Today is a handful of quick hits and funny thoughts to brighten your day.  We also used ChatGPT to help us with DTAS below. It’s also the day scientists announced a net positive energy fusion reaction, which has the potential to change a world powered by fossil fuels forever.  Hope is a good thing and sometimes the only thing we can hold on to.  Today’s news is hopefully good news.

Another great read from Adam Mastroianni, who writes Experimental History for Substack.  In this piece from February, he talks about the process of conversation.  Through studies and observations, Mastroianni thinks there are two types of people; take-and-take people and give-and-take people.  That sentence sums up the piece, TNT people want to talk; you can speak when they have to breathe.  GNT people wish to discuss. 

Mastroianni also suggests that TNT deserves some redemption as much as GNT deserves some scrutiny.  There are times when a TNT doesn’t want a full-on monologue and times when GNT could be waiting for the right segway into taking the conversation baton.

Evidence might suggest that good conversation then comes from the social equivalent of doorknobs.  The way Mastroianni describes it is a short conversation, not many pauses, and almost a rhythm.  It sounds like Aaron Sorkin shows dialogue from The West Wing or Newsroom. 

NYT has a story about the best comedy of 2022.  Most of which we have not seen, giving us an extensive list of things to add to the “watch queue” for the holidays.  We are impressed by the variety of comedians and comedy shows on the list; comedy looks like a bright, colorful spot in the new media era. 

Mike Birbiglia is on the list with his new special, The Old Man & the Pool.  We haven’t seen this one yet; it is the first on the list, as we are big Mike Birbiglia fans.  Birbiglia was also a guest On With Kara Swisher’s podcast this last week. In that conversation, he said he studied theater at Georgetown, and his comedy has always been a mix of long-form

Nick Cave’s Red Hand Files (almost) weekly post.  Cave addresses a question about going to church.  There is a distinction between; church, faith, and organized religion, and because the differences for most people are so varied, it is difficult to have meaningful conversations.  We respect Cave’s honesty and how he explains his feelings about faith and the church.  Having a meaningful discussion about complex topics is what punk rock is—that and not being overly concerned about how someone else feels about how you think.

In many ways, Cave advocates for the Chapel Environment, used for prayer and reflection, and how it can be separate from organized religion.  If the chapel is where you can find peace within yourself and, pray for other people, contemplate redemption, forgiveness, and gratitude, there is no negativity.  Everything a person does in the vicinity of a place does not mean that person advocates everything that place does.  You can be a Christian and spend time in prayer and solitude while on your journey without having to participate in all the tradition that goes along with it.

[Music Notes]

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Growing Up.

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