Good day! It’s Wednesday, and the world grows on! Today we talk about; population growth, passwords, + post notes, Nick Cave, and saves us, and we finish with; pumpkins, pixies, and Helena Bonham Carter, who could teach a class on style; maybe we will connect her with the Pixies!

Remember, today is going to be a day.

If you remember the saying “six billion people, can’t be wrong,” you are so 1999. The world recently climbed past eight billion people, and we can cheer many medical miracles. Among several contributing factors; are reduced infant mortality, increased life span, and improved access to food and clean water. There are many things to consider; we will look at some interesting angles.

Many studies on total population growth are tied to progress in many areas. We also looked at life expectancy over the years to see how it grew in the U.S.  Fifty years ago, the population on the planet was approaching four billion, and life expectancy was 70 years. This year, the global population has doubled, and life expectancy in the U.S. is now 79 years. Before wondering why life expectancy has increased, stop thinking about the quality of life. 

While medicines, technology, and knowledge have all advanced over the years, many senior citizens’ advocacy groups say we haven’t done enough to address the quality of life in the extended years. In translation, we have extended the battery's life, and the rest of the car might be falling apart.

Quality of life improvements include some of the same things a hot bod and a sharp mind need to thrive, and those things, similar to investing for retirement, must be done earlier in life. As muscle mass declines with age, falling and other accidents are more likely. Once you retire and the pace of life, responsibilities, relationships and the hustle and bustle of life slows down, your mental muscles also slow down. The earlier you invest in your health (and wealth), the higher the quality of your later years can be.

Email is the number one way a hacker or virus gets into systems to wreak havoc. Right behind email and user negligence are hacked passwords. The simple reason passwords don’t work; is if they are too complicated, a user will typically write the complex password down multiple places, most commonly on a sticky note, stuck to the computer or monitor. Or simple, and your kid’s birthday followed by an exclamation mark is easy to guess and obtain with a few phone calls. Better yet, the number one password used is P-A-S-S-W-O-R-D. Yes, that would be hard to hack.

Give it all to the computers and the AI. Password managers, either online or on local systems, are becoming more prevalent, but come with their list of issues, and the user fear of “what happens if it breaks and I can’t log in?”

Most people have been annoyed by Two Factor Authentication on some apps, and biometrics on a cellphone and other devices are becoming more practical. Just don’t lose your cell phone or your thumb!

Don’t tell anyone else, and we will stick with password1234!

We have written about Nick Cave and his Red Hand Files before. Whenever his email hits our inbox, it’s like Christmas for the Curious. We can’t wait to figure out what question he will answer and what insight we will mentally grind on for the rest of the day. The post we are highlighting today is from July, but we didn’t see it until we read his newsletter this week. It struck us because we don’t know what The Red Hand Files are either. Like his thoughts and writing, Nick's explanation puts a smile on our faces.

Nick answers a question about what The Red Hand Files are and also addresses another question about feeling empty. That’s what makes his emails so great - he doesn’t answer straightforward questions; he answers hard, existential questions that make you wonder how isolated the person who asked the question is when you read them. We predict Nick Cave will be written about as a philosopher, part stoic, part punk, and all heart.

Here is how Nick puts it, in a way only Nick can:

Thanks again, Nick; our Red Hands are clapping for you!

[Music Notes]

The Smashing Pumpkins were forced to cancel a recent show in Portland, OR, after Billy Corgan was advised to let his voice recover from laryngitis. The band posted a statement on Instagram, and we checked the gram, and Billy has been cleared to play on Tuesday night in San Francisco with special guest Jane’s Addiction. Music Notes, best of music news and notes for the day.

The Offspring recently released a cover of Charlie Brown’s “Bells Will Be Ringing.” The song is a cute tribute, but if you are looking for a punk rock cover of a Charlie Brown song, this ain’t it. The Offspring cover is just a cover. We wonder where they might fit it into a concert. Maybe The Offspring want to make a play for Mariah? 

Spotify must have thought we wanted to hear punk rock Christmas songs; the next song it played for us was a Blink 182 song called Not Another Christmas Song. That’s a pretty good song!

Why are we talking about Christmas music in November?

We must give it to Spin; they got more out of the Pixies than most journalists. Even after the deep introspection completed by the writer and musician Jonah Bayer, it was hard to figure out if the Pixies were the coolest punk band of the 80s and 90s or a group of eccentric musicians who didn't care about labels. 

At one point in the article, guitarist Joey Santiago talks about being the nerdiest people at some music festivals and how the Pixies never got into the fashion or style of punk, alt, or indie as a scene. Santiago makes a great point; he says, "So you want to be outside? Come in here, but there's a rule: You've got to dress this way. Well, what kind of rebellion is that?"

Once again, the Pixies epitomize punk rock, while so many others have to dress for the part. The Pixie’s latest album, Doggerel, was released last month. Music News section 2 - more live music, videos, etc.

[More New Stuff]

Words | Music | Art | Unknown

Dreamin’.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

Thank you for spending a few minutes with us!

With A Shout Team