Hello friends,
Apologies for no posts this past week! I’m writing nearly 200 product video scripts for work, which has taken up nearly all of my mental - writing - energy. No excuses, though. I'll get back on track.
That said, after looking at other (professional) writers and their newsletters, I realized that I may have over extended myself on my commitment. Three posts per week is too much, especially for someone new to the field and full work schedule. So, I’m canceling my commitment to Tuesdays. That leaves Thursdays for memoir, fiction, or essay, and of course The Sunday Finds. Two total. And I appreciate you working with me as I figure out a weekly habit that I can actually stick to.
In other news, I recently had a brainstorming session with my Father regarding my ‘Night Hikes’ story. Apparently, I had mis-remembered more than a few key details regarding that time in my life. The story was, for the most part, true. However, I was much, much younger than I had originally thought. Rather than 10 years of age (my thinking), it was actually back when I was 2-4 years old. Young enough that I wasn’t hiking (I was in the sled after all), and I wasn’t starting fires just yet (he gave me some snacks to shut me up while he did it).
So, with new events in hand, I intent to re-write the story, which should make it more accurate and much longer (there were other details I had completely forgotten). Keep an eye out!
On to The Sunday Finds.
Reads
Love is not mind-reading, by Austin Kleon
A little reminder that friends and family might not know exactly what you want in life, so don’t know what kind of support to provide you. If you tell them, however, they will know and can act accordingly. Communicate your needs.
I Could Not See The Future Coming, by Catherine Dunn
A (sad) story about a girl circulating through the foster care system, and one particular family that couldn’t hold on to her. Foster care is a topic I know little about, but I can relate (as can most people) with trying to figure out your place in the world and finding a sense of purpose. Continually swapping parents must’ve added a massive weight to those feelings, though. Hard to imagine.
How One Week in Chicago Changed Abraham Lincoln’s Life—and the Fate of the United States
Another topic I know little about - but that’s why we read, right!? If you can relate, this is a good read on why Lincoln was the perfect presidential candidate of his time and why his presidency was a miracle. He said himself “Just think of such a sucker as me as President!” A good back-story on his presidential win, what he was like as a person (he liked to crack dirty jokes), and the opposition he faced while campaigning.
Bladerunner, by Philip K. Dick (Book review)
The movies were amazing and I had to read it. Short, entertaining, funny in parts. It raises interesting questions about how Humans would react if we ever build and deploy fully-autonomous Androids (humanoid robots) that act so similar to us that it’d be incredibly hard to tell the difference. Would we live with them as equals? Would we force them into slave labor? Would we have sex with them? All conjecture at this point in history, but might not be too far off (relatively on the grand-cosmos timescale).
How ChatGPT Works: The Model Behind The Bot
A layman explanation of how ChatGPT works. It’s still technical and complex, but there are some interesting tidbits. It uses various forms of ‘deep learning techniques’ that help it not only predict what text to output, but also guesses as user intention, rewards itself for better aligned responses, is helpful, truthful, and harmless (“ability to avoid inappropriate, derogatory, and denigrating content.”). Professors are having a hard time telling the difference between student and ChatGPT essays. It’s that good.
Movies/TV
Hostiles, Hulu
I watched this with my Dad. We had a pre-conversation on Being, Self, and Consciousness that wasn’t related to the movie in any way, but as we watched, we paused sporadically to discuss examples of ideas that we were previously discussing. Themes of morality, friendship, love, and adventure. What does it mean to live consciously? Do concepts such as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ exist? How were we different back in the late Nineteenth Century than we are now? Good movie, overall. 8/10.
All That Breathes, HBO
Oscar-nominated documentary. I realize that not everyone subscribes to HBO, but this is a truly remarkable story. It’s happening now, as you’re reading this. Two brothers, known as the ‘Kite Brothers’, are devoting their lives to rescuing ‘Black Kites’ (hawks) in New Delhi, India. A line that particularly stuck with me was (and this is not verbatim): “If New Delhi is the stomach of the world, Kites are the microbiome of that stomach.” Unfortunately, they’re becoming extinct, and these brothers are taking measurable steps to rescue them. Great story. 10/10.
Listens
I actually found this track a while ago, but it’s still worth a share. Great track. Here’s the song link to Spotify as well. Enjoy!
My Dad Wrote a Porno (Podcast). This is wildly funny. Be careful if you listen to this in public - I’ve laughed so hard that I’ve started crying and people probably thought I was going crazy. I thought I was going crazy.
Reece Witherspoon on turning imposter syndrome into confidence, ReThinking Podcast with Adam Grant. ReThinking has quickly become a new favorite of mine. Adam is an organizational psychologist, author, and speaker.
A Philosophy of Blank — Ep. 87 of Intentionally Blank. Bestselling authors Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells talk about the power of ChatGPT (if you liked the above read on ChatGPT and want to see it in use, this is a good episode to listen to).
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, please don’t hesitate to share.
Riv