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Rilke’s Briefcase, Writing Implements & Inkpot | A Past Auction Find

Rilke's briefcase, writing implements and inkpot, from the collection of the poet Regina Ullmann - Sotheby - 2024
Image (slightly edited) from the Sotheby’s listing

Sold back in June 2011 for £27,500GBP.

“…comprising the leather travelling briefcase (c.24 x 33cms), leather wallet containing Rilke’s wooden pen-holder, nib and ivory pen-knife, and a glass ink-pot; together with an autograph letter by Rilke signed (“Rainer Maria Rilke”), to Herr Keller of the publishers Insel-Verlag, about Ullmann’s poems “Erntetag”, “Der Knecht” and “Vor der Ernte”, and enclosing a corrected proof of Ullmann’s poems, 2 pages, 4to, with an autograph envelope addressed to Ullmann, Munich, 13 January 1919; a few ink stains (on) the briefcase.”

Related posts: Dear Madam | Beyond The Savage Creative Storm, Rilke’s Desk, The Man Watching, The Reason Within | A Guide For All Creatives & Time With Rilke | A Rhapsodic Swiss Side Quest.
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30 Years Online… So Far | 1994-2024

yahoo-1994-homepage-screengrab
Flashback above of one of my first world wide web experiences: image credit

Three decades of being active on the information superhighway.

The original approach to this blog post was a reflective look back from my initial online forays during my first year of University, writing essays on hyper-reality as part of the course I was taking, then participating in the most early social networking platforms, right through to building businesses around the emerging space plus everything up till now.

I scrapped that as was getting bored and my fingers hurt. So started writing 30 things I learned (one for each year) in an attempt to extract some wisdom from being an early adopter.

But that went by the wayside as could only conjure up a dozen or so and they felt a little ‘preachy’, so, I’m just going to mark it with a simple side-eye and a tut.

A physical gesture and audible proclamation which sums up how I feel about the whole tech and interwebs space currently.

So many online platforms and services plus the technology we now use to access this incredible tool for humanity, is designed to purposefully trick and hide the fact that it’s all about extraction…

…extracting attention, the good vibes / kinship / playfulness which fuels our mortal souls, the pioneering spirit enabled through accessibility, plus even vacuuming up the whole web without permission and / or attribution to then build predictive-pattern-regurgitators-wrapped-up-in-AI-branded-interfaces which users can be charged again for.

This enshittification matches the stuff I wrote about a couple of years ago about suction media and the death of social, or the pauses we have lost, or the trend of email gating is eroding the web of trust, or how BookFace is worse than a casino and banks on you not caring (extra link on how the original cofounder thinks the same here), or the shitfire that Twitter has become.

Side-eye and a tut.

However, I still believe in the inherent positive power of the internet: how it creates unique opportunities for voice, agency, story, connectiveness, learning, to amplify intentional technology in enhancing the whole human project, through kindness and participation not commodification and engineered engagement.

So here’s to the next 30 years and the evolving nature of the online space, more laws and governance over data sovereignty, transparency of data use, the universal shift back to adding not reducing value, building opportunities for people to link up their creativity, along with and making people think and / or smile.

What was Number One at the time!
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Mundane Series Launch | Positive Products To Amplify Imaginative Minds / Hearts / Souls – PURCHASE NOW!

don't be - animated words - justadandak.com - gif

For creative maximilists looking to encourage dangerously original things!

These offerings was inspired by a real life event (“I don’t do mundane” was my response when someone asked for ‘mundane’ from me). That value destroyed a career path, meant the loss of a healthy dose of money / about a year in time / loads of positive energy, and deeply affected my mental health, because:

“A principle isn’t a principle until it costs you something.”

Bill Bernbach

…so I’m turning that deeply negative experience into a gift of inspiration and designed the following for audacious humans with aligned principles (the posters would be great for offices, workshops, classrooms, meeting rooms, funky shops / cafes, creative and co-working spaces etc. plus the cards to celebrate / encourage someones imaginative approaches):

Mundane series - justadandak.com - Sep 2024 - shop screengrab

Eighteen items from three designs, with two variations on each (colour / no colour) across another three product options of greeting cards, matte posters and / or framed posters.

All designed by me, no AI, via Procreate and Keynote.

And please send me a pic of the purchase in situ as would love to see where they have found a home!

See also MUNDANE | Made Up of Nothing, Devoid of Anything New or Exciting.
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Dear Madam | Beyond The Savage Creative Storm

Been reading a bunch of Rilke lately and during a random crawl of the web for related materials, I came across a vast amount his letters on e-manuscripta.ch (a portal for digitised manuscript material from Swiss libraries and archives).

I’m enchanted by the greeting, the flourish in his script, especially in the delicately nuanced letter ‘d’, that stem is majestic, as well as slight slant of the line.

The above “Chère Madame / Dear Madam” was written on Sunday 10th December 1922, from Château de Muzot in Veyras, Switzerland, (where the author completed the famed Duino Elegies in ‘a savage creative storm’ earlier that same year):

Full letter here

Even though Rilke was Austrian and wrote most of his prose / poetry in German, he could also speak and write in French, in which this letter was penned to a lady called Marie Morisse (who I can’t find anything of online). Using a translation app on my phone and others online here’s the whole letter in English (apologies to any native speakers and any mistakes):

“Dear Madam,

The misfortune is not great. Nothing is easier than to reconstitute the small list: here it is, (minus the “Letters to Lieutenant Dupont” that I received at the same time as your letter.) If I ask for something, it is only the absence of of a few follies images in my missive of the other day which could have amused your little boy, for the rest he flatters me that he feels so attracted by my peril that he prefers it to all others.

Again: it would be good to hurry to have The Last Years by Marcelle Tirel on Rodin. I was just reading this morning that the family makes efforts to make it possible to get out of business! X

Accept, dear Madam, the assurance of my feelings sinuously devoured –

RMRilke

*This book anchors me to the moment! Thank you. However, I would like to make sure that a second copy that I would like to make cadean (sp? / name?) to my friend for Christmas.”

The two books referenced are The Last Years of Rodin by Marcelle Tirel which starts in the Preface stating: here is a very curious book about Auguste Rodin (Rodin was a friend, inspired this essay from Rilke and had died five years previous to this letter), and Letters of Lieutenant Duponey / Dupont (which might relate to this chap / book who was an Admiral not a Lieutenant, maybe not).

His penmanship is different in many other letters, probably due to what we all suffer from like basic tiredness, lack of focus and / or other things going on (Rilke was nothing but feelings personified).

Such a delight to explore and ‘trace’ through a correspondence written over 100 years ago by an author whose words and sentiments echo through me!

Now where is my fountain pen‽

Related posts: Time With Rilke | A Rhapsodic Swiss Side Quest, The Man Watching & Rilke’s Desk.
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#67 August 2024 | Monthly Digital Breadcrumbs

(via Tube map redesigned by University of Essex lecturer goes viral – BBC News)

A bunch of things (which I added to my Tumblr) for your eyes and ears plus brain to spend time on (as no longer on Twitter).

READ

“Creativity is made, not generated. Generative AI is ripping the humanity out of things. Built on a foundation of theft, the technology is steering us toward a barren future. We think machine learning is a compelling technology with a lot of merit, but the path generative AI is on is wrong for us. We’re here for the humans. We’re not chasing a technology that is a moral threat to our greatest jewel: human creativity. In this technological rush, this might make us an exception or seem at risk of being left behind. But we see this road less travelled as the more exciting and fruitful one for our community.”
Creativity is made, not generated — Procreate®

“Our tendency to summon powers we cannot control stems not from individual psychology but from the unique way our species cooperates in large numbers. Humankind gains enormous power by building large networks of cooperation, but the way our networks are built predisposes us to use power unwisely. For most of our networks have been built and maintained by spreading fictions, fantasies and mass delusions – ranging from enchanted broomsticks to financial systems. Our problem, then, is a network problem. Specifically, it is an information problem. For information is the glue that holds networks together, and when people are fed bad information they are likely to make bad decisions, no matter how wise and kind they personally are.”
‘Never summon a power you can’t control’: Yuval Noah Harari on how AI could threaten democracy and divide the world | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian

“In an email reported by the New York Times, Condé Nast’s CEO, Roger Lynch, said that the deal will make up for some of the revenue that technology companies have snagged publishers in recent years. He wrote: “Generative AI is rapidly changing ways audiences are discovering information. It’s crucial that we meet audiences where they are an embrace new technologies while also ensuring proper attribution and compensation for use of our intellectual property.” Other media companies have taken the opposite tack. The New York Times and the Intercept have sued OpenAI for using their articles. The litigation is ongoing.”
OpenAI signs multi-year content partnership with Condé Nast | Technology | The Guardian

“Like designing any immersive experience, a public place captures the imagination of its visitor. It offers a promise. How a place looks (Form) and its practical purpose (Function), should be informed by its “guest promise” (Fulfillment).”
Margaret Kerrison | ex-Imagineer on placemaking | bloolop

“A recently published report by digital collaboration management company Vyopta found a correlation between employee retention and camera enablement during virtual meetings. Workers who left their organization within a year of the study’s sample period (Q1 2022 and Q1 2023) turned their cameras on in just 18.4 percent of small group meetings, while employees who stayed at their organization were on camera in 32.5 percent of such meetings. The report — which involved 450,000 employees and data from 40 million meetings worldwide — shows that companies need to make a concerted effort to establish an effective virtual meeting culture…”
Camera-Off Time in Virtual Meetings Could Be a Bad Sign for Employee Retention, Study Finds | Inc.com

“In a simple experiment, researchers at the University of Chicago sought to find out whether a rat would release a fellow rat from an unpleasantly restrictive cage if it could. The answer was yes. The free rat, occasionally hearing distress calls from its compatriot, learned to open the cage and did so with greater efficiency over time. It would release the other animal even if there wasn’t the payoff of a reunion with it. Astonishingly, if given access to a small hoard of chocolate chips, the free rat would usually save at least one treat for the captive — which is a lot to expect of a rat. The researchers came to the unavoidable conclusion that what they were seeing was empathy — and apparently selfless behavior driven by that mental state.”
A new model of empathy: The rat – The Washington Post

“Last week, Google backtracked on its long-standing promise to block third-party cookies in Chrome. This is bad for your privacy and good for Google’s business. Third-party cookies are a pervasive tracking technology that allow companies to snoop on your online activity for surveillance and ad-targeting purposes. The consumer harm caused by these cookies has been well-documented for years, prompting Safari and Firefox to block them since 2020. Google knows this—that’s why they pledged to phase out third-party cookies in 2020. By abandoning this plan, Google leaves billions of Chrome users vulnerable to online surveillance.”
Google Breaks Promise to Block Third-Party Cookies | Electronic Frontier Foundation

WATCH

EXPLORE

Automatisch is an Open Source Zapier Alternative.

The Unanswered Oddities playlist is a superb use of AI.

A minimalist town builder with trams to play in your browser.

These wonderful Werner Herzog Inspirationals are posters for our time.

RSS still rules so here are a bunch of tools which will aid defining your own media menu.

Create vector dotted maps with custom options and download them as SVG or PNG files.

All monthly digital breadcrumbs posts.
Published

NEW SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT | Purposeful Storytelling Impact Course

A tailored leadership learning experience aimed at greatly improving storytelling techniques and oratory skills, as well as enhancing the capability to deliver exceptional showcase presentations across diverse fields.

This brand new professional development program was recently delivered for a wonderful international client over 5x 2.5/3hour online sessions with twelve leaders from three continents across four countries—highly participatory in nature and focused on increasing the literacy levels of those involved aligned to specific strategic needs.

Interviews were undertaken with chosen participants to first gain an understanding of levels of literacy as well as current approaches. Desk research regarding language use, industry trends and internal policies was also completed to ensure the course had relevance and direct corporate impact.

Here’s the result:

“We recently had the opportunity to learn from DK as we launched the Better Futures Catalyst program, a facilitated public speaking initiative at Steelcase. This program brought together a cohort of employees from around the world to enhance our presentation skills by focusing on our people and planet efforts. DK created a bespoke hybrid program, guiding us in developing compelling stories and boosting our confidence in public speaking—both in-person and virtually. Our final presentations showcased remarkable growth, with each of us effectively weaving our unique experiences into an engaging narrative. We are so grateful to DK for his authentic approach, for creating a safe space for us to learn together and from each other, and for the number of resources he shared throughout the journey. Highly recommend!”
Kim Koeman, Global Director, Social Innovation at Steelcase

Was lucky enough to deliver a second cohort for Steelcase and currently exploring an ‘advanced’ offering for those who have been through the first ones.

Here’s some of the anonymous participants feedback gathered post-course:

This service is now available to other organisations and companies looking to invest in the professional development of the storytelling abilities of their leaders.

Get in touch to explore further the process, alignment, costs and availability—only running a handful of these a year due to the time it takes to craft and deliver plus other commitments.

I did something similar (albeit in-person) for Sir Peter Jackson’s personal post production studio a few years back and fantastic to now have a couple of case studies of this instructional activity plus impact:

“We contracted DK to run several sessions with members of our leadership team and other staff who are required to present ideas, solutions, explanations and work flow information to clients and audiences. The sessions were so insightful and the feedback was extremely positive, even the most cynical were surprised at what they could achieve and change the way one approaches preparation and off the cuff speaking. A highly productive and useful experience and one we will repeat.”
Vicki Jackways, Head of Marketing, Park Road Post Production

Image credit / IconDuck – tweaked.
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750,000 Views | Celebrating As We Go

Marking another milestone.

In a little over eighteen months, my TEDxNelson talk on ‘The Public Speaking Lesson You Never Had’ has reached three quarters of a million views—crazy-mad-bonkers!

And the emails I continue to get from people fills my heart (this is the latest one):

If you’re reading this and watched it, shared it on, and / or liked it / left a comment on the YouTube video, sincerely, thank you!

Now I have the delightful challenge to figure out what to do when it hits one million views…

Related post: 500,000 TEDxNelson Talk Views | Celebrating With A Giveaway.
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2024 North America Tour & Return To Aotearoa / New Zealand | Fancy A Dance?

Planning the rest of my year and looking for opportunities to (re)connect, play, add value, develop things, have adventures, do things which have never been done, have bold conversations, explore, plus get into creative trouble…

Current draft schedule with emerging dates:

OCTOBER

  • Halifax, Nova Scotia / Moncton, New Brunswick | 8-12th
  • Montreal | 13-15th
  • Toronto | 16-18th
  • Grand Rapids, Michigan | 18-19th
  • HATCH | 20-25th
  • Portland, Oregon | 26-31st

NOVEMBER

  • Dallas / Fort Worth | 1st-4th
  • Aotearoa / New Zealand | 6th onwards…

Happy to deliver talks, masterclasses, creative consults / roundtables etc. plus explore detours if need be (see my pedigree / read the testimonials / check out past clients) although please do contact me quick as diary is firming up in the next few weeks.

Will be looking for gigs when I touch down in NZ as well so from November let me know if you’re keen…

So who’s around to do non-mundane things…?

Lets boogie!

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PEO Course Review | Figuring Out Next Moves

After two years I’m pressing pause on my Presenting Engagingly Online course.

UPDATE 30.8.24 : check out NEW SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT | Purposeful Storytelling Impact Course.

Launched in 2022 it was 75minutes / 10 video chapters crammed with applicable insights, resources and knowledge, users could take at their own pace. The course made me five figures worth of profit and was accessed by over 200 souls across four continents.

There are several reasons for the pause:

  1. Needs updating: the course was a response to the god awful talks / presentations I was seeing as everyone was switching to online events during Covid. Since then I’ve delivered multiple internal masterclasses on the same subject for a range of clients with 1000s of folks attending and honed my digital skills further. Ergo, got more content, more things to share, more insights to give, more ways to convince people to stop sharing their screen etc.;
  2. Sales have dropped off a cliff: probably because I have no interest in marketing / promotions, just creating, connecting, delivering, learning and adding value (and could have the same issue if I do the below update option);
  3. It costs: it’s $1,228.20USD annually to host through a learning platform plus it’s a little time-heavy to set-up.

UPDATE 25.8.24: I had a poll here with 3 options and asked people to vote. Same thing was also on my LinkedIn and both polls gave the same result of only offering bespoke / webinar versions of the learning experience (instead of redoing the course or leaving it there). Will be updating my about page accordingly:

Results of LI poll.

If there’s an interest for option 2 above please holler in the comments or fire us a message direct to collaborate!

Thanks for playing.

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