After 10 months, it finally rained in Los Angeles. Of course, we caught the heaviest downpours during the 300 meters that separated us from the entrance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It's the largest art museum in the West and famous for the iconic lights by artist Chris Burden placed outside.

It's also the last of the great LA museums we had yet to visit. Thanks to the rain and Lorenzo's advice, who visited when he came to see us in early January, we decided today was the right day.

The first two floors are dedicated to the exhibition Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film. It examines the impact of digital manipulation tools from the 1980s to the present, for the first time assessing simultaneous developments and debates in the fields of photography, graphic design, and visual effects. Featuring over 150 works, the exhibition traces the emergence of distinctive digital aesthetic strategies, relationships to realism, and storytelling modes.

Delightful. A treasure for someone like me, who loves the intersection of technology, communication, and humanities. Among the works that struck me the most is certainly Metropolis II again by Chris Burden:

Metropolis II represents an entire urban complex, which could be Los Angeles or any twenty-first-century city.

Burden created its predecessor, Metropolis I, seven years before embarking on Metropolis II. The earlier work featured eighty Hot Wheels cars zooming around a model city on single-lane roadways. For Metropolis II, he ventured something on a much grander scale. With a team of eight studio assistants, he began working on the piece in 2006.

It includes eleven hundred custom-designed cars, eighteen highways, and a variety of architectural structures made of wood, glass, natural stone tiles, and other materials.

The artist estimated that every hour, one hundred thousand cars circulate through Metropolis Il, making it very much like a miniature Los Angeles.

Going up to the second floor, part of the exhibition is dedicated to technological design, with the first Macintosh or the first copies of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop on display. Here, advancing through the halls, I couldn't help but linger on this collection of Amigas on which Andy Warhol decided to create art:

Pop artist Andy Warhol, always interested in technologies of replication, responded eagerly when Commodore International asked him to endorse the Amiga 1000 home computer in 1985. The launch took place at Lincoln Center and featured Warhol using a bitmap drawing application to create a portrait of singer Debbie Harry. Warhol went on to make other drawings and a short film on the Amiga, which came with a camera, drawing pad, and various software programs.

Finally, speaking of art, technology, and communication, I couldn't help but focus on this IBM advertisement and compare it with Magritte's work (located at the 3rd floor), finding similarities in meaning that were all too evident.

I did really enjoy LACMA. It's an amazing experience and can't wait to see what it's incoming this next April!

I've reflected a lot lately on the evolution of social networks, specifically text-based ones. X, Threads, Mastodon, Bluesky...without even mentioning all that lesser-known undergrowth strictly linked to blockchain technologies. During this period of reflection, I've repeatedly complained about how my measure was full, nauseated by too much falsehood, desire for oppression, ignorance, violence of all kinds, and the negative list could go on infinitely.

In almost all cases, my thoughts have led me to a single, certain, decisive conclusion. To free myself forever from the slavery of social networks, from the vicious circle in which one must participate to not be cut off from "real-time", trying to float to understand something of this crazy world through reading other human beings.

The fact is that very few other human beings want to be "read", many just want to be praised, always be right, read only one part of the story (usually the one they've decided to side with), to avoid confrontation altogether or, in case they want to face it, do so with the worst means at their disposal.

This week I deactivated my Bluesky account. I don't miss it. I think I'll soon do the same with Threads. And although I would very much like to get rid of X and Instagram, I still can't afford the luxury of doing so. Work reasons force me to use them because many of my business partners are there, they build community there, they give news about themselves there, and I can't do otherwise than be there to keep myself updated.

But a first step to avoid spending more time than necessary on them was first of all to hide their apps in a subfolder of my iPhone and the next step will be to completely eliminate them from my home page.

Why all these decisions? Why be so pedantic towards these places meant to connect the world? Because, save for rare exceptions, these places have amply demonstrated to bring out the worst in people. Not to enrich us, but to impoverish our ability to communicate with those who think differently from us, to build a dialogue with those who are different from us, to allow something more to be born from these places.

And that's why I've curated and nurtured this little space of mine on the web. Because here I know I can always be myself, I can do and say what comes to my mind and I'll be the only one to answer for it, for better or worse. That's why over the decades I've fixated on fonts, colors, lightness, and speed of my blog. Because as much as possible I wanted to transfer my being here and make it a peaceful space for those who are reading and sharing their pov with me (you can always write me an email here and I'll always respond).

Manu has summed up very well in a few lines these recent reflections of mine. Something I shared with him even via SMS in the past few days:

Years of social media have managed to convince us that a scrollable timeline, a comment box with a characters limit and a like button are the tools we need to use to connect with each other. That is a big fucking lie

And as I wrote in a post a while ago:

I still see few people being true, sincere, opening up without filters, even though they are aware of what they will face.

Starting a blog to be yourself. This should be the mantra. This should be obvious to everyone, without fearing judgments, without being slaves to the mechanics of some multinational company that in return only wants to sell our data for profit.

Starting a blog may seem difficult, but it's not at all, it's an act of love that you owe to yourself.

Free yourselves.

I don't know exactly why I forgot to post last year, but compared to 2023 and 2022 my iPhone home screen has changed quite a bit.

Let's start with the major differences:

• The only widget is just the calendar, and it's only Outlook. I've unified both my personal and work accounts there
• I've replaced Google Maps with Apple Maps. Here in California, it works significantly better
• I've brought the Amazon app to the home screen because we've been using it a lot in recent months, even for grocery shopping both for Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods
• Apple Sports has replaced any other app dedicated to soccer results
• Fantacalcio, Spotify, and Feedly remain unchanged
• I've unified all photography and editing apps into a single folder
• I've necessarily had to bring the Teams app to the home screen, as it's now the only app I use for any work communication
• 1Password continues to be among the most used apps, and I certainly won't switch to Apple Passwords
• I've created two more folders, one where all social networks live, completely removing every notification. I open them only and exclusively when I remember. My usage time has dropped drastically. The second with all communication apps, similarly I've disabled every notification except for important people who I know a. won't spam me b. need to reach me quickly
• I'm testing Google Tasks to quickly write my to-do list, disorganized and scattered, but for how my mind works, it's fulfilling its task very well
• UpNote is my note app of reference now
• I got access to Perplexity Pro for a year at a ridiculous price. I'm using Google less and less
• Last but not least, my default browser is now Microsoft Edge. Unbelievable, but it works very well and especially with the Collections feature I was able to eliminate another app from the list

Today is the day. From today on, I will dedicate less and less time to social networks. If my sense of nausea was already slowly growing towards places meant to create community, but which have actually transformed into the cesspool of humanity, the events of this past weekend have made me reflect a lot. Both on how we have been slaves for years now to an endless spiral of vanity, and on how we are fueling a system useful for generating disinformation and keeping alive a certain type of truth that is completely meaningless and above all anachronistic.

I have started asking around to friends for their xml files of their RSS feeds. I want to "nourish" myself with value. I want to try to hope that there will be more and more people willing to get off this madness and create their own space, where they can be themselves.

For work reasons, I will have to keep some profiles active, but I will limit myself to using them passively. Everything else will be published here. Except for my photos, for those I have decided (for now) to support foto app, in the hope that it can be free from any social media logic.

Update: very much on the same spot as Cory's here.

For several years now, the favorite sport of those who use music streaming tools has been throwing mud at Spotify and everything surrounding it. Not that Spotify is blameless; it has greatly worsened the quality of the user experience in the app, and for many, having music, audiobooks, podcasts, and videos all in one place is rather confusing.

Lately, the main topic, supported by screenshots of dubious origin, is how little Spotify pays for streaming a song. Finally, a reliable source from within the music world arrives, someone who can be trusted when it comes to these topics. Bob Lefsetz debunks this crazy narrative:

But when the hoi polloi are not bitching about the majors, they can't stop complaining about Spotify. The biggest and most innovative streamer out there. Maybe because unlike their big competitors they can't depend upon other income streams to support the effort. Spotify is not selling computers or shipping detergent, and Spotify is so good that it has the largest number of subscribers.

So why does Apple pay more per stream?

IT DOESN'T!!!

I care little about which platform is your reference. What's certain is that it would always be better to get informed beforehand and be sure of what you're claiming.

I have a certain reluctance towards software subscription models. I'm not at all saying that software shouldn't be paid for, quite the opposite, every piece of code written is a form of art from my point of view that deserves a lot of respect and all the necessary appreciation. However, I can't accept (I'm surely wrong) the fact that every month I have to pay the same amount for something that essentially changes little or nothing over time, like a note-taking application.

Specifically, I had been looking for a few months for a note-taking app that was platform-agnostic, that I could install through the Mac OS App Store because it doesn't require machine admin permissions, that made a clear distinction between work notes and personal notes, but above all had the ability to export what was written in markdown, so I could paste the newly written text on the blog backend quickly.

My choice had fallen on iA Writer, which I used for a few months with great satisfaction and with a lifetime purchase. But iA Writer is nothing more than a long list of txt files and, for my mindset, with a difficult distinction between work and home things. Moreover, since there was no Android app, I couldn't jot down notes on my dumb phone that I keep next to my bedside table.

I switched to Bear App. An application that I have always loved even if with an annual subscription and without an Android app. I sent out an SOS for help to those who might know others. And after various attempts, I landed on UpNote. It shamelessly copies Bear App and even if perhaps less elegant, it has some more features:

• It allows you to have both different vaults, so as to keep business notes separate from personal ones, and different Notebooks so you don't have to catalog everything through Tags, which I deeply hate
• It's platform agnostic so wherever I need it, I find it
• It exports notes in practically any format
• But above all, it's currently on a lifetime offer, so I hope I'll never have to worry about a note-taking app in my life again

My quest has ended. What about you, do you prefer to pay a small portion each and every month or are you a lifetime subscriber like me?

I'm not quite sure how to respond to the question posed by Jatan and revisited by Manu and Jamie.

My online experience began at the start of the century, mainly with forum boards. A prelude to social networks, but where civility and asynchrony still allowed for civil and passionate discussions.

And it was during those years, especially abroad and then in Italy, that the golden era of blogs and bloggers took place. The proto-influencers of the time. I myself was on the radar of social and digital PR agencies for a few years, receiving invitations to this or that event.

So I really couldn't say what I would have done if I had started my Internet experience a decade later, let's say. Thinking about it, I would say that I would have still looked at blogs as a tool for personal expression where I could tell my story through longform, without the limiting boundaries of platforms and like-grabbing posts.

Yes, because, and here I quote Jamie, the clear difference between the two things lies right here:

Social media is a lot like living in an apartment. There is a landlord who can decide to allow you to rent or not. There are rules and limitations. You cannot just paint the walls whenever you want and you certainly cannot just remodel the kitchen. You also have to modify your behavior. You cannot play your stereo super loud in the middle of the night. Consider that for a moment and it sounds like most social media platforms. You get an apartment — your profile. You can post as long as the landlord is okay with what you say. You cannot change the way your writing is displayed — no remodeling here. And as long as the landlord keeps the building up your words will be there. But you don't own anything, and when they decide to sell the building you will go with it.

Having a blog is like having a single family home. Want to remodel? Okay. Want to play your stereo? Okay, within the noise ordinances. Want to change the way the living room is laid out? Fine, none of our business. This is why I have a blog. I want to have my own space, and do my own things, and not be under a landlord. That also means I have to mow my grass, tend to the rain gutters, and manage the upkeep. And just like houses some take more of that than others.

The real problem with this question lies in the demographic nature to which it is posed. The vast majority of people under 30 today would respond that they don't need a blog to express themselves. This is because social networks have watered down our online experience to the point where we expect feedback on any content we decide to post online: likes, reposts, or comments are the currency of exchange to which they are accustoming us.

Necessarily derailing the conversation to an aspect that I have addressed several times on this blog. Are people still themselves online nowadays? Or do they only show their best side in order to receive that satisfying fulfillment from engagement?

I still see few people being true, sincere, opening up without filters, even though they are aware of what they will face.

Starting a blog to be yourself. This should be the mantra. This should be obvious to everyone, without fearing judgments, without being slaves to the mechanics of some multinational company that in return only wants to sell our data for profit.

Starting a blog may seem difficult, but it's not at all, it's an act of love that you owe to yourself.

Free yourselves.

One of the fun things about having and reading blogs is participating in these challenges from time to time. They're useful for getting to know others and letting them know you, since most of the time, even when talking about personal topics, it's difficult to truly get to know each other.

Music is one of my greatest passions. I spend tens of thousands of minutes each year listening to and discovering new music. In the near future, I'd like to deepen my study of it, not so much by learning to play a new instrument, but by understanding the language necessary to comprehend it better.

1 What are five of your favorite albums?

• Significant Other by Limp Bizkit
• Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory by Dream Theater
• Nimrod by Green Day
• Is This Itby The Strokes
• Blossom by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
• Special mention to any Led Zeppelin album

2 What are five of your favorite songs?

• When a Blind Man Cries by Metallica
• Lazy Bones by Green Day
• I Don’t Love You by My Chemical Romance
• Devil Inside Me by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
• Nothing Breaks Like a Heart by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes

3 Favorite instrument(s)?

Drums. I tried taking lessons a few years ago for about a year and a half. Unfortunately, I gave up mainly due to time constraints and because, in hindsight, I realized I had started way too late to learn and by then my cognitive abilities weren't responding well enough to my desire to master the instrument like a rock star.

4 What song or album are you currently listening to?

I have a small tradition. At the beginning of each year, I have the habit of creating a thread (previously on X, here are the ones for 2024, now on Bluesky) where I save my favorite album listened to during a week. Lately, I'm really enjoying The Blue Blanket by Charlie Reynolds.

5 Do you listen to the radio? If so, how often?

Years ago, yes, every day while driving to work during my daily commute. Now not anymore, I only listen to replays of La Zanzara (I don't even know where to start to explain this. It's a mix of trash, satirical, populist radio show that gives voice to the worst part of Italy, but it's a sociological experience to me).

6 How often do you listen to music?

Every day, at least 15-30 songs per day. It's one of my greatest passions.

7 How often do you discover music? And how do you discover music?

I've been a Spotify user since 2016. Occasionally I've tried all its competitors, always ending up returning to the base for various reasons. Anyway, every Monday I listen to Discovery Weekly (the auto-generated playlist by Spotify based on your tastes) and from there I try to discover new artists, follow them, listen to their albums.
I've discovered countless numbers of amazing artists through Discovery Weekly that at this point I think I trained the algorithm so well that it knows me really deeply. Honestly, some weeks it boils down to the point I like most of the songs I find there.
Another way to discover music is through the reviews I find weekly on this blog.

8 What's a song or album that you enjoy that you wish had more recognition?

Lately this one.

9 What's your favorite song of all time?

When a Blind Man Cries by Metallica. It has anything I need from a rock song. It's a great cover song too. Oh yes, I do love cover songs like A LOT!

10 Has your taste in music evolved over the years?

Yes. Quite a bit. I got into music thanks to an old classic rock cassette tape found attached to a magazine. Meanwhile, between middle and high school, I became passionate about the hip-hop and dance world. Then I completely turned to hard rock, alt rock and indie rock and all its derivations and I haven't strayed from those territories for over 20 years. I don't listen to Italian music but only in English, I detest live albums, and I deeply hate region locks for streaming music.

I felt it was the right time to refresh this 2-years-old-list. Some changes here and there, but not huge ones.

I keep on relying on the cloud to save all my docs and media, nothing will change my mind around that.

If you got any question around this list, drop me a message here.

📨 Mail Client: GMail for personal usage, Outlook for business purposes
📮 Mail Server: Google Workspace
📝 Notes: Bear App UpNote
✅ To-Do: Google Tasks
📷 Photo Shooting: iPhone, Sony Alpha a7RIII
🎨 Photo Editing: Photomator, Darkroom, Pixelmator Pro
📆 Calendar: GMail Calendar
📁 Cloud File Storage: Google Workspace 100TB
📖 RSS: Feedly Lifetime subscription
🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: Google Contacts
🌐 Browser: Microsoft Edge
💬 Chat: Telegram
🔖 Bookmarks: Microsoft Edge Collections (so underrated feature, it made me switch from Chrome)
📜 Word Processing: Microsoft Word
📈 Spreadsheets: Microsoft Excel
📊 Presentations: Microsoft PowerPoint
🛒 Shopping Lists: Google Keep
📰 News: Feedly
🎵 Music:  Spotify Premium Family
🎤 Podcasts: Spotify Premium Family
🔐 Password Management: 1Password

Last night we went to bed knowing that one of the largest fires in recent decades was underway between Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

We woke up to a black sky, the acrid smell of ash, and nearly 3,000 acres swept away in just a few hours.

Fortunately, we are safe here in Marina del Rey, our offices are closed, and we are working from home, but knowing that hell is breaking loose just a few kilometers away doesn't make you feel at ease.

We are not in danger, but we are closely following news and alert bulletins because the wind is expected to continue for a few more hours, and its unpredictability could change the situation in a matter of minutes.

If you are in an impacted area or close to what is happening in Los Angeles County, in addition to real-time news from local television stations, I recommend downloading the Watch Duty app (iOS, Android) which sends real-time bulletins to your phone.

Stay safe, be ready to evacuate. It will get better.