From the year 2015
My newest “Unscripted Chit-Chat” video is up on my Youtube Channel. If you follow this blog you’ve seen that in the Fitness Section I had an entire series of articles called “College Bodybuilder Tips” that were in the format of letters to a mysterious “K”, who I was giving diet and workout advice to. Well, in this video I talk to “K”–his name is Koby–and we chat about some of the advice I’ve given him over the years and about his success in going from 135 to 180 of lean muscle.
The reason I haven’t been writing as much as I ought for this blog lately is that my time has been taken up by making weekly videos for my Youtube Channel. This is something that I had been wanting to do for a while, but never had the time because of other side projects like Liberal Bias. But now, I have the time. One of the series that I’m planning for my Youtube channel is a series of videos called “Unscripted Chit-Chat”, which will me chatting with people on various topics. I just published the first one, in which my friend Josiah Jennings and I discuss the word “faggot.”
The latest installment of my science fiction reading project is up on Youtube Channel! It’s a very cool classic short story from 1945, and it really shows off how ingenious and inventive some of the sci fi authors from that time period were. I also put a lot of production work into this one: sound effects, special effects, and even a little voice acting for different parts. Check it out and let me know what you think!
I’ve started a new project on my Youtube Channel: I’m going to start doing little dramatic readings of some of my favorite old, classic short science fiction stories. The first one I decided to do is an abridged version of “Trurl’s Machine” by Stanislaw Lem. I know that being read to isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, and honestly I don’t expect any of these videos to get tons of views. But if you like classic science fiction, or maybe if you just like the idea of me reading to you, please go check it out, and subscribe to my Youtube Channel. Leave a comment, and we’ll have some fun. P.S. Yes: I have a very deep voice. I know.
You’ve probably noticed that the internet has a lot of completely contradictory advice when it comes to health, exercise, and fitness. Even if you dismiss articles written by obvious charlatans looking to make a buck, there are still seemingly sincere experts who all say different things. This contradiction among experts gets amplified by non-expert bloggers and journalists who, of course, indiscriminately publicize every theory they get their hands on. In the end, it just looks like nobody knows what they’re talking about. So what’s going on? I think there is a simple answer rooted in a basic psychological problem with how people approach the internet. Namely, not everything is about you.
What does it mean when you say something exists? Sometimes it means that something is out there in the physical universe. But it doesn’t always mean that. Happiness surely exists, because some people are sometimes happy; but happiness could exist even if nobody were happy, couldn’t it? Right triangles are another example: right triangles have a kind of reality, a kind of existence, that has nothing to do with whether anything in the physical universe has that shape. What about unicorns? Yes, unicorns. Well, they are another interesting case. It turns out that thinking about unicorns might teach you more than you ever thought possible.
“Your political writing comes across as feminine,” he said. He meant it as an insult. His more specific criticism was that I spend too much time conceding points, demonstrating that I understand both sides, and trying to speak to people using a language and a tone that they sympathize with and understand. He said I should stop trying to reach people and simply allow my ideas to “stand up for themselves.” I suppose, at least in his view, that is what masculine political writing is: bold assertions, plain language, ideas that are devoid of subject or voice or context because they simply “stand up for themselves.” Who cares about “reaching people” when we are talking about IDEAS?
Today I went to the grocery store. I didn’t want to: it’s New Years day, it’s raining, and Jon and I have a cold. But we ran out of Nyquil, so something had to be done. While I was at the store, I picked up Nyquil, some chicken breast, some eggs, and two spring rolls from the nice Japanese man at his Sushi counter. I went to the self-checkout kiosk, and worked my way through it. When I tapped the screen to show that I was finished, there was a prompt I’d never seen before: “How many bags would you like to purchase?” it asked. I glanced over at my groceries, cuddled up in one of the store’s plastic bags. Normally I bring my own canvas bags, but I was tired and in a rush and it slipped my mind. As of today, Dallas has instituted a Plastic Bag Tax, you see: and it had me thinking about free market economics and government regulation all the way home.
