A tasteless mishmash, a remix so variegated it ends in shatters.
The point of the melting pot is to blend and spit out something cohesive.
The past, present, and future are all intertwined in diversification, miles away from standardization.
Bounded to each other, we celebrate our differences.
Plurality and assimilation are indispensable allies.
So we let our characters churn, breaking apart to congeal all the same. The glorious past happens all together now.
Anna Wintour, the indomitable editor of Vogue and Condé Nast’s most senior editorial figure, is the latest teacher to join the ranks of Masterclass to teach creativity and leadership.
In 12 lessons, Anna Wintour gives unprecedented access to her world, teaching you how to lead with vision and creativity—and without apology. A fashion and media icon, Anna Wintour has been driving our cultural conversation for more than 30 years.
The Vogue Editor-in-Chief and Artistic Director of Condé Nast takes off her signature sunglasses and gives you unprecedented access to her world. See how Anna nurtures talent, makes bold decisions, and evolves a brand. Learn how to lead with impact from a visionary creative leader.
“I know many people are curious about who I am and how I approach my work,” Wintour says. “This is a class for those who want to understand my leadership style and then understand the experiences that have helped me become an effective leader.”
“Own your decisions and own who you are, but without apology.” – Anna Wintour
Tweet
Anna Wintour doesn’t have an official Instagram or Twitter page where you can gain access to her expertise in creativity and leadership so Masterclass is your only workbook.
Not for you? Gift the class!
If you’ve never taken a MasterClass before, it’s a great opportunity to take a peek into the mind and explore the process of some of the world’s leading experts in photography, writing, music production, filmmaking, and even cooking. You may be aware of Malcolm Gladwell’s writing course, Tom Morello’s electric guitar course, or Serena Williams teaches tennis course.
If you’re looking for a great gift, consider sending one of the courses to a loved one or friend. Even better, gift someone the All-Access Pass so they can explore all the courses they want!
Sociologist Erving Goffman believed that all human interaction was a theatrical performance. In his most famous book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman called his analysis the study of “Dramaturgy.”
Dramaturgical analysis is the idea that we present an edited version of our selves when we meet others in person.
The internet, of course, adds a new layer of complexity to Goffman’s perspective.
If social media is edited real life, then our dramaturgical action is the physical extension of it. We are no less authentic online than we are in person.
Goffman’s theory builds on American sociologist Charles Cooley’s ‘The Looking Glass Self’ theory. In 1902, he contextualized the individual:
“I imagine your mind, and especially what your mind thinks about my mind, and what your mind thinks about what my mind thinks about your mind.”
Charles Cooley
Keep in mind that people only considered themselves individuals with the rise of mirrors in the 15th century.
We juggle identities online and off, but each of us has a fixed character. It is our friends and family members and Google who know our most authentic self.
We take the word processor for granted but fifty years ago it didn’t even exist. That is, until Evelyn Berezin came along and produced the first standalone word processing machine. She previously had made the world’s first bank and airline system software.
She called her machine the Data Secretary, thinking that the new technology would eradicate the role of the human secretary.
The machine itself stood 40 inches high and contained thirteen semiconductor chips that Berezin patented. Unlike machines of past this one could delete, cut, copy, and paste — features we find ubiquitous today.
Berezin thrived in a man’s world, crushing all stereotypes that came her way. She felt compelled to lead the way in computer technology. Author and blogger Gwyn Headley sums it up perfectly:
“Without Ms. Berezin, there would be no Bill Gates, no Steve Jobs, no internet, no word processors, no spreadsheets; nothing that remotely connects business with the 21st century.”
Her influence is profound. One to remember.
Photo by Barton Silverman/New York Times
Katherine Johnson helped launch America’s first orbit around Earth. She also “computed the path” that would eventually get Neil Armstrong to the moon.
In 1962’s Mercury-Atlas launch, astronaut John Glenn personally requested that she hand-crunch the machine’s calculations around the planet. She confirmed the math a day and a half later.
The 2016 film Hidden Figures pays tribute to Johnson’s seminal role in one of the most important NASA missions in America’s spaceflight history.
Stay hungry. Stay curious. And above all, stay interesting.
Queens of the Stone Age lead singer Josh Homme, who wrote a song for Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, said it best:
He was such a beautiful contagion. He presented such a fascinating doorway to so many other things that aren’t within your narrow doorway of what you do.
Bourdain shared so many important messages on keeping an open eye on life and work. Below are some of my favorite Bourdain quotes as posted on this blog throughout the years.
Don’t aspire to mediocrity. Even if you fail, try to be awesome. At something. Anything. It doesn’t matter. Just try to be awesome.
Life ain’t that simple. It IS complicated. And filled with nuance worth exploring.
If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody.
Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”
Show up on time. It is the basis of everything.
We literally sit down and try to figure out, ‘What’s the most fucked-up thing we can do?’
I love having my teeth kicked in by a different perspective.
There are the type of people who are going to live up to what they said they were going to do yesterday and then there are people who are full of shit. And that’s all you really need to know. If you can’t be bothered to show up, why should anybody show up. It’s just the end of the fucking world.
If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean or simply across the river. Walk in someone else’s shoes or, at least, eat their food.
Anthony Bourdain
Just saw the sad news that Anthony Bourdain has died. I watched his show when I was in space. It made me feel more connected to the planet, its people and cultures and made my time there more palatable. He inspired me to see the world up close. #RIPAnthonyBourdain pic.twitter.com/Cb6IfmzylN
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) June 8, 2018
Bourdain never treated our food like he "discovered" it. He kicked it with grandma because he knew that HE was the one that needed to catch up to our brilliance.
— Jenny Yang 👲🏼👲🏼👲🏼 (@jennyyangtv) June 8, 2018
I wish so much for his legacy to take hold in western (mostly white) food media culture. What a loss. I'm so sad.
An 86-year-old wrote an upbeat review for her local paper about a new Olive Garden.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) June 8, 2018
She was mercilessly mocked by the Internet.
Anthony Bourdain thought she had a valuable POV on small town dining.
He published a book of her reviews. Here's his intro.https://t.co/WHPbFXqGeh
“Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.” This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him. pic.twitter.com/orEXIaEMZM
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 8, 2018
“To me, a painter, if not the most useful, is the least harmful member of our society.”
— Man Ray, Self-Portrait
Renowned graphic communicator George Lois takes us on a tour of his apartment. Located in Greenwich Village, what he calls “the best part of Manhattan,” the apartment is full of art. Even the chairs.
[clickToTweet tweet=”‘I have chairs all over the house that I don’t let anybody sit in. ‘Don’t sit in that chair!’ But it’s a chair. No, it’s not. It’s a work of art.”” quote=”‘I have chairs all over the house that I don’t let anybody sit in. ‘Don’t sit in that chair!’ But it’s a chair. No, it’s not. It’s a work of art.””]
Lois may be most recognized for creating the iconic “I Want My MTV” slogan. But he also designed 92 Esquire covers. He also spearheaded the 1960s Creative Revolution that shaped modern day advertising. Some even think he inspired the attitude of irreverence in Don Draper from Mad Men.
Take it from George Lois: “You have to have the good eye.” There is no doubt the man had a knack for aesthetics.
To celebrate the launch of Stephen King’s novel The Outsider in March 2018, Goodreads asked Stephen King to list out his top 10 favorite books of all time.
The voracious reader and prolific writer never felt satisfied with his final selections, but he played along anyway. See below for the complete list.
“Of course, any list like this is slightly ridiculous. On another day, ten different titles might come to mind, like The Exorcist, or All the Pretty Horses in place of Blood Meridian. On another day I’d be sure to include Light in August or Scott Smith’s superb A Simple Plan. The Sea, the Sea, by Iris Murdoch. But what the hell, I stand by these. Although Anthony Powell’s novels should probably be here, especially the sublimely titled Casanova’s Chinese Restaurant and Books Do Furnish a Room. And Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet. And at least six novels by Patricia Highsmith. What about Patrick O’Brian? See how hard this is to let go?”
Stephen King
