"The Nashville Public Library (NPL) launched a campaign celebrating the "freedom to read,” a rebuttal to state legislators' efforts to make it easier to ban books in schools.
- A limited-edition library card proclaims "I read banned books" as part of the library's drive to distribute 5,000 new cards in one month.
- Both new and existing cardholders can pick up one of the limited-edition cards at any library branch through May 26.
"'I want Nashvillians to know: Nashville Public Library will always respect your freedom to read — to independently determine what you read, and don’t read, and to exercise your role in determining what your children read,' NPL director Kent Oliver".
Article: Nashville Library Releases "I Read Banned Books" Card.
How We Work
Digital participation platforms can enable people to learn, debate, and decide together in more inclusive ways.
"Digital participation platforms generally have several core functions that work well: collecting, reviewing, and revising ideas and proposals; voting on proposals; and reporting outcomes. Along the way, people can receive updates, give feedback, share information beyond the platforms, and integrate offline and online discussions. Advanced platform features are increasingly using artificial intelligence, algorithms, and randomization to connect people and ideas in new ways.
"These platforms can make it easier to reach more informed decisions that have broader support. They make engagement easier by automating and distributing work— by collecting ideas, for example, and compiling votes. They make decision-making more transparent by documenting and sharing key information and discussions online, in usable formats. And they make participation more accessible by creating easier opportunities for people to engage at times and in places and languages that work for them." - Josh Lerner and Rose Longhurst
Article: How to Make Better Decisions Online
Learning
How an after-school music program—aimed at Latino students, many of whom were struggling academically—became renowned in its school district, recast from a “nice-to-have” extracurricular into a strategic tool for addressing some of the district’s persistent challenges.
Keith Negley for Edutopia
"Consistent exposure to music, like learning to play a musical instrument, or taking voice lessons, strengthens a particular set of academic and social-emotional skills that are essential to learning. In ways that are unmatched by other pursuits, like athletics for instance, learning music powerfully reinforces language skills, builds and improves reading ability, and strengthens memory and attention, according to the latest research on the cognitive neuroscience of music.
"Experts are hoping this body of evidence might alter the current state of music education in schools—which is extremely uneven and, in some places, downright nonexistent." - Holly Korbey
Article: How Music Primes the Brain for Learning
Advertising Business
Keep calm and keep working.
"On February 24, employees at I am IDEA, a Kyiv-based ad agency, were on their way to shoot a commercial for Domino’s when they learned that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
“'Everything was ready,' Ihor Havrush, a creative director at the agency, told Marketing Brew. 'At five o’clock in the morning, we should start shooting. And actually producers of the [shoot], they called me at five o’clock in the morning. And they said, ‘Ihor, we’re fucked.’
"Before the bombing began, the plan had been to shoot at a large studio and a Domino’s location that has since been destroyed. Havrush confirmed everyone on the shoot, including the 82 people who were already on set, made it home safely.
"Since that day, he has remained in Ukraine, along with agency CEO and co-founder Igor Finashkin. Other coworkers, like creative group head Irene Ilchanka, have relocated to places like Canada. Families have also been separated, with Finashkin’s wife and two sons now living in France. Finashkin told us he often thinks how grateful he is that his family is somewhere safe. “This is the thing that’s keeping your mind free,” he said.
"In the midst of turmoil and across many miles of separation, the agency has kept its doors open as employees lend their skills to help Ukraine and try to retain a sense of normalcy" - Katie Hicks
Article: How One Ukrainian Ad Agency is Surviving the War
Personal Development
Really good advice from a very thoughtful man
"Yesterday my family celebrated my 70th with a surprise birthday party. It was the first surprise party I've ever gotten. There was a theme." - Kevin Kelly, Twitter
Last week idea maven Kelly Kelly turned 70. To celebrate he added to his annual collection of "unsolicited advice". As always, it is advice worth considering.
"• About 99% of the time, the right time is right now.
• No one is as impressed with your possessions as you are.
• Dont ever work for someone you dont want to become.
• Cultivate 12 people who love you, because they are worth more than 12 million people who like you.
• Don't keep making the same mistakes; try to make new mistakes.
• Anything you say before the word 'but' does not count."...
Article: 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known
One-liners
Article: Older adults aren’t more likely to fall for fake news
Article: The new Eames Institute debunks myths about how designers work.
Article: The next frontier in branding? Logos you can see from space
Playlist
Last week Sasha Frere-Jones wrote an encyclopedic "Shfl Guide" about the genre that came to be called Post-Punk. I love this very sophisticated and intellectually surprising rock (think Gang of 4, The Birthday Party, The Raincoats...), so I totally geeked out on this article.
"Punk was the alarm clock, ending the pop music sleepwalk and complicating the habit of going along for the ride. No argument here—that chair through the window in 1976 was necessary. But what happened next? In many cases, as with the Sex Pistols and the Clash and the Damned, punk turned out to be rock and roll revved up and returned to its original role as unruly dance music. Punk added elements of tone and content, sure, but it was not the antithesis of rock music. Punk was rock music recharged by simplicity and free-floating animus.
"So the guitar bands woke up and then what? This is where we get to post-punk, a decent peak for the guitar band. Hip-hop had not transformed popular music fully, and digital tools were years away. Guitar music was in a beautiful interregnum between shifts. There were all these punks standing around, waiting for the next thing. They had taught themselves to play but wanted to do more than pogo and play barre chords. The post-punks had more room for women and dance music and all the weirdos who felt excluded from the vague fascist stomp of punk, liberatory or not. Punk didn’t feel like freedom for everyone, but post-punk kinda did." - Sasha Frere-Jones
Article: Post-Punk
Frosting on the cake: while he was compiling this article he made a great Playlist.
Playlist: Post-Punk
Image of the Week
Ceiling of the Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque, Shiraz, Iran
"Mosques throughout the Muslim world have some of the most intricate and exquisite architecture ever created by mankind. There’s too much amazing architecture in them to cover in just one post, so we decided to focus simply on the mosque’s ceilings – something the faithful might see when they look up to the heavens.
"These images show just how heavily mathematics and geometry featured into Islamic architecture in the Arab world and elsewhere. The repeating perfect spirals and geometric forms are reminiscent of the intricate mandalas found in Buddhist art as well."
Article: 50+ Mesmerizing Mosque Ceilings That Highlight The Wonders Of Islamic Architecture
What's Love & Work?
Love & Work is the weekly newsletter by me, Mitch Anthony. I help people use their brand - their purpose, values, and stories - as a pedagogy and toolbox for transformation.
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