cool shit i found #8
Panic! At the Bank Run, Ice Merchants, and Compton House
welcome back! this is the eighth drop of my newsletter! there will be an essay this week, but I plan to release it on Friday. last few times I’ve included an essay of mine in some capacity along with the rest of the stuff I find, but this time I want to try and separate it from that which i curate.
a few updates on what has preoccupied my mental:
SVB
Tulsa King on Paramount Pictures starring Sylvester Stallone
the 12-30-3 trend (shoutout my boy Yahya!)
“Cool Shit I Found” is a series where I create a highlight reel of cool stuff I’ve come across in the past week or just in general. I hope that this newsletter will inspire meaningful conversations and connections. As always, thanks for joining me on this journey of exploration and self-discovery.
This newsletter is broken up into the following:
I. Articles + Essays I’ve read
II. Visual Art + Media
III. Music I’ve been listening to
I. Articles + Essays I’ve read
Startup Bank Had a Startup Bank Run
A few years ago, a good friend of mine introduced me to Matt Levine’s newsletter. While Matt is extremely accomplished (this is an understatement), he’s best known for being a really good writer that can put things really simply. You can skim this essay with little knowledge of finance and walk away with why the tech bros were crying over the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) (also i am tech bros). These past few days were a whirlwind, and I think Matt is not only a trusted voice but the clearest voice in a sea of noise. Also he’s pretty funny as you can read below:
why we make art
I’m not sure how I found this essay, but I’m glad I did! The following passage really spoke to me. It’s really short, but cuts to the chase — it’s the crux of the essay in fact. This essay is a meditation on Ice Merchants, an animated 15 minute short film that was nominated for an Academy Award. I thought the visuals were really beautiful. Hope you enjoy the read and the film!
Also here’s some of the art:
The Song and Dance of a Funeral Party
I’ve actually added this in last minute as I just read it at 1:40 AM before this newsletter drops. It’s a beautiful essay describing the hurt one feels when losing a loved one, but also the surreal and ironic nature that comes with the aftermath. It had me thinking of the loss of my grandparents on my fathers’ side. I hope by sharing this someone who has recently loss someone find’s solace.
The End of Knowledge
Brian Doran writes about how as advances in AI increase how hyper-specialization may become obsolete. I don’t share this out of believe, but rather because I need time to sit with it and would love to discuss it with folks that read it. Actually, this theme has been part of an on-going conversation between a friend and I. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been able to ship out code almost 10-20x faster (idk how to measure this, just trust me bro) because of ChatGPT. While it’s really cool to almost be able to just flippantly build and ship apps at will, it’s also scary because… well what’s my place in this industry as a software engineer then? Join me in pondering my the mortality of my career as an engineer by reading this. Here’s a sneak peak:
II. Visual Art + Media
Tulsa King
i saw a tiktok of a scene from Tulsa King and i thought sylvester stallone was pretty badass in it lol
Slanted 40 - Experimental Type
i was in a coffee shop recently, and i stumbled upon this design book on…experimental type (i think?). it had iridescent gradients so that caught my eye, and i thought it was sick af.
Non-Horny Archillect
i follow this art curation account called Archillect and sometimes they like to horny post on main, but when they aren’t they generally a really cool account to follow! here’s some stuff i found through them:
III. Music I’ve Listened To
Compton House & Channel Tres
I randomly came up on a DissectPodcast youtube short that put me on Channel Tres. Apparently, he’s working in this new genre (i think he might the founder?) called Compton House. As it stands, this is the only Tyler, The Creator song that Tyler himself has allowed to be officially remixed.
Naatu Naatu
If you haven’t heard of it, Naatu Naatu just won an award at the Oscars. This South Indian jam has captured the world by storm. Makes me think of Bong Joon-Ho’s quote, "Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films." Applies to music just as well.
Take me to Church - Nenei
So I’m working out of a cafe with my homies, and before i show up my boy Karim is like “yo man this place is mad interesting. they’ll play some euro cafe jazz, but then they’ll also play covers of Drake??”
As I took out my headphones to take a break, I paused for a moment to listen to what was playing and this came on. I had a pretty good laugh, and this is a pretty good listen.
Thanks for reading this edition. Hope this new format worked out for you. Share this with your friends, your grandma, or your neighbor. And if you made it to the end of this essay and you didn’t just scroll, dm me a 💯 on either twitter or instagram. or leave a comment! As always,
Sincerely,
Haroon
P.S. Check out my previous newsletter if you’re curious: Cool Shit I Found #7
one hunnit emoji
song and dance funeral party got me watery-eyed