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David Mamet Memo to "The Unit" Writing Staff
David Mamet's memo provides guidelines for the writing staff of the TV show "The Unit" regarding the importance of drama, storytelling, and creating engaging scenes that advance the plot.
by David Mamet
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reading, watching & listening to and memos
great writing style. ALL CAPS. shouting on the page.
- I have thousands of photos of my children but few that I’ve set aside to revisit. I have records of virtually every text I’ve sent since I was in college but no idea how to find the ones that meant something. I spent years blasting my thoughts to millions of people on X and Facebook even as I fell behind on correspondence with dear friends. I have ... See more
from Happy 20th Anniversary, Gmail. I’m Sorry I’m Leaving You. by Ezra Klein
Here's the template I use whenever I need to delegate something. It's yours to copy/use/steal. https://t.co/lCvAiAqTc0- the ideal of limitlessness consumption serves the modern economy quite well, but it does not serve the person well at all.2 This ideal imparts to us all a spirit of scarcity that darkens our experience: not enough time, not enough attention, not enough capacity to care. But upon what does this spirit feed? It feeds, in part, on the temptation to li... See more
from The Art of Living by L. M. Sacasas
This reminds me of what Craig Mod calls ‘having clear edges’
Edges ground us. Without clear edges we don’t feel like we’re in control.
- Being a founder requires constant calibration between arrogance and humility, optimism and pessimism. You need the arrogance to believe that you have something important to say, but the humility to know most people won’t care. You need the optimism to convince yourself and others (employees, investors, customers) to believe in you. But you need pes... See more
from Things I'm thinking about by sari azout
- # on shortification of "learning" There are a lot of videos on YouTube/TikTok etc. that give the appearance of education, but if you look closely they are really just entertainment. This is very convenient for everyone involved : the people watching enjoy thinking they are learning (but actually they are just having fun). The people creating this ... See more
information diet management and sparks
the truth. “There are a lot of videos on YouTube/TikTok etc. that give the appearance of education… This content is an epsilon away from watching the Bachelorette. It's like snacking on those ‘Garden Veggie Straws’, which feel like you're eating healthy until you look at the ingredients.”
MWRC Annual Findings V.01_compressed
Annual findings from the Mouthwash Research Center, covering topics such as artificial intelligence, sustainability, and the intersection of convenience and human behavior.
- Writing novels is hard, and requires vast, unbroken slabs of time. Four quiet hours is a resource that I can put to good use. Two slabs of time, each two hours long, might add up to the same four hours, but are not nearly as productive as an unbroken four. If I know that I am going to be interrupted, I can’t concentrate, and if I suspect that I mig... See more
from Neal Stephenson - Why I Am a Bad Correspondent by Neal Stephenson
- I used to struggle w needing to be “creative” or “original” in my work. At some point I had a breakthrough that really helped me: I cannot repeat an idea, no matter how basic or common, without imparting some of my worldview into it.
Reconciling Opposites Jul 02
Reconciling opposites in various aspects of life, such as freedom-order, individual-society, and rationality-sentiment, is explored through various perspectives and philosophical ideas.
both are true and reading, watching & listening to
a beautiful doc with compilations from Lorenzo Servitije, the founder of Grupo Bimbo (and one of the richest men in Mexico) shared by a newsletter reader in response to the “both are true” issue.