Bricks and Boxes

A couple weeks ago I turned a friend’s email asking “What is knowledge and how do you know when you’ve acquired it?” into some of the most unwieldy cocktail chatter in history. I found a great cure for this epidemic in Merlin Mann’s description of the how people progress from beginner to expert to master (NSFW), which is where much of my knowledge chatter ended up, inevitably. He also includes a great explanation of why creative people have to “waste time” as part of their “work.” (If you have 40+ minutes, it’s a video anyone can appreciate.)

I’m overwhelmed by his tumblr feed, but lately I’ve worked through it because of how closely his musical interests align with my own. Specifically, I direct you to today’s post about Paul McCartney impersonating Ron Mael from Sparks. Merlin also co-hosts the podcast You Look Nice Today. I’m listening to the back catalog as therapy to overcome my anxiety with constantly interrupting and talking over other people. But Merlin is funny and smart when he interrupts, so it’s a lovely podcast, and you should consider subscribing.

There’s also this Captain Beefheart video, which you know I cannot resist posting.

Captain Beefheart – Bat Chain Puller

An aside: This is called Kung Fu Grippe because that’s the name of Merlin’s blog, but it reminded me of the G.I. Joe movie I finally saw. The movie was so awesomely bad, in part because it forced mentions of the G.I. Joe toys (like the “kung fu grip”) and incorporated impractical technology only because they were iconic vehicles in the toy series. This absurdity made the movie an overall better experience than Transformers, save for Megan Fox.