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every language has its own beauty. finnish, maltese, turkish, albanian, georgian, and spanish are often described as phonetic languages.
but here's the interesting part: being phonetic doesn't mean sounding more beautiful. it usually means there's a closer relationship between spelling and pronunciation.
steve jobs explaining why touchscreens on laptops don't make sense, 16 years ago: https://youtu.be/7zfir0Ide0A?si=6hTaDJUiiNOaKC3u
one of the funniest things about los angeles is that even its iconic palm trees are part of a carefully manufactured image.
most of those tall palms you see in hollywood movies aren't native to the area. they were deliberately planted to make la look like a tropical paradise and attract people to the city.
in 1931 alone, los angeles planted over 25,000 palm trees, partly ahead of the 1932 olympics.
and here's the interesting part: the city is now moving away from planting them because they're expensive to maintain and provide very little shade. many are being replaced with more practical trees.
beverly hills, meanwhile, is still preserving and replacing palms along some of its famous streets.
kind of crazy that one of the most recognizable images of california was essentially a marketing strategy that worked so well we forgot it was one.
you could never pitch something like the tesla roadster to investors.
they'd immediately start asking: who's the target audience? what problem does it solve? how big is the market? how much money will it make us?
and by the time you're done answering all those questions, you've ended up building another boring ass saas product instead of something genuinely innovative.
basically, investors can be some of the biggest enemies of creativity.
imagine the wright brothers having to pitch the idea of flying to a room full of venture capitalists. we'd probably still be crossing the atlantic by ship.
gypsy rose blanchard’s story is disturbing because she was both a victim of years of abuse and later involved in her mother’s murder.
it’s one of those cases that makes people argue about where trauma ends and personal responsibility begins.
cinema paradiso feels like a love letter to movies, but really it’s about memory, growing up, and realizing the places that shaped you don’t stay the same forever. some movies entertain you. this one makes you miss a version of your life you never even had.
main character syndrome is when someone starts acting like everyone else is just an extra in their life. everything somehow becomes about them, every moment needs an audience, and every inconvenience turns into part of the plot.
citizen kane. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/?ref_=fn_t_1
12 angry men. https://www.imdb.com/...r_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_12%20a
how long should a company reasonably expect the things it sells us to last?
godwin’s law says less about hitler and more about how quickly people run out of better comparisons.
the banana you think of when someone says “banana.”
the weird part is that nearly every cavendish banana is basically a clone of another one. no seeds, almost no genetic diversity, just millions of genetically near identical plants being reproduced over and over again.
that is also why the entire variety is vulnerable.
the cavendish became dominant after panama disease nearly wiped out the gros michel banana in the twentieth century.
now another strain of the same disease threatens cavendish too.
the supermarket banana is basically a global monoculture with a fungal disease slowly chasing it.
wigig feels like one of those technologies that accidentally arrived before the world was ready for it.
italian culture: how seriously people can take something as simple as when you drink a cappuccino. in a lot of places coffee is just coffee. in italy there are all these unwritten little rules around food and drink that nobody necessarily explains to you because to them they are just normal.
an economy where value does not always move through prices, contracts, or immediate repayment.
you give something because relationships matter, reputation matters, obligation matters, community matters, or simply because giving itself has value.
the interesting part is that gifts are rarely truly free.
someone buys dinner, helps you move, shares knowledge, takes care of your child, gives you food, or does you a favor. no invoice appears, but something invisible has still changed between you.
gift economies run on memory.
not “you owe me $40.”
more like “we take care of each other.”
money keeps score precisely.
gifts keep score socially.
if you want beautiful water, good food, and somewhere quiet to actually relax, you are in the right place.
definitely ask whether your hotel or rental has parking. just like in a lot of places in greece, parking can be a pain.
navigation is fine around the main towns, but do not trust it blindly when heading to coves or mountain villages. you can end up on what feels like a goat trail pretty quickly. check the route before you leave. road lighting at night is also pretty bad in some areas.
if possible, avoid july and august. those are by far the busiest months.
it is an island, so prices are generally higher than on the mainland.
la scala is probably the most famous beach club on the island. i have been to thassos a few times but never went because it is not really my kind of place. it has more of a çeşme or bodrum style party atmosphere, which feels pretty different from the rest of the island.
and honestly, do not plan your whole trip around whatever youtubers say is popular.