Month: December 2022

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Uncategorized

Profiles in Ignoranc

by Andy Borowitz

Borowitz is well-known for his New Yorker column The Borowitz Report, in which he often pokes satirical fun at idiot Republicans such as Donald Trump and Sara Palin (not to mention the non-idiots – such as Ron DeSantis, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Joseph Hawley – who attempt to imitate their idiot breatharian).

Summary of Highlights

Three stages of ignorance: Ridicule, Acceptance, and Celebration

Borowitz thinks that GPA not really important to whether a good president; reading habits (or lack thereof) are.

Stu Spencer and Bill Roberts created ad campaigns that made Reagan (among others) more palatable. “If you can’t dazzle’em with brilliance, baffle’em with bull.”

Canon recalled an early press conference where a reporter asked Reagan about his legislative program: “the novice governor did not have a clue. Turning plaintively to aids who were attending the new conference, he said, ‘I could take come coaching from the sidelines if anyone can recall my legislative program.’

Molly Ivins quote about Reagan: “This is a man who proved that ignorance is no handicap to the presidency.”

Lions and the Packers offered invitation to Ford to play on their team. He finished in top third of his law class at Yale.

SNL skit “Ask President Carter.”

Roy Cohn, Roger Ailes, Roger Stone, and Paul Mamafort all worked for Reagan.

Remember Reagan’s attack on “welfare queens”, the poor, AIDS….

Bill Kristol backed Alan Keyes (his college roommate), Quayle, and Palin.

Karl Rove was “Bush’s brain”.

Dick Chaney fluked out of Yale.

Bush branded pledges to his faternity. (!)

A classmate said: “When I first heard he was running for the presidency I laughed until I couldn’t see through the tears in my eyes. I just thought ‘The nation is going to hell in a hand-basket. if he can be president maybe I can be the Queen of England.”

Afghanistan is know as the “Graveyard of Empires.” (didn’t know that)

Bush said “I don’t do nuance.”

Bush…”Why did I sign on to this (bailout) proposal if I don’t understand what it does?”

“Sarah Palin was the gateway ignoramus who led to Donald Trump.” p. 131

When Levi Johnson, Bristol’s boyfriend found out Paline was selected for VP: “I thought, was this woman – who at home, would literally say things that did not make sense – really running for vice president?” He assumed somebody was fucking with him.

Levi Johnson again: “I have been more diligent tracking a moose than anyone seemed to have been in choosing the Republican vice-presidential nominee.” A.B. Culvahouse (supposedly) did the vetting.

Palin –> trooper gate

Palin didn’t know that Africa was a continent, that South Africa was a country, why North and South Korea are separate countries. She thought Saddam Hussein attacked America on 9/11.

“Let’s make America Great Again” was a 1980 Reagan campaign slogan.

“Facts are stupid things.” Reagan quote; actually, he was misremembering John Adams’ “Facts are stubborn things.”

Frank Trump taught his son that the world could be devided into “losers” and “winners.”

recommends book “Politics is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change.

Deep canvassing…

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Other

Dan Beyer – AI Degree

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/28/beyer-student-artificial-intelligence-degree/

impressive…..

Categories
Films

Empire of Light

It wasn’t the worst movie I’ve seen this year. Amsterdam still holds that honor. When I see a movie that bad, I think I should have been a director. I could do no worse.

But it wasn’t good. I expected more from the guy that made American Beauty. I think its biggest problem was he couldn’t figure out what the movie was really about. Racism? Mental health? Movies? So it ended up a muddle. Too bad. Parts of it worked.

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Other

Character Alarms

Character Alarms

There is a concept called Character Invention that many of the most prominent executive coaches teach to their clients.

The general idea is pretty simple:

We all have a level of fear and imposter syndrome associated with performing certain acts. Depending on your situation, you might feel it around public speaking, performing a musical act in front of a crowd, hitting the gym hard, or being the parent or partner you know you can be. This can be crippling.

With Character Invention, you create a character in your mind who can do the things you fear with ease. You teach yourself to “flip the switch” and become this character in order to crush that activity.

I like the idea of Character Invention and have made regular use of it with public speaking or appearances. But it always felt like a tool for special situations, so it never became a part of my daily life.

The Character Alarms framework is a simple way to integrate Character Invention into your daily life.

It’s a minor adaptation of the Three Alarms creation of executive coach Eric Partaker, who I first came across via my friend Ali Abdaal.

With this framework, you set alarms for specific times of day when you want to turn on a specific character. The alarms serve as both a reminder and a nudge in the right direction to act in accordance with how that character would act.

Here’s an example of how it might look for me (note, I go to bed really early):

There are three versions of me that I want to turn on:

  • The Morning Monster: This character is built of cold, emotionless discipline. He doesn’t worry about how he feels on any given day, as he relies on discipline, not motivation, to take action. This character is built to hit the cold plunge and get in my weight training and cardio.
  • The Deep Work Machine: This character is focused on a single task with the highest priority. He doesn’t get distracted by notifications or pulls of urgency. This character is built to write.
  • The Dad & Husband of the Year: This character is present, emotionally and physically. He doesn’t use his phone and he doesn’t make excuses. He is there, with his son and wife, and embraces every second. This character is built to be the Dad and Husband I admire.

The alarm goes off and I’m reminded of the character that I want to be in that moment. For me, it’s a reminder to take the actions necessary to become that character.

When you consistently take these actions, your identity naturally follows suit.

Actions can create identity.

I’d encourage you to give it a shot. What character do you want to become at different moments during the day? Try setting these alarms and assessing whether it sparks you to action.

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Quotes

There will always be someone who can’t see your worth. Don’t let it be you. – Mel Robbins

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Events

Covid

A gift from my work trip to NYC. Symptoms started on 12/11. Still feeling it as of today (12/19) although not bad now. At it’s peak was like a bad cold.

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Events

Trip to NYC

Went to 33 Whitehall to discuss strategy. Took United from IAD. Uber costs about $75 to Manhattan. Probably should have taken the train. Would have been significantly cheaper. Driving to Union Station is painful though.

At dinner with the group at a place called Da Andrea. Pretty good. Very loud.

Stayed at MOTO by Hilton. Pretty stylish. Small. Way over-priced. Almost 1k for one night. Somebody suggested I stay in Jersey. Not far and way cheaper.

When to the Whitney the next day, mostly to see the Edward Hopper exhibit. It was very good. Took an informative tour that helped explain the art. They also had an exhibit on early American Modernism thaf featured some of my favorite artists, such as Georgia O’Keefe, Joseph Stella, and Stuart Davis. And another from the Whitney Collection between the years 1900 to 1965. These were more realistic, artists such as George Bellows, George Ault, Elise Driggs, and Jasper Johns. All in all, pretty cool.

Whitney

Categories
Poetry

I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain

by Emily Dickenson

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading - treading - till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through -

And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum -
Kept beating - beating - till I thought
My mind was going numb -

And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space - began to toll,

As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race
Wrecked, solitary, here -

And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down -
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing - then -

Fr340