One Attempt

Archive

One Attempt XIV: Origin story

Still from The King and the Mockingird (1979)


#14
January 3, 2021
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One Attempt XIII: Taking a breath

Hi, everyone. Hope you’re all doing OK.

There are lots of reasons to be anxious or upset right now. I’m going to avoid talking about them here! Not to invalidate the gravity of U.S. current affairs… rather, I don’t feel equipped to discuss them in any meaningful way. Hopefully this issue can serve as a brief respite.


#13
November 3, 2020
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One Attempt 12: [...]

Hey, everyone. I hope you’re doing alright.

Still from Shirley Clarke's Bridges Go Round.

#12
March 22, 2020
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One Attempt 11: Josh finds a job

Hey everyone: it’s your boy Josh Rubenoff, product designer and org culture enthusiast.

Hong Kong in January.

#11
February 11, 2020
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One Attempt X: designing a better form

Hey, everyone! Today’s newsletter is just about design. I’ll try and focus on other topics next week.


I’ve had the opportunity to design a few tools for building government forms. It can feel Sisyphean: there are so many out there, and it takes a ton of work just to reach feature parity.

Also, they all look pretty boring! You know that about the two possible websites? Here are the two possible formbuilders:

#10
September 18, 2019
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One Attempt IX: it doesn't feel so smooth

Hi there! Hope you’re all well. I just got back from Portland, where I attended the XOXO Festival.

Years ago, I designed my business cards so that I could use the back to summarize my discussion with the recipient. Here’s my favorite one from this weekend:

We talked about hope, dreams and refusal

#9
September 10, 2019
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One Attempt VIII: meeting design + David Simon

Hello from Oakland! I’m visiting Seattle for the first time tomorrow. Anything I absolutely need to see?  


#8
May 17, 2018
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One Attempt VII: resolutions

Hello from Oakland. I apologize for missing the last few weeks.


Last Friday, HuffPost published an investigative report alleging 15 years of attempted rape, sexual harassment, and generally inappropriate behavior from Clay Johnson, the guy who hired me at . It’s a long and upsetting piece, and I’m incredibly grateful to the women who came forward.

#7
May 12, 2018
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One Attempt VI: mostly lists

Hello from Oakland, where I’ve spent three weeks writing and rewriting a single blog post. I’m in this awful loop where I finish 90% of the draft, suddenly realize my core argument is slightly fallacious, and have to start over from scratch.

Very frustrating, but I think I’m almost there! Hopefully, I’ll be able to share it with you next week.


Syllabus: design and organizational culture

#6
April 26, 2018
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One Attempt V: imposter syndrome, the movie

Hello from Oakland, where I’m amazed I got this newsletter out on time.


Resolutions for 2018 include:

#5
April 19, 2018
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One Attempt IV: my rules for using Twitter

Hey there! It’s been a little over two years since the last issue. I’m going to try and write this on a regular basis.

(You’re getting this because you subscribed on my website, jrubenoff.com, or maybe through Twitter @joshsj.)

Film: What Will People Say

#4
April 12, 2018
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One Attempt, Volume 3: How to watch a movie

Volume 3

Hey! Hope your New Year’s was swell. It’s been too long.

After one too many Apatovian comedies in 2014, I felt like I needed to break out of some lazy consumption habits and expand my tastes a bit. So, last year, I made a resolution to abstain from all English-language films made after 1980. Here’s how I went about it, and how you can too.

How to become a more adventurous filmgoer

#3
January 17, 2016
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