From Russell Davis via Helen Lewis

“There’s a lesson in here for anyone who has a creative person in their life. I give notes for a couple of trusted friends, and I’ve learned that the worst thing you can do is impose yourself onto the work.

When giving notes, people tend to offer solutions: cut down the final act, set it on a submarine, blah blah blah.

No. Your job is to tell the artist or writer your personal, human reaction: I got bored two hours in, this character’s actions didn’t make sense to me. Then they can find their own solution. For instance, earlier this year I told a friend that I didn’t “get” the final act of a film and he sadly quoted back William Goldman’s rule to me: if you have an Act 3 problem, it’s really an Act 1 problem.

This also applies to editing journalism or books: saying “I don’t understand this” or “I think these sections are in the wrong order” and letting the author figure out their own solution is more useful than simply rewriting it to how you would have written it.”

Creative Boom takes a stab at making eight predictions on trends we will see in 2024 in the design industry. Anyone seeing any of these in action yet? Trend 1 seems kind of interesting as a business model but not sure about it as a creative model to get the best work possible… same with brand sprints. More on this at Brand New here.

So where does the shrimp cocktail saga begin? Its predecessor, the oyster cocktail, was birthed in San Francisco. Read more here – interesting stuff.

ADIDAS SUPERSTAR X LEGO® SHOES – you can find them here.

Painted by my very talented friend. Vale Aurelio Costarella.

Drinking with chickens has got to be one of the best websites and instagram accounts out there. Trust me. Check them out here.

“Never allow anyone to be humiliated in your presence.”
– Elie Wiesel

Empirical is forever inspired by the role flavor plays in our ability to create and transport experiences. Many of us have spent a significant amount of blood and sweat working in some of the world’s best kitchens with the hope of pushing the boundaries of how we experience food. But Empirical is a newfound approach in bringing together our past and our experiences into something new. The outcome is something that’s democratic and shareable and driven by the journey of creating unique and unexpected flavors. See more about Empirical here.

The concept of practice is an integral aspect of being human: doing something repeatedly, making errors and learning from them, operating at the edges of your ability, and, most valuable of all, the satisfaction gained from improvement.

Practice is more than just repetition of behavior—it’s a movement of energy that creates a fissure in us to reveal what’s within. More movement, more revelation. Among the many things we discover about ourselves when engaged in the practice of writing or dance or making music is how to live with meaning and intention, which is perhaps the most important discovery of all.

Read more here.