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The First Week
i curse you with unsolved mathdoku! oooooo you can’t resist it oooooo
(click on it to start, use wasd or hjkl to navigate and numbers to insert. refresh for a different puzzle)
ive been wondering how much of my writing you all retain. maybe you have been wondering too. so i made a quiz. let me know what score you get!
The Haterade Lost its Taste
everybody online is so negative! while there are a lot of good reasons why that might be, on a personal level it seems virtuous to at least try to be more positive insteadHistory is a Necessary Exercise in Psychological Distress
history is fun to learn about. but its also a useful mechanism for cultivating the virtues of gratitude and pragmatism within yourself, which in turn serve as proxies for general wellbeing. it makes you grateful because it shows you how much things used to suck, and it makes you pragmatic because it shows you a myriad of failure modes that you can (at least try to) avoid.i rarely feel more religious than when im watching Planet Earth (2006). the soaring soundtrack, the awe inspiring imagery, the fearsome powers of nature, and david attenborough possesses a voice that i like to imagine sounds sort of like God’s. it’s a cathedral in my TV.
Art Imitates Life, But Maybe Not Enough?
if you want your art to be compelling it can help to embrace the dominant parts of life we're already familiar with. most modern humans are familiar with the omnipresence of the internet, advertising, and routines like work or school. but there is a bit of a dearth of narrative media that embraces these aspects in a recognizable way, an underserved aesthetic hole that could be filled by some enterprising creatives.theres something charming about artists who express disdain or even outright hatred for their own work. it usually speaks to a restless and relentless pursuit of perfection. its even funnier when the piece they finally do claim as their magnum opus isnt as well received as the ones they spat on.
but these guys are a dying breed. most of the art that reaches me is so thoroughly captured by commercial interests that the artists have to play a dual role as their own cheerleader, going on press tours to promote their own work at the behest of the publisher/studio/label. and even long after thats over, you dont want to harm the image of anything your publisher/studio/label has continued stake in, lest you harm your professional relationship and get blacklisted or whatever.
these days its pretty difficult to get actors to say “that movie i was in was trash”, or authors to say “that book wasn’t my finest moment”, or musicians to say “i hate my second album”. which is a real shame. i bet theyd love to speak their entire authentic opinions about their own body of work.
Discourses on DND
a lot of people have an idea of what dnd is lodged in their brain, both those who have and havent played it. i think the dominant mode of playing dnd is largely missing out on what makes it cool and unique from a traditional board games. you should only feel obligated to engage with dnd's rules and setting and player culture to the exact degree you must to give yourself license to let loose and play some make-believe. also i have some tips for how to make your dnd campaign better.What's the Deal With Ahmed al-Sharaa?
i cant really figure out if ahmed al-sharaa is a dyed-in-the-wool jihadist, subtly progressive, or just willing to do or say anything for power. having followed his rise in realtime over the last decade, i feel a sort of weird attachment to him and his quiet intellectualism, even knowing the extremely reprehensible things committed under his command (torture, murder, suppression). i still think he will be a better ruler than assad. it's been funny to watch the united states go from grouping him in with bin laden and al-baghdadi to having friendly luncheons in doha.Mo Meta Mo Betta
fictional narratives are cool but there's something extra gripping about narrative nonfiction featuring real humans. if your art is sufficiently interactive and attractive, it has the chance to spawn a diffusely authored metanarrative that sits on top of the original narrative and generates even more compelling stories.i keep noticing this pattern online among the commentariat where they act like a joke is really funny just because it requires some level of background knowledge to understand the punchline and thus flatters their self-conception of knowing obscure things. it should be noted the reference usually isn’t actually that obscure at all—which is why the joke-maker felt confident enough to deliver it in the first place—nor is it outrageously funny
Hymn For a Lost Pilgrim
i know this isnt a very novel observation but ive arrived at the same conclusion as everyone else: beekeeping seems like a cool way to spend my golden years. you get to be in touch with nature, it keeps you active, you’re caring for little animals with fascinating behaviors, you get some yummy honey and maybe some honey money, you get to overcome your fear of bees. its really just an all around great idea for anyone who can manage it.
The Tyranny of Taste
your taste in careers and media is an underrated form of privilege. when you have the right tastes, you open doors that are otherwise shut and get rewarded socially and economically. there may be a way to intentionally bestow upon yourself or your children some advantageous tastes.