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21st November 2016 - No Comments!

We Got It From Here, Thank You for Your Service by A Tribe Called Quest

They are back! And we needed them!

A dirty artwork as if it was done by a kid that makes me feel that they say thank you to the very organized chaos (that we can call society) and then a kid (let's try millennials here) occupied the scene with a crayon drawing on top assuming its position of consciousness that is much needed. A bit like they did 18 years ago with the hip-hop movement and the world, once again they're back with an epic album that is much needed if we think about how's the world today.

And what we need is what A Tribe Called Quest always gave us: good vibes and PMA. Right now (or ever), I would say that we don't need more gangster rap and white collar gangsters. 2016, a year where love is leaving us and anti-migration politics are becoming stronger in stronger, with this album ATCQ rage against the toxic mentality that is conquering the western world. I grew up with people that say how much they love music but kinda hate philosophy classes. Well, this album is just one more example of how philosophy and music can be just one thing. And how great minds can make us thing through their lyrics. Hit play and let this album repeat and resonate in your mind. It will help you wake up from the numbness the social media brought us into.

 

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20th November 2016 - No Comments!

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

I know, I know... it's the third Gladwell's book that I'm reviewing, but I can't help myself. They're just so easy to read and feed you with so much relevant information to better understand how we perceive people and society that every time I start one of his books I feel that everybody should be aware of the things is talking about.

In this one, David and Goliath: underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants, Gladwell addresses how disadvantages can actually bring better outputs than when you think you have everything you need to accomplish your goals. Needless to say, that his first story is about David and Goliath and what made David the winner in this, apparently, uneven battle. Gladwell has the great habit of giving you inputs and knowledge through stories, and from story to story, he keeps adding up and referencing back what we've learned until that point of the book. That makes incredibly easy to understand the different points of view about a story that you know. This book made think about decisions I've made so far and situations that I felt were not worth to try, simply because I put the pressure of thinking that I was not able enough to do something.

There will always be someone with better skills than you, but that doesn't mean that you can't be better than him. It's about knowing how to do something out of nothing and many times, how to use creativity in order to solve a problem through the lack of assets.

Making something out of nothing seems impossible, but it can actually achieve better results than what you think.

8th November 2016 - No Comments!

Before the Flood

Last weekend I watched something that should be mandatory for everybody.

Before the flood can be the last wake up call for Humanity and its sinful behavior.

The need of living a sustainable life has been addressed for decades but its being ignored by the mainstream media. We’ve seen the floods, we’ve heard about the new high-temperature records, we saw people starving and without clean water, and in most, if not all of those cases, we’ve just kept scrolling or changed the TV channel as if it was nothing that could affect us.

The truth is that it currently is a major problem for every human being.

Please do everybody a favor, watch this, spread the word and make some changes in your life. I know it’s a 1h35min long but if we think that Globally, people spend more than 50 minutes a day across Facebook’s suite of apps (not including WhatsApp), and the return you get from that is mainly gossip and perhaps bits of relevant information, you can surely fit in this in your schedule and wake up to serious problems that can and WILL affect all of our lives.

You may think that my tone of voice is a bit too drastic but we are approaching and creating a reality for our planet that I don’t want my grandkids to be part of.

Watching this documentary is not enough. We need to take action, therefore I’m pointing out few things that you need to have a look to help you reevaluate your lifestyle:

  1. Know your footprint on the planet;
  2. Cut the meat as much as possible. I felt many benefits on my health by doing this;
  3. It's not hard to improve your lifestyle to be more sustainable. There are a bunch of apps to help you with that;
  4. If possible, cycle to work. Personally, I save an average of +4h a week on commute while doing some sports. It's true that today I've cycled with 2ºC, but that only means that my morning coffee will taste even better.

So pretty please, with sugar on top, spread the word about this.

Ignoring this issue may be ignoring a future.