Monday Morning quarterback
The week of Oct. 7th - A Free Haircut Gone Wrong
Welcome to Monday Morning Quarterback.
This is where I share a real-life experience and the coolest things I saw this week (TikTok’s, Tweets, quotes, essays, etc.)
If you want to chat about anything I share you can comment on this post, send me Twitter DM, or hit me up on TikTok.
Happy Belated Indigenous People’s Day!
I celebrated the holiday yesterday and missed my arbitrary Monday deadline for “Monday Morning Quarterback”.
Just kidding, I was training for my new job and did a poor job of managing my time. But hey, your boy got a new job! I’ll tell you more about it soon.
Enjoy the newsletter.
Experience: $0 haircut
Last Tuesday night my roommate told me his cousin’s salon was trying out a new hairdresser and giving out free haircuts.
I said, “HAHA a $0 haircut? Good luck my boy.”
I thought about it... Well, I had an interview the next day and badly needed a cut. Plus, I’m unemployed and I could save the $50.
So, I ended up calling the salon and booked an appointment.
Well… I learned a few things about getting a $0 haircut.
This was a fancy salon. They tie your robe, wash your hair, give you free beer and whiskey, have flat screens everywhere, etc. And the worst part of all… is the fact that grown men come here to get their nails clipped. There are literal homeless people in the street below the building, while GROWN MEN are paying to get their nails clipped. I learned that I’m not well-acclimated to this culture and I felt like an alien.
The haircut was a circus. The manager of the space came over to help 12 times. The lady who washed people’s hair and clipped their nails snickered throughout the fiasco. And the worst part, was that it felt like the hairdresser was going to cut my ear off every time he chopped a new strand of hair off my head. For my safety and sanity, I had to encourage the hairdresser. “You got it, bro.” Rule of thumb: if you have to encourage the hairdresser that “they got it,” they most certainly do not have it in the slightest. I’m not a moral support mascot, I’m your client.
The next day, my roommate and I had to cut each other’s hair to fix the disaster. The whole time we cut each other up, we were convincing the other, “it’s not THAT bad.” If you have to tell someone their haircut is not THAT bad… it’s most certainly one of the worst haircuts you’ve ever seen. A haircut is good, great, or just okay, but it’s never “not THAT bad.” That just means it’s bad AF.
Never take a free haircut.
TikTok:
The Club is Dead
I’ve never really enjoyed clubs. In college, I even preferred the smell of natty light and regret at frat parties over the club. And now, I prefer just about anything over clubs. I prefer good conversation, live music, and shows over the crowded walkways, overpriced bottle service, and douchey Andrew Tate worshippers flashing their cameras at your local OneOak. The club era is over.
“Setting Boundaries” is an ego trick
Leaving someone you’re dating because they crossed an “arbitrary boundary” you set for yourself will help you avoid heartache. No doubt. But, it’s also a sure way to never put yourself out there and disrespect the person you’re dating before they can disrespect you. It’s putting your ego ahead of love.
Being Authentic is the fakest thing you can do
This guy makes great poems about Corporate America. His main point in this poem: creating content online is actually the highest form of exploitation. Free labor for billions of dollars of corporate tech profit.
Essays:
Context switching and corporate schedules have ruined our relationship with time (KPAXS)
When people ask why I want to leave corporate America, there are a few reasons:
Bad experiences at previous employers
Never off the clock
Corporate politics
And… this:
The Labor Market Returns of Being an Artist
SHOCKER: Artists don’t make money anymore.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but the relative earnings of artists to non-artists went from a 0% disadvantage to a 15% disadvantage since the turn of the century. The decline is 15% sharper after controlling for demographic differences.
Not a good time to put cool stuff in the world.
Israel-Palestine: A Revolutionary Way Forward
One of the best historical analyses and explanations of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
I grew up in a conservative, pro-Israel family and when I got to college I learned more about the conflict and became pro-Palestine.
Now, I’m actually educated on the issue and recognize the real victims of this conflict are the innocent citizens of Israel and Palestine.
This article will help you better understand the issues and a way out.
Media:
Grand Budapest Hotel
My first introduction to Wes Anderson. A fun masterpiece with a great cast. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a must-watch for all crowds. If you have seen it, I’m sorry you can’t experience it again for the first time.
The History of Park Slope
I learned a lot about the Brooklyn neighborhood I call home.
It’s the site of the last stand in the Battle of Brooklyn where 400 Marlyanders sacrificed their lives to hold off the red coats
Birthplace of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Two blocks from my house is the site of one of the largest commercial plane crashes in US history
One of the first areas in the United States to be “gentrified”
Quote:
"Who are the oppressors? The few: the king, the capitalist and a handful of other overseers and superintendents. Who are the oppressed? The many: the nations of the earth; the valuable personages; the workers; they that make the bread that the soft-handed and idle eat.”
Mark TwainP.S. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is way too complex to talk about in a short newsletter. I support the innocent people of both Israel and Palestine. I support their freedom. Their right to live a decent life. The right to dance to music, raise families, and enjoy a sunny day with their friends. The masses should not suffer at the expense of the ruling class’s interest. The weight of colonialism and oppression never goes away and we must deal with it head-on. Read the essay I linked in the “Essays” section [Israel-Palestine: A Revolutionary Way Forward] to understand the history of the conflict and the way forward.