Brad Barrish

Roger Ebert Cancer Battle - Roger Ebert Interview - Esquire

Roger Ebert Cancer Battle - Roger Ebert Interview - Esquire

“I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. What I am grateful for is the gift of intelligence, and for life, love, wonder, and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting. My lifetime’s memories are what I have brought home from the trip. I will require them for eternity no more than that little souvenir of the Eiffel Tower I brought home from Paris.

I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”

Topspin Tumblr: Required Reading: Sales vs. Revenue, Timing vs. Planning, Ralph Stanley, Shane Carruth, and Using Metadata to Spread...

Topspin Tumblr: Required Reading: Sales vs. Revenue, Timing vs. Planning, Ralph Stanley, Shane Carruth, and Using Metadata to Spread…

topspinmedia:

At Topspin, we’re obsessed with all things direct-to-fan. And that extends to our reading choices as well. Required Reading is a semi-regular series showcasing stories you may have missed, focusing on the obscure, the counter-intuitive, and the inspiring. Our goal is to connect the dots, educate, inspire and even challenge. Enjoy. 

Enjoy this little reading list I put together for the Topspin blog. It’s going to be a semi-regular thing. 

I’m just glad Michael Stipe is posting typewriters instead of penises this week. 

Topspin Tumblr: New Music Recommondation Pilot Program at Topspin

Topspin Tumblr: New Music Recommondation Pilot Program at Topspin

topspinmedia:

We have extensive data that suggests that if fans purchase or download music from one artist, they are very likely to be interested in offers from other related artists. So we’re testing a feature that monitors the purchase history of select Topspin artists to recommend other artists that their fans might also like.

We’re doing some cool new things at Topspin to further help artists. 

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steroge:

Me, My Brother and David Bowie, 1971 by ozoni11 on Flickr.

“This was David Bowie’s first night (ever) in the United States. I am the one waving in the photo. David was great. He went to dinner with me, my brother and my parents. This photo was taken in my parent’s living room in Silver Spring, MD. Later that night he came to my house and spent the evening.”

Just awesome.

Last year, we took our daughter to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, a free concert in Golden Gate Park. We met a few other parents, who had toddlers of their own. Before the band started playing, one began throwing a tantrum. He wanted his iPod Touch, and so he got it. Then the Preservation Hall Jazz Band began to play, and all the children began to dance and laugh and play in the grass. Except for the one who sat on the blanket, staring at a screen, oblivious to all else.

The Terrible Truth About Toddlers and Touchscreens

The truth isn’t terrible. The truth is no one really knows and parents are scared of the unknown. I think there’s a happy medium. I’d like to think that when the time comes for Cassidy to interact with a screen, we will use it as a tool and not sit her down in front of it so we can get a few minutes to ourselves.

[W]hen faced with a set of seemingly insurmountable challenges, the first step towards making it easier is to break things down into as large a set of small individual tasks as possible.

How to do anything

This is the advice that I often find myself giving friends in stressful situations. One of the things we humans are good at is balling a bunch of problems into one big problem, especially when it comes to personal challenges. I don’t remember if it was advice that someone gave me or something I figured out on my own, but parsing things out into lists on a piece of paper is the best way to solve problems.

I think it’s one of the reasons I really enjoy operations at Topspin. Every single day there are problems to solve. It’s an adventure and a puzzle eve day at work. SMS are definitely more exciting to solve that others, but its work I enjoy.

Having been through one or two bubbles, I’ve learned that people can believe exactly what they want to believe. That’s one of the privileges of being a human with money to spend. When you compound utopian wishfulness with the anxiety of being left behind, you’ll have a bubble.
Paul Ford on Bitcoin