A weekly selection of what I was reading, drawing, writing, and doing.

Life is about meaning:

“Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life. Frankl saw three possible sources for meaning: in work (doing something significant), in love (caring for another person), and in courage during difficult times. Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it.” (Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning)

Predictions for the future of music:

More new artists will get their big break from web platforms (TikTok, YouTube, Peloton, Bandcamp, etc.) than from record labels. That said, even these platforms are less-than-ideal ways to introduce new artists to curious listeners. So I wouldn’t be a surprised if a whole new platform emerges during the next decade—an interface that makes it fun and exciting for music fans to hear new music. The online process should be almost as enjoyable as going out to clubs, but currently it’s not even close. Strange to say, video games like Fortnite might end up doing a better job of this than music platforms.

12 Predictions for the Future of Music: https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/12-predictions-for-the-future-of

Hiking in the Swiss alps:

As I looked down the grassy sides of the knife-edge ridge on the Hardergrat, I thought about that climber on the Mönch, and thought, “Yeah, you know, an ice ax might not be overkill on the Hardergrat after a recent rain. Like today.” I found out later that the Hardergrat was, in fact, usually graded T5 on the Swiss Alpine Club’s rating system, a grade they usually used for mountaineering terrain where an ice ax is mandatory. Of course, we didn’t have ice axes, so we just had to be careful.

Traversing the “Most Dangerous Hike in the World”: https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/essays-culture/hardergrat-switzerland-knifes-edge-hike/

Why Ted Lasso still worked:

Even though season 2 wasn’t as good as the first, it was still better than almost anything else we watched recently.

For a series to present its primary character as a kind of superhero whose powers are his amiability and positive thinking, only to reveal that those powers may have been an illusion and a crutch, is a fascinatingly counterintuitive thing to do.

Ted Lasso Is No Superhero: https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/10/ted-lasso-apple-tv-plus-season-2-finale/620347/

What I wrote and drew about this week:

What I did, was reminded of, or was thankful for last week:

Last week was vacation week (and my son’s 5th birthday) so this update is on the shorter side as my usual habits of reading and drawing were supplanted by a never-ending swimming and eating cycle. No complaints really, Tenerife was not a bad place to spend a week. 🌇

Last but not least, check out what I’m up to now.