I was reading this and finding it very relatable, I have certainly watched many figs rot away in my life. And I struggle with constraints and scope when starting projects. It was only halfway through that I realized it relates to my life in a way that is much more direct, it was such a clear connection I felt shocked that i hadn’t noticed immediately. My 4 year old daughter loves music and has hemeparetic cerebral palsy, which means her left hand does not work well. I have often wondered what learning an instrument would be like for her when she’s older. It’s nice to be reminded that constraints aren’t just something to overcome, they can be a genuine blessing and create the conditions for success
Thanks for sharing that! Something I know for sure if that if she loves music, she can be an incredible musician despite a limitation in one hand. Practically, examples abound---conductor, composer, producer, singer, drummer (see eg Rick Allen from Def Leppard!!) pianist (see, eg. Ravel's concerto for one hand)---but that's not even considering the ways that she might be able to think of something no one has!
I have zero artistic talent, but definitely felt some resonance in the struggle of picking which next thing I will focus on--perhaps to the detriment of things I've already become quite good at that are also fulfilling. Thanks for your thoughts!
Love this! My bookclub just read “The Midnight Library” and if you haven’t yet, I’d recommend giving it a go.
It explores this exact concept (“what if I’d stuck with ABC…”) in a delightfully easy-to-fall-into novel setting that still has me pondering a few weeks later.
We humans are so funny with our our completely universal-yet-unique life contemplations 🙃
I honestly never went into such depth regarding Django’s story, and I’m happy I didn’t, because I would have never felt this surprised by reading your post right now. Thank you for making the time to make it! And honestly having all the possibilities in the world is often debilitating compared to having to face challenges and feeling limited. Django was the living demonstration of this, as well as many other musicians
It's so counterintuitive but when you've experienced it it makes sense. I'd way rather write a sonnet than free verse. I think maybe I just need to bring this into other areas of my life a little bit
Great read! I think about this a lot in terms of filmmaking (surprise). Hollywood used to have the Hayes Code, where filmmakers had to skirt around rules to covey certain meanings and themes. This was fertile soil for a lot of creativity! And now, if a streaming service funds a movie for $300 million and let's the filmmaker do whatever they'd like, it's often not great! Can't help but wonder if people had editorial and/or financial restraints, they'd have to sharpen their vision and be more creative than they already are. I'm often impressed when I see a movie with something like a $8 million dollar budget and it looks better (and is more unique and enjoyable) than things with 10-20x that budget.
Great read! I think about this a lot in terms of filmmaking (surprise). Hollywood used to have the Hayes Code, where filmmakers had to skirt around rules to covey certain meanings and themes. This was fertile soil for a lot of creativity! And now, if a streaming service funds a movie for $300 million and let's the filmmaker do whatever they'd like, it's often not great! Can't help but wonder if people had editorial and/or financial restraints, they'd have to sharpen their vision and be more creative than they already are. I'm often impressed when I see a movie with something like a $8 million dollar budget and it looks better (and is more unique and enjoyable) than things with 10-20x that budget.
Yes... I started on Medium. You write at such a caliber that if you put in the work to get in the right pubs, you'd likely get curated distribution there. I was asking because it's pay per read... I'm not in a position to be able to sub, but I can at least throw pennies (and the occasional quarter) at authors I enjoy over there!
I was reading this and finding it very relatable, I have certainly watched many figs rot away in my life. And I struggle with constraints and scope when starting projects. It was only halfway through that I realized it relates to my life in a way that is much more direct, it was such a clear connection I felt shocked that i hadn’t noticed immediately. My 4 year old daughter loves music and has hemeparetic cerebral palsy, which means her left hand does not work well. I have often wondered what learning an instrument would be like for her when she’s older. It’s nice to be reminded that constraints aren’t just something to overcome, they can be a genuine blessing and create the conditions for success
Thanks for sharing that! Something I know for sure if that if she loves music, she can be an incredible musician despite a limitation in one hand. Practically, examples abound---conductor, composer, producer, singer, drummer (see eg Rick Allen from Def Leppard!!) pianist (see, eg. Ravel's concerto for one hand)---but that's not even considering the ways that she might be able to think of something no one has!
I have zero artistic talent, but definitely felt some resonance in the struggle of picking which next thing I will focus on--perhaps to the detriment of things I've already become quite good at that are also fulfilling. Thanks for your thoughts!
I really enjoyed that, thank you
I'm glad, thanks for saying so!
Oooh I loved this reminder, thank you so much <3
Love this! My bookclub just read “The Midnight Library” and if you haven’t yet, I’d recommend giving it a go.
It explores this exact concept (“what if I’d stuck with ABC…”) in a delightfully easy-to-fall-into novel setting that still has me pondering a few weeks later.
We humans are so funny with our our completely universal-yet-unique life contemplations 🙃
I'll have to check that out, thanks for the rec!!
I honestly never went into such depth regarding Django’s story, and I’m happy I didn’t, because I would have never felt this surprised by reading your post right now. Thank you for making the time to make it! And honestly having all the possibilities in the world is often debilitating compared to having to face challenges and feeling limited. Django was the living demonstration of this, as well as many other musicians
It's so counterintuitive but when you've experienced it it makes sense. I'd way rather write a sonnet than free verse. I think maybe I just need to bring this into other areas of my life a little bit
Great read! I think about this a lot in terms of filmmaking (surprise). Hollywood used to have the Hayes Code, where filmmakers had to skirt around rules to covey certain meanings and themes. This was fertile soil for a lot of creativity! And now, if a streaming service funds a movie for $300 million and let's the filmmaker do whatever they'd like, it's often not great! Can't help but wonder if people had editorial and/or financial restraints, they'd have to sharpen their vision and be more creative than they already are. I'm often impressed when I see a movie with something like a $8 million dollar budget and it looks better (and is more unique and enjoyable) than things with 10-20x that budget.
That's such an interesting example! You should write about some of these instances in your next post for Noirchaeology, if you haven't already
Great read! I think about this a lot in terms of filmmaking (surprise). Hollywood used to have the Hayes Code, where filmmakers had to skirt around rules to covey certain meanings and themes. This was fertile soil for a lot of creativity! And now, if a streaming service funds a movie for $300 million and let's the filmmaker do whatever they'd like, it's often not great! Can't help but wonder if people had editorial and/or financial restraints, they'd have to sharpen their vision and be more creative than they already are. I'm often impressed when I see a movie with something like a $8 million dollar budget and it looks better (and is more unique and enjoyable) than things with 10-20x that budget.
Oh well thank you very much! Don't feel bad about not paid subscribing on my account either. I'll have to look into the medium thing more!
Paging @Cesca Centini - finally did a gypsy jazz post
OMF WONDERFUL THANK YOU JORDAN
Jordan... do you cross-post your essays to Medium?
I don't, no! Do you?
Yes... I started on Medium. You write at such a caliber that if you put in the work to get in the right pubs, you'd likely get curated distribution there. I was asking because it's pay per read... I'm not in a position to be able to sub, but I can at least throw pennies (and the occasional quarter) at authors I enjoy over there!