This Tiny Desk concert at the White House with Common and some of my favorite musicians Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge, and Bilal was incredible.
From Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Price acceptance speech in 1986:
And then I explained to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remain silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.
Wired has a fun and informative look at How to Rig a Presidential Election in 1000 Easy Steps. Basically it’s impossible — I hadn’t really thought of this before, but every precinct has its own officials from both parties that certify everything, there are just a ton of people involved at every step of the process. All that said, I would love if voting platforms were completely open source software and had paper receipts that could be verified manually.
Also speaking of politics getting dirty, the San Francisco State Senate race has had a ton of falsehoods and attacks from Scott Weiner, someone I’ve met before and previously thought was a nice guy, but the latest mailers I’ve seen have just been deceitful (especially considering the Guardian actually endorsed his opponent, Jane Kim).
I went back for a Round 2 answering follow-up questions from Tim’s readers on the Tim Ferriss podcast. About an hour long and covered a wide range of topics. One of these days I need to start podcasting more directly. In the meantime, please give it a listen! Already some great tweets and responses have started to come in.
Happy Birthday Om!
Today the legendary Om Malik celebrates his 50th time around the sun. For many that know him, Om defies definition: He’s first a writer, and finally always a true friend, but in between he’s an investor, photographer, oenophile, closet Bollywood fan, critical thinker, and sartorialist. He’s also been my friend and confidant for over a decade now, and I cannot wait to see what his next 50 years bring for him and the world.
Here’s some snaps of Om over the years, from 2008 to just a few weeks ago when he was blonde for a few days. Happy birthday, buddy. 😀
I’m still catching up with things after the Automattic Grand Meetup, but excited today to be included on the Fortune 40 under 40 list, which I’ve graduated to after being termed out of the under 30 lists. I came in at #20 and it’s great to see lots of friends on the list as well.
Fun Shopping Finds
In midst of a crazy couple of weeks, some retail therapy and cool finds.
I’m most excited about The Napsack, a sleeping bag which you can also wear as a coat, from a company called Poler that has a lot of fun items, patterns, and colorways.
The Zolt Laptop Charger + Apple Macbook cable add-on is small and handy. The version I got previously from Kickstarter made a weird buzzing, this new model is quiet and works great. If you passed it before, worth trying now.
Snow Peak is an amazing Japanese camping brand. Some of their materials are so soft, and the titanium stuff is super light.
I’m always a sucker for the timelessness and quality of Will Leather Goods, some of their bags and backpacks are looking great these days, especially the Oaxacan line.
I’ve been liking this 3-port USB + USB-C charger from Aukey.