Dilanka's Random Notes

Introduction

I keep a lot of (off-line) notes in journals and paper. Unfortunately, paper is an impractical medium for interactive content. I maintain this page for reference, convenience and ease of sharing.

Key: A star (*) is used for emphasis. If you find any broken links, let me know, so I could fix those.

Top 5 People I'd Like to Meet

If you know any of these people, I'd love an introduction.

1. Robert J. Pera
2. Manoj Bhargava
3. Dan Bull
4. Montel Williams
5. Cormega
6. Nassim Taleb

Favorite Music

1. 50 Cent - life's on the line
2. Adina Howard - Freak Like Me
3. Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan - In session *
4. Aerosmith - dream on *
5. Atmosphere - yesterday *
6. Atmosphere - guarantees
7. AZ - problems
8. AZ - the come up *
9. AZ - the format
10. Bathiya Santhush - various
11. B.B. King - thrill is gone *
12. Ben E. King - stand by me
13. Bessie Smith - poor man's blues
14. Big L - mvp *
15. Big L - put it on
16. Bill Withers - ain't no sunshine
17. Bill Withers - lean on me
18. Billy Joel - piano man *
19. Biz Markie - just a friend
20. Bob Dylan - hurricane *
21. Bob Dylan - mister tambourine man *
22. Bob Seger - mainstreet
23. Bob Seger - night moves
24. Bone Thugs N Harmony - i tried
25. Britney Spears - piece of me
26. Brother Ali - self taught *
27. Cannonball Adderley - mercy, mercy, mercy
28. Cat Stevens - father and son
29. Color Me Badd - I wanna sex you up
30. Cormega - the saga remix
31. Cormega - the true meaning (a)
32. Cormega - valuable lessons
33. Carole King - it's too late
34. Carole King - will you love me tomorrow
35. Celph Titled - rock to the rhythm
36. Chuck Berry - ding a ling *
37. Chuck Berry - johnny b. good
38. Clarence Carter - patches *
39. D12 - revelation *
40. Darius Rucker - wagon wheel
41. Del Shannon - runaway
42. Diana Coupland - mango tree
43. Dispatch - the general *
44. Dobie Gray - drift away *
45. Ella Fitzgerald - let's fall in love *
46. Emancipator - soon it will be cold enough * (a)
47. Eminem - infinite (a)
48. Eminem - the eminem show (a)
49. Fugees - rumble in the jungle
50. Gang Starr - moment of truth *
51. Gypsies - various
52. Ice Cube - gangsta rap made me do it
53. Ice Cube - it was a good day
54. Ice T - money, power, woman
55. Immortal Technique - dance with the devil
56. Immortal Technique - you never know
57. Immortal Technique - point of no return
58. Jay-Z - can I live *
59. Jay-Z - reasonable doubt (a)
60. Jessie J - who you are
61. Jessie J - nobody's perfect
62. Jimi Hendrix - all along the watchtower *
63. Jimmy Cliff - sitting in limbo
64. Joe Cocker - with a little help
65. John Hiatt - have a little faith *
66. John Hiatt - you may already be a winner *
67. Johnny Cash - I walk the line
68. Joss Stone - high road
69. Joss Stone - karma
70. Judith Hill - desperation
71. Jurassic 5 - what's golden
72. Keith Sweat - make it last forever
73. Keith Sweat - twisted
74. Kid Rock - all summer long
75. Lazyboy - desiderata
76. Leon Bridges - coming home
77. Les Crane - desiderata
78. Led Zeppelin - stairway to heaven *
79. Lighthouse - ain't no sunshine
80. Louis Armstrong - what a wonderful world
81. Lupe Fiasco - food & liquor * (a)
82. Luther Vandross - dance with my father
83. Lynyrd Skynyrd - sweet home alabama
84. Lynyrd Skynyrd - free bird *
85. Lynyrd Skynyrd - ballad of curtis loew *
86. Marie Digby - feel
87. Mazzy Star - fade into you
88. Mobb Deep - shook ones *
89. Mos Def - I'm leaving
90. Mungo Jerry - in the summertime
91. Murs - yesterday and today
92. Nahko and Medicine for the people - black as night
93. Nas - illmatic * (a)
94. Nas - it was written * (a)
95. Nas - surviving the times *
96. Naughty By Nature - o.p.p *
97. Neil Diamond - song sung blue
98. Neil Young - old man
99. Neutral Milk Hotel - aeroplane over the sea *
100. Notorious B.I.G. - ready to die (a)
101. Notorious B.I.G. - life after death * (a)
102. N.W.A. - fuck the police
103. Office Space Soundtrack - various (a)
104. Patti Page - detour
105. Phaeleh - fallen light * (a)
106. Pink Floyd - dark side of the moon (a)
107. Pink Floyd - the wall (a)
108. Pink Floyd - high hopes *
109. Puff Daddy ft. FE - I'll be missing you *
110. Queen - under pressure *
111. Queen - bohemian rhapsody
112. Rafi:ki - mixtape 013
113. Ray LaMontagne - trouble
114. REO Speedwagon - time for me to fly
115. Roots - what they do
116. Roots - you got me
117. Scorpions - wind of change *
118. Simon & Garfunkel - sound of silence *
119. Simon & Garfunkel - the boxer
120. Sixto Rodriguez - crucify your mind *
121. Sixto Rodriguez - cause
122. Smashing Pumpkins - today
123. Shpongle - are you shpongled? (a)
124. Steve Miller Band - the joker
125. Styx - come sail away
126. Sugar Ray - fly
127. Sunlounger - downtempo edition *
128. Tal Wilkenfeld - the river of life
129. Tech N9ne - low
130. The Beatles - hey jude *
131. The Beatles - let it be *
132. The Beatles - In my life
133. The Drifters - under the boardwalk *
134. The Jayhawks - blue *
135. The Stone Roses - the stone roses (a)
136. Tom Lehrer - pigeons in the park *
137. Tupac - greatest hits * (a)
138. Tupac - last muthafucka breathin
139. Tupac - starin' through my rearview
140. Yelawolf - best friend
141. Yelawolf - love story (a)
142. Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M

Favorite Documentaries

1. Albert Einstein
2. Benjamin Franklin
3. Biggie and Tupac
4. Blackfish
5. Blood Brother *
6. Burt's Buzz
7. Camp 14
8. Cave of Forgotten Dreams *
9. Call me lucky
10. Cocaine Cowboys
11. Cosmos: A Personal Voyage *
12. Dark Days
13. Dear Zachary *
14. Dirty Pictures *
15. Encounters at the end of the world *
16. Fear and Loathing: Road trip to Hollywood
17. Feynman
18. Gasland
19. Gideon's Army
20. Gonzo *
21. Grey Gardens
22. Grizzly Man *
23. Harlan County, USA
24. Hoffman's Potion
25. Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel *
26. The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
27. Jiro Dreams of Sushi *
28. John Adams *
29. Jonestown
30. Journey to the edge of the universe *
31. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
32. Kumaré *
33. Lawrence of Arabia
34. Malcolm X: Make it plain *
35. Man on Wire *
36. Manufacturing Consent *
37. Marley *
38. Merchants of Doubt
39. Murderball
40. Murder on a Sunday Morning *
41. No Direction Home *
42. O.J.: Made in America
43. Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness
44. Powers of ten
45. Project Nim *
46. Rest Repo
47. Searching for Sugarman
48. Senna *
49. Shoah *
50. Sick: Bob Flanagan
51. Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine *
52. Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon *
53. The Ascent of Money *
54. The Central Park Five *
55. The Bridge
56. The Cove
57. The Imposter
58. The Spirit Molecule
59. The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till *
60. The UP Series *
61. The Buddha
62. Tim's Vermeer *
63. Titicut Follies *
64. Tony Robbins: I am not your guru
65. Touching the Void *
66. Tyson
67. VICE guide to Liberia *
68. When we were kings *

Favorite People

1. Adam Carolla
2. Alan Turing
3. Alan Watts
4. Albert Hoffman
5. Alexander Shulgin
6. Angelina Jolie
7. Anousheh Ansari
8. Barry Crimmins
9. Bathiya & Santhush
10. Benjamin Franklin
11. Bob Dylan
12. Bruce Halle
13. Charles Babbage
14. Chris Hadfield
15. Chuck Feeney
16. Chris Sacca
17. Cornelius Vanderbilt
18. Dave Chappelle
19. Derek Redmond
20. Dobie Gray
21. Duncan Bannatyne *
22. Edwin Armstrong
23. Edwin Catmull
24. Elon Musk
25. Eminem
26. Felix Dennis *
27. Freddie Mercury
28. John Carmack
29. John Romero
30. Genghis Khan
31. George Carlin
32. Gilbert Gottfried
33. Greg Giraldo
34. Hayao Myazaki
35. Hélio Gracie
36. Herman Melville
37. Hunter S. Thompson
38. Hyman Rickover
39. Ice T
40. Immortal Technique
41. Jay-Z
42. Jeff Ross
43. Jim Clark
44. Jimi Hendrix
45. Joe Rogan
46. Johannes Kepler
47. Joss Stone
48. Kerri Strug
49. Leonard Kleinrock
50. Leonard Pickard
51. Les Brown
52. Lao Tzu
53. Marie Digby
54. Milton Humason
55. Mitch Hedberg
56. Napoleon Hill *
57. Nelson Mandela *
58. Norm Macdonald
59. Notorious B.I.G
60. Oprah Winfrey
61. Patrice O' Neal
62. Pat Cooper
63. Paul Graham
64. Peter Higgs
65. Ralph Waldo Emerson *
66. Richard Branson
67. Richard Stallman
68. Robert Greene
69. Rubin Carter
70. Ryan Leslie
71. Shane Smith
72. Shania Twain
73. Simon & Garfunkel
74. Temple Grandin
75. Terence McKenna
76. Tom Lehrer
77. Tupac Shakur

Favorite Entertainment

1. Ali G Show *
2. Blackhawk Down *
3. Blazing Saddles *
4. Boardwalk Empire *
5. Breach *
6. Breaking Bad *
7. Casablanca
8. Changeling *
9. Fracture *
10. Game of Thrones
11. Glengarry Glen Ross
12. I love lucy *
13. Maltese Falcon
14. Me, Myself & Irene
15. Office Space *
16. Oz *
17. Prison Break
18. Rear Window
19. Shawshank Redemption *
20. Sherlock
21. Spirited Away
22. Tears of the Sun
23. The Grand Budapest Hotel *
24. The Hurricane
25. The Insider *
26. The I.T Crowd *
27. The Matrix *
28. The Rock *
29. The Wire *

Favorite Audio Clips

1. Art Williams - just do it *
2. Alan Watts - how do we define ourselves?
3. Alan Watts - the most important thing you never learned *
4. Alan Watts - what if money were no object? *
5. Alan Watts - music and life
6. Alan Watts - society is a hoax
7. Alan Watts - finding work you love
8. Alan Watts - worrying and anxiety
9. Angela Morgan - when nature wants a man
10. Carl Sagan - the pale blue dot *
11. Earl Nightingale - the strangest secret *
12. Felix Dennis - how to get rich *
13. Hunter S. Thompson - voicemail to video store *
14. Hustle and Flow - walk the walk
15. Adam Carolla - life and depression *
16. Manoj Bhargava - business *
17. Oprah Winfrey - finding your purpose
18. Patrice Oneil - on relationships *
19. Patrice Oneil - debate with Dr. Victoria Zdrok *
20. Sam Harris - religion & christianity
21. Steve Jobs - commencement at stanford *
22. Terence McKenna - how to use psychedelics
23. Terence McKenna - talks about dmt
24. Terence McKenna - dmt vs 5-meo-dmt
25. Terence McKenna - trust yourself *
26. Terence McKenna - describing a dmt trip
27. Terence McKenna - reclaim your mind *
28. Terence McKenna - more on psychedelics
29. Terence McKenna - culture
30. Tupac Shakur - life and death

Favorite Porn

Too many to list, email me.

Favorite Cars

1. Aston Martin Vantage V12 *
2. BMW M5
3. Lamborghini

Favorite Books

I have a reading log.

Favorite Drugs

Too many to list, email me.

Favorite Quotes

I have a quote blog.

Favorite Podcasts

1. a16z
2. Adam & Drew Show
3. Ancient Warfare Magazine
4. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
5. Democracy Now
6. Econ Talk
7. Harvard Business Review
8. Ice T: Final Level Podcast
9. I Love Marketing
10. Intelligence²
11. Marketplace
12. Nature
13. NPR TED Talks
14. Phone Losers of America
15. Point of Inquiry
16. Science
17. Security Now!
18. Six Pixels of Separation
19. The Combat Jack Show
20. The Economist
21. The Joe Rogan Experience
22. The Partially Examined Life
23. This American Life
24. This Week in Startups
25. Triangulation

Favorite Photographs

1. Emmett Till [i]
2. Earthrise [i]
3. Evelyn McHale [i]
4. Internet Pioneers [i]
5. John Lennon [i]
6. Malcolm X [i]
7. The Final Embrace [i]

Things To Put Life In Perspective

1. Kate Von Roeder Suicide Note
2. Shaun Miller's Last Goodbye
3. Kyle Maynard Climbing Kilimanjaro
4. My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech
5. The Live Tweet
6. Madison Holleran
7. Homeless Father
8. Claire Wineland

Must Read Books for Living a Great Life

I consider the list below to be REQUIRED studying for anyone interested in living a good life.

After going through hundreds of books, I have carefully curated the titles below and can vouch for their quality and timeless nature.

In fact, I consider them to be PRICELESS due to their life changing nature.

I recommend that you get the audio version(s) when possible.

I re-listen to these programs regularly as needed -- and, I can confirm that the more you listen to them, the better they get.

This is not a complete list, rather it is meant to be an excellent starting point for those that feel lost.

Enjoy.

1. The Secret Advantage by Earl Nightingale
2. How to Be a No-Limit Person by Wayne W. Dyer
3. The Art of Living by Epictetus
4. Teachings of Napoleon Hill by Napoleon Hill
5. The Secret of the Ages by Robert Collier
6. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
7. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
8. The New Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
9. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
10. Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins