The past two editions of Weekend Reading has featured almost as many videos as articles so I'm not sure that moniker is particularly accurate any longer. Therefore, this Friday feature where I share some of my favorite things from across the internet will simply be known as "The List" from here on out. Criteria for inclusion on The List is simple -- I must think the item in question was interesting/revelatory/awesome/noteworthy or otherwise worth your time. Articles, videos, podcasts, and music are all fair game and I'll shoot for 3-5 items for inclusion each week.
1. On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs - Strike! Magazine
I tried to find a good quote from the article but each time I thought I found one I realized it over simplified a pretty thorny subject and didn't do justice to the entire argument of the article itself. All I can say is that it's worth a read, especially if you have a sneaking suspicion your job might be bullshit.
2. A Path to Discovery - Rands
Rands has elucidated something I've felt and sought for a long, long time:
The daily tools and services we’ve surrounded ourselves with are incentivized to satisfy our urgent need for instant gratification – to make the precious moments we send on them as useful as quickly as possible. I’m on the lookout for something different. I need more tools and services that encourage serendipity as their primary function because I know how to search for what I need, but what is to discover what I do not know.
I think this is partly why I made the switch from Spotify to Beats a few months ago. The curated playlists and recommendation engine in Beats was helping me find things I never thought I'd like -- it was facilitating the search for what I didn't already know. What other services are out there that support this act of discovery?
3. The Biggest Challenge of my Life: The 777 Project - Joel Runyon
Joel is basically an expert at doing impossible things. His new project seems insane and therefore right up his alley. I love when good people do crazily ambitious things. Good luck, Joel!
4. A New World: Intimate Music from Final Fantasy (free stream)
There is no bigger nostalgia bomb for me than music from the Final Fantasy video games (Final Fantasy VII in particular). Composer Nobuo Uematsu has created some of the most video game music -- hell, music, full stop -- I've ever heard. This is a free stream of an orchestral recording of a wide range of tunes from across the Final Fantasy library. Turn this on Saturday morning while you're lounging around the house or bookmark it for the next time you're sitting down to get some work done.
5. Tycho - Spectre (Bibio Remix)
I haven't become utterly obsessed with a song in a long time. This one has broken the dry spell, though. Tycho creates some of the best music I've heard for working and it features prominently in my work playlists. I recently started following Scott Hansen's (aka Tycho) blog, ISO50. I don't know what it is about it -- but I can't stop listening.
What did you enjoy this week? Share it in the comments below or shoot me a link on Twitter (@samspurlin).
Photo by Buble-Gum