Zahan Backer

In a bit

[Zahan Backer @ZahanBacker]

@PRINCE_ANGELUS_ Weak take tbh, competition is deeply entrenched in hip hop culture more so than any other genre of music with artists frequently claiming to be the best in their artform / skill.

Number of hits / streaming numbers is an absolutely valid argument to bring into hip hop

[سلطان العامر @sultaan_1]

The ease with which Gulf countries and cities are described as fake, temporary, transient, devoid of civilization and history, or “built on sand” is remarkable.

I do not think there is any other region in the world where you could find respectable outlets willing to publish this many pieces describing them in such terms.

I am not entirely surr, but I suspect that the Saudi novelist Abdulrahman Munif, through his Cities of Salt, played a key role in establishing this trope about the Gulf.

The problem with this framework is not only that it is exceptionalist, orientalist, and civilizational, but also that it contradicts empirical reality and distorts attention away from the real, tangible trends shaping the Gulf today.

[İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي @iyad_elbaghdadi]

Here's a megathread on the war on Iran that focuses on the deeper dynamics, potential trajectories, and likely outcomes.

A lot will change over the next few weeks - this thread is about what won't.

Stay until the end for an announcement & an invitation.

[1073 @velwetricochet]

the only difference bw you and the people being torn apart by the settler colonial death machine is sheer luck. there's nothing inherent to you that makes you more deserving of safety. it could just as easily have been you and that arbitrariness should haunt you, not comfort you.

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

“Resilience matters in success.

And greatness does not come from intelligence. Greatness comes from character, and character isn’t formed out of smart people: it's formed out of people who have suffered.”

— Jensen Huang

[Jared Palmer @jaredpalmer]

kanye actually invented founder mode

[Dylan O'Sullivan @DylanoA4]

Nietzsche, edited

[Ahmed Alnaouq @AlnaouqA]

Watching thousands of protestors wearing both a kippot and a keffiyeh is a sight for sore eyes.

These people are protesting today to tell some politicians that it is NOT antisemitic to support Palestine. It is not anti-Semitic to call for a ceasefire.

[Zahan Backer @ZahanBacker]

The king just knows what the people need

[Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. @hubermanlab]

I’ve started researching an upcoming Huberman Lab podcast episode on #sunscreen and I am interviewing dermatologists, toxicologists & others. What do you want to know about sunscreen? And do you wear sunscreen?

[Zahan Backer @ZahanBacker]

Kendall Roy is the greatest character depiction I’ve seen on tv. Jeremy Strong has been so honest in his depiction of Ken. As an actor in his 40’s, who’s only just started getting recognition, he’s been so vulnerable and brave in portraying Kendall’s self doubt and frustration

[jay @kendallhosseini]

i’ve been silent in this war since the last emmy race but we need to acknowledge kendall roy is one of the best television performances in decades

[Zahan Backer @ZahanBacker]

Too many thought leaders w no original thought

[Zahan Backer @ZahanBacker]

Thats not u g, thats chat gpt

[Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. @hubermanlab]

Thank your Mother for your mitochondrial DNA.

[derek guy @dieworkwear]

you don't actually love "quiet luxury." you're in love with the idea of inherited wealth, spacious uncluttered homes, and enough free time to pursue your hobbies

[Zahan Backer @ZahanBacker]

Stupid bravery is beautiful

[Billy Oppenheimer @bpoppenheimer]

This is one of the greatest displays of the creative process I've seen.

John Mayer perfectly demonstrates something that many of my favorite artists all say:

You become creative by creating.

"You just keep going 'til you get something," Mayer says/sings. "You gotta keep forcing it, forcing it, forcing it…it doesn’t matter [what comes out of your mind/mouth].”

Dr. Andrew Huberman talks about how the brain circuits that turn on before those involved in creativity are of the stress system.

I've heard him use 3 analogies to explain this.

1) It’s like you have to wade through sewage before you can swim in clear water.

2) It’s like when you try to lift your max on the bench press—it takes time to work up to that weight.

3) It’s like your best creative work is on the other side of a door at the top of a staircase—it takes time and effort to get up the stairs and through that door.

In other words, Dr. Huberman says, you become more creative the more you create.

Many artists talk similarly about what Mayer refers to in the clip as "ouija boarding" (just sort of spitting out words and sounds).

John Legend says his songs start with what he calls “the mumble track.” “It’s just me humming and mumbling nonsense,” he said.

Judd Apatow says his movie scripts are all a product of the Down-Up theory: “Get the ideas DOWN then fix them UP.” “Give yourself permission to suck," Judd says. "Anything goes. Just get something down.”

Even if it’s nonsense, he says. Keep forcing it, forcing it, forcing it.

- - -

Before I started writing online, I told Ryan Holiday I was just waiting to know for certain what I wanted to write about.

“Just start," he said.

"You’re trying to map out the whole 9 innings. Just throw the first pitch…You’re better off starting imperfectly than being paralyzed by the delusion of perfection.”

Rather than being paralyzed by the delusion that creativity comes to you, you're better off "forcing it, forcing it, forcing it," as Mayer said.

"Go get it from the universe."

Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!

[Naval @naval]

You cannot know anything more than your awareness, and you cannot know anything less.

[Naval @naval]

We create product not to show how good we are, but to measure how good we are.

[Granny Boy Young @infamoustelly]

Their names are completely opposite