Yes, it's true.

I started nota bene a few years ago as a side project, using it to put thoughts somewhere productive. The last few issues were during a period of pretty intense isolation and disillusionment, so the format eventually became an existential journal that I couldn't keep up with.

Anyway, the relaunch comes during a chapter that's almost the complete opposite. And I suspect more fuel will come from such a personal high as opposed to a low.

So, what to expect? Well, I realized that I lived with the strange complex that everything I read, watched, listened to, or enjoyed had already been experienced by everyone else, and that I was just keeping up. Turns out that was, at least partly, wrong, and my mental (and, increasingly, physical) backlog of things can actually come in handy if shared with others.

And that's it. nota bene will include ~6, 8, 10 things that I've dug up from the last week. I'll do my best to give you some meaningful takeaways, but otherwise I hope that each will find some way to fuel creativity in your week.

Thank you for reading.

— n.b.

W A T C H :

i swear i tried picking something else

I really did. I wanted to kick off the relaunch with something deep, meaningful, philosophical. Something that could really be valuable.

And I couldn't. I was stuck on a one-way road towards writing about the most absurd moment have ever seen--and will likely ever see--on a NASCAR track. Which isn't even that long a list...

In case you missed it, NASCAR driver Ross Chastain needed to place high enough to make the "Championship Four" but found himself too far back on the last lap. In desperation, he reached into his childhood bag of tricks, ran himself into the wall, and let it rip.

He flew past the competition, shredding his car against the wall the entire way, and placed exactly where he needed to in order to make the cut.

My mind was blown! I watched it eight times in a row! It was so cartoonish it seemed to break physics. It was a moment I had a hard time believing actually happened.

My thoughts raced towards ideas: Does this become how NASCAR works? How do you build cars to do this better? Is it a new sport entirely? Am I a better driver than I thought?

Was a fun mental exercise, but pointless. Chastain has already said he won't do it again. Something, something, personal safety, unspoken rules nonsense.

B O N U S W A T C H :

AI is coming for us all

Not going to dwell to long on this one because it will send nota bene back into an existential dreadrant, but Google Research's latest excursion, called Phenaki, is fascinating.

High-quality, AI-generated video created solely from a text description--and therefore our imagination--may only be a few years away.

R E A D :

kindness is a perpetual motion engine

During the early days of the pandemic, when I found myself effectively locked in the ~300 sq. feet of my New York apartment, I discovered Poolside.fm (now Poolsuite).

Something about it--the anachronistic vibe of the music paired with the carefree, galivanting nature of the ~40 year old videos--both helped my days pass faster and marked a very specific chapter of my life.

Anyway, Poolsuite founder Marty Bell recently posted a personal manifesto of life lessons or beliefs, and I actually found it to be pretty thought-provoking. Maybe you will too.

And here's the one that may be my current personal favorite.

B O N U S R E A D :

drawing Sisyphus

I think this is an article for Medium members only so I'm relegating it to the bonus section, but not because it's not interesting.

In the piece, artist Chaz Hutton illustrates the tale of Sisyphus, but spins it further and further using changes in perspective. With newspaper comic-esque brevity and charm, he populates the life of Sisyphus (and the boulder) like never before.

L I S T E N :

lights, camera...live-action?

I've been digging into live-streaming services for work recently, and one spin-off I started exploring--for really the first time--is VTubing (or Virtual YouTubers).

Some livestreamers, using a variety of technologies, stream themselves as a 2D or 3D avatar rather than themselves. With motion capture and some movie magic, they are able to create entire personas, almost like a live-action cartoon.

One of the most recent episodes of Imaginary Worlds, Generation VTube, set me off on all this, and it's extremely fascinating. Also, oddly, I'm a little envious of how liberating it must be.

There, of course, is a dark side. I won't get into much of it, but one of the more interesting conversations in the episode was around the proliferation of tech companies creating avatars as part of their "metaverse" strategies, and how that may represent a threat to the uniqueness of VTubers.

B O N U S L I S T E N :

a more obscure Grammy's

As you might know, the Grammy's are sometimes...top-heavy. And predictable. It isn't so much an event to discover new music as it is one you can use to feel affirmed that you like what you like.

This year, Reddit user Pax_Libertas_ created their own Grammy's focusing only on undiscovered artists. It is an incredible mountain of work that, for anyone reading, is likely an instant goldmine of new music. Check it out and let me know what you find.

P L A Y :

i can't stop snapping

I promise this isn't out of as much self-interest as it looks, but Marvel recently entered the digital card game space with Marvel Snap and I cannot stop playing.

Of course, I love the IP. And I love card games. But Marvel Snap is really a...marvel of game design. It's as carefully crafted as it is smartly designed. The production value is off the charts (sorry Pokémon TCG Live), and the game isn't cash-grabby or pay-to-win at all (at least not initially).

I love developer diaries and reading the intentions behind some of the smallest decisions in games, movies, and more. In the tweet thread linked below, Chief Development Officer of Second Dinner Ben Brode, talks through some of the most impactful decisions that were made.

You can't seek out and play individual users quite yet but, as soon as you can, hit me up.

And that's it for (the new) issue number one. This is a never-ending experiment, so please ping me with any feedback you may have. I very much appreciate it.

And, as always, reach out to me through the links below if you have thoughts, questions, or some interesting things you want to note. I'm a recently reformed thought-hogger, but now I've come back to the simple, familiar mantra: sharing is caring.

— n.b.