Each Tuesday (OK, most Tuesdays) I’ll continue to deliver a taste of what I’m reading, watching, and thinking about, right to your inbox. Here is your Taste of Tuesday.

​

April 30, 2024

I never hated math itself, but I did hate a few of my math teachers. Every week, my seventh grade algebra teacher handed me test papers full of red ink and “Show your work” scrawled across the top because even though I got the right answers, I did the work in my head.

You haven’t received a newsletter from me in a few weeks. Instead of a recap in words, I want you to see what I’ve been up to, so this is me showing my work.

For decades I worked in classrooms and clients’ offices to help others achieve goals and explore new learning territory. My work focused on their processes. Research and writing met some of my creative needs, but apart from playing and creating art with my daughter when she was young, I haven’t really taken my brain off the leash in a long time.

Over the last month I took a break from watching the news and keeping up with tech and writing this newsletter and everything else I was doing to revisit some ideas I’ve been tinkering with for a long time. I did something sort of unfamiliar in my working life: I had FUN.

So this week, as I ease back into the routine, I’d like to share some of the ways I’ve been applying Open-Source Learning. Maybe something here will spark an idea for you. Please feel free to reply to this email; I welcome your feedback and I’d love to know what you’ve been up to!

​

🎻🤘🏼 Classical Concert Tees —

Years ago I started imagining what concert t-shirts might look like for the most transformative shows in history: the premieres of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial, Van Cliburn in Moscow… but it wasn’t until early March that I did something about it. The owners of two different businesses in Palm Springs, one a record store and the other a high end boutique, both loved the idea and told me to make shirts they could sell during the Coachella Music Festival. Now I know what the first two designs would look like, because I created them!

Check out the designs at classicalconcerttees.com. If you’re reading this, you’re either a friend of mine or eligible to become a friend of mine, so you’re also eligible for the “friends and family” plan I’m making up as I go along. Buy online or send me a note for more info.

​

🥸 April Fool’s Day —

I’ve never been much of an April Fool’s Day fan, but something got into me the last couple years around a design that cracks my family up every time they see it. The image my wife dubbed “Bad Fruta” first appeared nine years ago when I defaced her Christmas tree topper with a mustache and sunglasses. Bad Fruta started showing up everywhere: on actual fruit, household appliances, the inside of closet doors… This time I had to do a little bit of planning, because the design required about 250 lb. of rock:

My daughter was in on the surprise. But she didn’t know I also had plans for her stuffed animals:

​

💪 Physical Fitness —

In Open-Source Learning I talk about the Five Fitnesses (the book I’m currently writing is called THE FIFTH FITNESS), and I love the idea that each fitness is arguably the most important fitness. That last sentence is probably the first sentence of a longer post for a different day, but for now, take Physical Fitness as an example: If you don’t build your foundation of energy and endurance by understanding your needs for rest, nutrition, and exercise, how can you expect to meet the demands of daily life, much less perform well? According to the National Council on Aging, “Exercise is the closest thing we’ve found to a magic pill for combating the effects of aging.” I love eating well and working out, but I also find that goals (especially big ones that make me nervous) help me maintain my focus, so a couple years ago I started participating in Ironman triathlons. At the beginning of this month I brought my wife and daughter to Oceanside, CA for a weekend at the beach.

​

🗽 Museum Field Trip —

One of the best ways to become a better writer is to read. One of the best ways to become a better human is to spend time around art. From Psychology Today: “Art appreciation extends beyond aesthetic enjoyment, significantly impacting brain function and mental health. Through cognitive enhancement, stress reduction, memory improvement, and social connectivity, art appreciation emerges as a valuable tool for fostering mental well-being and cognitive resilience.”

I had the good fortune to be in New York City a couple weeks ago and I didn’t miss the opportunity to experience art with all my senses. I ate art (amazing Ethiopian, Italian, and Indian food, plus a mandatory stop at Katz’s Deli). I walked art (installations on the High Line). I even boated past art (Lady Liberty). I listened to art (Billy Hart at the Village Vanguard, “Tommy” on Broadway, and an unforgettable evening with Yo-Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall). And of course, I viewed art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library & Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).

MOMA merits a special mention. I just read that Wired Co-founder and author of Excellent Advice for Living Kevin Kelly has added to his annual birthday list of advice, and this one is so true: “In a museum you need to spend at least 10 minutes with an artwork to truly see it. Aim to view 5 pieces at 10 minutes each rather than 100 at 30 seconds each.”

I got to MOMA early so I could spend time with Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” like this:

​

Instead of like this, just an hour later:

​

Same with Jackson Pollock. To understand what makes this art, and not just paint on a canvas, I really had to let it sink in.

​

​
I empathized with the painter — the person — in the moment he put these materials together in that particular way. I was right there next to him, in space if not time. Check out Pollock’s signature next to my left shoulder:
​

​
And I got up close and personal with the texture, the thing itself. Zoom in on this:
​
​

​
Of course, the best art in the springtime is outside. So here’s a cherry blossom from Central Park:

​

​

📖 Lessons Learned —

Art has everything to do with learning, starting with our identity and sense of self. Without aesthetics there is no marketing. We express our creativity in the clothes we wear, the food we make, and the stuff we put in our house. Further, we love to process information and represent it in words and pictures that create meaning and connection with others – how else can we explain the dopamine-fueled pandemic of social media? Everything in this week’s newsletter can be related to a wide variety of academic and professional fields, and that rich interdisciplinary tapestry makes life beautiful. Taking time to create and explore brought me back to my own Open-Source Learning roots. I remembered something my mentor, UCLA Hall of Fame Basketball Coach John Wooden, told me as a teenager, a lesson his father shared with him: “Make each day your masterpiece.”

Thanks for reading.

​
​

🤔 Quote I’m pondering —

​

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to reply to this email. Which bite is your favorite? What would you like to see more or less of? Any other suggestions?

​

​

P.S. If this edition of Taste of Tuesday was forwarded to you, you can join the list here.

​

​

David Preston Educator & Author ​https://davidpreston.net​ Latest book: ACADEMY OF ONE​

​