it’s interesting to consider the role of gender in the character archetypes of Terry and Rosa. Terry is the big, tall muscular behemoth of a man who’s a total softie. Rosa is a murderous flower. Imagine gender-swapping the characters- it would be less compelling, too flat
A guy walking around the office with huge knives and axes with a grumpy-vengeful disposition becomes much more of a worrisome risk I think. I don’t think guys get to do this. You have to soften the edge somehow, the way Dr. House does at least. You can’t use as much venom IMO
Gina is a Rorschach test - some people see her as a representation of bold, confident femininity, others see her as a selfish Mean Girl. I’d bet her character won’t age well
in order to get to the top of a (metaphorical) mountain,
1. a part of you must want to
1a, 1b, 1c, 1d. mountaineering training, bla bla, conditioning, fuel, the stuff people focus on
2. the part of you that *doesn't* want to, mustn't sabotage the part of you that wants to
most of the time when I have conversations with people who are trying to achieve something, or say they are, I find that both 1 and 2 are insufficiently discussed. they aren't made sufficiently precise, emphatic, clear
it's often a lot of rambling about logistics and planning
the part of you that doesn't want to do it is typically trying to keep you safe.
i'll say it: there's a part of me that doesn't want to publish any more ebooks or content bc it feels nice and safe for me to just hang out here, guy who has released 1 book that people kinda like
1. employment. I only ever had 1 serious job, and it was with a great boss who I admire, who sought me out bc he liked my blog. made good $$, learned a ton, he was like a therapist-coach who paid *me*, great relationships with ex-colleagues
2. twitter. how tf do I have 25,000 twitter followers from around the world? I'm just some random nerd from singapore. I don't have any qualifications. I never went to college. where I am is a function of the merit of my thoughts, my A+ reply game, & my sensitivity to opportunity
the generic art museum aesthetic is one of the worst aesthetics I can think of.
it’s bizzare to me how many people have agreed collectively that yes, this is how art is to be appreciated: atomized & isolated, abducted from their homes & displayed like dismembered body parts
It varies tremendously depending on what you‘re really trying to do. If it’s to appreciate a certain kind of art, I’d prefer a more organic, lived-in scenario with actual artists hanging around and working. Contrast the classroom vs how real learning happens
the National Gallery of Singapore is pretty cool – it does have some of the same white cube aesthetic, but it's also the former Supreme Court and you can feel the weight of the history in that
for a good 22+ years, I never really had anybody I admired or respected in my life who would teach me how to become the person I wanted to be
for people who don't understand how/why I tweet the way I do, this is a big part of it
"it's so arrogant of you to talk like what you say matters"
I can see how it might look that way, but I made a promise to a lonely child that I would publicly share what I know – and keeping that promise matters more to me than what strangers think of me
for a period of time when I was in the military, I was assigned to be a storeman, ie responsible for a bunch of equipment. My boss was a “civilian” - who was really a semi-retired non-commissioned officer- iirc he was the first regimental sergeant major of singapore’s commandos
which is to say, he had a legendary status. a way to contextualize it: he would have been the RSM - the discipline master, the king of drill sargeant as - when the chief commando (a brigadier general) was a mere recruit. So everyone was afraid of this guy
My job was to keep stuff neat and in order, fill out a logbook, bunch of little things like that - I understudied the previous guy who was finishing his service.
At the end of the month, the Legend barks at me: Visa!! Where is your t-loan file??