Good Stuff

Free To Do Anything, Part 1

“I learned something about that little voice inside, the one you silence with rationalization or bury with office paperwork. He finds other ways to be subversive. He doesn’t like being kept on the path. That voice is as obstinate as a child, but he’s telling you how to behave like a man.”

NPR: Hotel Maids Challenge the Placebo Effect

They don’t challenge it, they reaffirm it.

Essay on Marcus Aurelius—Matthew Arnold

Bad Stuff

Full Frontal Feminism—Jessica Valenti

Saying that this is an awful book is really unfair because it’s not even a book. It’s a 250 page blog post (that is awful). It is also proof that most bloggers shouldn’t be given publishing deals and that Women’s Studies is without a doubt the least scholarly of all college majors.

Future Shock—Alvin Toffler

In the first wave, power came from violence or force. In the second, the Industrial Revolution, power came from wealth. Today, it comes from knowledge. The battle for the future is going to be over information. Unfortunately, the book takes 500 pages to say that.

Art and Fear–David Bayles

Decent, but not nearly as good as the War of Art.

So I got a puppy a little over a month ago. And so far, it’s been a pretty awesome decision. I’ve wanted one for a long time. I was always planning on getting a French Bulldog and naming him The Colonel but it was way off in the distant future. My girlfriend would bring it up once or twice a week “I thought you said you were getting a dog.” I would make some excuse about how I would do it after I got paid for this or have that settled down or how I was waiting for the right moment. It was all bullshit.

And then one day it hit me: What am I doing? Why am I putting off the one thing I really want to do when everyday I readily accept shit that I don’t want to do? I thought I had priorities…so then I just did it. I got the cash from an ATM, picked it up from some family and named it after an elephant. We walked around Petsmart in the leash and collar we hadn’t even bought yet.

I only get to see her on the weekends and it breaks my heart. For some reason, I’ve been a very cold person my whole life. You can imagine the problems that has created. But it’s started to go away. I sprint inside to see her. She sits on my chest when I do situps. She licks the phone when she hears me talking to her mommy from LA. She had a reaction to her shots last week and I spent all day in a fit that made it impossible to work. When you come home after leaving her by herself you can see the marks on the floor length mirror where she tried to play with that other puppy that keeps teasing her. She drinks from her water dish too fast and then she gets the hiccups…every single morning.

Who knows, maybe it won’t work out. Maybe it will be a stupid decision. I’ll take responsibility for that. I’ll clean up whatever mess I create for myself. I’ll try not to justify or rationalize or project whatever the ramifications are. If something happens between my girlfriend and I, I’ll navigate whatever difficulties come up. All that is just logistics. And logistics–well, they’re nothing to live your live by.

If you can find something that brings you joy or contentment that isn’t destructive or dangerous, I think you should do it. My benchmark has always been this: When you’re sitting alone, quietly, your mind blank and unfocused–does it bring you peace? If your answer to that question is yes then you have found something rare, something that should be followed until it ends. Even if it’s fleeting.

This is what I was trying to say:

“The art of using moderate abilities to advantage wins praise, and often acquires more reputation than real brilliancy.” de la Rochefoucauld

When I said this:

I’m not the best at a lot of things. Most of the time, the stuff people talk about makes my head spin and I get confused pretty easily. But I make due with what I’ve got. Being smart or talented or having the right equipment–none of that is all that rare. But to get up do a thousand miles or punched in the face or write a hundred pages or strike a deal or read a book or make a phone call without anyone telling you to? That’s almost unheard of.

I found it after and I like his better.