Running on 3.5 hours of sleep becasue after 2 weeks, I finally decided to readjust to the East Coast Time zone.
During my delirium today, I walked to the Brooklyn Library. The Jay Z exhibit is currently happening there so the library is wrapped up like a termite inspection. I guess the exhibit is cool, you know if you’re a native New Yorker. But it also made me think why are we so in love with celebrities?
TikTok: Obama’s Music Taste After a Drone Strike
Objectively hilarious.
Obama loves putting out these yearly music taste tweets. My question is… who cares besides middle-aged liberal women and your college professor who is trying way too hard?
Obama, why don’t you just fade into obscurity like every other U.S. President and tell Malia to hit me up.
Essay: Why Socialism?
The essay was written by Albert Einstein and published in 1949.
The main points he discusses:
Capitalism, predatory economic competition, and growing wealth inequality.
Private capitalists controlling mass media thus making it difficult for ordinary citizens to arrive at objective conclusions
Political parties are influenced by wealthy financial backers resulted in an "oligarchy of private capital".
How much has really changed?
70+ years ago, Einstein said that the only solution is a planned economy with a strong democracy to protect the rights of individuals. Worth the read.
Media: City of Lancaster
If you’ve ever been to Lancaster, California, you know there really ain’t much going on. But with just a little bit of city planning common sense, they were able to revive a dormant downtown strip. If you can do this in Lancaster (trust me when I tell you Lancaster is the underdog of all underdogs in LA county), you can do this anywhere. And we should do it everywhere. People want community and spreading everything out and creating cities built around fast food chains and corporate strip malls discourages community.
Coby puts out great real estate and city planning content. I actually mention Coby in Cultural Moneyballism. You can follow him here.
Quote
Though I may not believe in the order of the universe, yet I love the sticky little leaves in spring. I love the blue sky. I love some people, whom one loves you know sometimes without knowing why. I love some great deeds done by men, though I've long ceased perhaps to have faith in them
Ivan Karamazov, The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoyevsky)
The Brothers Karamazov (TBK) has been a wonderful read thus far.
For this quote, Ivan Karamazov is speaking with his brother Alyosha. Ivan is brilliant and rebellious, and also morose. Alyosha is kind and gentle and a believer in Christ.
Alyosha knows Ivan is skeptical of God and lives by a different code. However, in this interaction, Alyosha and the reader, learn about a new side of Ivan. That beneath the smart quips and doubt, there is a man who loves life.
It’s in all of us to love life for what it is. Not for what we want it to be, not for what someone else tells us it is, not for some high code of honor or lofty sense of expectations. Just for what it is, blue skies and sticky little leaves in the spring.
Experience:
I want this section to be a human moment from my week.
On Saturday, I micro dosed magic mushrooms and walked around Brooklyn (18,000 steps in total).
I spent most of the day in Prospect Park, where I watched people play sports, picnic, and small children frolic with dogs in the water.
One of my favorite days in New York since I moved last September. I kept thinking about how much better the day would have been if I had someone to share it with, specifically a partner. And even though that would have been nice, very nice, I do enjoy spending time with myself. I particularly enjoy spending time with myself over faking a laugh or forcing a conversation in other people’s company.
Being by yourself isn’t all good like some people say. “Learn to love yourself,” they tell us.
Yeah, yeah, sure, that’s ideal. But truthfully, I don’t unconditionally love myself. There are some parts of me I love. Some parts I don’t. I live with a mountain of regrets and toil with them constantly.
It’s easier said than done to let things go and live in the moment. I’m working towards it, I’m working towards enjoying life, but don’t worry, just like you, I can’t get over myself. My insecurities and my imperfections. My ego. My pride. My lust. And that doesn’t change whether you’re alone, with friends, or married. At some point there is no hiding from yourself.
Perfect start to the day, quality content and a positive note to end it off 💯