Another One! A Curated Newsletter for Multi-Disciplinaries.
Considerations: May 2023: Music, Film, Entrepreneurship, Technology and More!
Considerations is a thoughtfully curated newsletter focused on creative inputs for multi-disciplinaries.
Hello friends,
Welcome to another edition of Considerations. It's been quite a busy month for me, so this edition for May 2023 is really coming down to the wire (It’s currently 8 PM on May 31st)! Regardless, there are some great recommendations (imho) below.
Before we get this party started, here are three quick shameless plugs:
Considerations+? I’m considering (pun intended) launching a premium edition of this newsletter. The rough idea would be to continue putting out a free version (just like this one) but also have a second premium edition each month for paid subscribers (with more recommendations and deeper in-depth analyses, interviews, reviews, etc.) Thoughts? Outrage?
Renaissance Life 3.0: I’m working on a new website! I’ve been wanting to do this for years now, but instead waiting until it’s “perfect” I’m going to be building the new site in public, so bear with me. The goal is to make make the RL something much bigger than similar a personal daily blog.
Read more about the new direction here: Hitting the Reset Button on The Renaissance Life
Subscribe (for free) at RenaissanceLife.com to get the latest articles on creativity, mastery, and multidisciplinary living.
Renaissance Life Podcast Updates: I’m working on some exciting interviews that I can’t wait to publish. In the meantime, subscribe to the pod and peruse some past episodes if you haven’t yet.
1. Music Find: Sleep Token
Sleep Token
Sleep Token recently dropped a new album and I've been listening to it on repeat ever since. Description from Wikipedia: “Sleep Token is a British rock band from London, formed in 2016. The group is an anonymous, masked collective led by a frontman using the moniker Vessel. They have been categorised under many different genres, including alternative metal, post-rock/metal, progressive metal, and indie rock/pop.”
Similar-ish artists: Slipknot, Reignwolf, Bring Me The Horizon
Sleep Token Links:
2. Book: Excellent Advice For Living by Kevin Kelly
I’m in awe of how much wisdom is in this book. I’ve read through it once already, and plan on reading a page or two each day going forward. Here’s an excerpt from Amazon: “On his 68th birthday, Kevin Kelly began to write down for his young adult children some things he had learned about life that he wished he had known earlier. To his surprise, Kelly had more to say than he thought and kept adding to the advice over the years, compiling a life’s wisdom into these pages.
Kelly’s timeless advice covers an astonishing range, from right living to setting ambitious goals, optimizing generosity, and cultivating compassion. He has wisdom for career, relationships, parenting, and finances, and gives guidance for practical matters ranging from travel to troubleshooting.”
Book Links:
3. Thoughtful Quote:
“Music is moonlight in the gloomy night of life.”
— Jean Paul
If you love quotes, consider subscribing to my other free newsletter QQQ.
4. Health Recommend: Beekeeper's Naturals
It's pollen season here in Chattanooga, which means my nose completely stops functioning (laugh crying). 3 months out of the year I'm half a person during this time of year. Elderberry extract has been helpful in the past (watch out for added corn syrup/cane sugar). More recently, I've been trying Beekeeper's Natural products (specifically their Sinus Support and Propolis Throat Spray) and they've both been a godsend. If you have allergies, I highly recommend Beekeeper's Natural products.
Beekeeper's Naturals Links:
5. Business: Startup School
Startupschool.org is a free online resource from Y Combinator. If you are interested in starting a company or improving your current brand/products, I highly recommend this.
The goals of the program are (from website):
Encourage and inspire people to consider starting a company as a way to positively impact the world.
Teach people how to start a startup, and equip them with the resources and tools best suited for the earliest stages of their company.
Encourage great founding teams to dedicate time to work on their startups and apply to Y Combinator for funding.
Link:
https://www.startupschool.org/
6. Fun: Organ Attack
“Oh no!! You killed my Gallbladder with Gallstones!” Organ attack is a blast. Essentially it's a card game where each player has a set number of organs ( nose, spleen, appendix, etc) and a hand of attack cards in the form of various diseases. The goal is to be the last one standing while going around the table and attacking each other’s organs.
Organ Attack Links:
7. Film: Guardians Vol. 3
If you're similar to me, you've probably already seen this movie twice, but I wanted to go on record and say that I absolutely loved this movie. If you are a fan of the first two Guardians movies, this one is a must-see. I'd also recommend it even if you're feeling superhero fatigue.
Parents: it's rated pg-13, but more so in the old-school sense. There's quite a lot of scary stuff (particularly around Rocket's backstory) so take that into consideration.
8. Podcast: Huberman Lab
Every Monday I look forward to Andrew Huberman dropping a new video on his podcast. The amount of knowledge and insight he's given out freely in the past couple of years is truly inspiring. If you are into health and science, Huberman Lab is a must.
Huberman Lab Links:
9. Artist Spotlight: Laura El
Links:
10. Design: DesignSystems.com
DesignSystems is a great resource from Figma for—you guessed it—learning how to create design systems.
Link:
https://www.designsystems.com/
11. Life Upgrade: Get Rid of Stuff You Don't Love
I'm a strong believer that the stuff we surround ourselves with not only takes up physical space but also mental and emotional space. (I plan on writing more about this at RenaissanceLife.com.) Combine that with the fact that stuff tends to accumulate over time, it's a good practice to periodically schedule time to do an inventory and Marie Kondo the heck out of your belongings. If that sounds daunting, start small by choosing a specific place to target (for example a closet, kitchen, garage, etc.). If you don't love something or find sentimental value in it, get rid of it (sell it, donate it, or toss it).
Cleaning your physical space also cleans your mental space.
12. Interesting Clicks:
I hope you enjoyed this edition of Considerations. Have you discovered any interesting articles, books, music, or what-have-yous recently? Email me at josh [at] renaissance life [dot com] or leave a comment below.
Other Newsletters:
Bookaholics: If you are into books join my free monthly book newsletter
Practices: Considerations will have a sister publication called Practices. Where Considerations is about creative inputs, Practices is about creative output.
QQQ: Q^3 is a simple yet powerful newsletter that features 1 Quote, 1 Question, and 1 Quest to ground us and improve our week.
Share Considerations (or my other newsletters) with a friend and if they sign up and I’ll give you one year of Practices for free (email me to confirm invite).
Thanks for your time. Stay Curious. Be Well. Keep Creating.
— Josh Waggoner
Insta: @Renaissance.Life
Twitter: @RL__XYZ
Twitter: @wiggidywags
Note: Amazon links above are affiliate links. Meaning, if you end up purchasing something, I get a tiny kickback.