AGE OF RENAISSANCE
Things and Happenings
Here are few things and happenings that stood out to me over the last two weeks.
On Sunday, I attended the 16th annual Headies Awards. The Headies is an award dedicated to the Nigerian, and African, music industry. I enjoyed the experience, even though these things feel more like work to me than anything else.
The glitz and glamour are cool, I guess, but I’m always thinking, “I wonder how solid these artists’ contracts are, how many hard tickets they’re selling; and how organized their teams are?”.
It’s one thing to get there, it’s another to stay there. Many people sleep on longevity.
Let me stop killing the vibe.
AGE OF RENAISSANCE
Performance by Wande Coal
One thing that stood out to me was the theme of this year’s show - “Celebrating African Renaissance”. It stood out to me because I believe we’re living in an age of renaissance. What is a renaissance?
The word renaissance means “a rebirth”, “to be reborn” or “to rise again”.
There’s nothing new under the sun. As people, we recycle old concepts, ideas, and themes; but in new ways. It’s why music and fashion come and go in cycles. It’s why politicians always talk about “the founding fathers”. But now technology and data are enabling these themes and concepts to cycle through even more rapidly; allowing us mix the old with the new to create something better and different. This has ramifications across all sectors and cultures.
SPORTS
To that point, Sha’Carri Richardson recently won two gold medals at the 2023 World Championships.
In her words “I’m not back, I’m better”.
The Deion Sanders led Colorado University beat TCU 45 - 42 in the season opener. Sheduer Sanders threw for 510 yards and 4 TDs.
It was notable because last year TCU was in the National Championship Game, and the Sanders’ were at JSU, an HBCU. Interesting times..
TECHNOLOGY
Sports leagues are urging the US to require "instantaneous" takedowns of pirated livestreams under the DMCA.
The DMCA stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It’s a legal provision that requires internet platforms to take down instances of copyright provision; but also provides them with a safe harbor and protections where they were not aware of the infringing content. It also provides for a mechanism where individuals and corporations can submit DMCA notices asking that the platforms take down the allegedly infringing content, and it requires the platform (among other things) to “promptly” take down the content while the notice process plays out.
Here, leagues want more specific and immediate time constraints on how soon these platforms have to take down the content. Why? Money. Let’s see how it plays out.
POP CULTURE (SPOILER ALERT)
Don’t read this part if you watch Billions..
Something funny happened a few days ago.
If you remember (or read it), I compared politicians to rappers in my last article; specifically, Eminem and ‘The Eminem Show’.
Well I was watching the second episode of season 7 of Billions and there’s a scene where a political adviser is talking to Michael Prince, a private equity / hedge fund executive who’s running for President, and he tells him to visualize what he will do when he first steps into the Oval Office.
Political Adviser: “describe it to me, the moment you enter the oval; when you sit behind the desk”
Michael Prince: “i’ve never once conjured that image, I’m not the sort of a man..”
Political Adviser: “every single one of you rolls that first moment around your brains like Marshall Mathers imagined the first time he’d have an audience with Dre”
Some people think I’m crazy when I say these things..
INTERESTING READS
I recently read an interesting article about Maria Montessori and the origins of the Montessori system; which is a type of school and teaching system which prioritizes the self-direction of children and students, encouraging them to lean into and learn subjects that most interest and suit them; rather than a room full of students, with different learning styles, interests, and personalities, being taught the same way and held to the same standards; which is kind of, you know, dumb..
I also read a great article by Kyle Warren, a GP at a venture capital firm. Kyle’s ‘Investing 101’ Substack is one of my favorites; and I encourage you to subscribe if you have any interest in the space.
The article is about the importance of understanding the different games businesses and business people play, and being able to discern the market implications of those games.
It resonated with me because, for the last several years, I’ve been screaming “play your own game” to anyone who would listen; which is a much simpler version of Kyle’s article - and basically means that people and so-called gurus often give advice from their perspective and vantage point without the context of your own individualized and unique background and perspective; much gets lost in translation, and what applies to them may not apply to you. It’s really the height of human arrogance to think otherwise, and is one of the reasons why I wrote ‘There Were Never Any Rules’. One has to understand what best suits them, how they will accomplish set goals, and how to navigate within a larger ecosystem where others are playing their own games.
In other words, it’s the Montessori System.
