73 - Achievements
Hey there, !
I spent my holiday like I think most of you would have - eating, drinking, and watching a crap ton of video content, especially over Christmas.
You also might be wondering - did Vince do his yearly Love Actually watch? Answer: definitely, and it's just as good as it was when it first came out. Every time Colin Firth stumbles through his broken Portuguese to ask Aurelia to marry him I still have the conflicting thoughts of 'wow this is so romantic' and also 'this is so unrealistic but I love it''. Do we have a word for that?
One release I did not expect was Mariah Carey releasing another Christmas song (name a more iconic duo).
This year's one was called "Oh Santa!" which is a little bit incoherent, not very catchy, and kind of foreboding, in terms of lyrics (the chorus is "Santa's gonna come and make you mine this Christmas" shivers - like, by kidnapping? mind control? These sorts of things are rarely asked about and they really should be).
It features Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande who are both massive voices in their own right so I knew it would probably be a good mash-up of diva-like voices, but I was skeptical that another Christmas song would really do anything new or cool. It's the same thing every year - carols, Mariah Carey, maybe some Michael Buble if you're lucky - and especially after a COVID year, we just wanted some measure of normalcy, right?
But I wasn't prepared for this moment, which gave me some incredible shivers, like that pleasant ASMR feeling where all the hairs stand up on your body and a wave of goosebumps washes over you (but in a good way). I'll try to embed it below as well but it doesn't always work with email clients so click the link above which goes to the exact time!
They harmonized their whistles! And look how goddamn happy Ariana is.
Mariah, for the longest time, has been well-known for the control she has over her voice, especially her whistle. The whistle register is the highest register that sopranos can sing, and is not easy to engage (as you have to control the shape of your throat in a very specific way that can create high frequency notes). The technique is hard to do normally - Mariah has had years to master it and it shows.
Ariana has risen to fame (understatement) in the past few years / decade, and her early covers of 90s divas like Mariah and Whitney Houston helped shape her sound. Her vocal range and whistle register was compared to Mariah throughout her career, and it turned out to be quite an apt one considering where she's at now.
That moment made me have this sort of...empathetic burst of joy at how successful that moment was for Ariana. I was imagining how ecstatic she must have been to be able to sing with her idol, and harmonize using Mariah's most powerful technique. It also sounds incredibly cool.
I feel that feeling is something we all strive for when we see great people do amazing things - we want to be like them. It's often unattainable, but the second hand joy of watching someone else attain it still feels pretty good. It's how parents get their high, I assume.
I imagine it would be like me playing Magnus Carlsen at chess. Or playing violin with Itzhak Perlman. Or acting with Donnie Yen?
But like...actually attaining the level of mastery, otherwise you're just watching me do all of those things dreadfully.
What do you feel like you want to master in your life? Even if it's unattainable?
Sidenote: it also reminded me of this, where Mariah sings with Patti Labelle, another line of powerful women divas. Mariah was also relatively famous here, but singing with one of her idols, and you can again just see how happy she is.
Chat soon :)
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✔️ Real Life Recommendations
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Acquired - a podcast that lays out the stories of famous acquisitions (like Pixar or Marvel), how they did it, and the key ideas that come from it. I have found this podcast to be extremely well researched, well explained and there's great discussion between the hosts breaking down the playbooks of each of the companies, and how the acquisitions played into their strategies. Highly recommended!
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Calico - a cute boardgame that's about building quilts for cats to sleep on. I mean, surely that description is enough?! It's a very point salad-y game (as in, there are lots of ways to get points) which means it can seem quite easy, but it's very brain-burny because the puzzle is difficult to solve optimally. I loved playing it!
🚌 Adventures on the Information Super-Highway
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Why Success Won't Make You Happy - Is the relentless pursuit of success healthy? I've written a lot about the hedonic treadmill on this newsletter (I might need to write a post about it?) but I think this is a good breakdown of how to live life without chasing success all the time. Obvious, but a good reminder.
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This Japanese Shop is 1,020 Years Old - Japan is known for tradition as well as modernity, but this really pushes the envelope...a mochi shop that has been around for 1,020 years. Imagine the lineage, the pressure; it's such an alien concept living in a liberal democracy that prioritises individual freedom over the collective and dynastic legacy. Really interesting examples of some other really old companies as well (a 500 year old manufacturing company that started its life selling iron kettles, or a 300 year old textiles company that started its life making kimonos).
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How I Became a Poker Champion in One Year - a fascinating excerpt from Maria Konnikova's book 'The Biggest Bluff' (which I still want to read) about her adventure into the world of poker and how she won a poker championship within a year.
I’ve just won. $84,600 is mine. I’m the 2018 PCA National champion. And I’ve got my buy-in for the World Series of Poker.