Emma, my awesome daughter, created a duet with John Lennon and Kermit the Frog, singing Rainbow Connection

M daughter created an amazing duet between John Lennon, and Kermit the Frog, singing “Rainbow Connection”, with a little Python, a John Lennon voice AI (ML) model, and Garageband. The way she tracked and leveled the audio is lots of fun. I love this so much! I think there is a wonderful lyrical connection between them that makes this extra special. Check it out on YouTube, keep listening to the 2nd verse to hear John start to sing, and the 3rd verse to hear both of them together: John Lennon and Kermit the Frog side by side, playing guitar and banjo respectively

Mr. Rogers on Music

The music we hear early on tends to stay with us all our lives.

Rogers, Fred. The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember (p. 6). Hachette Books. Kindle Edition.

That’s a good thing, because change is constant, without it, there’d be no butterflies.

#FridayFredism

Here is the full quote from “The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember”

Music is the one art we all have inside . We may not be able to play an instrument , but we can sing along or clap or tap our feet . Have you ever seen a baby bouncing up and down in the crib in time to some music ? When you think of it , some of that baby’s first messages from his or her parents may have been lullabies , or at least the music of their speaking voices . All of us have had the experience of hearing a tune from childhood and having that melody evoke a memory or a feeling . The music we hear early on tends to stay with us all our lives.

It’s a great little book to read on any day.

Hello, is this thing still on?

Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.

Rogers, Fred. The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember (p. 41). Hachette Books. Kindle Edition.

Just sharing a Mr. Rogers quote to exercise the old gears here.

The Birthplace of Democracy

Not sure where I caught this, but since July 4th is upcoming, reading about the Ekklesia Citizens’ Assembly felt timely. Take a few moments and learn about one of the first, if not the first, democratic assembly. An influence on the writing we celebrate in a couple days.

They paid people to take time off to vote. Wouldn’t it be great to finally have that national holiday, at minimum?

On Friday, Ralph J. Roberts passed away at 95

My thoughts and prayers for his entire family and to all who have known him. Comcast has been a great place to work, and has been great for family, and to give back to my community, and I know that springs in no small part to its founder.

Coverage:

Comcast: Ralph J. Roberts, Comcast Corporation Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Dies at Age 95

Philly.com: Comcast founder Ralph Roberts, 95, dies

Billy Penn: Ralph Roberts: From selling milk and playing poker to founding Comcast and building the cable giant in Philadelphia

Philadelphia Magazine: Ralph J. Roberts: My Philadelphia Story

On the passing of Leonard Nimoy

There have been many great tributes posted about Leonard Nimoy, who passed away Friday, the anniversary of Fred Roger’s death 12 years ago.

With tributes like this salute from astronaut Terry W. Virts, from the International Space Station, on Twitter, it seems almost ridiculous to add to chorus, but I think I do have something to add.Terry W. Virts from the International Space Station Tweet

I’ve long been planning a series of posts and essays around a theme of taking the messages we get from fiction way too far, and well, sometimes there is no time, like the present.

Spock is among a small group of fictional characters that represented father figures and positive male role models in my life, in the absence of real life ones, while growing up. It feels good to get that off my chest. It feels a little cheesy, and cliche, to admit that fictional characters could have such an impact, but I can’t help it, it’s true.

People who know me well might find it strange I’d include Spock in such a list of influences. I’m not someone that lets logic take complete sway in the choices I make in my life, but that’s the thing, neither did Spock. No, I’m not going to comment about his character’s internal struggle with his Human and his Vulcan side (although it is a compelling part of the character’s story), but with his external relationship with James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy.

The three formed a triumvirate that at times, in their open conflict with one another, had a discourse that enabled Gene Roddenberry to surface what he thought were important aspects to leadership, to curiosity, to passion, to ethics, governance, and morality. They were at times the Ego, Id, and Super-Ego, and at times the Body, the Mind, the Spirit. Not always the playing the same roles in relationship to one another, but always, empowered by their trust to speak their truths, and find shared meaning in their mission and friendship. Paraphrasing Jen Ferrin, “Think like Spock, Feel like McCoy, Act like Kirk”. In a real way, it was their relationships to one another, that influenced the kinds of friends I seek and keep. They take courage on my part, similar to the kind Joe Campbell expresses in a recent post called “The Lies I Tell Myself”. You friends know who you are.

I’m watching “The Undiscovered Country” today, while my family is out doing some shopping, as my own way to give a tribute to co-creation of Leonard Nimoy and Gene Roddenberry. It features a story written during the fall of the Soviet Union, about the potential fall of the Klingon Empire, and the peacemaking that’s needed, before a desperate war would probably commence between it and The Federation. Spock helps coordinate a dialog. There are actors on both sides, including Captain Kirk, that do not know how to foresee a future without the military balance of terror. Shenanigans happen, including the assassination of the Klingon protagonist of the peace process. It’s an underrated movie. I wish I could share a link so that you could view the documentary, the “Perils of Peacemaking” included on the bluray. There’s mention of the fall of the Soviet Union and the compassionate, proactive role we needed to play, in order to make sure that what remained of the Soviet Union would not devolve into a collection of failed states. Looking at Russia today, it seems we have failed, we have let the youth of the world down, and that’s frightening.

The last word, from Leonard Nimoy himself, a man who will live on in the character he brought to life, in his writing, in his art, in the people he helped to inspire:Screen Shot 2015-03-01 at 5.49.19 PM

Do you have a personal kanban that you’ve shared?

Jim Benson challenges us with the idea that your Personal Kanban board isn’t just for our own private use, but is something to be shared with your family, and with your team.  How many folks would be comfortable with that level of transparency? There is real value to be uncovered by trying I think.

For more on what a Personal Kanban board is, read Personal Kanban 101 from Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry.

Using git for authoring papers

I’ve been exploring plain text formats for keeping notes and authoring papers. Kieran Healy wrote a fantastic post on the subject that I won’t attempt to replicate, read it.

Just over a year ago I posted to Facebook a small PDF that contained a collection of aphorisms, some personal, some collected over many years, that I try in keep in mind. I figured today would be a good day to convert this to Markdown and upload to Github for evolving and growing. Feel free to check it out, correct any misattributions, or just poke full of holes.

– https://github.com/kmartino/lessons

One of the things I need to get corrected in that doc is fixing its citations.