Cultish Creative Weekly (4/20/2024)

If I didn’t win you over with adorable pictures of my wife, the desert, and I (in that order), I’ve already lost you. Plus, I had real fun playing around with writing “What Is It About The Desert” in a way I need to explore more of. Hang out with that one if you haven’t already. 

Here’s a sample: 

My 3-year-old niece has a pair of shoes she calls her “fast shoes.” They look fast, ok? They make her fast. They make her faster when she puts them on. It’s a fact. And you wouldn’t argue that truth with her. Now, I can’t tell you how fast roadrunners actually go, but I can tell you, they look fast. “Fast birds.” That’s what roadrunners are. My niece understands if you don’t. Also, they’re shorter than the cartoon, which is modestly disappointing, but evolutionarily sensible.

Erstwhile, on YouTube, NEW SHOW. Another one. I know. But this is really cool. And it’s a collaboration with Epsilon Theory I’ve been teasing for a while now. 

The Intentional Investor, episode #1 with Ben Hunt is out now. Here’s why you should care (or, if should’s too aggro for you, why I believe/hope/think you might care) - 

For all the intelligent, smart-sounding, intellectualized finance podcasts that exist in the world (of which I am and have been an overconsumer of), when do we really hear about how a self-aware person grapples with their journey? About the life they’ve put together? And, is it too much to ask for more than a cool tidbit or practiced anecdote about some real-life stuff? 

You don’t just build up a portfolio of money in a vacuum. Just like you don’t build up a community of family or friends or colleagues without some intentions. A good life, to the degree you can make one, takes people, family, making stuff (re: content), communicating, and… luck. This is a show interviewing people who are practiced in talking about their process and results, where I ask them to focus those beautiful minds of theirs on all the other aspects of their life. Not just in the rearview either. Looking forward too. 

Because I already have these conversations when I get to spend time with these people. Why don’t they exist anywhere? Luckily, Ben and the good people at Epsilon Theory thought so too, and so this show was born. Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Here’s the first one (hey young family people who make joint-spousal decisions, you really have to hear this)

 https://youtu.be/yJ_4JZGJawM?si=Vq8fjbyc6QMVWaop

Last note on that - beyond the beautiful stories he tells about making decisions with his wife, when he says the friend who first brought him into finance, when he had zero finance experience, was an old and great college buddy who saw something in him? Dudes and dudettes, this is LIFE. 

Besides the desert and podcasts, 

Esther Perel’s quote about Authentic Intelligence is a showstopper. 

I am stanning The Slackers, their life experiences, and their songwriting on “From Punk Rock Conspiracy to Punk Rock Theory.” I can’t get “Statehouse” out of my head now either, and it’s glorious. 

Billy Joel gave some great old interviews. This clip of him about being an artist floors me. 

I love thinking about scenes and how they spring up. Extra shoutout to building things that don’t scale but make a huge communal impact. Just wait til you hear the next Just Press Record all about this. Meanwhile, read this post. 

Last but not least, if you need a soundtrack, this (lost) Dilla beat tape is INCREDIBLE.

Favorites? Feedback? Future ideas? Lemme know!