your mind is full, please upgrade

“Computers can be soulless sometimes,” my music teacher commented the other day. Ironically, our lessons revolve around Ableton, a computer program built to produce music. However, it wasn’t until we moved on to fiddling with a guitar and a synthesizer - off-screen - that the software felt more intuitive. Like all well-designed technology, Ableton takes the function of one thing (physical instruments) into a new form (our screens). Perhaps in time, I can learn to bring some soul into these pixels.

Let your mind breathe

This edition’s title comes from an email I received the other day from a lovely tool called MyMind. As someone who has fallen victim to endless open tabs, this tool creates a Pinterest-like experience with all web pages + digital tidbits into one searchable gallery.

As the holiday season comes into full swing, tools like MyMind and good old pen and paper can help me regain a sense of rhythm and clarity amidst this hectic season of consumption and connection.

The following finds have helped ground me this past month and hopefully will do the same for you:

Read

• Health and Safety by Emily Witt is for anyone who has experienced the New York City underground dance music scene and/or wants a unique perspective on how America arrived at its current political climate.

• Thought Bubbles - a recent edition of one of my favorite Substacks. It is always written beautifully, poetically, and through a sociological lens. Bonus: its title reminded me of the main photo of this edition, which is my favorite sculpture by a dear family friend

• Building Neighborhood Communities - the results of a social experiment on how to make more engaging communities in your own backyards

Create

• This UI meets AI tool was recommended by a designer and developer, separately, at a recent Product Design Meetup and looks promising.

• For the typography girls + guys, I got put onto Calligrafer as a way to design your own fonts. I’m not proficient in Illustrator, so this looks like a way to explore without the technical limitations.

• A brownie recipe that I’ve got my eyes on (grilled, too??)

Explore

• Lesser known museums in Southern California - these are all on my list to explore ASAP. Fellow readers, let me know if you want to join!

• Where music samples come from - I found this website and accompanying guide (unfortunately not for sale) on my recent trip to Japan

• How to make conversations better as you inevitably connect with new and old faces this season

BTW, I’m researching how you use AI to make decisions

with the help of some graduate students at Indiana University. If you have a moment to fill out this short survey, that would be fantastic. Appreciate you all 🙂