[ [home] ](/) # Recently: 2025 06 18 ## Body I started weight training this year and have been making steady progress. ## Reading [The Who Care Era](https://dansinker.com/posts/2025-05-23-who-cares/) is probably the most important article I've read this year. > As the culture of the Who Cares Era grinds towards the lowest common denominator, support those that are making real things. Listen to something with your full attention. Watch something with your phone in the other room. Read an actual paper magazine or a book. I went through the famous [Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies](https://www.amazon.com/Valuation-Measuring-Managing-Companies-Finance/dp/1119610885), but I don't like it. It's a typical business textbook that uses a lot of hand-wavy math and cherry-picked empirical data. The authors emphasize that many issues of capitalism are due to the lack of focus on long-term value. But in my opinion, as long as externalities are the core concept of capitalism, the "long-term value" is just a myth for today's business. [How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them](https://www.amazon.com/How-Fascism-Works-Politics-Them/dp/0525511830) and [On Tyranny](https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Twenty-Lessons-Twentieth-Century/dp/0804190119) are both extremely relevant to today's world. They are both short and easy to read. I've been spending more time on art projects: music, games, drawing. [What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory](https://www.amazon.com/What-Art-Does-Unfinished-Theory/dp/0571395511) is a good read on the topic, and I agree with the author on many of the topics. "Play is how children learn, and art is how adults play." Also, I brought back the habit of buying physical books. The texture of paper still helps me focus more on the content. ## Music Production I'm being more intentional about my music production. Currently, I'm focusing on the classic hip-hop approach: sampling, chopping, turntablism, live performing, and beat making. Flipping samples has a lot of commonalities with hacking. It's about understanding something deeply and transforming it into something new and unique. It's a creative process that requires both technical skill and artistic vision. Also, I learned that I don't really enjoy arranging and composing music. I can produce much faster by focusing on a loop and hacking around it live: adding/removing layers, live effects, finger drumming, and improvisation. It's a more organic and intuitive way of making music. ## Games It's been a busy 6 months, and I don't have much time to play games. I'm playing Monster Train 2 currently, and it's a good rogue-like. The difficulty ramp is a little bit unbalanced but mostly fine.