Love & Work
A notebook about how we work, learn, love and live.
In addition to my usual stew of ideas and discoveries, this week I am introducing a new feature called Big Sounds from a Small Planet. It features my own mix-tapes of music that delights and grooves me. I hope it does you, too. Learn more in this week's Playlist column.
Happy Friday.
Personal Development
How to work "in the entanglement of what is and what might be".
On her website, Cassie Robinson, says "that she cares about what is woven into the fabric of our futures. However impossible it sometimes might feel to shift existing structures and systems, doing something about their inadequacy is the work that needs doing. I am most useful working with one foot in the existing system and one foot in creating and stewarding the new - or as one person described it 'working in the entanglement of what-is and what-might-be.'”
For this reason, I follow her on Medium. At the start of the year she shared a "More of/Less of" post. Here's a part of hers...
I'm inspired to write my own. I suspect that you might be, too.
Article: More of and Less of in 2023
Learning, Humor
Confront the specter of failure, the wraith of social media, and other supernatural enemies of satirical cartoonist Tom Gauld.
"Tom Gauld returns with his wittiest and most trenchant collection of literary cartoons to date. Perfectly composed drawings are punctuated with the artist’s signature brand of humor, hitting high and low. After all, Gauld is just as comfortable taking jabs at Jane Eyre and Game of Thrones.
"Some particularly favored targets include the pretentious procrastinating novelist, the commercial mercenary of the dispassionate editor, the willful obscurantism of the vainglorious poet. Quake in the presence of the stack of bedside books as it grows taller! Gnash your teeth at the ever-moving deadline that the writer never meets! Quail before the critic’s incisive dissection of the manuscript! And most important, seethe with envy at the paragon of creative productivity!" - Publisher's Statement
“For anyone who has ever had writer’s block, books published, loves reading, has less and less time to read . . . Gauld’s humor will be comforting and exhilarating.” — Steven Heller
Web Page: Revenge of the Librarians
Economy
"Nature, underpinned by biologically diverse ecosystems, plays a critical role for national economies and people’s livelihoods and health."
"There is a growing recognition of the need to transition to sustainable business models that protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Finance and innovative financial solutions are key to supporting this transition; and biodiversity finance has emerged as a fast-growing area in green finance with increased interest from investors, financial institutions, and issuers globally. Currently, however, there is no guidance in the market on project eligibility criteria for biodiversity finance.
"To address this gap, IFC (International Finance Group of the World Bank) has developed a Biodiversity Finance Reference Guide. This guide builds the Green Bond Principles and the Green Loan Principles and provides an indicative list of investment projects, activities, and components that help protect, maintain, or enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as promote the sustainable management of natural resources."
Publication: Biodiversity Finance Reference Guide
Retail
Shopping as social experience
Image via Jumbo
"Jumbo, the Dutch supermarket chain, recently introduced slow checkouts when it discovered some people enjoy chatting while paying for their goods. The added personal touch is helping many people, especially the elderly, deal with loneliness. The move has proven so successful that Jumbo plans to install what it calls Kletskassas in 200 stores.
"Carrefour, the giant French supermarket chain, is following suit with special checkout lanes for people who want to socialize. Other French retailers, Système U and Auchan, are not far behind with their own slowed-down checkouts."
According to this article, shoppers are not the only ones who benefit from what the French call "blablabla caisses". Cashiers report report "a new sense of self-esteem and happiness from working at the slow checkouts. It comes from the joy of interacting and being the cause of joy for other people. One cashier reported she did not notice the hours passing. The personal touch made it seem that she was working in her own little business." - John Horvatt II
Article: Is There a Future for Chit Chat Checkouts?
Related Article: Nobody Uses the Cashierless Store in Utrecht, People Don't Like It.
Advertising
File under: "I wish I did that".
I love this ad for the simple reason that its cleverness helps me get the ad's promise at a glance. It elegantly supports Kit-Kat's position: "Have a break. Have a Kit-Kat." Even cooler, it wasn't created by Kit-Kat or anyone associated with the brand. It was made by creative Sam Hennig for the One Minute Brief Twitter challenge. If more ads were this smart more ads would work better.
Article: Genius New Kit-Kat Ad Sums Up Lockdown Perfectly
Retail, P.O.P Display
An in-store sign that made us smile
This week, Debbie and friends and I visited The Bookstore in Lenox. We were greeted by this sign. It reads: "Books on Politics and Current Affairs are now in the Horror section. Books on Medicine and Epidemiology are now in the Self-Help section. Books on Travel and now in the Fantasy section. Thank you for your understanding as we keep up with the times."
Website: The Bookstore and GET LIT Winebar
Social Change
Why some protest movements are more effective than others.
"Social Change Lab undertook six months of research looking into what makes a protest movement successful. We examine factors such as numbers, nonviolence, diversity, external factors, the radical flank effect, and more. We conducted this research using a range of methods: literature review, public opinion polling, expert interviews and a case study." - Social Change Lab
Report: What Makes a Protest Movement Successful?
Google Docs Version
Summary Blog Post
One-liners
Article: ‘Co-Buying’ Is Surging — and Making Housing More Affordable.
Article: Expert: Fake Meat Won’t Have a Huge Eco Impact
Article: A New Scientific Paper Credits ChatGPT AI as a Coauthor
Ariticle: Revealed: More Than 90% of Rainforest Carbon Offsets by Biggest Provider Are Worthless, Analysis Shows
Playlist
David Crosby, co-founder of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, a prolific solo artist, and collaborator with dozens of other artists, died on January 18 at the age of 81. This beautiful 2018 Tiny Desk Concert with The Lighthouse Band is how I'll remember him best, singing songs of joy, peace and justice in sweet harmony. Their reading of Joni Mitchell's Woodstock (fast forward to minute 11) brought tears to this aging hippie's eyes.
Tiny Desk Concert: David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
While his life was celebrated in many obituaries, perhaps the depth and breadth of his amazing life and career is caught best on his Wiki page.
Wikipedia Listing: David Crosby
Mitch the editor steps into a new role as Mitch the DJ.
Introducing a new, regular feature, Big Sounds from a Small Planet
Recently I've been using Spotify's AI capabilities to assist me in building mix-tapes. Now I want to share them with you. Beginning today I will post one mix per week on my Spotify profile page, Big Sounds from a Small Planet.
This week's mix is titled Beatnik Jazz, Number 1. Beatnik Jazz is my name for music that grooves, and touches mind, heart and soul, without the border of classification. To me, old soul, nu-soul, new folk, 60s jazz, trip hop, reggae et al, all belong in the same stew, not segregated by category. I'd love to know if it soothes you, too.
Mix-Tape: Beatnik Jazz, Number 1
Image of the Week
“The first obstacle of the course is the moment I prefer most of all. There, where it all begins, where the bond between Human and Dog is expressed in such a clear way by such a magnetic look, where you can see the power of dog’s muscles contracting and releasing energy at every handler’s nod.” (Photo: Francesco Junior Mura, 1st Place, Action)
Article: 20+ Winning Dog Photos From the 2022 Dog Photography Awards
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.
If you get value from Love & Work, please pass it on.
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