Head of Brand at @ghost. Decaffeinated human @wimpdecaf. Generally a total bozo.
Greenville SC.
Joined April 2008
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- Following1K
- Followers18.7K
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Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
The fascinating thing about J.K. Rowling’s handwritten spreadsheet is that she wasn’t simply keeping track of Harry Potter’s adventures. She was practically running an entire fictional world like a television production.
And the funniest part? This particular sheet was for Order of the Phoenix. She divided the story into chapters, months, titles and individual plotlines, including the prophecy, Harry and Snape, Cho and Ginny, Dumbledore’s Army, the Order of the Phoenix, and Hagrid and Grawp. She was literally tracking how several different storylines progressed alongside one another.
Think about how much of that book is happening simultaneously. Harry is struggling with his connection to Voldemort, Umbridge is tightening her grip on Hogwarts, Hermione is secretly organising resistance, the Order is working behind the scenes, and the prophecy is gradually becoming more important. These aren’t random events thrown together. They’re separate narrative threads deliberately moving towards the Department of Mysteries.
What’s even more impressive is that Rowling had planned the overarching seven-book story years before the first book was published. She spent five years mapping out the series and drafting Philosopher’s Stone. In a 2000 Scholastic interview, she explained that she always had a basic plot outline but deliberately left certain things undecided because she enjoyed discovering them while writing.
And looking back at the books, you can appreciate why. Details introduced casually in earlier instalments eventually become significant revelations. The films sometimes had to compress or remove these connections because of their runtime, but the books had the space to develop them across several years.
Honestly, the spreadsheet is fascinating because it shows just how much work went into making Hogwarts feel like a place where things continued happening even when Harry wasn’t looking.
Imagine having an entire magical universe in your head and still needing to organise it on a handwritten spreadsheet. J.K. Rowling was operating differently. 😭
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
Devastating news from SCOTUS, which just ruled 8-1 to lift an injunction and allow border wall construction in Big Bend National Park and throughout West Texas. Among other things, SCOTUS notes that the govt is being irreparably harmed by losing money yet it pays no mind to the river guides, hoteliers, hunters, and entire economy built on the river who are going to get destroyed.
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
I've neglected the Cosmic Sans site for a while but I've been slowly chipping away at a redesign and it's going to be epic!
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
Here’s a story for you. We started filming without owning the title and had to do alternates.
Taft Broadcasting owned the title Ghostbusters as part of their half-hour sitcom starring Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker (F-Troop) and a gorilla chasing ghosts. I had never heard of it. They didn’t have proton packs or Bill Murray. Columbia paid $500,000 to buy the name, but they really should have paid Dean Martin, from whom I first heard the term.
In the film Scared Stiff (1953), he and Jerry Lewis (check out his acrobatic stair descent) are in an old haunted castle, and Lizabeth Scott asks Dean: “Who are you guys?” And Dean answers: “You’ve heard of Trustbusters and Gangbusters, we’re Ghostbusters!”
For my research writing the first movie, I watched every single ‘ghost’ comedy ever made. Bowery Boys, Hope and Crosby, Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis all did such films.
Happy Halloween 2026.
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
Happy Halloween! Todays clip of the day is "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
Trust is the most important asset in the current world. Trust is the ground on which we all stand. But we are losing trust in each other and in human institutions, and instead increasingly trust only algorithms and AI.
Watch the whole conversation with @DanielStach for @hpcivilizace on @Vedact24 here: bit.ly/YNH-HPC
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
My latest YouTube video is up. In it, I explore campaign ads, why they are mostly bullshit, and how Dems and Rs are going to spend the next three weeks trying to terrify you (and then manipulate you). You can watch below👇
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
life has been wildd.
in march, @OpacityHQ acquired my design studio. then i joined the startup as a founding designer.
spoke at @valiocon.
sold out @forum_tokyo design conference last year (way more than i expected) with @Cursor, @NotionHQ, @framer, @contra being sponsors. the 2nd one is being planned with the dates set on 17th of February.
it's my 7th year living in Japan with no plans to move back to US.
designed an app that helps people navigate Heathrow airport.
traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, San Diego, SF, LA, Miami, just this year.
crazy.
design and the design community has changed my life, but i don't participate in it every day. so now i want to give back.
you'll be seeing more of me here, sharing my story, wins, losses, lessons and my thoughts on the future.
see you around! ✌️
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
My wife wrote a book! It's about doing ambitious things without driving yourself into the ground, and it's $0.99 just for today. If you go buy it and spread the word I'll rename my first-born after you. amazon.com/Built-Breathe-Hig…
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
Hard agree @JensenHuang!
This stance cost us 30% of our employees back in 2021, but it reset the company and was the best decision we've ever made.
Our full announcement back in 2021:
world.hey.com/jason/changes-…
Six key points:
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
I am legally obligated by my random house contract (not really) to inform you that digital TBOT is now available for $1.99:
- Kindle: amzn.to/4xNhK5y
- Bookshop: bookshop.org/a/572/978059373…
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
Anyone want to crowdfund this and turn it into a small museum?
Designed by architect Yuji Noga in 1980, this home in Izu, previously owned by an art collector, is for sale: 34.9 mm yen ($220k usd)
m.realtokyoestate.co.jp/esta…
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
💥 Big announcement!!! 💥 I made a new show, it's called LOW.
It's the most insane story I've ever heard! And that's saying a lot since I talk to a lot of wild people. I've never worked so hard on any story as much as this. It literally took me 8 years...
It's 5 parts, and it's ready for you to listen to right now.
But. I am letting my plus subscribers listen first. The rest of you can listen in a month or two when I release it to everyone.
If you want to be a plus subscriber go to darknetdiaries.com/plus.
Can't wait for you to tell me what ya think.
Also if you're at DEFCON, come to the LOW launch party Sat at 2:30pm at the North Lobby and come get stickers.
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
I mentioned that my car has forty two thousand miles on it.
The man I was speaking to said, "Oh, so it's brand new."
It is nine years old.
He was not being unkind. He said it the way you would say a child is young.
Then he told me his truck has two hundred and ninety thousand on it. I had not asked. He said the number twice.
I asked whether he intends to replace it.
He said, "Replace it with what?"
Then he opened the hood, which I had not requested, and pointed at things.
I have since learned that the odometer here is not a measure of wear. It is a record of service.
A number that would end a vehicle in my country is, in this country, the beginning of the part where the vehicle is respected.
Two hundred thousand is when people become interested.
Three hundred thousand is when the number gets said before the man's name.
I asked how a car reaches three hundred thousand miles.
He said, "You just fix it when it breaks."
That is the entire method. There is no second part. He said it the way you would explain that a fire needs wood.
A woman at work overheard this and said her Camry has three hundred and forty one thousand and has never left her anywhere.
That was her phrase. Never left her anywhere. She said it the way a man talks about a dog that came back.
Then she said the air conditioning quit in 2019 and she has not fixed it, because fixing that would be for her, and the car has never once asked for anything for itself.
So a new car is not an achievement here. Anyone can buy a new car.
A new car is a confession that the last one was allowed to die.
Mine has forty three thousand on it now.
I have started saying it out loud. Nobody is impressed yet.
Matthew Matsuzaki retweeted
There is absolutely no reason to destroy Big Bend National Park.
Entirely absurd — and anti-American — in every way.
BREAKING: More than 140 river outfitters, local businesses and recreation organizations are urging TX leaders to stop CBP's plans to cut off access to the Rio Grande and blast new roads through Big Bend National Park.
Signatories include virtually every local outfitter, Texas Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, American Whitewater, Outdoor Alliance and more.
