In the face of potential defeat and demise, dogged persistence often wins the day.“Our foolish naive persistence defied what many thought impossible — what I had thought was impossible.” Natasha Lance Rogoff reflecting on the moment when Ulitsa Sezam (Russian Sesame Street) aired the first time. If you read Natasha’s book, Muppets in Moscow, you’ll see that Natasha and her team persisted through assassinations, bankruptcy, corruption, strikes, and fierce protectionism to get the first season broadcasted. The program aired until 2010 when it no longer received support from the television networks.

AI could, and likely has, written a 12 bar blues. It can do it because a 12 bar blues always follows the same pattern — it’s like an algorithm. A writer’s kids wanted more video game time. The kids asked ChatGPT to write a letter to their dad advocating for more video game time. The kids also asked ChatGPT to write the letter in the style of their dad. The author noticed that the letter felt eerily like something he would write. AI could do that because this author is consistent — like the blues.I do not believe that AI will replace us as humans. However, I do believe there’s a world where AI could replace our work. If we do not want our work replaced, then we must not become too consistent. We must be willing to change up the routine, try new ideas out, and embrace our inner contrarian. We can’t become the blues.Jazz musicians have a way of reinventing the blues. A change here, a substitution there. Let’s be more like jazz musicians — embracing life’s possibilities and trying new things.

There is an idea that humans make every attempt to classify what they see as a threat or as safe. To do that, the human puts what they observe into a box. I reject the box… though I know it exists.To the people who try to classify me, I prefer to be a threat to them. I make every attempt to classify me difficult. Why? Because as I my dad once said, “you’re not hispanic, you’re not brown, you’re just David.” I am just David. To the best of my knowledge, there is no box for “they are just themselves.”

I think I need total silence to work and ship my ideas. I think I need to be inspired to write.I think I need to be an authority.I know that all that doesn’t matter.I know that I need to sit my butt down and write.I know that my commitment to you matters more than my ego.I know that the work I meant to do is work that challenges us to think and act as our best selves.I think I should get back to work.

Start with the big idea.Add in your supporting ideas. Then winnow away everything that doesn’t matter.Keep the scraps.

Creators typically make things they think their audiences will love. Creators would do better if focused on answering the question Who is this work for? Is the work for the audience? Is it for the students? Is it for customer? Is it for my kid? Is it for me?

I would rather work myself into a position where I could afford to be patient; than be patient hoping that some will happen. Optimum positioning always beats out a hope and a prayer.

Today is the last day of the show I worked on. I’ll miss the cast and my band mates - we had fun. Whenever you end an endeavor, take a moment to reflect. What odds were against us and how did we overcome them? Where did we go right? What would we do differently next time? How are we better people for the experience? I don’t think we take enough time to reflect. If you have a moment, click here to read 2021’s post on theatre. I must have been closing a show up around the same time a few years ago.

One animation storyboard teaching children about emotions “happy” and “sad” leaves everyone in the room speechless. The scriptwriter reads: ‘A little boy and girl walk hand in hand in a park, each holding a balloon, looking happy. Accidentally, the boy lets go of his balloon. The little girl sees him crying and then releases her balloon into the air and smiles. The boy stops crying, and together, they watch their balloons ride high into the endless blue sky. That passage from Natasha Lance Rogoff’s Muppets in Moscow. The Soviet Union fell, and Russia had the challenge of creating a post-USSR culture. What language do we use to express happiness? Sadness? How do we greet one another? One of the producers described the challenge as “language limbo.” Who knew that a simple story about a balloon could help bridge the gap?To an American audience of that time, the story might seem silly. Why doesn’t the girl share her balloon with the boy? But, to a Russian audience, the story is powerful. What makes the story so effective is simple - the boy and girl have a shared experience powered by empathy.How might play the role of the girl releasing her balloon more often? How might we show others that we see them and their beautiful story?

Always keep yourself in the ready-for-anything posture because if things can go wrong, they will. The posture of readiness always beats the posture of rigidity.