A SPECIAL EDITION of the things I consume every week. A coalescence of art, podcasts, articles, essays, newsletters, movies, web series and any other form of media you can imagine.
Hello readers! Do you know what 'Sine Qua Non' means? It means things which are essential. This edition is a rendition of all the things which are certified essentials in the kind of content I consume. Ranging from philosophy, to food, art, finance, podcast, interviews and much more.
Why this special edition? Cause it's the 12th edition and you know what I was born on the 12th day of xxxx. Shhh... I am not gonna tell you just because I am not big about birthdays but NO, this is just a reason I invented to make this a special edition.
An early edition so you get time to go through the recommendations over the weekend.
The past week has been a crazy ride. I barely got time to study, to read and to work-out regularly. Everything happened in a piecemeal fashion, reading in the bus, reading waiting for the bus, reading in dark, reading while walking. Yes, I tried to steal time and wrote something about it. (Octanes are my new thing!)
I tried to steal time, little slivers of them
While switching screens from excel to poetry to essays to podcasts
While looking outside the window, watching a class
The streets enchant me, overcrowded, bursting with color and life
How the roads of Mumbai go from being narrow to bridges to monorails to big corporates
How sunlight filters through those palms, the unbuilt metro lines, the yellow taxi
I tried to steal time when no one was looking, unbeknownst to my corporate responsibilities
I wonder if people sitting on other office seats also think about poems and streets!
If you liked this, maybe gift me a poetry book?!
1. Blue Bird by Charles Bukowski (Animated Film)
there’s a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I’m too clever, I only let him out at night sometimes when everybody’s asleep.
A literary punch to the gut. A hyper-dose of reality, like most of Bukowski’s other works. A poem offers you the leeway to interpret it as you fancy and for me ‘blue bird’ signifies ‘childhood wonder’ subjugated by adulthood.
Bukowski’s works often describe a very adult world of alcohol, grief, a string of bimbos, and electric rage. And so, the bluebird is kept secret. Let out once in a while, when everyone’s asleep. Mesmerizingly illustrated!
2. On Reading Fast, Reading Well and Reading Widely by Tyler Cowen (Podcast and Book Recommendations)
It is harrowing when someone inquires me about reading, about whether I remember what I read, how do I read so fast, whether it is worthwhile reading so much stuff when you barely remember everything? No, I am not going to give out any answers but this podcast will.
“Imagine a world where any restaurant you tried, you had to keep on going there for days or weeks. You’d hardly ever go out to eat. Take reading seriously. Develop a passion for it and view it as part of your practice as a knowledge worker to get ahead. Along the way, having fun doing so.”
by Rowan Jacobsen (Essay)
Do you know what a truffle is?!
No, it’s not Choco Truffle!
Truffle is an aphrodisiac, a fungi, like mushroom but unlike mushrooms, they grow underground near tree roots and the best truffles are wildly, insanely, wait-how-much? expensive, sometimes as much as thousands of dollars per pound. Truffles are costly because they're hard to find, frustrating to grow, and impossible to store for any length of time.
I am always stunned by the fact that we don’t know enough about what we eat, how our food is prepared and what is the history of the ingredients. Read this to know everything you need to know about the beloved truffles!
The School of Life (You Tube Video)
To the philosophers of the ancient world, leisure wasn’t the means to some other end; on the contrary, it was the end to which everything else worth doing was a means.
Wu Wei describes authenticity, it is a reminder to align with the present and accept the flow and course of nature. It is the same as ‘going with the flow, ‘not dragging your heels’ or ‘trying to turn back the tide.’
Thanks to Alaine de Botton for yet another captivating video!
You can never have enough of his channel.
5. How to curate (just about) anything by Glenn Adamson on Psyche (Essay)
What if we apply museum procedures and principles – the things that curators actually do for a living to our everyday activities and things?
It’s an interesting idea.
Our homes are intimate spaces designed as a reflection of ourselves, portraying our personalities.
Pioneering minimalism has become a trend but minimalism does not profess absence rather presence of things that are important to us.
6. How to Build a Wunderkammer by UX Collective (Guide)
Wundaa whaaa?!
Wunderkammers are curiosity cabinets.
Gaining popularity in 16th century Europe, wunderkammer and wonder-rooms provided a way for curious collectors to display and share their favorite art, relics and treasures from the natural world.
My partner and I are always struggling to store links at one place of all the things we read. We tried Evernote, Google Keep and lots of other things, finally settling at Pocket.
The internet has made it easier to find inspiration and resources, but it is also hard to organize these findings. That’s why we should start building their own Wunderkammern— collections of information which is visually appealing and organized in valuable ways.
7. Anand Gandhi in conversation with Kunal Shah | Biology of Money on Cred Curious (Interview)
The acclaimed director of Ship of Theseus, Anand Gandhi, is a multi-disciplinarian thinker, a man full of wisdom with eclectic interests spanning across areas of behavioural science, evolutionary biology, culture, gaming, cinema, and storytelling.
In this conversation they go on a journey covering the evolution of money, throughout history, from the lens of biology. A conversation worth spending an hour upon!
8. 50 Reasons to Love the World by BBC Travel (A Treasure)
Why do you love the world?
I have grown up watching TLC, Fox Life, Nat Geo, Discovery and History Channel! If you call me a documentary buff, you are not wrong but who doesn't like to know more about the world?!
BBC has done a magnificent job in picking out 50 extraordinary stories of people on why they love the world?
I haven't finished reading it yet but I am set for another 50 days.
Let's get a little personal now, shall we?
9. 'All Jams' by Nine (Spotify Playlist)
Just know, that I am giving you a piece of my heart.
Although, I sing like a toad, I have been in a long-term relationship with music. We have had our tiffs, where I ditch one genre for another but I think we hold up pretty well.
You'll find me with my headphones almost all the time and they are noise cancelling so, I am oblivious of the world. (PRIORITIES please!)
Why Nine? I was asked this question once of what would I want as an alternate name and I said NINE.
Nine cause unlike 8 (which is infinity) it ends somewhere and unlike 1 it stoops, resembling surrender and politeness. If you think it's BS, it's true (those are my initials too!)
Picture credits to my partner who owns a Vinyl Player and is passionate about photography!
I have been adding random songs to this playlist for over 2 years now- varying from indie, pop, rock, ambient, psychedelic blah blah blah, it's a mish mash of sorts but if you are looking to discover some new artists, I am sure you'll find some.
Warning : You might find some weird music as well, don't mind! ANDDD Don't JUDGE!
'Ehmmm one and only' on Soephely (Food Illustration + Recipe)
Time for some self-promotion!
As you can judge from the title that I am really bad at it but I'll still go on..
I collaborated with Sophia some months ago in 'The Food & Love Project' where you can exchange recipes for food illustrations and she did a splendid job!
Read the article to find out what is cooking for me and maybe bake a tart this weekend (Vegan and Gluten-free!)
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