Just listened to Courtney Barnett, followed by St. Vincent on his playlist. What are doing here, having a dance party or trying to show off to your friends at pitchfork?
A party of grownups must be intense to a child half their size. As grownups we approach a larger animal like a horse with hesitancy and caution and we’re surprised when children do the same to us.
Stop making everything more than one season. Did Severance really need to be more than one season? Now I gotta wait a year for the follow up and then keep watching until the show loses its spark? I feel the same way about Yellowjackets. These are finite stories here, let's tighten it up so I'm not constantly in limbo. Let's aim for True Detective Season 1, short sweet, groundbreaking, not True Blood Season ??, meandering, non-sensical, let's add some fairies in there, yeah that'll make it better.
2 years ago I wrote a blog post about how I don’t like Will Smith and how no one else understood why, as part of some random lines in my head I thought were hilarious, but later get were meh. The line was. “The world needs more Will Smith…wait that doesn’t sound right.” Do you see what I see, do you see what I see. Now I’m not saying I predicted that he would slap Chris Rock on live TV right before accepting a now tainted Oscar. But I did see him evolve into a very calculating self-important persona, eager to grab a prized statue and every role that wasn’t Gemini Man or Bad Boys III reflected that for me. Remember when he was funny?
When do all these movies start to feel like just another episode in the same series. They say big screen quality came to television, but I also think it works both ways. Episodic motifs are dominating movies. Directors become irrelevant when everyone is vying for the same Joss Whedon, James Gunn, Jon Favreau tone mix to every instalment. I think that's why the Nolan Batman movies were such a stand out. It was such a dramatic shift from previous movies. Palette, tone, dialog, music, filming techniques, story everything. Like Michael Mann took over the DC universe. This may end up being DC's strength in the end, they have such a varied tone with Gunn and Peacemaker on one end and the new Batman on the other.
So I removed Kanye from my liked songs on Spotify because of his recent behaviour, threatening Pete and Kim etc. just tired of his bullshit and bullying I guess. But I’ll still have Eminem on these same playlists even though he has multiple songs referring to killing his ex. So my question is, why does one bother me more than the other. It’s not like I listen to those Eminem songs specifically, and it hasn’t been a focus for him over the last decade, but to ignore it would be turning a blind eye to what was at one point a large part of his identity. Why is one just silly dark humour to me and the other is an immediate threat with real consequences? Is it just the climate then vs now? Do I just have different standards for different people? Am I racist? Am I a misogynist? Is it because Eminem was always so over the top that he got a pass from me vs Ye whose lyrical tone seems more personal and autobiographical? I guess what I’m grappling with is the grey area between art and identity politics in my judgment. Is there a valid argument or reasoning from my perspective or if has that grey area has been infiltrated by bias. Is there a valid argument in regards to tone? Is it about the art or is it about the time or is it about the people? Or is my decision only about me? Has my judgement been usurped by racist undertones? Or have I just bought into the TMZ hysteria. I guess I’m pretty conflicted over my half-assed protest.
At what point do you just give up on ever having a full nights sleep again? When do you just say, this is me, if I go to bed at 11:33 like a responsible human I will be woken up at 3:55 and stay up all night. Or if I stay up until 4:10 I’ll just sleep until 8:36. Because I want to see how big these eye bags can get.
Just found out today after how many decades of living and speaking english that the past tense of the verb 'to center' is 'centred'... SEN-TREAD. The matrix is officially broken. We have no idea what we're doing, and there is no central authority or governing body of absolute truth in this funhouse we've hastily dubbed reality, and this, thisrighthere is the evidence. We're just moving e's around willy nilly. What the hell is going on here?
I used the word Leprechaun in a sentence, while talking about St. Patrick’s Day. Then hesitated for a moment as my brain checked to see if the word Leprechaun in and of itself was considered offensive. My brain concluded that it wasn’t. Then I continued on with my day.
At a certain age it’s a very conscious decision to download Tik Tok. You’ve lived through IRC, ICQ, Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Snapchat and Instagram. You’ve watched them all evolve to have messenger, video, and stories so they all basically feel like the same bullshit. You thought that was it. We’ve reached the peak, what other forms of senseless communication can we add to a platform dedicated to broadcasting the lives of our acquaintances. You thought you were ready to retire. No more new platforms to learn. No more social media politics to navigate. No more who do I friend, follow and unfollow, top 8 bullshit. But then you said to yourself, all the kids are doing it. What’s one more platform. I don’t want to be left behind. One last big score. You went to the App Store and you decided. I can do this.
The lesser-known superheroes get some of the best movies. There's no expectation, no strict rules to follow. It's carte blanche. This is where James Gunn does his best work.
At the heart of almost all conspiracy theories is a Zionist conspiracy. While you're doing your own research on your right not be vaccinated, be careful which rabbit hole you fall into, you may think you're fighting for everyone's freedom, but in fact you are just fighting for the freedoms of those that look like you. Racists have their own recruitment tools and their own propaganda machine. And they prey on your fear of oppression.
There's a bunch of real people living in different parts of the world, and a bunch of people pretending that they aren't real, dropping bombs on them so they can get to own more stuff.
Is the thing I say when the Peloton instructor starts talking about how great Bubble Bobble for C64 was and how N64 was the best gaming platform ever, no contest.
You like Broken Bells? How about some Broken Bells? You know what would make this playlist really great? Some Broken Bells? No, seriously, have you heard this band Broken Bells yet? I know last time you said that you never wanted to hear another Broken Bells song again as long as you lived, but this one is really good. I swear to god they are not giving us money to stuff this Broken Bell down your throat. Broken Bells? Bells? bells....be...b... - Spotify
I feel like being Kanye would be a real double-edged sword. On the one hand you would be talented, rich, famous and so on. On the other hand you would basically ruin all of your personal and professional relationships over time and over petty bs on social media.
At some point about 6 months ago it started. Every time my son farted he would say "it was the crows". Always consistently blaming his farts on the crows. Tonight while lying beside me on the couch, completely relaxed, half-asleep, he let out a small toot and half-heartedly followed up with, "crows".
We think of The Beatles' live performance on the rooftop as some iconic moment in music history, but to some they were just pissed that their nap was interrupted. We have to remember that for certain people even the second coming of Christ will just be that day with the terrible commute.
My theory on Jonah Hill is just that he accidentally stumbled in front of a camera one day as a production assistant, while trying to bring some one a latte and the director, was like "look at this f-ing clown. Let's give him a speaking part." And then Scorsese made him a man.
Gets a bad rap, but I think it's because people dislike the concept of influencers in general. Don't hate the player hate the game. Or hate the player, whatever, I don't care.
If you're expecting a child, people who already have kids will want to hype it up for you. This is normal. The same way we hype up rides at an amusement park to those who haven't tried them or a great blockbuster to those who haven't seen them. We're excited for the experience you're about to have. Just let us hype it for you.
The GameStop saga is one of the most interesting stories I’ve ever seen and it’s still playing out. The result will be a group of average traders exposing corruption simply by holding a stock I can’t wait until all this plays out to the end.
Dear Google, please create a random sampling of every user's past search history in the style of stumble upon. I think it would be amazing. Sure you'd get some pro-privacy haters on your back, but think of the joy it would bring people to spy on each others' insane questions to the universe.
My self-confidence is through the roof lately. I think I'm an hilarious genius. See how I used 'an' instead of 'a'? Now you're probably thinking, "But Jake, you pronounce the 'h' in 'hilarious' so you wouldn't use 'an' before it." And you'd be right, except this time I wrote 'an hilarious genius' while using a thick british accent in my head. Now you're almost on my level.
In my last year of high school I changed schools to gain additional credits in music and creative writing. It was there that I was introduced to the term prefect. I made a few friends at the school and we hung out in a private room that felt like a tiny dorm room where we listened to Atari Teenage Riot. I soon found out that this was a room for prefects. I didn't know what that term met then and I still didn't, until looking it up just now, but it's basically a hall monitor? I guess. It seemed like these kids had their own private club house. I guess it was kind of nerdy. But I found it difficult to understand what was nerdy then and I still do. Maybe that's because I am one.
I don't hear Taylor Swift's personality in her voice, but I like some of her songs. I think a pop artist needs to be a bit sloppier, emotionally, to get me interested. She's got a crash a few cars and fight with a few paparazzi to sell it for me. Even with the Kanye battle, she handled it way too well.
I'm pretty much all non-fiction at this point in my life. I don't know when this shift occurred but I'm finding it harder and harder to pick up a novel.
Is the most meta and pure from of trading. You're making transactions on which mode of transaction you deem more valuable. It is the one and only story available (if it weren't for Elon and China). Even fiat currency trading is attached to GDP, public and private institutions play a role in their value. Crypto is about the security, speed and adoption of a mode of transaction.
The Offspring's "Smash" was not part of the first or even second wave of punk, but I think it epitomizes the last peak, before it then became something else.
I'll be surprised if Elon kills it tonight on SNL, I suspect he will be pretty wooden. But 2021 has taught us that anything in life is first possible, then likely, then happening quickly.
This is the only movie that really stuck with me this past year. I wanted to sum it up as a Falling Down for the Me Too movement, but there's a lot more here than just that. And Falling Down seems a bit silly as a comparison, he's pissed about hamburgers, I mean, I get it, it's about a man at war with corporate america and his grievances are somewhat valid, but PYM is a bit more sticky in its moral conundrum. The scene that got me the most, I'll try and avoid spoilers, was when one male friend says to another "It's not your fault", echoing the supportive line that women often say to one another after an assault. It's dark, it's darkly comical and at first I was shocked by the line. But the line rings true for those two men, they are victims of a sexist culture too, even if they are contributing to it and have the power to change it. Most of us follow the status quo and it takes a brave soul to step outside of those cultural norms. And in the end that person is often seen as the crazy one, the disturbed one, the one who just needs to get over it.
Some people, you know who they are after meeting them once. They don't change after more interactions. You just get a more clearer version. Others surprise you and continue to do so. They hide parts of themselves at first and then you start to discover their true nature piece by piece and it never ends. Some provide detail, others depth.
I'm really interested in working in the non fungible token space. It's an up and coming asset class that is only now garnering main-stream traction and exposure. I really believe this to be the future.
If a band puts out 90 unlistenable tracks and 5-10 tracks that are great I will probably call them complete geniuses. If a band puts out 100 enjoyable tracks I will write them off as boring.
The psychology of trading is impossibly counter-intuitive. You buy when the stock is going up, because you think it's now safe to invest, but with this mindset you will inevitably buy the top. When it crashes you will sell disappointed and then realize your loss. Even when you make a smart move and sell for a profit, even double, triple, 10x your investment, you'll watch the price go higher and wonder what if? In this scenario a loss is easier to handle emotionally, even though your account is happier. You must trust and believe when others do not. And doubt when others believe. The only winner is the patient contrarian. The game is not for your enjoyment, it's for your account's.
Frances McDormand howled and my son joined in immediately afterwards without hesitation. This was the best Oscars yet...and how is this possible? Because it was intimate? Does theatre and spectacle repulse me? I didn't think so. But maybe... I can't get over thinking this was the most human version of this awards show. As my wife pointed out, there were no sweeps, and I thought, no real upsets. Surprises, sure...but nothing that felt politically motivated or heavy handed. Just real people doing work and surviving a tough year. Glen Close knowing those deep cuts and Frances, tough as nails, one of a kind Frances, sharing her call of freedom and vitality.
Was thinking about asymmetry in financial positions and how it relates to everything in life. If you know the worst that could happen a floor of consequences and you're willing to accept it, then you can take big risks, big bets and see how it works out. As you get more comfortable with calculated risk with a floor, you can experiment more and more in anything in life. Usually the biggest risk in any venture is the fear of anonymity. Which most already possess.
Sometimes it's best to just ignore the warnings and do something stupid just for kicks. If it works out you'll just have to give all the credit to yourself.
If you can tell something is wrong with someone, don’t ask what’s wrong unless you’re 100% certain you can solve it. Which is for kids around 75% of the time and for adults around 0% of the time.
I kind of feel like things have been a little too quiet regarding trump. Like the last scene of a horror film where everything looks peaceful and then the killer comes back one last time.
I think rappers are better business people than rock musicians. Maybe because their focus is on those benjamins. Nas has a stake in Coinbase, if he holds onto it he could be a billionaire in a few years. Kanye, Dre and Jay-Z are already billionaires. Every member of Metallica should be a billionaire by now, but they were too worried about copyright lawsuits and whatever stupid ideas were in that documentary, singing about being insane er whatever, I don't know I never got to the end of it.
In the future we'll all need orange tabbies to let us know if an Xenomorph is going to pop out of our chest. Also, big fan of the sequel that just adds ‘s’ to the end of the title. Back to the Futures. Star Warss.
This is not a movie you put on in the background while cooking. I had to keep rewinding it to figure out what the hell was going on, and then the other half of the characters started moving forward. Isn’t it strange that the majority of Nolan’s films based in some sort of tangible reality involve Batman.
Thinking of posting a journal of stock insights, that way if any of them are right or wrong I’ll have a record proving my brilliance and or incompetence. Sometimes there are certain investments that I would make if I had the extra money or it is currently tied up in other stocks etc. and then it would be a virtual method of taking those opportunities. Michael Burry got started by posting his views like this online and then started to get a serious following because of his returns.
In the wall street bets reddit users toss around terms like autistic and it's both self-effacing and a compliment, a very un-pc term of endearment. And they've dubbed Roaring Kitty (u/deepfuckingvalue), the user that started this whole GME thing a legend, a leader a true autist. But I'm starting to think there is more to this term, not just as an un-pc joke, for the people that make such bold moves in complete opposition to market trends. I'm thinking of Michael Burry, someone who is in fact on the spectrum, diagnosed, and is the source of inspiration for so much activity on WSB. So what does it mean to go after something in complete opposition to prevailing sentiments, what voices in your head do you have to listen to and which voices in your head do you have to ignore. What makes someone so monomaniacal that they don't care if they are laughed at right up until the point that they're proven right? This unwillingness to obey the superego then becomes a superpower. Kanye West once said "I have a friend that told me my power was my influence, and I said, 'My power is my ability to not be influenced". I think this ability is innate within us all, but it may need to be encouraged now and again. We can all become true autists.
This was an exercise and an experiment in putting myself out there. To delivering something daily without fear of judgement and I think I’ve accomplished what I needed to. Now moving on...
I have become so detached from reality that exists outside the little world of my family that I've started to treat it all like a movie or a video game. The whole plot has just become so preposterous at this point. World wide protests, nazis, coup attempts, pandemics, redditors breaking wall street. It's just all so ridiculous, who's writing this shit?
I listen to my own music more than anyone else’s, because you have to when you’re making it. But also I just like it, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t make it. It’s pretty narcissistic, but a chef eats his own food so let’s not make a big deal out of this.
I think the movie Zeitgeist is sort of the grandfather of QAnon, this movie, which was half rooted in facts some out of context as well as other speculative theories sort of cemented the way for a broader conspiracy theory indoctrination.
It was mostly an exercise in shipping. As Seth Godin’s method of getting over your fear of shipping. But if I get far behind in my posts, and I allow it to happen it becomes less about shipping and more just a chore I have to do.
Forever swaying between not caring, caring the perfect amount, and caring too much. The entry to a moment of zen is razor thin, but the experience is as wide as a canyon.
I wrote a new song and I’m so happy with whatever it is. It probably won’t be other people’s fave, but I think it’s mine. I don’t think I’ve written anything that has felt more like it came from me before. It feels original.
I know its old news now, but I still can’t get over the sociopathy of twice impeached down there. I’m not shocked at his audacity, but still, that was a real loss of innocence moment for me, even at my age I guess the world can still mess me up. Good luck to all the Q believers out there, the come down from that high is going to be rough.
I always took the theatre of world events with a grain of salt. I don’t know what has changed, maybe the pandemic made me realize that I too was a part of that theatre. Maybe it’s just my white privilege bubble finally bursting. I’ve never felt more sorrow for humanity than in the last 12 months. So much carelessness and hate, so much disregard for one another.
I started writing daily a year ago. I’ve missed a few days here and there and then caught up, but the idea was to keep me thinking of things to say and to keep exposing those thoughts to the light. It’s all been for personal development and it’s helped me immensely, I have no delusions that this has been useful to anyone else, but I think a few people have gotten a kick out it. Since starting this scheduled accountable creativity, I’ve transferred this method to releasing new music every 6 weeks and have so far released 4 new songs within this schedule, something I’ve never done before and some the best music I’ve ever made. Valuing the deadline over the product has led me to enjoy the process over the result. When you don’t have time to focus on the end result, and you have to move on to the next project, you start to appreciate the process more, you also care less about praise and criticism. No praise or criticism can take away the joy of doing the thing. Or as one of my favorite quotes from Hustle and Flow states: “People who walk the walk sometimes talk the talk, but most times they don't talk at all, 'cause they walkin'.”
I fell in love with someone who constantly surprises me. I’m not sure how this is possible, as I even get bored with myself, but here we are. Now I have a child that does the same.
There’s very few people listening. And if that’s not true, then you’ve probably already got people’s attention by saying what you want. And if lots of people are listening, and you didn’t get here by saying what you want. Then for the love of God don’t say anything.
Stay home. Be mellow. Lower those expectations just a little bit more. This ain’t over. If you can’t turn inward and make progress in your own small way and celebrate the small victories you’ll be playing a losing game.
May be slightly better than 2020. Even if it’s objectively slightly worse. By year 5 of the Great Depression they were probably like, yeah this sucks, but it probably didn’t sting the same way.
An artist never knows which songs people are going to enjoy. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence for this. Hit songs that were almost tossed away by a group thinking they weren’t good enough. Therefore, just keep throwing darts at the board. At the same time maybe this is what Rivers’ working theory is, which is why he has absolutely no filter, for good or ill. We get Pinkerton and the Black Album, that’s the flip side.
Any skills you take away from this class and apply to the rest of your life may feel completely intangible. And that’s because the classroom is a stage for self-discovery and personal progress. The lesson plans are meaningless and interchangeable. Very little of it will be necessary for the rest of your existence. But every stage must have a backdrop.
Are more dishonest than those who admit they do not. And those who admit they have nothing important to say are more open to inspiration and works of pure genius.
Than being paid for your art. I wrote a song about it called "New Wages". "Every cent is worth a nickel, every nickel's worth a dime, and every dime is worth a dollar to me". It doesn't matter how much I get paid through other means thousands, millions, it won't compare. What I get paid for making art will always be worth exponentially more to me. It's so satisfying when someone is willing to hand over hard earned dough for a little slice of your imagination. And it's not because it's hard work, quite the contrary, it's fun and easy and it's becoming easier and easier every day. Hard work does not bring you more money. And when it does, somehow, it still feels like you've been ripped off. That's why I'm working at night for the new wages.
I said no. Because I’ve been keeping busy, there is a general sameness to daily life. But when I think of boredom I think of someone who doesn’t know what they should be doing. I don’t think I’ve felt that way for a long time. Maybe it’s that I’m always wanting to learn new things, maybe it’s having a family, maybe it’s setting deadlines for yourself, or wanting to make new things. Sick of the sameness, sure. But bored I’m definitely not.
Innovators and those working towards solutions in a crisis are now being recognized more than ever before. There’s still no meritocracy here, but there’s definitely a shift in the collective appreciation for those who can make a change. No one has time for mouthpieces or naysayers anymore. This is why
If you ever hear me use the expression understand that I appreciate the sentiment, but disagree with the fundamental premise. I believe in reincarnation and the spirit everlasting. YOLO!
I discovered that Hillary Clinton invented the Roomba. I told her I was impressed, to which she responded seriously. “I know what I’m doing”. There was so much carpet in their home it would probably drive me to invent the Roomba as well.
Before this gets started can we all just accept that awards shows are completely political and like politics the final decision may or may not have anything to do with merit, also can we realize that just like political races the polls will be completely misleading. Let’s treat this as nothing more than a horoscope reading and give the results just as much importance.
If you don’t know you can walk away, then you’re stuck and being stuck is torture. There’s nothing preventing you from leaving an unpleasant situation. There are always options
You feel completely justified being upset with a 3 year old. Then immediately afterwards you just feel like a jerk. Even more so because they’ve moved on long before you’ve even realized it.
Until my eyeballs fall out. I had an idea for an app that randomly interrupts while you’re using your phone to tell you to stop looking at your phone, I still want to make this app.
I just searched "what is happening in politics" and found this site, and although I had already read the first few articles. It's still startling to view them all in one place.
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/
The US is on the brink of a fascist coup. This is not an alarm bell, or an exaggeration. This will happen, if not stopped by their current legal systems.
For all those feeling down. Open up Spotify, find Karma Chameleon. And go to Karma Chameleon radio. And wake up to a new world. You can walk on sunshine and on broken glass.
That will always remind you of what’s wrong in the world. And won’t give themselves a moment of triumph. We are all still aware that this is no utopia. Small steps are worth celebrating too.
If you had the confidence of Donald. He is taking legal action to stop the state from counting legitimate votes. The absolute audacity is magnificent. Can you imagine if you had an ounce of that jet-fuel confidence. That belief in your own rightness and authority? What could you do with that power? You could become president. Oh wait, nevermind, that's a bad idea.
Hey Apple, why are you pretending that you don’t know I’m trying to spell the word gigalo? I’d say it’s a fairly politically neutral word, not offensive in any particular direction, and yet you took a back seat as I attempted to spell it with a J and a W. I had to look it up on the internet, while all the while I had an AI which could have lent me a hand, but was too prudish to speak up.
The google nest mini is absolute trash. And it is constantly apologizing for its shortcomings. I’m starting to feel ashamed and sad for it. I feel like the parents of Haley Joel Osmond in AI. Going to send it off with some soft-hearted robot gigalo pretty soon.
The great thing about writing something everyday is that the world seems to change faster. Two months later I have no idea who the guy is that wrote September 1st’s post. Not a clue.