Strands of Genius :: The Real Dice Man, Soldier/Novelist/Psychopath, Polymath Creativity
WRITING FROM
Los Angeles, CA
WORKING ON
a new Genius/Steals offering for 2020
UP NEXT:
Dec 5-9: Los Angeles, CA
Dec 9-12: Nashville, TN
Dec 12-19: Beersheba Springs
Dec 20-22: Atanta, GA
Dec 23-30: Nashville, TN
Dec 31-??: Greenville, SC
LOOKING AHEAD
Whiskey Weekend is only a week away!
SPEAKING
We're currently booking speaking gigs for 2020! If you're at all interested in collaborating, check out full descriptions and key learnings from our talks on here:
http://bit.ly/TalkDescriptions2019
If you're pitching us to others, here's a handy press kit:
http://bit.ly/GeniusStealsPressKit2019
NEW CLIENTS
We're not accepting any more clients for 2019, but if you're looking for training, workshops, or strategic support in 2020, please get in touch: hello@geniussteals.co
THE WORD | THESE BRIEF BITS OF INBOX INSPIRATION BROUGHT TO YOU BY...
Judy, Jason&Lilian, Simon&Porter&Vera, Marion&Nate, luaus, five different kinds of musubi [spam sushi], Beet Box Vegetarian cafe, Ashley, Pete&Debbie, Matt&Lauren, Loco Moco, excitement to see some of our LA family this weekend, whiskey weekend planning and preparations continuing apace, I Am Mother [very good, almost great, bit too long] and Anna & The Apocalypse [xmas zombie musical comedy] - fantastic and only 92 minutes! Movies are mostly way too long nowadays. This is mostly Faris' hill but Rosie agrees.
WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT | MOVIES ARE TOO LONG
We have been enthusiastically debunking the garbage corporate myth regarding human attention spans being shorter than a goldfish [spoiler: this is absolutely nonsense in every possible way] for a few years now. One of the obvious counterpoints is the verifiable fact that Hollywood movies have been getting longer, consistently, over the last decade. Attention spans are task dependent and highly plastic to even talking about them generically is basically nonsense but I can definitely feel my patience for longer movies running dry. I really enjoyer I Am Mother, it was smart and almost great but felt like it could have lost 20-30 minutes and been a better film.
We really enjoyed The Laundromat, which clocked in at a brisk 90 minutes, as a lot of the new Netflix commissions do, which suggests they have data to support that choice. Yes The Irishman is 3 hours plus but that's obviously a marquee thing to indulge Scorsese and get him to work on the platform, and we're unlikely to watch it. It's intertesting because he's so invested in theatrical distribution but feels betrayed by the current theaters because they increasingly only care about blockbusters and Marvel movies, which he doesn't consider to be movies at all.
As with everything to do with attention and humans and media its complex and highly contextual. We had no problem, no sensation of drag, watching the epic 3 hours Avengers: Endgame but then we did wait to watch in India where the still have an intermission at the movie theatre. This is great and cinemas in the USA should offer it as an option, especially because they really need to keep experimenting with the experience design to justify how expensive their cash cow - popcorn - is. And yes, it now occurs to me that we are in LA and wrote about movies, because context matters.
“The research suggests we could all gain from spending a bit more time outside our chosen specialism"
— David Robson, Why some people are impossibly talented, BBC Worklife
The Real Dice Man
#CultClassic #Branding #Myth
Faris, like many, many young men, was somewhat enamored of the novel The Dice Man at a certain age. It's been a best selling cult classic for 50 years and has inspired numerous fans and followers. Its knife edge satire created a lot of copy cat behavior, partially wrapped up in the myth of its mysterious author, Luke Reinhart, who is also the protagonist in the novel. The story of trying to find out the truth about the author is fascinating whether or not you've read the novel. ::GUARDIAN LONGREAD:: [LISTEN TO IT ON ACAST] [READ THE NOVEL]
Soldier, Writer, Psychopath
#Science #Emotions #ColdEmpathy
Andy McNab was in the SAS and led Bravo Two Zero "The Harrowing True Story of a Special Forces Patrol Behind the Lines" that he turned into a book that became a film and ultimately led him to becoming a very successful novelist with a series of thrillers about an ex SAS officer. He is also a psychopath. On this short podcast he very cheerfully talks about being a psychopath, and he he learned to model human emotions by learning to read at aged 16. ::BBC WORLD SERVICE::
The Polymath Path to Creativity
#Range #Generalists #Fachidiot
Faris has been reading Range and it's great so far. The basic thesis is that to be great at anything you don't need monomaniacal focus, but rather breadth and cross pollination. That's at the very heart of the Genius Steals belief and methodology. Polymaths can show us all how to be more creative. ::BBC WORKLIFE::
ICYMI: The Golden Age of Product Placement
#WhatisTV #Innovation #Brands
The Steaming Wars have begun! Apple, Disney and other heavy hitters are looking to challenge Netlfix's ambition to be the world's TV provider. These 'peak tv' subscriptions services don't carry ads - so what can brands do to reach those audiences with the power of moving pictures? Faris has an idea, old becoming new. ::WARC::
We aren't the only ones looking for shorter movies it would seem.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We always love getting to meet like-minded folks, so please let us know if you see if we'll be in a city near you :)
rockON,
rosie & faris & ashley, geniussteals.co
@rosieyakob / @faris / @ashley
HIT REPLY & LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER.
STILL WANT MORE?
In March of 2013, Rosie & Faris left NYC. They've been #OutOfOffice for 6 years & counting. Want more on the nomad lifestyle? Check out Technomadix.co
Want to collaborate with Rosie and Faris? They are a husband and wife team that consult, speak, write, teach, strategize, facilitate & generally play well with others. You should definitely get in touch.
