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Hivemind Times Issue #36

Hivemind Times Issue #36

Hivemind
April 18, 2025

Welcome To The Hivemind Times!

Hey folks, sober Graydon here and I have no regrets about what I did last week. This week we are back to business, no more Mr. Nice Guy. Huge massive collab hitting the web in a couple hours by the way that Riley worked very hard to edit and get out to you fine folks so please go give that some love after you're done reading what is sure to be another masterpiece.

This one might have to be a little sports heavy because big things are happening and you are just gonna have to deal with it. We’ll be sure to balance it out the best we can. With all that’s happened to each and everyone of us throughout the duration of our lives we deserve a moment of just enjoying a silly little newsletter, and that's why there is the HIVEMINDTIMES.

Life is beautiful and joyx3.

- Riley & Graydon

WEEKLY PLAYLIST

10 songs that are a fucking vibe.

Tripping Out

Playlist · Graydon Weaver · 10 items

open.spotify.com/playlist/30HamywUuRRdwkbJ9yC3Mw?si=TdzEhvX8SJ6wVfK937beag&pi=kh7UKnTHQUaLh

NICK LEARNS MANDARIN

Hey Chat!

Nick back again with a personal interest of mine! This time not music music related but something that requires an equal amount of dedication to learn...a new language!

The process of learning Chinese is structured quite well with the HSK system that is broken down into 6 main levels. I am largely finished with HSK 1 which has a total of 150 vocabulary words, although my process has naturally incorporated many words from other levels along the way.

Many often say that learning Chinese as an English speaker is one of the harder transitions to make, and while there may be truth in that, it is also a language with very straight forward grammar structure, no conjugation, no tense for time, and even the same verbal word for he/her(他/她...ta)! No reason to have a civil war over the artificial concept of gender. The Chinese language is steeped in history due to it being thousands of years old, and it makes for many evolving interwoven words that are connected to modern concepts in very beautiful ways. For example 电 (diàn), meaning "electric" and 脑 (nǎo), meaning "brain," directly translates computer. Similarly the word "shì" (视) means "vision". Can you guess the word for TV? Yup! 电视 This happens pretty frequently and can make learning new words quite speedy sometimes!

Starting out I was a bit confused on where to begin…as one is with any new topic, and downloaded probably 10 different apps before landing on Hello Chinese. It has by far the most modern and relevant language and really pushes you to learn words in a way that is connected to videos, real speakers, books, and even mini lessons where you get a teacher for about 10 minutes.

Mango languages is also fantastic for any language learner. I recommend this to anyone who is on a budget and has a library card. Many libraries have incredible resources for learning languages and even free subscriptions to normally paid apps. Mango does lack depth for Mandarin but is great for many other languages, and is even color coded for grammar (which is insanely useful for my ADHD ass). What was I talking about? — Oh yeah the other critical thing to have is a great dictionary. This has only one answer for Mandarin and that is Pleco. It’s free for all but it has tons of really nice add-ons like flashcards, photo translate, and talk to text. Honorable mention to superchinese and memrise.

Anyways apps can suck and whatever you choose you need to be doing many other things in parallel to make them effective and immerse yourself as much as possible. Input, Input, Input. Like taking WRITTEN notes, reading short stories, finding sites to read translated news, or even just getting a social media app with native content like little red book. (小红书). Honestly I watch a ton of vlogs where people just walk around cities and ask for fruit and like where the bathroom is in China and find myself learning soo much lol. Peppa pig translated is also a banger.

One of my favorite things ever is occasionally meeting with a teacher on this app called Italki. I learn all kinds of stuff I never could on my own like cultural context behind words, proper pronunciation, and natural conversation. Many of the teachers on here in my experience are just passionate about sharing knowledge and will go over time just to explain a concept to you. I find myself with a whole new vigor about learning every time I chat on here.

This journey is far from over and I would encourage anyone who is nervous about jumping into a new language to go for it. About 6 months ago I decided to pursue this endeavor, and while I am still a novice at Chinese and quite bad at speaking, I am determined to become better.

“ “Learning never exhausts the mind.” - Graydon “

– Leonardo da Vinci

- Nick

SPORTS

Graydon’s NBA Playoff Predictions

Ok with the 8th seeds in each conference to be decided tonight between the Heat & Hawks and Mavs vs. Griz. Here's how I think the first round of the NBA playoffs shake out.

In the East…

Cavs (4) vs 8. Heat/Hawks (0-1)
- I think the Hawks can take a game from us given the familiarity Niang and Levert have with our schemes, but Trae’s fucking full fledge melt down vs Orlando is about the worst vibe setter so I’m not gonna be surprised if Miami gets in. If that is the case I think we sweep the Heat like the dogs they are.
Celtics (4) vs 7. Magic (0)
- Orlando has the size and defensive tenacity to make the game annoying for the Celtics for maybe a quarter or two but they can’t score for shit despite hanging 120 on Atlanta. Boston is no slouch on D and will force the ball out the hands of Paolo and Franz. I don’t see Orlando getting a game in this series. I think it's a clean sweep.
Knicks (4) vs 6. Pistons (2)
- Yea ok, I’m not taking the Pistons here and I don’t even really feel good about it. New York just has three really solid offensive options and I see KAT getting Duren and Isiah Stewart into foul trouble forcing the Stones to give too many minutes to Paul Reed or some shit. If the Pistons come out and punch em in the mouth both figuratively and literally and steal a game in MSG this thing could swing their way. As of now though I don’t think Detroit has the fire power.
Pacers (3) vs 5. Bucks (4)
- Well Damian Lillard somewhat miraculously recovered from a blood clot thing that most people were assuming would keep him out at least the first round, so the whole patina of this series has changed. And honestly I really think the Bucks will win this. Having watched very little of the Bucks this year, this opinion has little evidence to back it up but I just think they have the killers in this series being Giannis and Dame and Indiana plays defense like they can’t wait to get back on offense.

In the West…

Thunder (4) vs Griz/Mavs (0)
- Yea not much to say here, I think Dallas doesn’t even want to be in the playoffs and the Grizzlies will get dismantled by OKC. OKC is bigger, faster, stronger and play more as a team than maybe anyone, that's why they had the best record and MVP (imo).
Rockets (4) vs Warriors (2)
- This one might be a little bit of a shocker for some of y’all casual ball knowers but Imma tell you what - these lil Rockets could get it done in 5. They are hungry and don’t give a fuck about no legacy act. More so I think the Warriors kinda spent the last month playing “playoff” games and are running on fumes. They still have Curry and Jimbo, so would I be surprised if they dug in their bag and exposed some over excited young guns? No, but I see Houston putting it together and kind of putting a lid on Steph.
Lakers (4) vs Timberwolves (3)
- Yea this is gonna be a dog fight and I am here for it. The Twolves have played maybe the most inspiring second half of the season in my opinion and I just love how Ant has changed his game. The Wolves size on paper should be an absolute issue for the Lakers but the way Lebron can guard every position and how Rudy has hands made of stone I just don’t see it being enough to be fatal for LA. The team with two of the greatest playmakers of all time will win and I don’t feel bad about saying it.
Nuggets (4) vs. Clippers (2)
- Another one where I’m kind of just banking on the big dog. Jokic is going to carry this team into the second round on his back and he might be the only guy since Lebron that I’m confident in having the ability to do so. I love Ty Lue obviously, and the sneaky nature of this Clippers team should and will have plenty of people picking them in this series, especially with the bizarre state of Denver after the Malone firing. Christian Braun sneaky X factor and I still believe Russ could silence some doubters by having a signature game or two when he’s is back in LA.