560: where 'space marines' came from, redefining nativity, and clubs without basslines
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I attended a show by audiovisual artist Max Cooper at the Midway, which had impressive AV visuals, but few basslines to be found, so in the end it was a big dark room full of people standing there watching - not my ideal club vibe!
I watched the 80s Aliens movie directed by James Cameron and was struck by how much of the ‘space marine’ genre of scifi I grew up on is centered on this film. Heck, large parts of the Halo game series (from Sergeant Johnson to Pelicans to infection forms) were lifted directly from this film, and the devs even admit it.
That franchise has a fascinating history, veering from horror to action and back again, with several different auteur directors putting their own take on it.
Technology
I paid a pretty penny to take Product Schools Product Manager Certification course last week, which is taught by current PMs at BigTech cos.
The course content was solid, though the lecture format did feel like it went in one ear and out the other for me. The true value will come from my own self directed homework within their provided resources and templates, and networking through the community.
I’ll relay how that goes - in the meantime all I can say is the course lives up to the promise.
Ideologies
Trump just selected Jim O’Neil to head the Food and Drug Administration, who is someone I’ve met personally through biotech hacker circles in the Bay. A large part of the Vitalia longevity pop up city I visited early this year was oriented around circumventing FDA obstacles to get new drugs to market, so it will be interesting to see if someone like him can actually get that done.
I thought I’d already posted about Sleepawake camp, a conscious meditation retreat for young people that’s popular amongst my social circles. Seems I haven’t, so take a look at their particular flavor of self development here and see if it resonates.
I like this poet Aidan Fitzsimmon’s exploration of Nativity in Hawaii here:
“All species native to Hawai’i (came here and thus)…were not native; they became native. Nativity is, then, not some eternal category, some unchangeable noun. Nativity is more a verb; it is something one becomes.
We become more native over time by degrees, in proportion to the depth of our genuine dialogue with our environment. In genuine dialogue, we listen, and we participate; we find symbiosis. Nature makes itself at home. The environment changes as we change together. The garden gardens the gardener.
In dreaming of the New World together, we must believe that there are no hard lines of nativity, no categories of yes or no. Everything comes from somewhere else; everything has evolved from the same source; everything adapts. This reframe allows us to think more pragmatically about what it means to learn to live with one another on the same boat, the same island. In cultivating the garden, it’s not about invasive versus non-invasive, or native versus non-native. What matters is harmony. What matters is how a new neighbor adapts to the ecosystem. The best way to adapt is in such a way that promotes diversity rather than hinders it, creates more than it destroys.”
I guess I’m just an Atrioc reply guy at this point because his explanation of Trump’s boneheaded tariffs first plan was excellent and references former president William McKinley who implemented a similar platform in the 1800s with disastrous results.
Memes
What life was actually like as a medieval jester was illuminating. Turns out if you were good at circus skills it was a surefire way to elevate yourself out of peasantry, and an early form of a mail service, as jesters would travel from town to town and could spread news.
Curious what your intent was in taking the PM course and in what sense you think it lives up to its promise (mostly for folks interested in transitioning into PM who ask me whether it makes sense to take such courses).