Blog

Slow the f*ck down

by MAÔ, posted in Self Actualization

Life sure is fast. 

I started writing this in January. I think it had something to do with cars speeding to places. Why? Because we’re always going. I’ve wrote a lot about time management, staying busy, etc. But what is the answer?

We work too much, to make just enough money to buy what we don’t need, and pay off the debts that we built up spending more than we had yesterday. We plan for more tomorrow, but don’t expect it to be enough because we’re not satisfied with what we have today, hoping that we’ll be satisfied with what we have tomorrow if only we can work hard enough today to make more than we did yesterday.

It’s f*#!ing exhausting. And we are exhausted. Collectively, we are done. You can tell when you look at us. We escape, rather than inhabit. We tune in, turn off – rather than unplug and be. But it’s coming. The change is coming, when we understand it’s not enough just to keep going – but rather that we must find ways of existing that aren’t so damn fast.

Week’s highlights

by MAÔ, posted in Social

Some of the interesting things I have been thinking about this week:

  • First – my new car. I’ve seen this ad a number of times now, and I have completely fallen in love with this vehicle. Now, it won’t come out until 2020, but I’m on the list for initial test drives. I. Cannot. Wait.
  • Thanks to the above ad, I’ve resisted a song I listened to three years ago a lot. Simon & Garfunkle’s Sound of Silence, performed by Disturbed. It was a haunting take on a classic song, and listening to it again this week was a bit cathartic.
  • Humble Bundle. Another revisit that I seem to have been discussing a lot this week. Several years ago I purchased the Neil Gaiman bundle, and have since added comics and other ebooks to my library, with some money going to charity and some going to creators, with only a little bit going back to the company. It’s a good model, and I appreciate the work that they do there.
  • Why I don’t need to be superproductive. It was nice coming across this week, when it’s felt so hectic that I just didn’t seem to get near enough accomplished. So, thank you Outside. Thank you Brad Stulberg. Thank you Oliver Burkeman, of The Guardian. And thank you me, for letting me slow down a bit.

 

Keeping it going

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

I am behind. I know, it happens. But it seems that this week, and last, has kept me more busy than I’ve been in several months.

Trying to create time to write, to read, to produce other work, and to sell, has been a juggling act like little I’ve had to do before. So how do I do it?

Writing I am just eking out, one post at a time. Reading, less so. A stack of books is piled by my bed, and other stacks on and around the bookshelf. Other work? Well, that’s another story.

I guess the silver lining is I’m selling well, and should be making enough pay to finance my trip to Alaska next week. Hard to believe it’s less than seven days away. I’m looking forward to writing from there.

Consume vs. create

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

There are moments when we choose whether to be consumers or creators. When we can write or read. Turn on the tv, or dream with our eye open. Listen to the radio, or sing to our own song.

There is a time for both – to be a consumer and to be a creator. But we are not here to consume. We are here to create.

Always remember that.

Hadestown for the win

by MAÔ, posted in Theatre

Take a classic Greek tragic myth – the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Create a modern retelling, throw in some jazz swing style musicians on stage with the performers, and take it to the Great White Way. What’s the result? Tony Award for best musical, obviously.

I may get a chance to see it in September, but for now I’ve only listened. I like it okay, but it’s probably not the type of musical I generally go for.

The myth aspect is great, but the songs for me aren’t the most singable. And that’s often how I become attracted to musical cast recordings – songs I can sing along with.

All five musicals seemed to be worthy of the nomination, and I had it down to Hadestown or The Prom, though my money was on The Prom to win.

But I was wrong. Congrats Hadestown!

An immigration dilemma

by MAÔ, posted in Government

The current view on immigration is like an infection. Fear that foreign bodies will invade and take over otherwise healthy systems. There are two problems with this view.

  1. Corrective action against foreign bodies does not take a holistic view of the patient and environment. Unless the environment that is causing infection is healed as well, no amount of medication will keep a host healthy.
  2. Most importantly, the US isn’t an infected host, and immigrants aren’t a disease. The rich and diverse cultures that make up the United States are further developed by infusing new blood into the system.

It’s not a disease. It’s an infusion.

Good Omens 2

by MAÔ, posted in Film

Finished the show last week. Today I may head out to Disney, weather-permitting (and if I’m not too tired).

For Good Omens, I will day it was an enjoyable, albeit somewhat frenetic, watch. I believe the book itself was also frenetic, so it followed right along.

In one of Gaiman’s interviews I recall him saying how much he wanted the show to follow the book, so as to respect the memory of coauthor Terry Pratchett. In that regard, it was a success.

The cast was good, and it was fun. It had a BBC/Doctor Who feel to the film-making and storytelling, right down to the aliens. I’d watch it again, some time down the road.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

by MAÔ, posted in Film, Writing

I’m a fan of the radioactive lizard. I had several on VHS and watched the battle against Mechagodzilla over and over again. So it was with some excitement that I went into this movie.

And, I left feeling… meh. Rodin, Mothra, Ghidora and Godzilla looked good. They were used in effective ways. The human characters were not quite as fleshed out.

I wanted to feel more remorse when leading characters died than I did over Mothra getting injured by Rodin. But the storytelling focused on the Titans, and not the mortals. Still, I’ll add the Bandai toys to my collection for this movie.

Week’s highlights

by MAÔ, posted in Social

Some of the interesting things I came across this week:

  • Social network gaming. How gaming has become the go-to place for people to connect, taking the place of social networks, or at least supplementing them.
  • Make me Smart on Alexa – courtesy of APM’s Marketplace. One of my favorite radio programs on NPR is Marketplace, and I’ve been listening since first getting into the public radio scene in 2007. This new feature for Alexa smart speakers is wonderful to have.
  • It’s good to be the dumbest guy in the room. Robert Kiyosaki wrote in Rich Dad, Poor Dad something along the line of “a successful business person will hire people smarter than themself.” This is basically the same concept, and it’s one I often find myself thinking about. Coming across this during the week was apt timing…
  • How hangovers started Brunch. Just for fun. Subsequently, this caused my rant on avocado toast.

Alaska countdown

by MAÔ, posted in Travel

Started packing, sort of. Less than two weeks until the trip, and I am getting more and more excited. Yet staying busy as ever.

I pulled the suitcases I’ll be using for this trip down. It’s weird not packing my either of my backpacks. One went with me to Europe, twice, for over a month each time. The other was for a quick week trip down to Costa Rica.

But this isn’t a backpacking trip. This is some exploring, some relaxing – including hiking and a glacier cruise. And in less than two weeks, I’ll be trading the lower 48 for the Land of the Midnight Sun.