I finally watched The Godfather.
I did a Pacino deep dive. Serpico, The Godfather, The Godfather II, Godfather III (which I couldnāt finish, because it was so clownish), and Scarface (which I also couldnāt finish, because tonally it just felt weird to watch Pacino go from dark Italian to neon Cuban).
Through Serpico, Godfather, and Godfather II, you just want Pacino on the screen as much as possible. Heās so magnetic that in scenes where heās absent, you find yourself feeling impatient for his return.
40 years after The Godfather, Pacino hammed it up in Adam Sandlerās āJack & Jillā (Tomatometer: 3%).
In terms of an artistic descent, thatās the precise same as if Mick Jagger went from Exile in Main St (1972) to singing backing vocals on Michael Bubleās 2011 album āChristmasā.
Three Ideas
So far this year, three ideas have stuck.
The Power of Planning
āThere is nothing quite so useless, as doing with great efficiency, something that should not be done at all.āāāāPeter Drucker
āPlans are nothing; planning is everything.āāāāDwight D. Eisenhower
The Real Meaning of Strategy
Sequencing events so as to build strength is fascinating, even at the level of a single day.
Paired with John Woodenās āmake every day a masterpieceā, you get:
Sequence the events of your day to build strength and make a masterpiece.
The Need For Truth
A lie is sweet in the beginning and bitter in the end. And truth is bitter in the beginning, and sweet in the end.
Twitter Timelines
Reading someoneās Twitter timeline as a single stream can be really great. @pierattās for example, where you dig up stuff like this.
There are two alternative views of Twitter that are also fascinating.
1.Daily 140 letās you follow the follows and the favourites of up to 10 people.
2.Bio Is Changed alerts you when someoneās Twitter bio changed.
The signal in those two sources is surprising.
Three Longform Essays ToĀ Read
On Jony Ive.
This is all you need to read about Trump. Itās from the New Yorker. In 1997.
Maybe you should also scan this transcript too. Itās from The Washington Post. In 2016.
Adeleās VoiceĀ Though
No matter how often you hear it, Adeleās voice is amazing.
And so was Amy Winehouseās. Watching the documentary āAmyā gave me a whole new appreciation for her.
These AwardĀ Shows
Did you miss Kanyeās āAll Dayā at the BRIT Awards?
Or Kendrick at The Grammyās?
Kendrick!
Kendrickās āuntitled unmastered.ā is the best album of the year so far.
Thanks Lebron.
Watch the whole Noisey Bompton series, or check out my Vevo playlist if you want more Kendrick.
Obama
The Obama Doctrine is long and good.
Obamaās Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee with Seinfeld is a shorter, lighter counterweight to the Atlantic piece.
Related: His former speechwriter John Favreau joins Bill Simmons to talk politics.
Ep. 75: Jon Favreau and Dan PfeifferāāāThe Bill Simmons Podcast
HBO and The Ringerās Bill Simmons welcomes Jon Favreau, former director of speechwriting for President Obama, to breakā¦overcast.fm
NBA Podcasts
Thereās been a run of amazing NBA podcasts recently, featuring NBA coaches, managers and a killer Andrew Bogut interview.
Coaches: Vinny Del Negro, Tom Thibodeau, Brett Brown, Scott Brooks, and George Karl.
Managers: Bob Myers (Warriors), Daryl Morey (Rockets).
Related, this great video for people who love strategy and preparation:
I also feel somewhat relieved that the number of people born in 1983 that made more than 100 FG in their NBA careers was 38.
A lot more than 38 tried their hearts out to get there and didnāt.
Under Armour āRule Yourselfā
These What You Do In The Dark spots are epic.
The whole Rule Yourself series is worth your eyes.
Dash Cam Obsession
Iām a bit obsessed with the Dash Cam Owners Australia YouTube channel. Itās made me a better driver. Itās helped stave off the occasional homesickness. Itās mesmerising.
It was never between you and themĀ anyway
RG IIIās departing salvo against the Washington Redskins was surprisingly poetic.
:) Nils, Keith &Ā Nico
A new mix from Nico (skip ahead to 9:30 as the initial vocal sample is annoying):
A grainy improvisation from Nils & Jon Hopkins.
An old classic from Keith.
Happiness
If you get a shot at happiness, is it really the thing you want?
Do you want to be happy? Or do you want to minimize regret?
And if you choose to pursue happy, when do you want to be happy, and for how long?
And what if you miss? Or get it wrong, and optimize for the wrong things and end up not happy at all?
Making life decisions to optimize for happiness turns out to be very difficult.
You have to live with the possibility that the best path forward may not be the one that guarantees the most happiness.
Itās confusing.
For past editions of this series, see: