Digital life is no longer separate from real life, but it is not the same thing either. The worlds have converged without becoming the same, and navigating that gap now requires more clarity, standards, and selfhood than ever.

When people say they want to restore the feeling, they’re often not missing the object itself. They’re missing the conditions that once surrounded it.

An essay on Drake, ambition, and the cost of scaling without growth

This is a post detailing thoughts and observations after reading Black Genius by Tre Johnson. The observations cover the brilliance of adaption, the extraction of culture for capitalism, and the cost of adaptation

A walk through planning, curating, and hosting a spring dinner party. I discuss what it takes to curate an event, what really matters, and why it's worth doing

Observations, reflections, and insights from Don't Cry For Me by Daniel Black

My observations and reflections after reading Giovanni's Room.

Reflections and observations after reading Between the World and Me

On the pressure of expectation, ambition, and the space between capability and transcendence. The Divide J. Cole released The Fall Off recently, framed as the culmination of his career. Starting with The Come Up in 2007, he took us on essentially a 20 year journey as he documented his life, his observations of the world, the pressure of expectations, and his ambitions for greatness. It’s this last point that becomes the crux of this discussion, because it frames, in my opi

I recently finished reading The Doorman by Chris Pavone. A very contemporary novel that reads like the blend of a satirical critique of the current cultural moment and a thriller. The book looks at power that comes from wealth, whiteness, reputation, and location, but really it’s about who understands and can read the room and the moment. The story revolves around a few essential characters. First, Chicky Diaz, the doorman at the luxury condominium where the other characters

I recently watched In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai. We hear people talk about bringing back yearners and yearning in the nostalgic 80s and 90s R&B sense, but this movie embodies a yearning that I think people most often live with and feel, but rarely talk about. This is yearning driven by restraint. Restraint is such a powerful tool in storytelling and also one of the most uncomfortable for the audience. It can break fantasy or activate the imagination and deepen it. I

I recently watched Marty Supreme. Timothee Chalamet’s vocal desire for greatness matches that of the character Marty in a way that should feel unsettling. Where Timothee’s desire for greatness feels additive and human, Marty’s feels human and corrosive. Marty lives in a world where ambition is the center of self, and everything else is erased. People stop being relationships and start being infrastructure. Because greatness, not connection, becomes proof of life. Proof of ex

This was originally written for and posted The Noise Complaints Group Blog in 2017. Reading not your thing? Take a listen: “Every...

This post was originally written for and posted on The Noise Complaints Group Blog in 2017. Reading not your thing? Feel free to listen:...

This was originally written and posted on The Noise Complaints Group Blog in 2017. Reading not your thing? Feel free to listen: As much...

This was originally written for and posted on The Noise Complaints Group Blog in 2017. Reading not your thing? Feel free to listen: A...

This blog post was originally written for and posted on The Noise Complaints Group Blog in 2017. Reading not your thing? Feel free to...

This blog was originally written for and posted on The Noise Complaints Group Blog on 2017. Reading not your thing? Feel free to listen:...

This blog post was originally written for and posted on The Noise Complaints Group Blog Reading not your thing? Feel free to listen:...

This is a blog post I originally wrote for and appeared on The Noise Complaints Group Blog in 2017. Reading not your thing? Feel free to...