The Abyss
By: Steve Makofsky
Tags: Stoicism, Storytelling, Life, Deeplink, Technology

The Abyss (Special Edition)

Water

The Abyss (Special Edition) is James Cameron’s 1989 film about an undersea oil-rig diving team who are called on to assist in the recovery of a lost nuclear submarine and find themselves encountering an alien aquatic species.

When I talk about the film, I have to continuously refer to the film’s “special edition” — what was released into theaters due to fear of a film over 2 hours, had almost 30 minutes chopped out of the story. It was a complete mess. But when you watch the restored original version clocking in at 171 minutes (which has additional character arcs, a ‘humanity on trial’ ending), restores the true story: an exploration of humanity and love.

Do yourself a favor though, check out the special edition. Avoid the theatrical cut.

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This weeks “Deep Links”

If you want to truly be an empathetic leader, there’s high value in spending time understanding how psychological safety is measured and fostered in your organization. HBR has an insightful look at ‘how can you increase psychological safety on your own team’ — More

Remember that fun catchy tune on The Muppets, ‘Mahna Mahna’; you may or may not realize it’s origins — More

Dave Chappelle has an amazing Instagram “special” which speaks about his old show, which includes five fundamental lessons about how the Internet has changed the content business; a great summary of these are over on Stratechery — More

To control stress and your life, the most important skill to master is attention management — More

Josh Spector has a great list of one-sentence communication tips to help you express ideas more clearly — More

While the subscription box isn’t a new idea, the oddness of 2020 has popped up a new genre of ‘at home mystery boxes’; a serial, ongoing puzzle/mystery that tries to dive into immersive gameplay. As described: ‘When you play, you have to question: is this real? Is this not real? Drawing a line to familiar tales that plant breadcrumbs from reality to fabulous findings: We’re right there watching Indiana Jones and National Treasure and The Goonies, and that’s the feeling we want our players to have — an adventure.’. Think of it as a escape-room monthly mystery experience for your home — More

What happens when no one has a reason to dress up? ‘How the Fashion Industry Collapsed’ looks at the uprising of sweatpants — More

Lots of pieces written this week on the sale of Slack to Salesforce, along with the fear on how this will ultimately ruin Slack. Platformer has a really good take on Microsoft and it’s role in crushing Slack — More

A look at an incredible team at Google, Project Guideline, which is using computer vision to give blind athletes the ability for independent exercise — More

Many (including myself) have practiced one form or another of ‘Getting Things Done’ as a way to manage information and task overload. A look at the shifting landscape of ‘personal productivity’ methods and their failings — More

Some deeper insight to fitness tracking, the numbers they generate, and how they can also sabotage our bodies and brains — More

End Thoughts