Here's how the system works.
Money is power.
People with money are people with power.
People with power like to have power. In fact, many powerful people want even more power.
Rich people, or powerful people, will use their money and power to take as much money and power from the less fortunate as is possible.
Powerful people have control over the mainstream media.
Powerful people use the mainstream media to fool people.
Powerful people use the mainstream media to fool you into believing that they are on your side, when in reality, they are trying to take things from you.
Powerful people try to take your money and power.
Powerful people have the power to afford health care.
Powerful people enjoy their power to afford health care.
Powerful people don't want you to have increased access to affordable health care because they fear that they will, in turn, lose some of their access to it.
Powerful people want you to be on their side.
Powerful people want to fool you into joining them in opposing your access to affordable health care.
Powerful people will fabricate arguments for why Obamacare is bad, so that you will join them in stifling your own access to good health.
Health is good.
Health keeps you free from pain and death.
You should want your own health.
Powerful people want you to forget your own health, so that they can have health.
Powerful people will lie to you so that you will believe them when they say that improved health care for all citizens is bad.
Powerful people want all the healthcare and they don't care if you have it.
Powerful people became powerful through making money.
Money is made through businesses that produce goods and services, which are consumed.
Powerful people like it when we consume their goods and services because it's what gives them money, and therefore, power.
Christmas is a holiday when people purchase gifts for people we love, whether these loved ones need the gifts or not.
Purchasing gifts is a form of consuming.
Powerful people like Christmas.
Powerful people have the most control over the mainstream media, from news outlets to advertisements.
Christmas commercials can be viewed for at least 6 weeks out of each year.
Powerful people like Christmas.
Powerful people also enjoy any other holiday that promotes extraneous consumption, such as Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, and Father's Day.
Veteran's Day and Memorial Day don't explicitly feature a gift-giving mechanism or the purchasing of particular food items.
We don't hear much from the mainstream media about Memorial Day or Veteran's Day.
Powerful people become powerful through producing goods and services.
The manufacturing of many goods involves the involuntary production of byproducts that make the air and water less healthy to consume.
Powerful people will do anything for more money and power.
People who breathe air don't like it when their air has toxic chemicals in it.
People who drink water don't like it when their water has toxic chemicals in it.
Toxic chemicals have adverse effects on public health.
Toxic chemicals affect the climate of the entire earth.
The processes that gave the powerful people their power are the same processes that make people less healthy.
Powerful people want you to agree with their agenda of making more money and becoming more powerful.
Powerful people want you to be complacent with their processes of producing more goods, even when they adversely affect your health and change the climate.
Powerful people have discovered that they can fool you into believing that the world's climate and the people's health are not at risk.
Powerful people will try to convince you that their industry and manufacturing aren't to blame for the earth's decline in health and stability.
Powerful people want more power.
Powerful people want to fool you into rallying to their cause, which is to have them gain more power.
Powerful people like to have control over the media so they can confuse you into believing that they're on your side.
Powerful people want you to believe that they're on your side so that you will let them have their way.
Powerful people don't want a free, open internet because that limits their ability to use the media to their disposal, so they can trick you into giving them more power.
Powerful people see the internet as a thing they can exploit so that they can accumulate more money and power.
Powerful people want the internet to be theirs.
Powerful people want you to give them more money before they will let you use their internet.
Powerful people want to control the content you see on the internet, so they can extend the reach of the messages they use to entice you into giving them more money and power (commonly known as advertisements).
Powerful people want to use the internet to influence you into giving them more money and power.
Powerful people want you to be okay with that.
Powerful people want you to be okay with ruining the air you breathe.
Powerful people want you to be okay with ruining the water you drink.
Powerful people want you to be okay with a life without access to healthcare.
Powerful people want as much power as you will let them have.
Think about it...it's not the caring people who want to mislead you. It's not the poor people who can mislead you--they can't afford to. If anyone is trying to mislead you, it's the ones who have the power to do it!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
The Short List
This past week has bitch-slapped me multiple times with moments of clarity resonating on a common theme. That theme, or lesson, is all about learning those people who actually support and love you.
It's one thing for people to say they will have your back; it's another thing entirely to verify the truth in such claims. And if you ever wondered about who would come to your rescue, the only practical way to find out is to encounter peril that leaves you in need of rescue. Obviously, we all try to avoid dire situations, so these times of need, when you learn who your real friends are, come few and far between. But the silver lining to every perilous situation comes to us as a moment of clarity, during which we see for ourselves who proved themselves as your real support network.
You can't always tell when a person will follow through, but you learn who's full of shit soon enough. Some people claim that they will come to your rescue and have your back, but you can't always take them at their word. True friends will show their true friendship through actions, and others will make claims of being your friends, when in reality, they're only hangout buddies. Perhaps the greatest milestone in your quest through maturity is gaining the ability to discern true friends from hangout buddies. The difference between the two can be observed only through your friends' actions. A true friend is a friend who acts to hold you up and save you from a bad situation. A hangout buddy will accompany you to parties, but will only see you as a source of a good time. A hangout buddy will drop the ball. A hangout buddy isn't really a friend. But again, you don't know the hangout buddies from the real friends until the shit hits the fan.
To me, true adulthood is reached when a person realizes both the physical need to take care of oneself, and the responsibility to help a friend or family member in times of loss and suffering. If you, without anyone's help, cannot consistently keep yourself in good health, you aren't actually an adult. You might be 60 years old, but if you had never learned to live self-sufficiently, you never became an adult. If you don't have other people in your life to whom you'd devote your strength, stamina, and humanity, you aren't an adult. But be careful. While it's important to ensure that you aren't the only person on your list of beneficiaries, it's also important to ensure your list of friends isn't too long. This brings us to the namesake of this blog: the short list.
There are only certain people who deserve to receive the care you have to give, and it's hard to distinguish which ones are entitled to it. The simplest way to filter out the people you shouldn't care for is to ask the question, "would this person do the same for me?" Some people will just take and take and take, and they're veritable black holes who will suck out the life you have to give. Caring for people like this will be a continuous cycle that drains you, making for an unhealthy lifestyle. Cutting toxic people out of your life isn't just healthy-- it's essential. But don't be too choosy, because remember, everyone has their flaws.
I know better than ever who belongs on my short list of actual, real, helpful friends. I have friends that are willing to actually work to improve my happiness when I'm in a time of need. Again, part of being an adult is accepting that you are the only one who is ultimately responsible for your own happiness, health, and overall success, but everyone has times when things go wrong and help is required. It's hard to be thankful for your support network if you never see it in action, and I got to see some of that action this week. It just reminds me that my friends really are always there to help me. These are the friends I keep on my short list.
Thank you to my brother, my mom, Mel, Kumar, Macy, Vandy, Joy, Andrew, and all my real friends.
It's one thing for people to say they will have your back; it's another thing entirely to verify the truth in such claims. And if you ever wondered about who would come to your rescue, the only practical way to find out is to encounter peril that leaves you in need of rescue. Obviously, we all try to avoid dire situations, so these times of need, when you learn who your real friends are, come few and far between. But the silver lining to every perilous situation comes to us as a moment of clarity, during which we see for ourselves who proved themselves as your real support network.
You can't always tell when a person will follow through, but you learn who's full of shit soon enough. Some people claim that they will come to your rescue and have your back, but you can't always take them at their word. True friends will show their true friendship through actions, and others will make claims of being your friends, when in reality, they're only hangout buddies. Perhaps the greatest milestone in your quest through maturity is gaining the ability to discern true friends from hangout buddies. The difference between the two can be observed only through your friends' actions. A true friend is a friend who acts to hold you up and save you from a bad situation. A hangout buddy will accompany you to parties, but will only see you as a source of a good time. A hangout buddy will drop the ball. A hangout buddy isn't really a friend. But again, you don't know the hangout buddies from the real friends until the shit hits the fan.
To me, true adulthood is reached when a person realizes both the physical need to take care of oneself, and the responsibility to help a friend or family member in times of loss and suffering. If you, without anyone's help, cannot consistently keep yourself in good health, you aren't actually an adult. You might be 60 years old, but if you had never learned to live self-sufficiently, you never became an adult. If you don't have other people in your life to whom you'd devote your strength, stamina, and humanity, you aren't an adult. But be careful. While it's important to ensure that you aren't the only person on your list of beneficiaries, it's also important to ensure your list of friends isn't too long. This brings us to the namesake of this blog: the short list.
There are only certain people who deserve to receive the care you have to give, and it's hard to distinguish which ones are entitled to it. The simplest way to filter out the people you shouldn't care for is to ask the question, "would this person do the same for me?" Some people will just take and take and take, and they're veritable black holes who will suck out the life you have to give. Caring for people like this will be a continuous cycle that drains you, making for an unhealthy lifestyle. Cutting toxic people out of your life isn't just healthy-- it's essential. But don't be too choosy, because remember, everyone has their flaws.
I know better than ever who belongs on my short list of actual, real, helpful friends. I have friends that are willing to actually work to improve my happiness when I'm in a time of need. Again, part of being an adult is accepting that you are the only one who is ultimately responsible for your own happiness, health, and overall success, but everyone has times when things go wrong and help is required. It's hard to be thankful for your support network if you never see it in action, and I got to see some of that action this week. It just reminds me that my friends really are always there to help me. These are the friends I keep on my short list.
Thank you to my brother, my mom, Mel, Kumar, Macy, Vandy, Joy, Andrew, and all my real friends.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
The Celebrity-Audience "Relationship"
An interest in celebrity is for people who are foolish enough to invest their emotions into a lost cause.
I had waited years for this event. Finally, Philip Defranco was coming to Chicago under the premise that we, as the audience members, could meet him and some of the Sourcefed crew. Having watched Phil pour his heart out to the internet for six years, you'd bet that this was a highly anticipated event to me. But now, I almost regret going; there isn't complete regret only because of what I relearned as a result of the experience.
It feels worthless to be herded like sheep, and it feels even more worthless to be a single molecule being washed through a rush of water. But what hurts the most is knowing an individual so completely when he doesn't even know your name. And it gets worse-- Phil is the type of person who shares his real, genuine feelings. That's what he does. Through the internet, he offers his opinions and mental courses of action with respect to real topics. This has an intriguing and perhaps unintentional side effect--the audience gets to know him on a strikingly deep level.
Phil, in this case, is a celebrity in what I'm dubiously calling the "celebrity-audience relationship;" the use of the word "dubious" is due to the fact that this "relationship" is not a relationship at all, and here's why. A relationship is a situation in which two individuals connect with each other on an individual level, and getting to know someone on an individual level is the only way to care about that person. As celebrities put their talents out there, the audience begins to learn and understand these talents, which are facets of their being. In this way, an audience gets to know the individual aspects of the celebrity; however, the celebrity never gets to truly know the audience, though he or she may erroneously claim to do so. And with the role that Philip Defranco provides online, this effect is only exacerbated because we, the audience, get to know him frighteningly well.
The idea of celebrity has always felt bizarre to me, and I hadn't been able to articulate it as well as I can now that I have experienced "Defranco Does Chicago." The relationship between two people is how mutual understanding happens. And mutual understanding can grow into friendship, which then can grow into love. And all of these varying extents of interpersonal bonds are what make life feel magical. But the interaction between celebrity and audience is a one-way relationship; the audience members each care for the celebrity as an individual, but this sentiment cannot be returned. As much as a celebrity may try to display gratitude for the support and applause they receive from the audience, that celebrity cannot truly care individually about the audience member; that would involve understanding the opinions, information, and personal tendencies of hundreds thousands of people. In no way can a celebrity understand the audience like the audience understands the celebrity, and for this reason, there is no way to achieve a balanced "relationship" between these parties.
This imbalance of understanding means that a self-respecting person wouldn't want to get involved personally with the life of the celebrity, because the time and emotion invested will not lead to the celebrity returning the favor. I like to compare it to a marriage between a caring person and a psychopath; one person provides all the energy and sympathy, while the other is wholly incapable of providing the same in return. In either of these situations, though, I can't justify getting myself involved. Just as I should never invest my time and care into a psychopath who will never care about me, it is indubitably a waste of my time and care to invest emotionally in the life of a celebrity. You won't get anything back. As much as Phil says "I love yo' faces," I can never believe it, because he doesn't even know my face. And you have to know something before you can love it.
It isn't Phil's fault I had a shoddy time tonight. It is to no fault of anyone on the Sourcefed crew. It is my fault, for expecting that I would get some love in return. Phil and the Sourcefed people have no shortage of love in their hearts; rather, the problem is only that thousands of people know these moguls on a level at which the moguls will never know them. The idea of celebrities with fans always bothered me, but now I get it. And if these celebrities are incapable of caring about me personally, why should I care about them? It's harmful to get in the habit of putting all of your mental eggs in one basket for people who will never appreciate them. I have a lot to give, and you do, too; but I'll tell you what-- the famous people you follow won't be the ones who will applaud you for it. Don't live a life merely searching for others to applaud; look inside yourself for the things for which other people will be applauding YOU.
That's what I took away from all of this. The people applauding the movers and the shakers never got themselves anywhere. I need to stop looking up to people and start climbing up to the platform from which I will shower what joy and rapture I have to offer down on my potential audience. And hopefully, my audience will be one of whom I know every member individually, because my audience will not consist of hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people. My audience will be the handful of people I care about the most. And I will be as accessible to my audience as they are to me, because I will ensure that my audience will consist of people I trust. My audience will love me as much as I love them.
I had waited years for this event. Finally, Philip Defranco was coming to Chicago under the premise that we, as the audience members, could meet him and some of the Sourcefed crew. Having watched Phil pour his heart out to the internet for six years, you'd bet that this was a highly anticipated event to me. But now, I almost regret going; there isn't complete regret only because of what I relearned as a result of the experience.
It feels worthless to be herded like sheep, and it feels even more worthless to be a single molecule being washed through a rush of water. But what hurts the most is knowing an individual so completely when he doesn't even know your name. And it gets worse-- Phil is the type of person who shares his real, genuine feelings. That's what he does. Through the internet, he offers his opinions and mental courses of action with respect to real topics. This has an intriguing and perhaps unintentional side effect--the audience gets to know him on a strikingly deep level.
Phil, in this case, is a celebrity in what I'm dubiously calling the "celebrity-audience relationship;" the use of the word "dubious" is due to the fact that this "relationship" is not a relationship at all, and here's why. A relationship is a situation in which two individuals connect with each other on an individual level, and getting to know someone on an individual level is the only way to care about that person. As celebrities put their talents out there, the audience begins to learn and understand these talents, which are facets of their being. In this way, an audience gets to know the individual aspects of the celebrity; however, the celebrity never gets to truly know the audience, though he or she may erroneously claim to do so. And with the role that Philip Defranco provides online, this effect is only exacerbated because we, the audience, get to know him frighteningly well.
The idea of celebrity has always felt bizarre to me, and I hadn't been able to articulate it as well as I can now that I have experienced "Defranco Does Chicago." The relationship between two people is how mutual understanding happens. And mutual understanding can grow into friendship, which then can grow into love. And all of these varying extents of interpersonal bonds are what make life feel magical. But the interaction between celebrity and audience is a one-way relationship; the audience members each care for the celebrity as an individual, but this sentiment cannot be returned. As much as a celebrity may try to display gratitude for the support and applause they receive from the audience, that celebrity cannot truly care individually about the audience member; that would involve understanding the opinions, information, and personal tendencies of hundreds thousands of people. In no way can a celebrity understand the audience like the audience understands the celebrity, and for this reason, there is no way to achieve a balanced "relationship" between these parties.
This imbalance of understanding means that a self-respecting person wouldn't want to get involved personally with the life of the celebrity, because the time and emotion invested will not lead to the celebrity returning the favor. I like to compare it to a marriage between a caring person and a psychopath; one person provides all the energy and sympathy, while the other is wholly incapable of providing the same in return. In either of these situations, though, I can't justify getting myself involved. Just as I should never invest my time and care into a psychopath who will never care about me, it is indubitably a waste of my time and care to invest emotionally in the life of a celebrity. You won't get anything back. As much as Phil says "I love yo' faces," I can never believe it, because he doesn't even know my face. And you have to know something before you can love it.
It isn't Phil's fault I had a shoddy time tonight. It is to no fault of anyone on the Sourcefed crew. It is my fault, for expecting that I would get some love in return. Phil and the Sourcefed people have no shortage of love in their hearts; rather, the problem is only that thousands of people know these moguls on a level at which the moguls will never know them. The idea of celebrities with fans always bothered me, but now I get it. And if these celebrities are incapable of caring about me personally, why should I care about them? It's harmful to get in the habit of putting all of your mental eggs in one basket for people who will never appreciate them. I have a lot to give, and you do, too; but I'll tell you what-- the famous people you follow won't be the ones who will applaud you for it. Don't live a life merely searching for others to applaud; look inside yourself for the things for which other people will be applauding YOU.
That's what I took away from all of this. The people applauding the movers and the shakers never got themselves anywhere. I need to stop looking up to people and start climbing up to the platform from which I will shower what joy and rapture I have to offer down on my potential audience. And hopefully, my audience will be one of whom I know every member individually, because my audience will not consist of hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people. My audience will be the handful of people I care about the most. And I will be as accessible to my audience as they are to me, because I will ensure that my audience will consist of people I trust. My audience will love me as much as I love them.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Where I'm At
There's so much to do, but I just love being in my bed so much.
I'm not the type of person to fret anxiously about the moments in my life when I'm not being "productive," whatever that means. I don't believe in using the word "procrastination" to describe the periods of time when I'm relaxing or doing something cathartic. However, within me lies an increasingly prominent voice that ushers me toward more action, and it's because I have so many ideas and dreams that require a lot of work. How am I supposed to write a novel, invent and pitch a board game, make an extensive online video series teaching mathematics, record the fifty-two songs I plan on performing, and travel on every U.S. and Interstate highway in the country if I don't start now? I'm only going to be alive for so long! And how am I going to accomplish these things if I'm also investing time in a social life and perhaps starting a family?
This blog post is about goals. My current conundrum as a prospective twenty-five-year-old is to determine what my goals are for my life. I've gotten the basics down in my early twenties-- I have a stable job with a mellow stress level, and I have my own apartment and a car. The base levels of Maslow's pyramid are being decently satisfied; now I have to think about how I'm going to take my life to the next level. How do I approach my quest for self-fulfillment?
Those goals are lofty, aren't they? Just reading them over causes my eyes to widen just a bit. But I realize that I have a lot to try and give this world, and I really want to see if others will appreciate these offerings! How do I go about these things, though? Do I dabble in each interest from time to time, or do I dedicate distinct phases of my life to pursuing these dreams one at a time?
So far, I think I've been looking at one goal at a time, starting with the music. I want to finish recording the 52 songs I've devised for myself, 42 of which are original songs I've penned by myself. But other goals, like the traveling, are continual goals that I can't storm through all at once. Maybe I'll do the creative goals (music, novel, board game, math videos) one-by-one, and the others (exercising, traveling) will be continually realized throughout my life.
Note how I haven't even mentioned any career goals. I think that, for most people, part of adulthood involves realizing that you won't get most of your life fulfillment from your career, because, for the most part, the jobs that people want to be doing don't correlate well with the jobs people need to be doing. The things we need the most, as people, are the bare necessities: food, water, clothing, utilities, infrastructure, security, and health care. However, when we think of our dream jobs, we think of things that are more frivolous: art, music, comedy, athletics, and animal caretakers. Maturity and security comes with accepting that your job isn't going to be the most starry-eyed thing you thought of as a young child, and that that's okay! Sorry, five-year-old Paul; you didn't grow up to be a professional dinosaur rider.
But there's lots of fun, fulfilling things I can do outside of my work, because my job doesn't work me to the bone. When I get home, I still have the time and energy to pursue my non-occupational passions. And man, am I thankful for that. I'm releasing new songs on Soundcloud, and I'm exercising, and maybe I'll even record a video or two. What's more, I have lots of travels planned, including two distinct road trips during this fall alone! Reaching for these goals involves hard work, though, and I'm honestly not sure I'm up for the challenge (because this bed feels REALLY comfortable right now).
That's where investing time in my personal health comes into play. I need to make myself stronger mentally and physically so that I'm ready for ANYTHING. That's just it. I want to be READY. I want to feel like I've got the energy to push through any project that sits on my bucket list. So that's why I need to eat more responsibly and exercise more frequently. I'VE GOT SHIT I WANT TO ACCOMPLISH, DAMNIT!
However, relaxing IS an important part of an individual's health. And I need to keep doing that too. Where is the appropriate balance? That's the biggest question of all, isn't it?
Whatever, fuck it. I'm going to figure this out. Though I'm not going to figure it out by writing about it, I am getting my thoughts together, to remind myself that I'm moving forward. I'm doing what I can, and I've got my whole life ahead of me to reach these goals.
- Complete the road sign collection by seeing all the Interstate and Federal highways, as well as three state highway signs from each state (420 signs in all!)
- Write a novel about the rock golem that befriends a young human girl and their adventures together
- Record and sing all 52 songs, including 42 original songs and 10 covers
- Complete the board game, including the rules and all the cards, and sell it
- Create over 200 instructional videos in a series introducing all people to mathematics in lessons that span from counting to early calculus.
- Maybe get a girlfriend at some point idk.
I'm not the type of person to fret anxiously about the moments in my life when I'm not being "productive," whatever that means. I don't believe in using the word "procrastination" to describe the periods of time when I'm relaxing or doing something cathartic. However, within me lies an increasingly prominent voice that ushers me toward more action, and it's because I have so many ideas and dreams that require a lot of work. How am I supposed to write a novel, invent and pitch a board game, make an extensive online video series teaching mathematics, record the fifty-two songs I plan on performing, and travel on every U.S. and Interstate highway in the country if I don't start now? I'm only going to be alive for so long! And how am I going to accomplish these things if I'm also investing time in a social life and perhaps starting a family?
This blog post is about goals. My current conundrum as a prospective twenty-five-year-old is to determine what my goals are for my life. I've gotten the basics down in my early twenties-- I have a stable job with a mellow stress level, and I have my own apartment and a car. The base levels of Maslow's pyramid are being decently satisfied; now I have to think about how I'm going to take my life to the next level. How do I approach my quest for self-fulfillment?
Those goals are lofty, aren't they? Just reading them over causes my eyes to widen just a bit. But I realize that I have a lot to try and give this world, and I really want to see if others will appreciate these offerings! How do I go about these things, though? Do I dabble in each interest from time to time, or do I dedicate distinct phases of my life to pursuing these dreams one at a time?
So far, I think I've been looking at one goal at a time, starting with the music. I want to finish recording the 52 songs I've devised for myself, 42 of which are original songs I've penned by myself. But other goals, like the traveling, are continual goals that I can't storm through all at once. Maybe I'll do the creative goals (music, novel, board game, math videos) one-by-one, and the others (exercising, traveling) will be continually realized throughout my life.
Note how I haven't even mentioned any career goals. I think that, for most people, part of adulthood involves realizing that you won't get most of your life fulfillment from your career, because, for the most part, the jobs that people want to be doing don't correlate well with the jobs people need to be doing. The things we need the most, as people, are the bare necessities: food, water, clothing, utilities, infrastructure, security, and health care. However, when we think of our dream jobs, we think of things that are more frivolous: art, music, comedy, athletics, and animal caretakers. Maturity and security comes with accepting that your job isn't going to be the most starry-eyed thing you thought of as a young child, and that that's okay! Sorry, five-year-old Paul; you didn't grow up to be a professional dinosaur rider.
But there's lots of fun, fulfilling things I can do outside of my work, because my job doesn't work me to the bone. When I get home, I still have the time and energy to pursue my non-occupational passions. And man, am I thankful for that. I'm releasing new songs on Soundcloud, and I'm exercising, and maybe I'll even record a video or two. What's more, I have lots of travels planned, including two distinct road trips during this fall alone! Reaching for these goals involves hard work, though, and I'm honestly not sure I'm up for the challenge (because this bed feels REALLY comfortable right now).
That's where investing time in my personal health comes into play. I need to make myself stronger mentally and physically so that I'm ready for ANYTHING. That's just it. I want to be READY. I want to feel like I've got the energy to push through any project that sits on my bucket list. So that's why I need to eat more responsibly and exercise more frequently. I'VE GOT SHIT I WANT TO ACCOMPLISH, DAMNIT!
However, relaxing IS an important part of an individual's health. And I need to keep doing that too. Where is the appropriate balance? That's the biggest question of all, isn't it?
Whatever, fuck it. I'm going to figure this out. Though I'm not going to figure it out by writing about it, I am getting my thoughts together, to remind myself that I'm moving forward. I'm doing what I can, and I've got my whole life ahead of me to reach these goals.
- Complete the road sign collection by seeing all the Interstate and Federal highways, as well as three state highway signs from each state (420 signs in all!)
- Write a novel about the rock golem that befriends a young human girl and their adventures together
- Record and sing all 52 songs, including 42 original songs and 10 covers
- Complete the board game, including the rules and all the cards, and sell it
- Create over 200 instructional videos in a series introducing all people to mathematics in lessons that span from counting to early calculus.
- Maybe get a girlfriend at some point idk.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
The 26 topics
Adulthood and What It Actually Means
Beauty and Why Most People's Idea of It Is Bullshit
Compliments and Why They Mean Nothing To Me
Drivers and Why They Piss Me Off
Education and Why Its Disregard Is Humanity's Greatest Failure
Fear and Why It's a Heinous Epidemic
Gratitude and Why It's Vitally Important
Honesty and The Unusual Reasons I Support It
Independence and Why Freedom Is Stupid
Justice and How It's Created
Kindergarten and Who You Once Were
Laziness and Why Its Associated Accusations Aren't Helping
Music and What Your Playlist Says About You
Nerds and Why They Matter More Than You Do
Obsessions and Why You Should Have Them
Practicality and Why It's Important
Questioning and Why Obedience Is Terrifying
Rationality and Emotion
Success and How We Measure It
Time and How It's All We Have
Understanding People and Why We All Must Try
Vengeance and Whether It's Worth Having
Women and Their Empowerment
Xenophobia and How It's Useless
Yelling and Why People Complain That Others Do It
Zippers and Other Inventions We Take For Granted
Beauty and Why Most People's Idea of It Is Bullshit
Compliments and Why They Mean Nothing To Me
Drivers and Why They Piss Me Off
Education and Why Its Disregard Is Humanity's Greatest Failure
Fear and Why It's a Heinous Epidemic
Gratitude and Why It's Vitally Important
Honesty and The Unusual Reasons I Support It
Independence and Why Freedom Is Stupid
Justice and How It's Created
Kindergarten and Who You Once Were
Laziness and Why Its Associated Accusations Aren't Helping
Music and What Your Playlist Says About You
Nerds and Why They Matter More Than You Do
Obsessions and Why You Should Have Them
Practicality and Why It's Important
Questioning and Why Obedience Is Terrifying
Rationality and Emotion
Success and How We Measure It
Time and How It's All We Have
Understanding People and Why We All Must Try
Vengeance and Whether It's Worth Having
Women and Their Empowerment
Xenophobia and How It's Useless
Yelling and Why People Complain That Others Do It
Zippers and Other Inventions We Take For Granted
Sunday, July 6, 2014
No More Parties
I'm contemplating the idea of penning an amendment to my own personal constitution which will forbid my attendance at large gatherings of people.
Don't get me wrong, I love some people. Highly inspiring people exist in the world, and I hope to always seek them out and spend my time around them. However, I have never known how to function in settings with lots of people. This is an inadequacy I have, yet I don't feel much remorse about this inability. To me, the beauty inside of people can only be experienced on an individual basis, because every person is unique. When speaking of "getting to know people," this really can only be done in an intimate setting, and you can only get to know people one at a time.
When at parties, I always end up doing the same thing: I single out one or a few people I try to learn about, and try to engage them in conversation. Either that last sentence sounded obvious to you, or it sounded completely foreign to you, based on the type of parties you tend to attend. Some parties are loud heart-pounding dance club shindigs, and others are laid-back forums for games, stories, drinks, and conversation. But personally, my goal in a get-together of either of these types is always the same: find a character to examine in a one-on-one setting. I will hunt for a conversation in much the same way a lioness will isolate a single gazelle from its herd.
This isn't always possible, however. In a loud bar with techno blasting away my ability to hear beyond my sixties, my strategy of learning about people fails. Clubs are a no-go for me. In some of these places with overbearing levels of light and sound, it almost feels like any and all measures will be taken to prevent all the awkward people inside from having to speak to each other. It feels like the goal is to relieve these patrons of the burden of having to actually associate with one another. One thing is for sure though-- those who continually choose to dwell in environments where conversation is impossible have no right to consider themselves socialites.
I'm not exactly a social butterfly; but anyone who sees no use in getting to know others should have no right to say they are "social." Engaging in activities alongside others doesn't increase your social expertise if those activities don't involve interaction among the various participants. Watching a movie together isn't socializing. Going to a club together without exchanging a word doesn't constitute socializing. You can do these things and talk about it with each other, and reflect on your mutual experience; however, there is nothing "social" about experiencing something individually but in the same space. It's possible to be lonely in a crowd; it's how I feel in almost every crowded, loud, overstimulating environment. The only way to make myself feel less lonely is to find myself a confidante and try to establish a mutual level of understanding with him or her. Plus, that's the best way to keep me entertained: introduce me to a new soul to explore and learn about. Dance music all sounds the same to me, and lights all look the same. The souls of people, though-- they are incredibly diverse and mysterious. Light and sound are all around, but the vast disparities among people's inner essences make them fascinating. People are worlds, and I want to explore. But to me, you can't explore more than one world at once. That's why large parties never made much sense to me.
Don't get me wrong, I love some people. Highly inspiring people exist in the world, and I hope to always seek them out and spend my time around them. However, I have never known how to function in settings with lots of people. This is an inadequacy I have, yet I don't feel much remorse about this inability. To me, the beauty inside of people can only be experienced on an individual basis, because every person is unique. When speaking of "getting to know people," this really can only be done in an intimate setting, and you can only get to know people one at a time.
When at parties, I always end up doing the same thing: I single out one or a few people I try to learn about, and try to engage them in conversation. Either that last sentence sounded obvious to you, or it sounded completely foreign to you, based on the type of parties you tend to attend. Some parties are loud heart-pounding dance club shindigs, and others are laid-back forums for games, stories, drinks, and conversation. But personally, my goal in a get-together of either of these types is always the same: find a character to examine in a one-on-one setting. I will hunt for a conversation in much the same way a lioness will isolate a single gazelle from its herd.
This isn't always possible, however. In a loud bar with techno blasting away my ability to hear beyond my sixties, my strategy of learning about people fails. Clubs are a no-go for me. In some of these places with overbearing levels of light and sound, it almost feels like any and all measures will be taken to prevent all the awkward people inside from having to speak to each other. It feels like the goal is to relieve these patrons of the burden of having to actually associate with one another. One thing is for sure though-- those who continually choose to dwell in environments where conversation is impossible have no right to consider themselves socialites.
I'm not exactly a social butterfly; but anyone who sees no use in getting to know others should have no right to say they are "social." Engaging in activities alongside others doesn't increase your social expertise if those activities don't involve interaction among the various participants. Watching a movie together isn't socializing. Going to a club together without exchanging a word doesn't constitute socializing. You can do these things and talk about it with each other, and reflect on your mutual experience; however, there is nothing "social" about experiencing something individually but in the same space. It's possible to be lonely in a crowd; it's how I feel in almost every crowded, loud, overstimulating environment. The only way to make myself feel less lonely is to find myself a confidante and try to establish a mutual level of understanding with him or her. Plus, that's the best way to keep me entertained: introduce me to a new soul to explore and learn about. Dance music all sounds the same to me, and lights all look the same. The souls of people, though-- they are incredibly diverse and mysterious. Light and sound are all around, but the vast disparities among people's inner essences make them fascinating. People are worlds, and I want to explore. But to me, you can't explore more than one world at once. That's why large parties never made much sense to me.
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