An Ode to When PlayStation Ads Were Completely Unhinged
There was a time where Sony’s corporatized self-satire let us all cringe and laugh together, something that's brutally missing in today's gaming landscape.

Totoro

I've now watched Totoro 8-10 times. We read the book at night. I make ocarina sounds as I get him ready for bed. There is something really beautiful about the story – it feels magical. The illustration style, music, and pacing are perfect. Unlike a lot of children's movies today, it has a sort of calming effect on Sonny. I have to credit my sister and brother-in-law for turning us on to it. 

I've included some of my favorite stills from the movie below:

🚫 BAN DOGS

We have a dog problem in the US.

Dogs are fucking everywhere. 

Every park has been overrun by these wild animals. In most cases, off-leash. Shitting everywhere.

Now, we have dogs in restaurants and grocery stores. When did this become ok? And more importantly, WHY is it ok?  

We were in Santa Barbara a few weeks ago, and this young woman had her nasty little dog sitting at the table, and she was feeding it as if it was her child. Now granted, it was Mother's Day, and she might have identified the dog as her child, but it wasn't; it was her dog. And the dog was licking the table. It was gross and, somehow, totally accepted.

Is this the first sign of a collapsing society? A complete disregard for public etiquette... hygiene... health codes... safety?!?! 

And I'm not even talking about this dog barking, which happened, a lot.

Why do we allow this? I think MOST people don't like dogs in restaurants. I think MOST people don't like to see dogs licking restaurant tables. I think MOST people don't like hearing a dog bark while they are dining.

I only hope that the more I publicly complain, the more people will join me in the resistance. I'm aging rapidly. These are the things I care most deeply about now. 

Join me in going full Gran Torino mode on all dogs.

🚫 GET THEM OUT OF OUR PARKS! 

🚫 GET THEM OUT OF OUR RESTAURANTS!

🚫 GET THEM OUT OF OUR YARDS!

🚫 GET THEM OUT OF OUR GROCERY STORES 🚫 GET THEM OUT OF OUR PLANES!

*service dogs are an exception of course to all this

RAV4 Excellence

If you liked Endorphin Port, you're gonna love Stand Up Solutions. This is the funniest thing on the internet right now. In a segment, Conner spends 10 minutes talking about his Toyota Rav4. Watch that segment here... 

👉 Here is a link to the whole thing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. You're welcome.

Father's Day Gift Guide!

The definitive father's day gift guide for discerning fathers!

1. TECHNIVORM MOCCAMASTER – really the best coffee machine out there. No timer. No clock. No buttons. Just one switch. A coffee machine your grandfather would approve of.

2. HIGH WIZARD "NUCLEAR FAMILY" T-SHIRT – it's time we celebrate the nuclear family.

3. ORSLOW 107 2-YEAR WASH DENIM – I buy these out at Canoe Club in Boulder. They are the best jeans and every dad should own a pair.

4. RALPH LAUREN BLUE OXFORD – the older I get the simpler I want things to be. If the occasion calls for something more than a long sleeve black or navy t-shirt, I am wearing this simple blue oxford. I've had my blue oxford for years and it gets better and better the older (we) it gets.

5. ZEN MIND BEGINNER'S MIND – one of my all time favorite books – "little by little."

Right Back To It

I highly recommend investing in premium mineral water for your home. We'd been using a Lifestraw filter, but this is way better. Mountain Valley Spring Water is delivered every few weeks in this killer glass 5 gallon glass bottle. It's sort of like a gym – you pay for it and it forces you to go – you're paying a premium for it so you drink it more often.  

We saw Waxahatchee last week. One of the best songwriters making music right now (right there alongside Big Thief!). 

Not so sunny Mother's Day weekend in Santa Barbara. After a week in San Francisco for a work trip.

Starting to see a lot of Cybertrucks around. I saw this one in San Francisco. I had a chance to buy one a few months back but I'm sort of glad we passed. There is something off about the ratios – specifically the backend. The whole thing looks sort of janky. Feels like you are paying a lot of money to drive a meme.

Picked up this killer backpack for Sonny at the San Francisco MoMa Museum store. VERY COOL. 

I wrote about "Offline Experiences" a few weeks ago, and High Wizard is a great example of what I was referring to. They send out a mailer – a sort of comic book – mixed media collage thing with some great graphics, funny copy, and a scratch-away code that gives you access to the online store. They only sent out 450 of these books and I like how the code is a sort of barrier to entry. The whole experience felt less like "shopping" or "buying" and more like participating. This is where things are going.  

It's been just over a year since we moved, and this spring has been spent trying to dial in our landscaping. 

This last weekend, we installed 38 plants, 2 trees, and a drip system. Outdoor lighting was also put in a month earlier.

Steph is really into craft ice. I went out to an ice distributor to get her 25 perfectly cut ice cubes. Spent 30-min. talking with the owner of the operation. Seems like there is a market for retail here. We're gonna investigate – stay tuned.

 

The Algorithm

It wasn't always like this.

The screens. The scrolling.

We had the sky and at night the stars would come out.

You could see them back then.

That was before the algorithm and everything that came with it.

We didn't even know what an algorithm was. 

The same way we didn't have the internet.

For awhile it was good, it made things easier.

But we didn't know what it would turn into.

Little by Little

Motorcycle Diaries

Third Eye Blind performing at the Minna Art Gallery in San Francisco

Third Eye Blind is Steph's favorite band. She's always liked them. The lead singer, Stephan, had a Bill Murray vibe about him—super self-aware and dry. He made jokes about San Francisco and called other bands sellouts as they played for a small room of investors and tech startups. It was subtle, perfectly timed and very funny. He seemed genuinely amused by the audience and the scene. At the same time, he was very gracious for the opportunity. I was invited backstage after the show to meet him, and he was VERY cool. 

Everyone knows Third Eye Blinds bangers, Semi-Charmed Life, Jumper, How's It Going to Be... but my favorite song by far is Motorcyle Diaries. It reads like a beautiful poem.

I made several How's It Going to B2B jokes.  

Brain ROT

Phones and social media have been compared to cigarettes in terms of addiction.

I think we'll find out they are MUCH, MUCH worse.

Especially when it comes to brain development.

Children are spending more time online than offline, making it increasingly challenging for them to differentiate between what is real and what is not (we see this in adults, too; remember the Qanon movement?). This cognitive dissonance is leading to more depression and anxiety. 

Although there are a lot of factors here, I think the root cause (in addition to poor parenting) is clear. It's social media.

Social media platforms have been weaponized with algorithms that study habits and vulnerabilities to generate engagement (at all cost). So kids, with their brains not fully developed, spend all day mindlessly scrolling through memes and videos that gradually erode their cognitive abilities, alter their thoughts, and change their behavior. Prolonged exposure to this brain-rotting sensory overload shit distorts their perception of reality and diminishes intelligence. Test scores are waaaaay down, and I think we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg here.

We should have been more concerned when kids were eating Tide Pods or killing each other because of Slender Man. These were warning signs that we all ignored.

***UPDATE***

On June 17, Surgeon general calls for social media warning labels [link]. Nice to see at least something being done... although it might be too little too late.