The American political atmosphere is geared towards coddling the feelings of the right, that even calling their politicians weird, which is gentle considering what they believe in and express, has some of y’all ready to give your life to stop them from feeling hurt. Weak shit. But you see this from the politics to the discourse. The right can call immigrants invaders and murderers. They can accuse feminists of being failed women. They can call non-white people everything from naturally inferior to outright evil. But call them weird and everyone panics.

Finally an essay pointing out the cowardice of self-appointed intellectuals pretending that the real violence is in the language of Palestinians and their supporters, as they watch Israel kill thousands of Palestinians and openly call for more death

nybooks.com/online/2024/06…




You’d be forgiven for thinking that you were losing your mind in watching pro-Palestinian speech suppressed with violence around the world, with police beating protestors and people losing their livelihoods, and then reading that the real danger is zionists feeling uncomfortable

They will still lay you off. You can do a million things and it won’t save you from being laid off. You can win all the prizes in your profession and you will still get laid off. After endless cycles of this happening, it’s incredible to have someone say something this stupid.

https://twitter.com/jeffpearlman/status/1750263237072105910

Maybe this would resonate if this was in the 80s, but we’ve seen hedge funds gut and destroy whole sections of media, seen the most talented people end up unemployed, and seen labor destroyed for a bit more profit. The problem isn’t the value of individuals.

It’s just going to happen again in a few months

https://twitter.com/jaywillis/status/1742735402497372412

Considering how routine all of this fake outrage cycle happens, and how those media outlets become the megaphones for them, I’d say that they’re not being played more than they are actively and willingly participating in it for their own goals as well

[Stares into the camera] Hmmm

A reason that I had to live next to a park in NYC is because this place is so hard, for all the reasons that lead to many suffering so that a small percentage can be richer than God, so I wanted to be close to something that’s a reminder of the true human spirit I’ve mentioned this before but I don’t think there’s anything that shows the desire and expression of the person than when they’re playing around. Not particularly in sport, but when people get the space and time to play around, by themselves or with friends.

What’s become apparent in the last few years to me, is that a lot of people find the idea that they should have a responsibility and obligation to other people around them, highly oppressive. It’s a level of egocentrism that even children would be admonished for. It seems that every time that any adjustment in behavior or endurance of friction was required for the greater benefit of everyone, people have reacted as if that sort of consideration is the equivalent of stripping them of their rights. It’s been incredible to see.

It’s funny because not pulling out a gun on IG is such an easy thing to do. It’s one of the easiest things to do in the world. People are trying to turn this into a matter of legality or about his friends as if telling him not to flash guns on social media is some great unfair demand. Every other NBA player is managing to not do it pretty easily.

I want to make sure I frame this compliment well, but one of the best things I can say about a book, or any piece of art really, is that it makes me fall asleep. Not out of boredom, but it’s so well-done/well-written that it feels like a spell that lulls you into a relaxed mode. Almost all of my favorite books/art/movies are ones that I’ve fallen asleep with. And they’re not necessarily slow, but aren’t being cheap in trying to grab attention either. I’m just in no rush to finish or solve them, and they don’t ask for that either.

A funny thing is how people all backgrounds/class who move to NYC and end up being successful tend to frame their stories within the standard NYC underdog narrative of “I came here with nothing/little and through luck/hard work, I’ve become successful” And the rich/connected ones are so careful in being as vague as possible about the details to maintain the myth.

“I believe it starts with a series of refusals. A refusal to thoughtlessly submit to the idols. It may not be in our power to overthrow them altogether, but we can certainly deny them the mesmerizing hold they can have on our moral imagination.”

theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/waste-your-t… This part feels particular to the plagiarism machines and human creativity

Going to go for a walk and ignore the score of this Champions League match Dzeko is 37 years old, and can barely move and that’s who we’re conceding to.

The John Wick series are so good with color and style. The budgets grew and the scenes hit bigger, but they stayed true to the sexy dark scheme, that doesn’t fall into the nonsense of so many blockbusters where things are hard to see.

Think at some point there needs to be a realization that there’s a lot of people who enjoy those videos of Black people being killed in public, and part of the reason why they argue in support of those deaths is also because they find pleasure in making Black people angry. I’ve brought this up before about how we often don’t point out the pleasure aspect of violence but there’s a lot of history about the joy that they get from these events. They’re watching those videos on their phones, sharing it with friends, laughing at the anger about them.

Yeah, I think saying it doesn’t scale is fine, but there’s still power in individual situations. Many of us have stepped in to protect someone in public before. You can’t save the world with charity, but you don’t have to look on and support someone being choked to death either.

https://twitter.com/bigmeaninternet/status/1654124164247355401

I’ve helped a woman who was being chased by an abusive ex. I broke the ring finger in my left hand beating up two dudes in midtown Detroit who were taking photos of a homeless man who was asleep. I also threw out some guy who was abusing a homeless lady at Jolly Pumpkin.

It all showcases such severe contempt for creativity, the people who do the work, and those who enjoy the work. Even the way that the streaming platforms have gutted and kill any kind of art that doesn’t immediately appeal to the lowest common denominator.

https://twitter.com/passionweiss/status/1653277082955436032

It’s an open belief that the people who create art don’t matter and should just be happy to receive crumbs while the endless procession of middle managers and executives stuff their wallets. And also, the belief that those who engage with art are just dumb passive consumers.

I appreciate that he does big budget films, because he’s almost always better than anyone he’s with, but Mads Mikkelsen is a such a perfect small budget drama actor. Casino Royale, Rogue One, Doctor Strange? Sure. But The Hunt, Another Round, and Arctic? Incredible. If there was just a short from Rogue One of Galen Erso leading a quiet life of service in hiding, he would have given a 10/10 performance of it.

"In empathy culture, understanding and care for the Other requires personal empathy, a process by which, in theory, one completely gives the self to the idea of the Other as though that idea were the actual other person." "Empathy culture rewards experiences for producing strong feelings or emotional reactions, the more traumatic or negative the better, to the point of exhaustion or apathy. Striving for the fastest path to a reaction often involves taking shortcuts by leaning into implicit biases"

It’s interesting that Moonlight is never included in that discussion, because as well as a queer love story, one of the strongest scenes in that film is when he cries as his mother apologizes to him.

https://twitter.com/rosiesrambles/status/1635675246605762562

Del Toro’s Pinocchio is a whole movie about his father searching for him to save him and apologize for mistreating him.

"That the time for having some sex, reading, playing your favorite album while you cook your favorite meal, going out dancing, or doing any of the things we like to do just for the sake of doing them, will be over far quicker than any of us want to admit"

slate.com/human-interest… I have a small objection to something in this. Which isn't really an objection but a pushback against who is considered life's losers.

Sidenote: How was this allowed to happen? Guess where those three founders are from and what they look like. What are we doing here? What’s going on?