Lists of Lists

My friend Grant McCracken wrote a blog that spurred these thoughts.

 

Comments

[Scott]

What happened to the intro..."Hi, It's Tom"? ....now you're in black & white and open with..."so I just read a blog..."

...doesn't seem right...it's like Manny in a Dodger uniform.

[Tom Guarriello]

Well, you'll notice, Scott, that the name "VloggerHeads" appears in the lower right hand corner of this video. That's a new video-based social network launched last week by me and several colleagues. We're still in private pre-alpha mode right now. And so, the "Hi, it's Tom..." intro that I've used on YouTube for so long just didn't feel appropriate. As for the black and white, I've done that before and just felt like it in this vid.

As for Manny in a Dodger uniform...as long as he doesn't have that Red Sox garb on, it's fine by me! Good riddance!!

[Jeremy]

Did New Balance pay you a few bucks every time you put your head down?

Not sure if it is just my network but it seemed like the audio was dubbed in (poorly) what I was hearing did not match up with what your lips were doing. Just some feedback.

Lists...makes me think of a friend that was notorious for lists. Number one on every list he ever made was "shave head". Apparently that would motivate and remind him to get cracking on every other thing on the list!

[Jeff]

Thought provoking, Tom... I wonder, do you think that lists focused on experiences and minor accomplishments are a waste of time? Hollow? A fad? A byproduct of our suggestibility? (I hope I'm using that word correctly)

Seems like maybe you're hinting that they're a diversion or a placebo while we keep running in the hamster wheel?

Are you saying that some of those "bigger picture" concepts (self-awareness, fulfillment, tolerance, etc) are unattainable? Or that they're just not easily scratched off a list, so they're easily replaced with 'see a Broadway show'?

You stop just short of offering a firm opinion or drawing a conclusion (intentionally, no doubt - as a longtime viewer/reader of your work). I guess I'm just wondering where you stand on these questions.

[Tom Guarriello]

Not yet, but if somebody would like to suggest to them that I'm available for a conversation I would not be upset!

Funny friend story, Jeremy. "Shave head" is a good placeholder.

On sound, my iMovie has been whacked using iSight for the past couple of days, turns out iGlasses plug-ins were dorky. I think it's better now.

Yanks lost a lousy one tonight in Texas.

[Tom Guarriello]

Hi Jeff,

Well, I think that a preoccupation with lists makes us preoccupied with the kinds of things that can be put on lists. "Get wiser," "love your fellow human being," "laugh," aren't usually there. For me it's not that those are unattainable but that they are the kinds of ways-of-being that aren't amenable to the dissection approach that lists presume.

If you're going to the grocery store or figuring out what need to be accomplished in a project, make a list. If you're checking off places to go before you die I'd suggest lightening up and being-here-now. Thanks for the comment.