from the genius to the zany. These shorts are a great lens into the the ups and downs of creating art, and are just a blast to watch.

Wilderado, Talker

Wilderado is always such a fun listen. The Tulsa-based indie-folk-rock-pop-whatever band has become known for their groovy beats, folksy progressions, and catchy-as-hell melodies. And Talker is no different.
Listen Here

David Byrne, Glass, Concrete, and Stone

I love David Byrne. From The Talking Heads to his work at Reasons to Be Cheerful, everything he touches is sure to be interesting, novel, and off the beaten path. Still, I had never listened to much of his personal work until I heard this song featured in the soundtrack for season two of The Bear. Since then, I’ve been diving into the rest of his discography and thoroughly enjoying myself.
Listen Here

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

  Percy Bysshe Shelly, Ozymandias

Just like Ozymandias, even your greatest works in this life will wither and rust. Is this scary for you, freeing, or something in between? If our creations will all go to zero some day, how then should we live?