tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80128252024-03-15T18:09:38.647-07:00Confessions of a Quirky Christian ArtistConfessions? Definitely. Quirky? I guess. Christian? You'd probably disagree. Artist? Meh.Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.comBlogger356125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-72527706000109677262024-02-14T13:13:00.000-08:002024-02-14T13:13:20.330-08:00Yellow Paint<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinoFNVCyZq7tvNb9oNzOawf1ykLPjU4XxkFLOV15gKVeVMxPZBtnM8irGrAmSC2tjIlnhd33wRTlSQhX20xvDBxVQWunsuq6eEaFmIC6QhTKq-6CxbxOFSV1RNHGtDttGAPogyKV-_aEIZrP8QmSYgfSYaWnGR6svi-60N72OSh4_ttxKgr_EE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="502" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinoFNVCyZq7tvNb9oNzOawf1ykLPjU4XxkFLOV15gKVeVMxPZBtnM8irGrAmSC2tjIlnhd33wRTlSQhX20xvDBxVQWunsuq6eEaFmIC6QhTKq-6CxbxOFSV1RNHGtDttGAPogyKV-_aEIZrP8QmSYgfSYaWnGR6svi-60N72OSh4_ttxKgr_EE" width="269" /></a></div><p></p><div>For Context: This is a topic that turned into another miner firestorm on Twitter. It's about how more and more games are making paths and interactive elements bright yellow to help players know where to go and what to do. A lot of gamers think this is 'dumbing down' games. ---</div><div><br /></div><div>Now that this trending Twitter topic has died down, I'm ready to weigh in. A little background: I've been doing level design/art for ~25 years in many genres including FPS, 3rd Person ARPG, Sidescrollers, and MMOs. I don't like most of the takes I've seen, both from Gamers<span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">™</span> and fellow devs. But I chalk a lot of disagreement up to the fact that Twitter is about the worst format for nuanced discussion of anything. So what I'm reacting to may or may not be actual views held by any actual people.</div><div><br /></div><div>Arguments I've seen that I think are wrong:<br /><br /><b>* Yellow Paint is condescending.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>No. It's a response to watching actual people struggle and grow frustrated with navigation in your game. That's a terrible feeling to work hard on something you hope will bring joy to people and then watch them experience the opposite. I've been on both sides of this feedback loop many times, and it's always difficult to process and even harder to know if your solution is going to be the right one. Many studios have VERY limited opportunities for playtest feedback from the outside, so we are incentivized to err on the side of over-correcting. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>* Yellow Paint is a necessary evil. (due to playtest feedback)</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>No. It's the nearest/easiest tool to use to address the problem that affects the fewest developers and can therefore be acted on quickly. More on that below.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>* Yellow Paint represents a 'dumbing down' of games.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>No. It is a symptom of the complexity of AAA development. On small teams, when a navigation problem is discovered it's generally pretty easy to get everyone in the room from all disciplines to hash out the best solution. But in AAA, every decision needs to go through layers of production/leads to ensure one person/department is not going to accidentally trigger a ripple effect that causes unplanned work for other teams. This makes development brittle. If a solution to a navigation problem requires multiple departments then you have to account for not just that work, but the overhead of communication (usually lots of meetings) and sometimes inter-departmental drama. "<i>Why are WE having to fix a problem the level design team created?!</i>" (This depends on the culture of the company and how siloed the departments are) </div><div><br /></div><div><b>* Yellow Paint doesn't damage immersion any more than a HUD or ammo packs laying around.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>No. The environment in a game is a different vector for immersion. We don't use this to excuse other unnatural things in games like stilted dialogue or bad physics. To say that arbitrary gamey things in the level are the same as arbitrary gamey systems/UI/etc. is like saying a movie can have terrible special effects or bad acting without breaking immersion because after all, there's ALSO non-diegetic music playing out of nowhere during many scenes. So that unnatural music should already be breaking your immersion, right? Why would bad FX or acting be any different? Because they are. They're a valid thing to criticize a movie for. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>* Yellow Paint is proven to be the best way to solve navigation problems.</b></div><div>Yes and No. Yes, it almost always 'works'. No, it's not automatically the best, just because it solves one problem while creating others. Any solution needs to account for externalities before it can be fully judged. IF your criteria is: What makes this particular navigation problem go away with the least risk, then Yellow Paint is a good call. If your criteria is "What makes this particular navigation puzzle go away while preserving a naturalistic and beautiful environment?" then not so much. Not all games need or want naturalistic environments. But for those striving for that, Yellow Paint in unnatural places is bad, actually. (Though I'm ALWAYS in favor of accessibility options that make traversal clear. Not everyone can do -or likes- that particular kind of challenge in a game, and if you want a wide audience it makes sense to deliver options for reducing particular frustrations) </div><div><br /></div><div><b>* Yellow Paint = Lazy Devs</b></div><div>Lazy devs exist. But in my experience they are rare. MOST devs are trying their best to make a game they will love to play. As I explained above, the challenge in creating a non-Yellow Paint solution is generally bureaucratic in nature. It's not that some devs don't want to put in the effort. It's that there are structural hurdles that individual devs may not have the capability, seniority, cultural capital, or other resources necessary to get over. This is simply the nature of large complex organizations. This is also why thematically consistent great movies are so rare. (From what friends in that biz have told me)</div><div><br /></div><div>In my experience, navigation problems arise when a level designer and/or level artist are pushing the limits of the systems they are working with. That can be the camera system, lighting, textures, texel density, etc. When you're developing in the trenches of any given game element, your whole focus is on that element. You're whole cognitive bandwidth. So it's very easy and common to overestimate how much cognitive bandwidth a player will have when they encounter your element. But a player is being bombarded with UI, physics, controller input, navigation, the emotional element from combat, long term planning around resource management, etc. A level designer should never have a player-cognitive-bandwidth 'budget' that is too high. (Except where games are almost ONLY about navigating an environment, as in 'Getting Over It', or where the other gameplay elements are purposefully stripped back.) In other words, we have to expect that a player is <i>literally cognitively challenged </i>when they encounter our work and any challenges we provide them. That's not condescending. That's just how brains work. </div><div><br /></div><div>All of this is to say that from my own experience here are some of the reasons I've caused navigation problems in my levels.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Inexperience. I hadn't been a part of playtest feedback before. I didn't know the pitfalls to look for.</div><div><br /></div><div>* A traversal mechanic was added late in development. This means other systems like the camera or map were not built with that in mind, so there was a tension between fully exploring the new traversal mechanic, and keeping it simple enough that it doesn't strain the other systems too much.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Being too clever by half. Hey, I'm an explorer-motivated gamer. That's probably why I ended up as a level designer. I love exploring and finding secrets SO MUCH! Doesn't EVERYBODY?! Well... no. Since I have so much love for exploring and have spent so much time doing it, it's easy to forget that my explorer muscles are more developed than most players, and as a result, I tend to tune my puzzles too high.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Not utilizing lighting/color/texture well enough. Related to...</div><div><br /></div><div>* The distribution of visual noise is too uniform. There aren't enough areas of visual rest to lead the eye. This is easiest to mess up in games that are shooting for photorealism.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Too much ambiguous traversal potential. If your max walking angle is 60 degrees, try not to use any slope that's between 40 and 80. If your grabbable ledges are horizontal cracks, don't include ones that are less than 30 degrees off of horizontal. </div><div><br /></div><div>* Too much focus on level ART instead of level DESIGN. I've done a lot of both, and this is a constant balancing act. You want every frame to be a painting. You also want every frame to be a sign post. The tension is palpable. </div><div><br /></div><div>* The game's shipping in a month and I'm getting this level in juuuust under the deadline. What that? 80% of players couldn't find there way to the boss room?! AAAGH! Yellow Paint! ARROWS! Glowing animated arrows everywhere! Glass walls all over the place! Etc. This particular pitfall is part level design/art problem, and part production problem. There will always be a 'last' level developed. And when that is happening, typically the team is at their peak. They have all the tools and pipeline in place and they've practiced making this game for a long time. They've explored the potential for all the systems. So this final level asset is their chance to SHINE! They want to be the most creative and ambitious. (This is greatly affected if development has been a death march, in which case there are other patterns which cause different final-level problems.) (another caveat to note is that often the last level worked on is the first level of the game.) Ok, but when those two things aren't the case, you end up with a massive convoluted level that is very prone to navigation problems. Production can, in theory, account for this and schedule more time for iteration on this level. But creatives do be creating, and it seems like no matter how large the time box, we'll find ways to overflow it. That's where it becomes the level designer/artist's job to know when to clamp down on themselves. <br /><br />So, those are my thoughts on Yellow Paint. I don't think I'm 'picking a side' here. Just trying to articulate how complex the topic is, and advocate for the best art we can make. Often Gamers<span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">™</span> are truly terrible to us devs; assuming the worst and accusing us with bad faith arguments, so I get not wanting to meaningfully engage in something that feels so innocuous as Yellow Paint. But I think when an actual point CAN be found in the chaff, (Not always the case) it's worth examining. Anyway, Follow for more very-long luke-warm takes on the topics of last week! </div><p></p><div class="adL"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /></div><div class="yj6qo"></div>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-16268225005789649952024-01-01T00:05:00.000-08:002024-01-01T12:16:09.862-08:002023 Entertainment Report<p> </p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9c0720e7-7fff-f734-0217-1ca28b167a50"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I started recording my thoughts on games, shows and movies I watched this year on my Patreon page. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/joshforeman">https://www.patreon.com/joshforeman</a> I thought I might as well put a repository of these here. I started it in August, but I also record what I watch and play on my daily log, so at the end I’ll add rapid fire thoughts on all of them.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment report 8/13/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I watched the whole season of Twisted Metal, a show based on a car combat game from the turn of the century. It's super dumb, very silly, incredibly gory, and... I guess pretty fun. I enjoyed it. Couldn't recommend it generally, but if the stuff I mentioned doesn't sound bad to you, maybe check it out! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment report 8/20/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I watched through Season 3 of I Think You Should Leave. Here's my advice. I think you should leave half way through the season. Ok, if you like aggressively off-putting humor about aggressively off-putting people -which I do- I think you'll like this show. Like all sketch comedy it's hit or miss, but the ratio for this show is pretty high. I'd put it up there with Key and Peele. Season 2 was incredibly strong with some iconic scenes that have stuck with me. Season 3 starts pretty strong, but peters out about halfway through, sort of regurgitating samey setups, and a truly baffling final sketch that felt like it was maybe the worst? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment report 9/3/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We binged the latest season of What We Do In The Shadows. This may be in my top 10 fave shows. 'nuff said. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We also just started the latest episode of Reservation Dogs. I was really surprised they kept the show going because the end of last season felt very conclusive. But I'm happy to follow along anyway. Still full of spirit and humor. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment report 9/10/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lower Decks season 3 is starting strong, really loving it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What We Do In The Shadows Season... 5? Whatever it is, is winding down and it's a bit more hit and miss, but the characters still really carry it and consistently make me smile. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I've said many times that I don't like anime, but I keep figuring that maybe a live action adaptation will click for me. So I gave One Piece a shot. I love the visuals, setting, and some of the wacky world building is fun. I like the unique main character. But overall, it's just still... too anime for me. I may try to watch another episode to see if I can acquire the taste, but I doubt it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 9/17/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Morning Show: Season 3. I've only seen two episodes. Too early to tell if it'll be as good as the first 2 season.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I've bounced off this shows at least twice in the past. I never hated it, but also didn't love it. But I'm finding that I've got a lot of time while I'm building levels for work were I can have background stuff on, and so I'm giving it another shot. I think it's growing on me. I got to season 2 and boy did this show NEED Danny Devito. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ahsoka: I'm liking this! It's around the same level as post S1 Mandalorian as far as Star Wars shows go. Kind of a bummer for every SW show that Andor exists, because they all pale in comparison, but I still enjoy spending mindless time in the SW universe so I don't complain when a show is merely fun. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 9/24/23</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">John Wick 4: Mostly as fun as the others. I did feel like almost every action set piece was cool, but went on about 25% too long. Heather really likes the other ones, but found this one boring.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Legend of Vox Machina: Watched the first episode. It grabbed me just barely enough to kinda watch the next ep.</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">No One Will Save You: A new movie on Hulu. If you liked Signs, but wished the movie started when the aliens show up, this one's for you. Pretty great acting and directing and editing to keep the tension up so long.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment report 10/1/23</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I finally pulled it off. After 15 years of wishing I could do it, but never being able to, I finally did nothing all day but play a videogame. (Baulder's Gate) It was really nice. I think the secret was feeling crappy on Friday after a flu/covid shot, which lulled me into buying a slower paced game, and I got into that night. Then yesterday I just kinda rolled right back into it. I doubt it will happen again for another 15 years, but I have no regrets. Anyway, fun game. I recommend it to D&D fans or turned based tactic/strat games.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Invasion, Season 2: Two episodes in and it is NOT grabbing me the way the first season did. But I'll stick with it a little longer. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Legend of Vox Machina: I said I'd try another ep or two to give it a fair shot, and I did, and despite having a lot of elements that appeal to me, the fact that 90% of the humor falls flat for me just ruins the whole experience. So I gave up.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Witcher, Season 3: I don't have really high expectations, so I'm enjoying this. The plot just seems to get more and more convoluted and confusing, I've honestly given up trying to follow it. I'll just watch the pretty pictures and enjoy when the gross monsters pop out. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 10/8/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Bram Stoker's Dracula - This 1992 classic directed by Coppola was not as good as I remembered it. I've listened to the soundtrack so much over the years that I think I had superimposed that quality over the whole film. I correctly remembered that it is very beautifully shot, and I assumed that because it was directly by the same guy who did The Godfather it would be really well constructed. But I think there were some baffling directing/editing choices that really put me off. But the biggest sin is that they cast Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder as a British people. They did NOT pull it off. Gary Oldman was amazing as Dracula, but several of the editing choices that bothered me undercut this. And Anthony Hopkin's VanHelsing was much more interesting than I remembered. Though to be honest, my most vivid memory of the movie was walking out halfway through from sheer disgust when I saw it in the theater. (slight spoiler: there's a part where dracula is in half wolf form doing an unspeakable act to a woman that he enchanted) In the 3 decades since, I've seen so much worse that I'm desensitized to that sort of thing I guess. :/</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 8pt 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 10/15/23</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Cobweb: A horror movie that is better than most, but does that thing at the end where it gets so over the top it loses me. I don't mind over the top IF the premise is that supernatural stuff is in play. But this was not that premise. Still, very good cinematography, acting and editing. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Strange Planet: An animated cartoon based on the web comic with the blue aliens where 90% of the jokes are calling mundane things by technically-accurate names. (Yes, this is exactly like the 90s Saturday Night Live turned movie: Coneheads) Teeth = mouth stones, cat = vibrating creature, alcohol = mild poison. I generally enjoy the comic. This show isn't quite do'n it for me as much... so far. I saw Dan Harmon was involved (Community, Rick & Morty) so I'm giving it extra time due to how much I like his other work.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 8pt 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 10/22/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Scream: A classic in the horror genre that I've never seen. It was pretty great! I can see why they made sequels. I'm not a fan of slasher movies, but this has enough mystery genre mashed in to make it fun, and the twist was great! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Fall Of The House of Usher: I'm only one episode in, but since it's done by the guy (and a huge team as well) who did one of my favorite shows of all time -Midnight Mass- I have a good feeling about this one. Strong start. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Righteous Gemstones, S3: Also only one or two eps in on this. So far not as strong as previous seasons, but also not bad. My biggest gripe with this show is that it's satire of the religious tradition I raised in and around, and I think it gets one thing majorly wrong. I guess I can't be sure, since I don't know any pastors/families of huge mega churches, but I've known a lot of evangelical pastors of medium sized churches and their families. And while their private lives never live up to what they put on display I've also never seen them be as completely cynically two-faced as the characters on this show are. The people I've known don't cuss or drink or use drugs, etc. They are two-faced in a much more nuanced way, and always always find ways to justify their hypocrisy with bible verses and historical precedence. Something the Gemstones gang almost never does, which feels like a huge missed opportunity. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment report 11/5/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I know I already complained too much about a dumb comedy, (Namely that the hypocrisy of the characters is not hidden or sublimated that way it is with megachurch evangelicals in real life so it misses a lot of opportunities to say something more subtle, profound or true than "look at these absolute hypocrites") but now that I've wrapped the season I have something else to say. Almost every character on the show is playing the classic 'fool'. That is: a character who makes bad choices and does bad things as an example of what NOT to do. (In the vein of Succession, Breaking Bad, etc.) The writing is very clear on this. And for the most part, the consequences of their evil deeds and bad choices fall on those around them, not themselves. And that's a fine artistic choice to make. HOWEVER... the last 5 minutes of the last episode (which feels like it might be intended as a series finale) completely undercut what the rest of the show was 'saying'. It treats the characters in a heartwarming, "Aw, look at them all getting along and having a good time" complete with the ghost of the mother of the family (usually presented as the only one who had any integrity or legitimate faith) looking on and smiling. I understand why this thing happens. The writers fall in love with the characters and cast, and the cast obviously likes to be celebrated and loves their characters because everyone's spent so much time with them. So normal human empathy compels everyone involved with the show to drive to a heartwarming conclusion. But that is NOT what the structure of the rest of the show demands. So I guess you could say that it was a bold choice to leave the viewer to interrogate their own sense of fondness for these terrible people. But it really feels more like an accident than an intentional choice.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I'm one episode from the end and I'm disappointed. It's a really well done show. It just not as good as his last one, which is probably in my top 10 of all time: Midnight Mass. That's to be expected, not everyone is going to love every flavor a creator puts out there.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Quick Change:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A Bill Murray, Geena Davis and Randy Quaid 1990 dark comedy movie I had never heard of. No idea why it was on my watch list, but my son picked it for movie night so we watched it. And it's pretty great! Bill Murray is of course Bill Murray. There a scene that, even though it's a comedy, is about as intense as Uncut Gems. The opening scene features Murray as a clown robbing a bank and his delivery is utterly delightful. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 11/12/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Scavenger's Reign - HBO</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is a really cool animated scifi show with the best and most detailed creative ecosystem that I can think of. Reminds me a lot of Wayne Barlowe's book called Expedition. I love everything I've seen so far except for the psychic creature. Everything else in the show feels so grounded, and I'm always disappointed with grounded scifi throws psychic powers in the mix. But whatever. Still really enjoying the show 3 episodes in.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Morning Show - Apple</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just finished the season. It was great. I don't think they'll ever match S1, but a season even half as good is still better than a lot of what's out there. </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">LOKI - Disney</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We watched a recap of S1, then started 2, then decided we still wanted to watch 1 again. This show is a real gem. I'm apathetic to the setting and plot, (alternate dimensions and time travel both take all the stakes out of a story for me.) but the chemistry and banter of the characters does all the heavy lifting.</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Fall Of The House Of Usher - Netflix</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ok, so now that I've finished it I feel it has improved in my book. The final episode brings it all together and states it thesis more clearly. You know what they say: subtlety is for cowards. Or maybe they say that I'm so dumb I need a piece of art to spell itself out so I can understand and appreciate it. I'm not going to state the thesis, but I found it resonate and powerful. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 8pt 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 11/26/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fired On Mars - HBO</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">An animated show I heard had some Bojack Horseman vibes. Watched two eps and I think it may be growing on me. It's got some Corporate, Better off Ted, and The Office mixed in there too, but I'm still not quite caring about the characters yet. Will watch more and get back to you.</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Wheel Of Time S2 - Amazon</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying this show. I remember almost nothing about the first 4 books in the series I read as a teen, so I have no real preconceptions going into it. Some of the characters are great and I'm feeling like I want to spend time with them, and some are very much not that. One of the main characters is acting very cold hearted, rude, dismissive and obnoxious to everyone around her which is not fun to watch and makes me nervous about how much of that we have in our upcoming book. There's a perfectly good reason for her to be the way she is, but it's still really unpleasant to witness it. Anyway, I'm enjoying the world building, costumes, sets (some of the best) and also the unique music. They are pushing the boundaries of what traditional fantasy film can get away with without turning into pure cheese. (Like going synthwave or using modern pop, both of which absolutely kill my immersion in the world and lower my enjoyment about 27 points) But I really like this take. There's some western and folk twang here and there, some more-modern sounding percussion, but never to the point that it sounds like a 5 piece rock kit or techno. But they keep it organic enough to 'fit', I think.</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh, one other complaint: while I think their interior sets are some of the best I've seen, they do a big no-no of having two different cities on opposite ends of the continent share a lot of visual motifs, making it really hard to clock where we are at a glance. On the plus side Amazon has starting doing a VERY cool feature, which is where if you pause the show it has the names of the actors/characters, but the new addition is a MAP!!!! It says WHERE they are, and shows a little star on the map, and you can click on that for more info on the location. This kind of easily accessed meta-data is really exciting to me. I hope this becomes the norm for all genre fiction where it's appropriate. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Raising Arizona - 1987 Movie starring Nicolas Cage & Holly Hunter, directed by the Coen Brothers </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For some reason I'd never seen this. What a delightful romp. Very cartoony and over the top but somehow still emotionally grounded. Highly recommended. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 8pt 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 12/3/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Whitehouse Plumbers - HBO</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux play Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy. The show is generally a comedy, but apparently the exaggerations were slight since the actual story is very wacky to begin with. It did make me google several things in disbelief and see that yeah, that was real. Anyway, great performances. Nice, tight 5 episode miniseries. I also listened to some of the companion podcast, but it was too light on the history for my taste. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fired On Mars - HBO</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The animated comedy about a loser graphic designer on a mars colony ended up going in some interesting directions after the first couple episodes, actually taking advantage of the scifi premise. (At first it seemed like it was all going to political office drama) I didn't love it, but it was a fine background show. I could see a season 2 being stronger. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 8pt 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 12/10/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Upload Season 3 - Amazon</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This satirical dark techno dystopian comedy deals with a lot of interesting topics in some ways I enjoy, and others I don't. It's rarely Laugh Out Loud funny to me, and the scifi topics are addressed better in other shows/movies/books. But it's got enough going on that it keeps me coming back. If you're interested to check it out, be warned there's some intense gore moments that could put a lot of people off I imagine. (I'm totally desensitized to it, which you'd have to be to find the humor that's intended with it) </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How To: With John Wilson - HBO</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Since my report is thin this week I'll pad it out with a recommendation. Honestly I think almost anyone would find this show fascinating. It's really hard to describe. It's part documentary, part travel blog, part social commentary and full to the brim with subtle visual puns. It's all brought together with John Wilson's delightfully quirky, demure and awkward personality. Highly recommended! </span></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 12/17/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Leave the World Behind - Netflix</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This 2+ hour long suspense movie is an odd bird. Like a flamingo. Flamingos are really odd birds. Have you ever really examined one? Their faces bend the wrong way, their joints look too wobbly to support them, and they have really creepy eyes. All this can be said of this movie. (mostly) It's about a family that rents a vacation home on Long Island, then bad stuff happens in the world and the owners of the house show up and they have to sort out how to deal with each other and the apparent end of civilization. Fine premise. But the thing that kept distracting me was how very VERY Shyamalan the movie is. Everything from the premise to the camera angles, pacing, and having a series of random 'unsettling' mysterious things happening. Like the Happening. But not that bad. And listen, as someone who has seen all of Shyamalan's work, even though I recognize how very very very flawed it all is, I can appreciate the brave artistic choice of sacrificing everything else in a movie on the altar of Theme and Vibe. What bothered me about about Leave The World Behind was that if felt like the director / co-writer, Sam Esmail, was trying to out-Shyamalan Shyamalan. And why would anyone want to do that? Shyamalan is enough Shyamalan. We don't need more of that! That niche market is TAPPED. That said, I still enjoyed it, but would not recommend it to anyone unless I knew they also subject themselves to the pain that is Shyamalan. I will say that I actually quite liked the ending, though I'm sure a lot of folx will not. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Squid Game: The Challenge: the Live Action Reality Show: Not the Scripted Show: The Game: but Not Exactly Like The Game In the Show That This Show Is Named After - Netflix</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ok, so first of all, the show that this gameshow is based on had a very very deliberate theme and political point to make. It's also Netflix's biggest show ever. And this Gameshow absolutely perfectly exemplifies the negation of the point the original Show was making. That irony and disrespect for the art should not be discounted. I was morbidly curious about this, and because one of the games we are producing at work is based on Squid Game I figured I should be in-the-know. I haven't watched these kinds of """"reality"""""-challenge-based-game-shows for 15 years or so. I remember liking elements of them, specifically the game design parts. And usually the natural environments the ones I watched were placed in. (Survivor, Naked And Afraid, The Great Race) Now, watching this I'm remembering why I stopped watching. The interpersonal stuff is so gross. So much fakeness, leaning into to trying to be archetypes, and the hit-you-over-the-head dramatic pauses, music stings and zooms just make me feel like someone's playing peek-a-boo with me. If you want a fun video about the show that I 90% agree with, here ya go. (Spoilers)</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI9CDEa5drA" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI9CDEa5drA</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Upload S3 - Prime</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ok, we are mostly through the season I have to update my report from last week. The shows really growing on me. Actually getting me to lol here and there, and care about the characters. Good job Upload! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Entertainment Report 12/31/23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For All Mankind S4 - Apple</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s an alternate history about the space race if it never ended and it’s pretty good. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Asteroid City</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Wes Anderson’s latest movie is also his least accessible, most layered and most dense, imo. It has almost nothing going on while simultaneously having too much going on. It’s got the usual Anderson dark whimsy, and the clipped dialogue and brilliantly saturated color palette left me a bit breathless. I think I’d have to watch it again before deciding where it resides in my Anderson rating scale.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">GotG are probably the only thing I still enjoy in the marvel movie franchise. (Loki is good on TV) This 3rd movie is probably the weakest, but it was still a lot of fun. Manages some really heart wrenching pain and joy. A lot of great set pieces and visuals, as well as fun dialogue. We also watched the GotG Christmas special and between these two I’m really hankering for a spinoff series with Mantis and Drax.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">65 - Netflix</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A movie about an alien Adam Driver who crashes on earth 65 million years ago on the same day the dinosaur killing asteroid is about to hit. He’s gotta get a little girl survivor to the escape pod that’s on a mountain and oh my goodness there are dinosaurs he’s gotta kill to get there and then he gets there and then they leave. Incredibly straight forward movie. It’s like the premise was all they had and they decided that was enough. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Lord Of The Rings trilogy</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s been about a decade since I’ve seen these movies. Since they are my favorite piece of any media ever I purposefully restrict my exposure to them to try to preserve the magic as long as possible. I’m happy to say that they still hold up. In fact, my biggest complaint about them is the very long ending to the final movie. In my memory the part after the climax lasted about 45 minutes. Given the extended edition length of about 4 hours per movie, that’s not actually too much out of proportion. But on this viewing it didn’t seem so long. After it was over I went back and timed it, and it’s actually ‘only’ 20 minutes. Anyway, still the greatest films ever made, and probably the greatest that ever will be made. Shame. It’d be cool to see something that incredible again. That’s probably another reason I have them quarantined in my brain. Just so I’m not always disappointed by literally everything else that pales in comparison. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Curse - Showtime</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nathan Fielder is one of the most unique voices in TV in recent years. He simply does not make standard stuff. His breakout hit, </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nathan For You</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, is a semi-mockumentary where he gives various small businesses terrible advice, then goes about the plan with methodical, stoic precision. The juxtaposition between the insane ideas and his dead serious implementation was a really unique comedy flavor I’d never experienced before. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">His next show, </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Rehearsal</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, has one of the most bonkers premises ever. In this one, he offers to help people plan for difficult conversations by allowing them to rehearse the conversation in a staged version of it with actors. Again, he goes completely overboard, recreating life sized sets of real locations, building complex if/then scripts in real time while working with the people he’s trying to help. And that’s just how the show starts. Within a few episodes it starts to go into a weird sideways meta that I can’t even describe. It simply needs to be witnessed. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And the thing is, just describing the concept and mechanics and logistics of these shows cannot prepare you for the personality that is Nathan Fielder. I’ve watched dozens of hours of him in these shows and I cannot nail it down. Is he just kind of an awkward nerd? Is he autistic? Is he purposefully acting in ways to make those around him uncomfortable? Is he actually deeply empathetic? Is he a sociopath? Does he have a heart of gold under that stony expression? I’ve asked myself all these things and more. Normally, if I’m asking this many conflicting questions about a character I think that’s the result of bad writing, acting, etc. I don’t get that vibe from him though. There’s a consistently burning sincerity that shows through in all of these moments that I can’t really articulate. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ok, so now to talk about his new show, </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Curse</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. (Full disclosure I’m on Ep 8 out of I-don’t-know-how-many) This breaks from his previous two shows in that it’s completely scripted. But sticks with the theme of reality TV by being about a married couple who is trying to launch an HGTV kind of show about building environmentally friendly homes in the poor town of Espanola, New Mexico. I’ve never seen Nathan truly Acting acting, if you know what I mean, but I’ve been blown away that he’s holding his own along with Emma Stone who is also absolutely killing it. One of the many themes going on here is the white-guilt-liberal-do-gooder trying to white-savior a community. But the couple is well versed in the concepts and vocabulary of the Woke, so a primary driver of the comedy is watching them contort their language and actions to facilitate both their self perceptions and their goals of fixing a poor community, the way THEY think it should be done. These characters absolutely drip with desperation. The viewer is invited to both pity and loathe them as the characters pity and loathe those they are trying ‘help’. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But I’m getting caught up in the weeds here. What I really want to talk about is the unique flavor. Let’s talk about Cringe. The first time I remember this flavor of comedy being a core feature was The Office. (I’m sure there were plenty of antecedents, that’s just the one that I think broke Cringe into the mainstream) Cringe is like spicy food, I think. It’s not for everyone. And some people can only handle one or two stars of spicy/cringe. I think Nathan Fielder is working on inventing the Ghost Pepper of Cringe comedy. Oh wait, I just looked it up. I guess the hottest pepper in the world is the Carolina Reaper. Anyway, my point is that he’s a true innovator in comedy, pushing the boundaries in the same way Andy Kaufman did in the 70s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim did in the aughts. Like them, this flavor of comedy strays into anti-humor territory, but unlike those others, it’s not predicated on the Lol-So-Random flavor. Instead, Fielder’s work is very deliberate, and flows logically from established premises. But it is so so very painful. It burns. He makes me put my hands over my face in the same way a person terrified of a horror movie would. I physically recoil from what I’m witnessing, often subconsciously trying to push the scene away. I think this physiological response that has crossover with horror could be the key to his unique voice. To be clear, his work is NOT horror. But it is often horrific. It presents a danger that is much more real than ghosts or monsters. It’s glimpses of utter humiliation, alienation, ostracization, inept pandering, and the subsequent self-loathing. I think most humans have had these experiences to some extent. And seeing them pushed to the maximum (but in a somehow grounded way) is very unsettling. A lot of humans have a sort of bug, where the response to this stimuli is laughter. So you have the one-two punch of extreme discomfort followed by a flushing rush of adrenaline-inducing laughter. A heady mix. I hate it but I love it. Mostly I respect the creativity and drive to create something new. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Everything else:</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Letterkenny Season … something? the latest one I think. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This show feels pretty comfortable but stagnant. The charm of the characters are all there, but also don’t seem to have anything new to say or do, so we end up with a lot of retreads. If you like the show, this is good comfort food for ya.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Great North</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Really delightful animated show in the style of Bob’s Burgers. Part of a fairly recent move in ‘wholesome’ or ‘cozy’ entertainment. The characters all love each other and usually act in the best interest of the others, but their strong quirks and miscommunication acts as the driving force for the conflict and plots. I love it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">House of the Dragon - HBO</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After such a depressing let down that the final couple seasons of Game of Thrones were I didn’t have high hope for a spin-off, especially since they decided to go Hard Mode and also make that spin-off a prequel! But They did great. The show still has that GoT hardness, cruelty and edge to it, but I think is moderated by the lack of need to wear those attributes as a badge. It doesn’t have a torture, rape or incest scene every episode. Some of the characters are allowed to have sincere positive relationships, and the politics are slightly less byzantine than GoT. I really liked it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jack Ryan - Amazon?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I… barely remember this. ‘Modern day international espionage and geopolitics driving a rogue agent to do the right thing despite the corruption of their organization’ is not my favorite genre. They all blur together to me. My rating: Meh.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Willow - Disney (I think I heard they nuked this though!)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This show actively made me sad. I still unapologetically love the movie. I really hoped they’d keep that tone and general vibe. Instead they made a CW teen drama with pop music and dumb characters that are puppeted around by the nonsensical plot. One thing I DID like a lot was the expanding of the world. Got to travel through more biomes and cities and such, got to see a few new creatures. But it was hard for me to care when everything is stylistically being directed towards teen drama. :( </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Avenue 5 - HBO</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The last couple years have seen a rise of the high concept scifi live-action comedy. There’s this, Upload, and Space Force that I’m aware of. And they all share a similar weakness for me, personally. They do what BAD scifi does, which is use the high concept as hook, but then hang stupid stuff on it that doesn’t actually have much to say about it. In these comedy takes, the characters are pushed to buffoonery characters when the writers want you to laugh, but then need to lurch into competent smart characters when the writers want the plot to progress in a sane way. It’s this inconsistency that makes me not care about the characters because they keep ‘telling’ me they aren’t real. I still watch these shows just because I’ll watch almost anything in scifi/fantasy TV with high production levels. They’ll get a laugh or two out of me every once in a while. But ultimately, the tension between a grounded high concept premise and linear plot with the silliness of the characters just doesn’t work for me. There’s a reason that most of the best comedies are procedurals. The characters are office workers, government bureaucrats, or late night TV stars. It keeps the stakes from becoming so large that the characters must abandon their posts as caricatures in order to suddenly snap into a role that can rise to the occasion. That’s my theory at least.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Last of Us - HBO</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Holy Moly what an incredible show this was. And what a surprise that we got not just a good videogame adaptation. But one of the best prestige shows of the year from it! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">His Dark Materials (the final season) - HBO</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is one of those shows that has super great production values, great actors, cool world, etc. but for whatever reason just feels … fine? It’s fails to become as great as the sum of its parts. Can’t put my finger on why, and it’s been too long since I saw it to speculate.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Vampire Survivors - Videogame</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Such a silly little game, but with a somehow powerful hook. Great video about it’s making here. </span><a href="https://youtu.be/XQVdR8mJrds?si=OJCKt7Vw7rvirzQm" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">https://youtu.be/XQVdR8mJrds?si=OJCKt7Vw7rvirzQm</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Witcher Blood Origin - Netflix</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I can barely remember this. I think it was a one-off short season prequel to the Witcher show. It probably had monsters or something. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Menu </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This movie about a super exclusive restaurant turns into a super tense thriller/horror story, complete with a ‘final girl’. I absolutely adored this movie. So much of what makes it great is the unexpected turns it takes so I won’t say any more.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mooncrash</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A very silly movie</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Uncharted</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is a movie based on the game and I guess I saw it. It’s in my log. I have literally no memories of it.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ad Astra</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Another movie that I heard was really unique and great. I don’t remember much about it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fleishman Is In Trouble - Hulu</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A drama about a rich New York couple with a mystery, great acting and an interesting conclusion. It was good.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Servant -the final season</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“From” M. Night Shyamalan, this horror/thriller tv series starts with a typical mystery box and then, as usual, gets very silly. There are some legitimately well done moments. But the connective tissue is so silly and/or stylized that I don’t think it holds together at all. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Shrinking - Apple</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A delightful semi-heavy comedy with Harrison Ford putting in his best work in decades. Great characters, great performances and a lot of heart. Highly recommend. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Paper Girls - Amazon</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A fun scifi-time-travel action drama with coming-of-age elements. It definitely felt like an attempt to capture the lighting-in-a-bottle of Stranger Things, set in the late 80’s with four girls on bikes and strange things happening around town. It doesn’t quite reach the levels that S1 of Stranger Things did, but it’s still really good. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Mandalorian S3 - Disney</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m less interested in the specifics of this show and more interested in the new ecosystem Disney is building with the franchise. The first season of this show was so promising. It wasn’t all about member berries, didn’t have the Force in any significant way, and had an edge to it that felt really refreshing. By S3 most of these elements have been worn away, and my enthusiasm has followed that trajectory.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Children Of Memory - Scifi Novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The 3rd book in a trilogy Really interesting exploration of a society integrating different forms of thinking, sapience and community. The trilogy is challenging in that it leaves a lot to the imagination and you better be really familiar with all the scifi tropes being utilized. I love the exploration of different theoretical ways to think and be. And while the background story is pretty grim, the books follow a loose association of characters that end up building an ultimately positive community around a shared goal of exploration. In that sense it’s very Star Trek. But the focus on different kinds of sentience/sapience is what really sets it apart. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hello Tomorrow - Apple</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This show is a lot more interesting than it is entertaining to me. It’s a retro-future world, straight out of the backstory of the Fallout Games, but not officially connected in any way. It follows the gray character of a door to door salesman who’s selling tickets to the moon. You find out early on that it’s all a scam. This is another show that I feel like I should have liked more than I did. I can’t point at any particular element that felt off.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ted Lasso S3 - Apple</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was fine. More of the same lovable goofballs. Falls in that ‘cozy’ genre I mentioned earlier. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Haiku The Robot -Steam</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">An indie metroidvania game that adds virtually nothing to the genre. Everything it does has been done better elsewhere. It’s solid, competent, and technically stable. It just doesn’t bring anything interesting to the table. That being said, I still played it all the way through. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dead Cells - Steam</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One of the best Rogue-Lites. I had played it a lot several years ago. There was an expansion that came out and so I got back into it for a couple months this year. Still amazing. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mythic Quest S3 - Apple</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here’s another show I really want to like more than I do. It’s a comedy about game development on an MMO. Something I did for 15 years. How can I not love this? I can’t say. Again, it’s definitely not bad. In fact, I’d say it’s good. Just not great. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Gideon Falls - Graphic Novel</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Since I’ve started writing a graphic novel I figured I should get to know the medium. I have a friend who works at a comic shop and is into the more high-brow stuff so he shipped me some stuff. This is one of several I read, along with Sandman Something Is Killing The Children and Department of Truth. I’m not going to review them here. Just want to have it on the record that I’m reading them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mosquito Coast S2 - Apple</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This show based on the 80’s movie based on the book has a pretty interesting premise. This is another one where it’s just good enough to keep me watching, but not enough for me to love it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Piranesi - Novel by Susanna Clarke</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not sure what genre this is. It’s sort of a psychological mystery with light thriller elements but in a fantastical setting. I don’t want to say more, because the discovery is a big part of the draw. But it’s beautifully written and evocative. I’m guessing this is what people mean when they call a genre work “literary”. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yellowjackets - Showtime</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One of those stories that cuts back and forth between characters as adults and teens. In this story the teens were a highschool sports team that crashed in the canadian wilderness and had to survive in unspeakable ways. The adult parts show how they were affected by the trauma. Really well acted, captivating, gross, artistic and creepy. If you can handle gross and scary and traumatic I recommend it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Kevin Can F**k Himself - AMC</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A fantastic premise here: It’s a sitcom and a prestige drama, but not blended at all. The show simply cuts to different styles depending on whose story is being told. The husband is a typical shlubby, stupid sitcom husband, and the wife (Annie Murphy from Schitt’s Creek) is portrayed with all the production cliches of premier drama TV like Better Caul Saul, Ozark, etc.) So when Kevin is in the room, up to typical moronic sitcom antic the house is overly-lighted, there’s canned laughs, etc. When he leaves the lighting gets really dim, just natural lighting from windows, the camera angles get dramatic, etc. The show gets pretty thematically dark as it progresses. Super great premise. I was unsatisfied with how well they ran with it, but it's still very watchable and worth the time for anyone interested in the art of the medium of television. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Piccard S3 - Paramount</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This season was a lot more fun than the previous two. I liked things about all the seasons, but I have to admit the first two are pretty terrible. The third isn’t good, but by comparison it felt great!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jury Duty - Amazon</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Another great concept hook. It’s set up like a reality TV show, but everyone on it is an actor except for one person, who thinks it’s a typical reality TV show. Hijinks ensue. I highly recommend it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Carnival Row - Amazon</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ok, I feel like I need a name for this category of shows that I should love by all rights. That I can’t point at any significant flaws. But that ultimately just come off as ‘fine’. It actually makes me very sad, given how much time, money, artistry and talent goes into these shows. And they just sort of fade into the background. Maybe because there’s simply so much stuff out there, and I’ve experienced so many things that strike me so perfectly, that something that’s calibrated just slightly differently pales in comparison. In other words: I’m spoiled. We all are. Is that good or bad? I honestly don’t know. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Succession - HBO</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A show that manages to make you feel pity for people who have almost everything the world has to offer. Everything except love that comes from sincere relationships. It’s a classic tragedy, told as a modern day cultural/political satire. Super well done. I don’t usually like this genre or setting, but the quality of the story, acting and such pulled me in. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Prehistoric Planet - Apple</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A nature series where they use CG to bring dinosaurs to life with every theory paleontologists have come up with for how dinosaurs maybe possibly behaved. It’s fun. I wish they were more clear about how theoretical the ideas being presented were.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Silo - Apple</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Another Fallout inspired show. This one hit a lot better for me. It’s about people in the future living in an underground bunker that’s a hundred or so stories deep. Their history has been hidden from them and a murder mystery kicks off the events. I recommend this one to fans of genre fiction. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Great S3 - Hulu</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“A genre-bending, anti-historical ride through 18th-century Russia following the wildly comedic rise of Catherine the Nothing to Catherine the Great.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Very raunchy, very funny, and a lot of heart. This show might be in my top 10 of the decade. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Bear S2 - Hulu</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Must See TV. Super intense show about a little restaurant struggling to survive with compelling characters, breathless pacing and a unique style. Season 2 stretches out to capture a wider range of emotions and vibes, but still proves it’s got teeth when it needs them. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Star Trek Strange New Worlds S2 - Paramount </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Star Trek has never been my favorite franchise, but I think I’ve seen at least 90% of all the ST ever made. THIS Star Trek is some of my favorite. There’s deep philosophical stuff, and a few episodes that are so wacky it’s hard to hold them in the same headspace. But ST has always been all over the place like this, and I’m loving it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Barry - HBO</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How would have thought that a show about a psychopathic hitman who decides he wants to be an actor, played by a Saturday Night Live comedian who doesn’t act funny would be such an incredible show?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">They made a D&D movie right! That’s cool! Very silly, but consciously so, it captures well the goofball nature of actually playing the game.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tar</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A movie about a really awful woman who is a composer. The plot is whatever. This is really just an acting portfolio for Cate Blanchett. And it’s worth watching for that alone.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3,000 Years of Longing</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Speaking of movies that are acting portfolios for incredible actresses, Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba are amazing in this movie. What happens when a Djinn appears to a scholar or narrative who knows all the pitfalls of wishes? Weirdness, that’s what. I like the bold choices made in the movie, but did not ultimately love the movie. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Avatar: Way of Water</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What a bizarre franchise. I don’t know anyone who cares about it, but it makes massive amounts of money, got a whole section of a themepark, has multiple sequels in development. I don’t get it. But what I really appreciate is how the franchise is building the tech that I’ll someday use to make my own movies and shows at budget 1/1000th the size. I also really appreciate the attention paid to the worldbuilding. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Banshees of Inisherin </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What if Napoleon Dynamite, but super dark, takes place in 1920s Ireland and was all adults? This is what, and I love it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Piranesi</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A fantastical mystery box style novel with a really unique voice, by Susanna Clarke. What makes this book great is the slow unravelling of the central mystery, so I don't want to say anything about it except that you should read it. </span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p></span>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-17373898031240535942024-01-01T00:02:00.000-08:002024-01-02T23:40:35.924-08:002023 Recap<p> <img height="455" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/hBtmCsNTkRZYE4e2Sdi5Y22f7J7Ms-qFwnRv_bzEv2zl7cF6Bw0XH0EA9kcm8pM3tZRCvhZvC2d2xRYcNvbXy-Sg0h6JjwobmsHYBd_R9hCMXU3tJX9z36t6BjeiAmOCGVpI2n6MxS3HThp9T8kb6w4" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space-collapse: preserve;" width="624" /></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-94397e63-7fff-5fe2-fd4a-d5273136358a"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This has been an unusually notable year for me and mine. I think I’ll break this into sections.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Career</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After 3 years at Mythical Games I was laid off. I survived two previous layoffs they did, but when they cut all production on the game I was working on there was no reason to keep me around. I had mixed feelings about Mythical and so I could sooth myself by remembering the negatives. ;) Honestly, my biggest gripe was that the company is based on cryptocurrency and NFTs. Those things bottomed out in 2022 and Mythical was reeling ever since. We went from being valued at over a billion dollars to struggling to get the next round of funding in the span of a couple of months. I’m still not sure if there’s a future for crypto/NFTs, at least one that is less associated with scams and the crypto-bro scene, but I still don’t think the ideas are intrinsically evil. They just happened to be used mostly for evil so far. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The great things about Mythical were my team, my freedom to work with the game’s community teaching design, and being promoted to a lead designer. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But this industry is tough. Late 2022 and all of 2023 has seen massive layoffs in the game and tech industries. I was told that having interest rates near zero for so long caused over-investment in these fields, and now that interest has risen the piper needs to be paid. So when I got laid off on August 1st I expected to be in for a very long, painful and costly job search. (like the last time) Especially because I have a lot of special needs for a job. Due to Heather’s lung and heart diseases, the number one priority for me was to continue to work from home. The rest of the world has collectively decided that Covid doesn’t matter any more, but I’m not willing to risk Heather’s life on that. (More on that later) Secondly, we need the same or better health insurance. Heather now needs weekly infusions, PT and OT, and these are all things typical insurance loves to deny. Thirdly, we bought a house 2 years ago after being forced out of our rental, and this area has some of the highest home prices in the world, and our mortgage is not cheap. So keeping the salary I had was close to imperative. After those three things, the rest of my wishlist could be sacrificed if it meant a steady income. In order of priority they were 4. Please no more crypto (Having been the lead designer on one of the best games in that space meant I was seeing a lot of interest in that direction) 5.Work that utilizes my strengths and minimizes my weaknesses. 6. Keep my rank as Lead Game Designer or better. 7. A team of talented and nice people. 8. A game I’d actually enjoy playing. 9. A game in a franchise that is well known. (This helps a lot in landing jobs, which is very important in an industry where you can expect to get laid off every couple years) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 349px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="349" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/6UUsxrLOrHRZqFx9a22aXeRN65z278vr_1Ik6vUYQ_GSnAcctjp9a1ZlqWjNRWi5NqCdlAaWbJczcMX3B-ZjQeL-kEGpD3lfDUZqn800AgH0sFq4u7-FjCmbs4wvdJqzOdtOEXa_NtNIFgknTIAiyB8" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So I’m happy to report I was very fortunate to land a job that hits a lot of those points. I didn’t get the job title I was hoping for, or a famous franchise. But I did get CLOSE to the clout of a famous franchise by being at a famous company: Netflix. Currently Netflix is not known for games, but they are working on them, and I’m in on the ground floor of that with a pretty new team of very experienced veterans who have worked on very big games before. And so I won’t complain at all about not being a lead, especially since Netflix pays MUCH more than I’ve ever seen offered anywhere before. Seriously, every time I remember how much I get paid now a huge rush of relief floods over me and I smile really big. Assuming I can keep this job for a while (which is a huge assumption in the game industry) it means less suffering for Heather, easier to help her parents (and many others) in their times of need, the ability to actually for the first time in my life invest significantly in the future and in my creative endeavors. It really could be a life changer. Whoever said money can’t buy you happiness is full of it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I can’t say anything about the game I’m working on now, as we’re still in the concepting phase, but I will say I love the premise and I’ve already had a big impact on the direction of the game and feel like I’m liked and respected by my team.</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Covid</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is a tricky topic to talk about. Like I alluded to above, most people don’t think Covid is a real concern any more. It was politicized early on, so there was a right/left divide on the topic for the first year or so, but around the end of ‘22 I think so many people had gotten it themselves, or knew someone who had, and witnessed for themselves that it wasn’t as scary as they thought. There was generally a pretty severe fatigue around all things Covid, especially masking, and as if a flip was switched it seemed like the world just decided ‘it’s over’. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What I just described was the cultural zeitgeist. I think the actual facts on the matter are different. The death toll never really warranted the lackadaisical attitude. It didn’t ever plummet. New strains keep popping up, long covid research is revealing more and more really bad life long side effects, as the virus disrupts your immune system. But because we are in this really cool post-truth era combined with the fatigue around the subject, very few people believe or care about those things. And painfully, that includes almost all our friends and family. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Being out of step with the general consensus of the culture on an issue that impacts our day-to-day is emotionally rough. Especially since I’m so inherently anti-conspiracy-theory. So I feel like the world is gaslighting me. I’m seeing official facts and figures that haven’t changed significantly, that everyone else apparently thinks we overreacted to. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~7 million dead. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This being a vascular disease, while it appears like an acute viral thing, it’s easy to misinterpret it as “a bad cold”. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">An unknown-but-not-insignificant-risk of long permanent disability.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But I guess when a society is done with a thing they are done with a thing. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sadly for me, I believe that this nonchalance is having a disproportionate impact on the those who can handle the suffering the least: those who are already medically complicated and suffering. So it’s hard not to feel some amount of moral opprobrium towards the vast majority of people (Including friends and family) who live their lives in a way that causes more suffering for those who are already suffering. I follow a lot of people on social media who are disabled in various ways and are very angry at the world and at most people for the position they are in. Many don’t feel safe going to the doctor for the care they need because no one masks, including doctors. I don’t feel anger, even though I do think they are making my wife’s life worse with their negligence. Here’s why.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Social Proof: </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“The psychological concept that people are influenced in their decision making by others, compelling them to act within societal norms or expectations.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Social proof is a psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in choosing how to behave in a given situation. The term was coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Science and Practice</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Social proof is used in ambiguous social situations where people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior, and is driven by the assumption that the surrounding people possess more knowledge about the current situation.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So there’s a tipping point for every individual where their internal barometer for conformity kicks in. A cascade of behavior/belief/taste change can happen when enough people in a given community/culture change. This is easy to spot in fashion, music and such. And we’ve toppled over the tipping point for Covid responsibility. The individualists won and the communitarians lost. The healthy win (for now) and the sick lose. In fact, things have shifted so powerfully that there is actually negative reinforcement of the norms. It’s not just that most people don’t care about masking. But some will actually express disapproval (and often mockery) for those who do. When I expressed an opinion about this on Twitter I got involuntarily added to Lists like “Mentally Ill” and “Hypochondriacs”.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And how can I prove otherwise? After all, I also dismiss almost all ideas that lay outside of the Social Proof I’m exposed to. Like all humans, I don’t have the time or intelligence to fully investigate every minority report. So I don’t hold others to a standard that I can’t meet. The only reason I’m still Covid conscious is probably because I have a wife who needs me to be. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So while I’m not angry at my friends and family who disagree with my assessment, I am disappointed. As I’m sure they are disappointed in me, and probably alarmed thinking that I’m falling into a conspiracy theory hole or acting like a hypochondriac. Just another wedge appearing in our lives. On the plus side, my parents are kind enough to play along and not complain when we ask that they do what is now considered extraordinary lengths of masking in public for 2 weeks before visiting. Most of the disabled Covid conscious people I know do not have such loving families. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hopefully history will help me decode this time at some point in the future. Either way I think it’s important to record this phenomenon as it affects me and Heather at this time. And we’ll see if were just bamboozled by the source of false info and half truths in this post-truth era where doing your own research is as likely to lead you into a flat earth community as it is to bring you to Truth. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Family</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 523px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="523" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/We8K6rB3R-yxDlLGCARnSB0U_QcAzBOFIE3PTEwJLTYmXJAl6ygXn0Z8pc8em03q9SRw7nmk-WW_6RNqF9c8ISkyUzb8AcbUSYFBCeoS68sG-MS6JDPYtLdy0KJERB8LL2zcu2brb0Tn3DIkCO78-jE" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Heather has had the usual roller coaster of health issues, generally in decline but not rapidly. Shane moved out in the fall. He’s rooming with his girlfriend in Seattle. He’s delivering packages for Amazon and still making amazing music on the side. </span></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">AI</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I talked about <a href="https://joshuaforeman.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-sudden-emergence-of-ai-art.html" target="_blank">this last year</a>, and it’s a rapidly evolving field so I figured I’d update my take. It’s still unclear if the potential for the creative apocalypse that I fretted about can be done with this new paradigm. After a year of watching the outputs develop the boundaries of what can be done seem to be getting more clear. That’s not to say that some sudden epiphany won’t completely upend the limits. But to me the biggest issue I’m facing is how the immediate questions of how these tools can or should be integrated into my creative work. I am very uncomfortable about the ethics involved with the lack of consent given for the data that’s training these systems. The companies developing them are all very much in the camp of “better to beg for forgiveness later than ask for permission now”. So everything in the whole field is in a murky cloud of dubious legal and ethical status. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In order to understand the subject, I’ve dabbled with several of the tools, and here are my thoughts. First of all, the image generation does one thing that I find useful. It juxtaposes concepts, ideas and motifs really well. Because of the ethical concerns I have, I can’t bring myself to actually use a generated image as a final piece of art. But I can already find ways of using it as a mood board, or a springboard for pushing my brain in creative directions I hadn’t considered. Does this negate my ethical concerns. A bit. I think using it this way at least sidesteps the overt thievery that some engage in, where they type a prompt and then “in the style of X”, filling in a living artist. And what I’m doing is closer to what an actual artist does when they google search a topic for reference. It’s just pulling a lot more references in unexpected ways and blending them together. We artists don’t ask permission from other artists when we download their work into our inspiration folders. While having a system generate an image based on millions of other images is not at all the same thing, it does feel similar enough ethically to me that I don’t feel guilty about using it this way. That’s not to say there aren’t other ethical issues, like the environmental impact, both in the real world, but also the sludge it’s polluting the digital environment with as well. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve also tried to use ChatGPT for research. Such as trying to figure out how to get river boats to group together so characters can move from one to the other. It wasn’t super helpful, but apparently asking questions in the right way and with the right followup questions is a skill that can be learned. I also asked it this, which I think is interesting. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Me: “How can I get my fantasy franchise to be seen by more people?”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ChatGPT: “Promoting and getting your fantasy franchise seen by a wider audience involves a combination of online and offline strategies. Here are some tips to help you increase visibility:</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Create a Strong Online Presence:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Website: Develop a professional website that serves as a hub for your fantasy franchise. Include information about the world, characters, and various media forms (movies, books, games, comics).</span></p></li><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Social Media: Establish and maintain active profiles on major social media platforms. Share engaging content, updates, and interact with your audience.</span></p></li><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">YouTube Channel: Produce high-quality videos documenting your creative process, behind-the-scenes footage, and teasers. Regularly upload content to keep your audience engaged.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Engage with Your Audience:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Respond to comments and messages on your social media platforms and YouTube channel. Building a community around your franchise can lead to word-of-mouth promotion.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Collaborate with Influencers:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Identify influencers or content creators in the fantasy genre and reach out to them for collaborations. Their endorsement can expose your franchise to a broader audience.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Participate in Online Communities:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Join relevant forums, discussion groups, and communities where your target audience is likely to gather. Share your work, participate in discussions, and seek feedback.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Utilize Crowdfunding Platforms:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">If applicable, consider using crowdfunding platforms to fund and promote your projects. This not only generates funds but also builds anticipation and awareness.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Attend Conventions and Events:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Attend fantasy conventions, book fairs, and other relevant events to showcase your franchise. Networking with industry professionals and fans can lead to valuable connections.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Offer Exclusive Content:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Provide exclusive content to your audience, such as sneak peeks, special editions, or early access. This encourages fans to stay engaged and share their excitement.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Optimize for Search Engines:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Ensure your online content is optimized for search engines (SEO). Use relevant keywords, create descriptive titles, and provide meta descriptions to improve visibility on search engine results.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Email Marketing:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Build an email list to keep your audience informed about new releases, events, and exclusive offers. Email newsletters are a powerful tool for direct communication.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Leverage Cross-Media Promotion:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Cross-promote your franchise across different media forms. For example, promote your books in your games and vice versa.</span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Create Merchandise:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Develop and sell merchandise related to your fantasy world. This not only generates additional revenue but also serves as a walking advertisement when fans wear or use your products.</span></p></li></ul></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Remember, building a successful franchise takes time and consistency. Keep refining your content based on audience feedback and adapt your promotional strategies as needed.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What’s interesting and frustrating to me is that I’ve done literally all of these things except for the SEO part. But I can’t blame ChatGPT for that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Some other interesting brainstorming things like so:</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Me: “I want to make a youtube channel where I document the process of building a new intellectual property for a fantasy world that will be movies, books, games, and comics. What is a good name for that channel that incorporates my name?”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ChatGPT: </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Josh Foreman's Fantasy Forge</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Foreman Fantasy Workshop</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Forge of Imagination with Josh Foreman</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">FantasyCraft with Josh Foreman</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Josh Foreman's WorldWeaver Studio</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Creative Odyssey of Josh Foreman</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Josh Foreman's Epic Realms</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Enchanting Realms by Josh Foreman</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mythic Designs with Josh Foreman</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Josh Foreman's Imagination Forge</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">FantasyWorlds with Josh Foreman</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">DreamCrafting by Josh Foreman</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Josh Foreman's Visionary Realms</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SagaSculptor Josh Foreman</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Beyond Imagination with Josh Foreman</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t think any of these are what I want, but the fact that it got me out of a rut of thinking my name needed to be the first words of the channel was legitimately helpful. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So I guess the big takeaway concerning my attitude towards this tech is that I think it’s still too early to make very strong stances about the future, the ethics or the legality. And when there’s a lack of clarity around these things, caution is warranted. I’m erring on the side of underutilizing it, rather than building a whole pipeline around it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Talifar</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 497px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="497" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/v7pcfwaHFo1mcgt9oIUEsQTdrSm5oAK8_hEA34Mee2DCfPYw0nLGBvBUnTbXP1iEhzoq_4s7UpMFj7j42eHkKNMcSo6q7r_BMg6p3jgf36pO0VgKAL4X6h2jspz2vY454UPG3ySFtz8dYjRBER8UJUs" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I really wanted to get the final book in The Scarred Trilogy out this year. But I also really wanted to get a product to market that could help spread the word about Talifar. Sadly the latter took 100 times longer than I hoped (Insert shocked face here) which derailed the former goal. Long term, I don’t think it really matters, but it’s still annoying how slow this whole endeavor is. On the plus side I finally reached a point where the first phase of the texture product can be put down without too much psychic damage, so I can focus exclusively on finishing the 3rd book. The other two came out around my birthday on 4-20, so that seems like a good goal for this year. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 475px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="475" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/_NTQTy3HWwyIpTaRpZ8ns9mJd1EtDmEYWH-9ZjxEob2r-sp8b4df-5E5zM8EsVnFB9VdYbwIl_CY8ziy1YEykhkE4jQZ5_CKgSW6-QlruVqGCqCgKBclQU_Pw-MADf_H_zAwl-ZVNd4_vIzoIAiznIM" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When I think about the future of continuing to develop the Talifar franchise I get really excited. I’ve got a pretty specific plan, and while the chances of success have never been high, I do feel like this plan is a lot better than the semi-directed chaos of the past decade or two have produced. I’ve got several of the big distracting side projects practically wrapped up, and I’m utilizing the experience of my decade of YouTubing to sharpen that tool into something much more useful. So I think 2025 is going to be a much more creatively fulfilling year than 2024 was. We’ll see!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTf11kmEiuR_rOGITHqHieouQ8MPs2JLTdDD8l6iY1vhH45Aq_f-Eye6P2gGRM3pBz2ams5eS4Yx9Ym8pl0AA8dA2IAV2gXNhpbZ8nklSxk7DtkN64IAW9yxTfaHSuqtU0Q9hsn-cve_bYdVwQnvmCxjBUBf7poJG7RAK26rNC1etdES3e0eCj/s1050/2024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1050" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTf11kmEiuR_rOGITHqHieouQ8MPs2JLTdDD8l6iY1vhH45Aq_f-Eye6P2gGRM3pBz2ams5eS4Yx9Ym8pl0AA8dA2IAV2gXNhpbZ8nklSxk7DtkN64IAW9yxTfaHSuqtU0Q9hsn-cve_bYdVwQnvmCxjBUBf7poJG7RAK26rNC1etdES3e0eCj/w424-h312/2024.jpg" width="424" /></a></span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></span><p></p><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-87116542115003965652023-04-01T22:38:00.001-07:002023-04-01T22:38:44.837-07:00Ambient Anxiety<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmI1N5UmZdQ1fms62hFg7q9cIj3eoQRDKoT1-7Z0-3PLwtnfxxL5-WllQEsAFiPAMhFMWzB1HSYRmJjMT0EMiJSTkbF4xSbo6Uex-Yd9uWVnaJYzUe1cImoxudY4IbAJKJDLXFj1nbyRpuHCOZ3Kz9ORU4Rckd7zuMFXPQOAV2Ozx8L9-Udw/s803/JoshForemanThumbnailSlime.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="803" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmI1N5UmZdQ1fms62hFg7q9cIj3eoQRDKoT1-7Z0-3PLwtnfxxL5-WllQEsAFiPAMhFMWzB1HSYRmJjMT0EMiJSTkbF4xSbo6Uex-Yd9uWVnaJYzUe1cImoxudY4IbAJKJDLXFj1nbyRpuHCOZ3Kz9ORU4Rckd7zuMFXPQOAV2Ozx8L9-Udw/s320/JoshForemanThumbnailSlime.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m trying to figure out why a low level anxiety has been creeping into my consciousness more and more recently. I’m used to being pretty happy and content most of the time. But I’ve found myself less at ease for longer periods of time than my historical norm. There are a few anxiety-inducing constants in my life so I’m ruling them out for the most part…</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5b0a7c30-7fff-8a89-f645-95b960a78ad0"><br /><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I work in a volatile industry where the average time spent at a company is about 2 years. This is in part due to the frequent closures and layoffs. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heather has degenerative diseases that are slowly taking away more and more of the pleasures in her life and causing her to suffer in new and terrible ways.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ever since I was a kid, the physical sustainability of the modern world seemed dubious at best. The amount of resources we casually use and discard simply doesn’t make sense. And as we burn through these resources we’re going to feel a lot of pain. That’s been a Sword of Damocles hanging over me as long as I can remember. But it’s in the future (mostly) so I can usually not fret about it. (though I do all sorts of annoying, time consuming habits to minimize my material usage, and feel guilty about how much waste my art produces) Anyway, the point is that even without the conflict and wars that climate change and drought are bringing, I have this suspicion that the ‘free ride’ I’ve had making art with physical materials will be ending soon.</span></p></li></ol><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m used to those things pinging the back of my brain every once in a while, dampening my mood briefly, but then I generally recover and I’m back to my normal happy self that’s excited for what I’m working on and what I can be doing in the future. This is where I usually derive my joy. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what are the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">new</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> things that overturn my happiness applecart?</span></p><br /><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">AI. This one sure came out of nowhere. The general consensus before last year was that AI would be taking care of the grunt work and jobs people didn’t want, leaving us all free to do the creative stuff so many of us WISH we could do if we were freed from the shackles of needing to work. Turns out AI is a lot closer to being the inversion of that dream. More in depth thoughts here: http://joshuaforeman.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-sudden-emergence-of-ai-art.html</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rise of fascism. I hope this one is just a projection of my left leaning tendencies. I hope I’m jumping at shadows and misinterpreting the increasingly aggressive rhetoric I’m hearing from politicians all over the world, and in my own country. I understand the angry backlash is due to a profound and VERY rapid (by historical standards) cultural shift that put the traditionalists in the minority. Any group that’s used to being the majority and having most of the power is going to get very defensive when they lose that status. The question is: does this lead to war?</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which segways to this next point. Before a war comes the division. Brother against brother, parents against children. As I’ve moved left, that’s alienated me from my parents. Not drastically. But the trajectory is concerning. I don’t like feeling like an ‘other’ in each other's eyes. But how does one navigate a relationship of love when one is convinced the other is actually negatively impacting the world in harmful ways? So far we try to focus on our common values, which I believe are still fundamentally shared. I’m sure we all hold nuanced enough views of each other to feel that at least our impact on the world is a mixed bag, not purely harmful or purely good. I also don’t doubt their motives and I don’t think they doubt mine. And maybe that’s enough to last.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s one new-ish family stress, and now we’re adding another with in-laws moving into our home soon. There’s one dimension to this that’s rough, which is Heather’s dad’s advanced Parkinsons. There’s really not much to say about that besides… rough. But the other dimension is Heather’s relationship with her mom. They certainly love each other, and enjoy talking to each other. For a certain amount of time. Then her mom’s bad faith interpretation of Heather’s tone or wording sets them at odds. The frustration subsides after a couple hours, but I don’t know how this dynamic is going to work when we’re not just visiting for a couple days.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A very weird job/personal creative issue is that I’ve got videogame related stuff I want to put on my YouTube channel, but because the game I work on has NFTs in it, anything I put out that raises my profile in the gaming community has a big risk of blowback. NFTs are currently associated with scams and ponzi schemes, and most of the social world I ‘live’ in is on a hair trigger about this topic. They assume every possible use of NFTs is evil and that everyone associated with them are evil. (I’m personally agnostic on the topic until we see how the tech evolves. I have zero passion for NFTs, I just happen to really need this job that gives health insurance to my disabled wife and allows me to work from home so I can be flexible when I need to drive her to dr. appointments.) So even though the videogame stuff I want to talk about has nothing to do with them, the second one person digs into my career they’re going to trumpet the fact that I’m associated with NFTs, and then the actual topic of my stuff will be drowned out by it. Not to mention I’ll become a pariah among my industry peers. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And finally, this isn’t a new vector for anxiety, but it’s certainly one that grows with time. My age is reminding me that my Big Dream is less and less possible. So far my predictions about the ability for small teams to make super high quality TV have been proving out. (Unless AI eclipses the whole thing and makes it pointless to do so) But even in the best case scenario where our first book trilogy becomes a surprise hit after we start advertising it, and I can start serious production on the TV series full time when I’m 50 (2 years from now) that still only gives me a handful of projects I can do. Every big project I’ve worked on professionally has been around 5 years of development, and the stuff I want to do is unprecedented in a couple ways, meaning that lots of mistakes will be made and do-overs necessary.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, why did my tinnitus suddenly get louder? </span></p></li></ol><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most of these concerns do not rise to the level of feeling like they are inevitable or impending. But I think because there are enough of them, it feels like likelihood at least one has a good chance to mess up my life -or the lives of those I care about.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So there you have it. This is why I’m 20% less happy-go-lucky than I feel like I used to be. I hope this is a document I can look back one in a couple decades and say, “Whew! Glad that stuff wasn’t as bad as I thought!” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">And, as is always my impulse, I try to balance things out with gratitude. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">My wife is absolutely incredible and I sincerely love her more every day. She brings so much peace and joy to my life. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">My health is pretty good. I’m a little pudgier than I’d like, but other than that… and tinnitus, I got no complaints. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">My job not only gave us the resources to finally be able to buy a home, but one big enough to house my son, brother and in-laws. (It’s gonna be tight, but I think still manageable) Working from home is such a massive blessing for both my mental health and Heather’s physical health. AND the game I’m working on is legitimately fun. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I’m so very close to having cleared my art backlog so I can focus all my (not job) creative energies on my Big Dream. Because of the NFT thing mentioned above, I was emotionally able to cut a year of my life that would have gone into the Cutscene Subversion Project that I started around 2008. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">My mom/creative partner is such a huge blessing in how much energy she put into helping me launch my Big Dream, and continues to collaborate with me. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">My oldest son seems to back on speaking terms with me.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">My youngest son has a remarkably great job for this early in his life, learning about stuff he actually cares about and getting him out in the world experiencing all sorts of things. And I sincerely love his music!</span></p></li></ol><br /></span>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-28503015641867234742022-11-27T19:49:00.000-08:002022-11-27T19:49:45.561-08:00The "sudden" emergence of AI art<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1QZn-RKHtDeJk_IdgA75rM8cV5tZRku-d5uGjIN_tEjWcZf0rgkl6o3SKz6MPa6f4Hkh280vi0AXcGtlCp3q2I2OBoNcUuJLtYqJvcMxM37QfbfMvfwqnzN651AH8IWFDI8GwJrVabkSpY1xkz2GVPL4t9EzLLxhKWQ02A77YLZMJTheMeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1497" data-original-width="2263" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1QZn-RKHtDeJk_IdgA75rM8cV5tZRku-d5uGjIN_tEjWcZf0rgkl6o3SKz6MPa6f4Hkh280vi0AXcGtlCp3q2I2OBoNcUuJLtYqJvcMxM37QfbfMvfwqnzN651AH8IWFDI8GwJrVabkSpY1xkz2GVPL4t9EzLLxhKWQ02A77YLZMJTheMeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />[note: all images 'by' Brian Craddock]<div><br />It's 2022 and this year AI art became a cultural presence. A phenomenon in my creative circles. Something that has stirred up huge emotions. Excitement, awe, fear, panic, sadness... <br /><div><br /></div><div> It's very hard to describe the feelings that these fascinating AI generated galleries produce in me. Especially the ones that tweak recognizable things from my youth. Because there's obviously a large component of absurdity, which I'm conditioned to find funny. But the absurd is not intrinsically funny. It can also be unsettling.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBl9KQTSU3VonZ-NLPj11gow3qGpG-WAZp75Unb7UlyMDiEy_oY4syDL-G5eBbVVfnaAZQH9N3qU9_LbnDyGHHKSkgoGq0vV8aLoQTcunMDjmUI36GilmcbQinimy3ds5LWD8mouHuAVxPlcuQSQx6O6shWsgTTn4VtxKWwmstdpL6j2q-3A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1499" data-original-width="1514" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBl9KQTSU3VonZ-NLPj11gow3qGpG-WAZp75Unb7UlyMDiEy_oY4syDL-G5eBbVVfnaAZQH9N3qU9_LbnDyGHHKSkgoGq0vV8aLoQTcunMDjmUI36GilmcbQinimy3ds5LWD8mouHuAVxPlcuQSQx6O6shWsgTTn4VtxKWwmstdpL6j2q-3A" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div> <br />I've never felt the emotions that people have described feeling from the genre of cosmic horror. But this is maybe the closest thing I can compare my feelings to. The fact that these come from a collective unconscious of our society, interpreted by a non-sentient black box that outputs *almost what a conscious human mind puts out. It's uncanny, unsettling, disturbing, and when I try to probe the logic behind how such a system could do the things it's doing, it does feel like staring into the abyss. Into the mouth of madness.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcNE9Q_OEQiUN01BDPpPfZfZdooI85CIqBdj-Q8HUkr2KzECXGliq2ct5hxnViJ_x4NbStRo-e8PsqucAs60-MopE5exCAAg5XNHB2jpYqc56BWvaJINwacYKMII8P5lj7u-Dh06psm0O8HQKP80snO22vVr2TNd4SUF8x7GzWh3ehXenPcQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="1008" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcNE9Q_OEQiUN01BDPpPfZfZdooI85CIqBdj-Q8HUkr2KzECXGliq2ct5hxnViJ_x4NbStRo-e8PsqucAs60-MopE5exCAAg5XNHB2jpYqc56BWvaJINwacYKMII8P5lj7u-Dh06psm0O8HQKP80snO22vVr2TNd4SUF8x7GzWh3ehXenPcQ" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br />This is a truly alien 'mind' that 'gets us' enough to come SO close to accurately interpret our words into these fever dream images. And my impression is that systems like there are going to be exerting more and more influence over our culture, minds, institutions, and IS CURRENTLY mediating a lot of our social lives. It is truly unsettling. But I can't look away.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjlrlBgj1kP1D6Ss2tZ_yfUVvhWs3EQazmXfT4XrwApbNDIkpEmEaFnO5tXmDuuPq8xQ9yJcY3Ie0jjuZawqVAQgKQHFKuDR-XM5hV1jztpuD1GS76NaTpVUKYvc7HE18BkUtSsIgvOcNApnatLi8evUJ0yevJiFnzYZ_lMT2dbaU9ZS1QvQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1005" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjlrlBgj1kP1D6Ss2tZ_yfUVvhWs3EQazmXfT4XrwApbNDIkpEmEaFnO5tXmDuuPq8xQ9yJcY3Ie0jjuZawqVAQgKQHFKuDR-XM5hV1jztpuD1GS76NaTpVUKYvc7HE18BkUtSsIgvOcNApnatLi8evUJ0yevJiFnzYZ_lMT2dbaU9ZS1QvQ" width="241" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There's a ton of issues that this sudden emergence brings up. I don't want to dive deep into those issues now because this blog is intended to simply be a record of what I thought when it first emerged. I wrote about a bit ago:<br /><br />I definitely have conflicted feelings about AI art. On the one hand I'm happy that people who lack artistic skill can still get their ideas visually represented. On the other, this isn't going to stop with happy people giving prompts. AI will subsume the whole creative industry, including prompts, story telling, and media production. That pretty much erases the foundation of what I've determined to be my reason for existing. As far as I can tell there's nothing we can do about this. <br />What strikes me emotionally is a mid-long term forecast. (which I think could be anywhere from 5-20 years) where virtually ALL creative content is made by AI without human input. I'm trying to come up with any countervailing force that could overturn this conclusion, but I'm failing to do so. <br />To add, it doesn't NEED to be ALL creative content. Just enough that there is no viable path for human-made stuff to be seen by significant eyeballs to make the effort 'worth it' for those who need external validation to create. (Which I think is more of us than we'd like to admit.)<br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFMQkFgZawhb1EBaUdl4fmLfLKW4XvDCz2-p0EdeHt_HLNXehUEpK4hmcQmSG47n5leROQXa3T5gJBIq6wARsGtCND6nF6dgYNP2uaLjg89LlRVh4Y_vD0YeLqlDdaGdS6OiqlJrV9-S4dsimDhvrsoiYVEWO4sLuIziPoqMSHD-_Hr-R1WA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="1011" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFMQkFgZawhb1EBaUdl4fmLfLKW4XvDCz2-p0EdeHt_HLNXehUEpK4hmcQmSG47n5leROQXa3T5gJBIq6wARsGtCND6nF6dgYNP2uaLjg89LlRVh4Y_vD0YeLqlDdaGdS6OiqlJrV9-S4dsimDhvrsoiYVEWO4sLuIziPoqMSHD-_Hr-R1WA" width="241" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-56980069239788851972022-07-04T00:11:00.000-07:002022-07-04T00:11:09.962-07:00Dominion Vs Dawn Of Everything<p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-1opMNz3G1ADeVgCGFe-yqsiAIA9Z64R_Eo9qezl1arhstmp3TvdhHfF2CQk-JT0pMLMsPLNqnvB264jQzRu76UAuxOS4NivVRDTQuFVlV1S4wALUf7fP9YMHcgWnMLRF21dDj5mWPMlb0SOrODmQ6E9O3zDYg6X-U7RvzC-jBsQFD4ktw/s1874/DvDoE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1445" data-original-width="1874" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-1opMNz3G1ADeVgCGFe-yqsiAIA9Z64R_Eo9qezl1arhstmp3TvdhHfF2CQk-JT0pMLMsPLNqnvB264jQzRu76UAuxOS4NivVRDTQuFVlV1S4wALUf7fP9YMHcgWnMLRF21dDj5mWPMlb0SOrODmQ6E9O3zDYg6X-U7RvzC-jBsQFD4ktw/w400-h309/DvDoE.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve read two books this year that present delightfully clashing worldviews, told through the lens of history. Dominion reinforces everything I was taught growing up. Some from direct lessons, but mostly absorbed through my culture. The message of Dominion in a nutshell: Christianity is what propelled human rights, bending the moral arc of history upward, leading to our present time of unparalleled freedoms, rights and dignity. (One which is quickly backsliding due to the rejection of </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christianity</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">). </span></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-32a8bbd2-7fff-9662-692a-7e42c62c8936"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Personally, my study of history, science, religion and philosophy over the years has changed my thinking on the worldview I inherited. But much like my opinions on the specific faith I was raised with, this evolution of thinking is not an overt rejection. Instead it’s a deeply critical interrogation of my own ability to adjudicate the veracity of the claims therein. I can’t tell you if a creator god incarnated as a man to sacrifice himself for the sins of mankind. I simply lack the credentials to do so. (I believe every human is in the same boat) My faith is gone, replaced with hopes that dive deeper than specific dogma. I derive Christian flavored teleology, but can no longer form those hopes into a Christian ontology. I hope there’s a loving creator entity that gives meaning to our suffering and creates some form of ultimate justice. But I can’t claim that’s true. I simply hope so, and act as if that’s the case.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So when it comes to the Dominion-contrasting worldview that is elucidated in The Dawn of Everything, I’m in no epistemological state to declare it True, while claiming that in Dominion is False. The process I see happening in both these books is that of authors starting with premises that compose a neatly simplified model of the world, and then setting to work finding data in the historical record to back that model up. And due to the fact that every field of inquiry runs so deep, I can never hope to learn enough about the fields involved to adjudicate which of these authors is using best practices. Nor can I declare that current best practices in these fields actually lead to Truth. (See: the Replication Crisis in psychology as a great example where “best practices” just weren’t good enough.)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can only say that one book FELT more rigorous and avoided Just-So stories better than the other. Though I’m very biased by the fact that I’ve heard all the arguments in Dominion before. Many times. I learned them well and repeated them often during my Christian apologist years. And a big part of my epistemic deconstruction occurred precisely because my personal study led me to better arguments that -to me at least- fundamentally cripple the arguments in Dominion. So as I read it, I had the continual frustrating feeling that the author was not engaging with the best arguments against his model. To put it plainly; I’ve got a lot of history -and thus emotional baggage- tied up with this work. If this were a court case, I’d have to recuse myself. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conversely, the arguments made in The Dawn of Everything build to a worldview I am not nearly as familiar with. And due to my personality profile, wherein I derive great satisfaction from hearing new and challenging ideas, my emotional journey through this book was night and day different from that of Dominion. Moreover, while the authors are engaged in a similar process of (probably) cherry-picking history to compose a simplified model of the world, the individual bits of history are super exciting and based on recent archeology. (though still heavily translated through the dubious -in my mind- field of cultural anthropology) These individual bits of illustrative history are so counterintuitive that they force me to consider that they are either completely wrong or that the authors are correct in their initial claim that the modern western worldview that frames our assumptions is so powerful that evidence falling outside of it is systematically downplayed or dismissed. Consciously or not. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This rhetorical move in DoE, by the way, is one I was raised with. Anyone who has been in the world of conspiracy will be familiar with it. First, a ‘dominant narrative’ is posited, usually as a monolithic force of culture. Then the countervailing narrative is woven, of the Truth that the rest of the world is blind to. And there you have a foolproof method for downplaying or dismissing data, ideas, and interpretations that fall outside of your unorthodox views. For me, I was raised with two related conspiracy theories. The first being supernatural. We evangelical Christians were a persecuted minority, hated for having the Truth, and vilified in all mainstream media, misrepresented by the culture-makers of the age and actively hounded out of the fields of education, media, and the arts. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other conspiracy theory is more closely related to the kind that the the authors of The Dawn Of Everything put forth. Not in</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> content</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but in </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">structure</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I was raised to believe that evolution was an absolute disaster of a theory. Poorly constructed, fraught with gaps and holes that could only be ignored due to gross negligence, or most likely by very-highly-motivated-reasoning. Basically, everyone in the science community who believed in evolution (so like… 99% of them) did so because they really really hated God, or at least didn’t want to face the Truth of His existence. Evolution was always tied directly to atheism, as if evolution was a tool designed specifically to lead people to atheism and their eternal damnation.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine my surprise when I discover that actually most Christians have no problem with evolution. When this fact is presented to those in the anti-evolution conspiracy theory, they would then No-True-Scottsman the evolution-believers out of Christianity. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But that’s not what this blog is about. I just wanted to put my cards on the table as follows:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First, I recognize my bias in how I’m interpreting these two books, and acknowledging that my emotional journey through them colors my opinion. A lot. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secondly, I’m hoping to compensate for that bais by demonstrating that I’ve worked my way out of similarly structured conspiracy theories before.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I’m ultimately arguing here is not that I’m comparing these two books and then declaring one to be more Right and Truthful. But just that Dominion fails to grapple with its best detractors in the way that Dawn Of Everything seems to succeed. DoE, in fact, cannot stand up structurally without engaging directly with the orthodoxy it’s attempting to upend. “You have heard X, but here is evidence for Y.” </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now let me talk about the X and the Y.</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The authors of DoE say that Locke and Rousseau, while presented as two opposing ideologies, share a big commonality. Both fundamentally misunderstand and disrespect pre-history people. Whether presented as savages, barbarians, or infantile naive children of nature, both Locke and Rousseau see the formation of hierarchical state building as the inevitable course of history. Once humans discovered farming, the rest was inevitable. Private property, permanent hierarchy, and inequality are conceptualized by western thinkers as necessary components of the stages that societies must evolve into as they grow.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DoE says ‘not necessarily’. They say we should remember that humans in prehistory were just as clever and political as us. And because all cultures evolve, subject to innumerable forces, we need to take the force of self-determination seriously.(Rather than run over it rough shod with purely material theories, Jarred Diamond style.) They make the case that emerging archeology is presenting us with more and more evidence that farming popped up many times in many places -and in many such places and times- </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">abandoned</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In others, long lasting peaceful civilizations thrived with no signs of warfare or permanent hierarchy. If farming inexorably leads to property, which leads to hierarchy, which leads to kings and priests, which leads to war… and there’s no going back… how would one explain this evidence? (They also spend a lot of time on the claim that strict and permanent hierarchy is necessary above Dunbar’s Number.) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple things that stuck out to me in DoE… Many indigenous cultures switch ‘government’ modalities seasonally. Individuals may be hierarchical leaders one day, and regular joes the next, subject to the needs of the people. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are so many societies where the leaders don’t have significant power. They, in fact, need to continually appease, impress, or convince the people of their policies. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Schismogenesis is the urge to define one’s culture in contrast to surrounding cultures. This can be a major driver of cultural definition. As opposed to material conditions, which are generally the default theory that archeological anthropologists use. (See Guns, Germs and Steel for the most popular version of that.)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Violent clown police” and the carnival. Turning the social structures upside down is a very common ritual that seems to be a social reset mechanism. Reminding all that status is largely arbitrary and subject to upheaval. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want the cliff notes of DoE in a couple hours, I recommend this comedy podcast on the topic of the book with an interview with the surviving author. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://srslywrong.com/podcast/242-the-dawn-of-the-dawn-of-everything-w-david-wengrow/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://srslywrong.com/podcast/242-the-dawn-of-the-dawn-of-everything-w-david-wengrow/</span></a></p><br /><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In summary, I really loved DoE. I’m skeptical of the claims it makes. But I’m also open to them. It seems that emerging data from archeology will continue to help to fill in the gaps that are currently filled with theory. But even if the authors got everything wrong, I think the radical ideas about how societies might have been, or could one day be, is important. The idea that the global political system we have now is the pinnacle of as-good-as-it-can-be is, I think, terrible. Hope that we can do better, and ideas about how we can try to be better are important. One of the truly shameful things I think much of Christianity is doing today is its absolute adherence to the status-quo. To hear the cries of the downtrodden and those devastated by our current global order, and yet to reinforce the systems that cause that devastation. To offer individual salvation for the chance at a better life in the next life, while repressing ideas that might address the suffering in this one. I know this marriage between Christianity and global capitalism exists for many Christians because of fear. They sincerely believe that any deviation from that system can ONLY lead to gulags and death camps for Christians. I used to feel the same way. Because I was under the sway of the Dominion. The framing of all that is good and just and comfortable as possible only under this system. Well I feel called to look outside of that system for alternatives. Alternatives that don’t require death camps, but that do respect the voices of ‘the-least-of-these’ who are crying out for justice that the current system is incapable of providing. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dawn of Everything is not a blueprint for this. It’s just a hypothetical. A potential. An inspiration for approaching that project with different lenses. Those who see our current global order as “the end of history” see it that way precisely because they are stuck with the lens of the Dominion. I’m happy to be discovering new potentialities through the creative activity of fusing old and new ideas in combinations humanity hasn’t seen yet. </span></span>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-2800827303149107162022-04-09T13:16:00.001-07:002022-04-09T13:16:28.484-07:00Art that Inspires Art that Inspires Art<br /><br />I'm finally near the end of unpacking from my move, and pleasantly surprised to find these lovely Jed Henry prints I had purchased years ago at a game convention. These are interpretations of franchises that were foundational in my creative journey as a game developer. One thing that is so lovely to me about these is the personal resonance they bring, because I spent 5 years of my childhood in Japan. I was quite young, I think around 2-7 years old. So my memories of Japan are hazy and magical. It's interesting that Japan became so ascendant in the medium of videogames, so not surprisingly, all 3 of these franchises are Japanese in origin. It's hard to say how much of my creative influence is "Japanese". But in looking over these artifacts, it's clearly a lot. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjww7vh9SuDZz_I8bgOTtQxaQliduCv9h85O_lGuzHSbxI_dRk9gDrmGenSsTb4uQyJa8paNw3oH2o0LCQW-xh5Qx1HnGRroFzqOa_Z2dqGShs5vrcAHEZJ2FHECv2hkotJGrDpDwTQ1eK-h7vZgC19-rvD6ZnAOBJyufRbANr8CzMQCnzfCA/s2048/JedHenryGameArt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1542" data-original-width="2048" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjww7vh9SuDZz_I8bgOTtQxaQliduCv9h85O_lGuzHSbxI_dRk9gDrmGenSsTb4uQyJa8paNw3oH2o0LCQW-xh5Qx1HnGRroFzqOa_Z2dqGShs5vrcAHEZJ2FHECv2hkotJGrDpDwTQ1eK-h7vZgC19-rvD6ZnAOBJyufRbANr8CzMQCnzfCA/w640-h482/JedHenryGameArt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Let's see if I can categorize the effects these had on me.<div><br />1. (Center) Legend of Zelda (NES) My 11-year-old mind is blown by the idea that a game can be a WORLD, as opposed to my previous experience of games as a series of near-identical screens that simply progress in difficulty.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ySjKatgrLMEg17yFtn3wZoaQoP2rHtfPaRNUhzLjiX8thenM3NjIx3tV8W9xLWDrym0zwdT-oyjtzYiYfDd-jHR2WojSoe03Df1P80sRt1sEzVV6SJWSJzZO6pqV-Bu5giyDeGGM1oPK3F85h1Zia7CcGIgtiEQTtR638T4I2t_KKSBmzA/s1024/the-legend-of-zelda.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1024" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ySjKatgrLMEg17yFtn3wZoaQoP2rHtfPaRNUhzLjiX8thenM3NjIx3tV8W9xLWDrym0zwdT-oyjtzYiYfDd-jHR2WojSoe03Df1P80sRt1sEzVV6SJWSJzZO6pqV-Bu5giyDeGGM1oPK3F85h1Zia7CcGIgtiEQTtR638T4I2t_KKSBmzA/s320/the-legend-of-zelda.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div><br />2. (Left) Metroid (NES) My 12-year-old mind is blown by the amount of ATMOSPHERE that a game can create. Chills. True sense of the sublime through tension created with sound and visual aesthetics in perfect unity with the mechanics of exploration, secrets, and many many deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7P_Ef-4JSKQhgpIag2zaJTP0QpXb7VPdyDRe5JesZWbF46wvJbr7JQJ_YWnLCD4fnW0v9q6arkwJg3mlgP6brq6Qw1P3wtAeYHToNItmgJjeFNF5AKlYzW41XWY1fPVifV1UZW1mBSodarNsIOQHny9QhJl0_AVavq0C_NY0bCa1uNNjvQ/s1440/Metroid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7P_Ef-4JSKQhgpIag2zaJTP0QpXb7VPdyDRe5JesZWbF46wvJbr7JQJ_YWnLCD4fnW0v9q6arkwJg3mlgP6brq6Qw1P3wtAeYHToNItmgJjeFNF5AKlYzW41XWY1fPVifV1UZW1mBSodarNsIOQHny9QhJl0_AVavq0C_NY0bCa1uNNjvQ/s320/Metroid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br />3. (Right) Team ICO trilogy. My early-20s mind is blown that games can not only embed themes in mechanics, but narrative as well. Story does not have to be patched in with linier edited cutscenes. Games, I am now convinced, can be profound, transformative works.</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5TnTsUiCbjF-YsN7HkqFnQpBzjXulJo_-vGe9um8yFmlaZ6ypqBYIidwqVMlYf6aZQ2AcwLygdJsZz_bYGDbA4j7ccSW0yKfBH_FR8uMifh6KKfoTvLdccD4ERqzLhqG9ZwAq8leaw62d__QEwzFAXjIktDLNl8MKXDtnygbWuDpCvEXf1g/s3834/SOTC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2157" data-original-width="3834" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5TnTsUiCbjF-YsN7HkqFnQpBzjXulJo_-vGe9um8yFmlaZ6ypqBYIidwqVMlYf6aZQ2AcwLygdJsZz_bYGDbA4j7ccSW0yKfBH_FR8uMifh6KKfoTvLdccD4ERqzLhqG9ZwAq8leaw62d__QEwzFAXjIktDLNl8MKXDtnygbWuDpCvEXf1g/s320/SOTC.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-78285273744668986592022-01-01T15:20:00.002-08:002022-01-01T15:21:59.888-08:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7gxu7UWqXO5kuYsXNPyoMqPZRB1xEdOEqeU-nOaH1PqO3DR9Bri9DcBXa8Ez4OgPeAdMsVtxhvTKG35-BoWlwIitn2yyyaOZE2N7JuVSNOOxfpYZLVZxpzGLGvyiaId6pfXwmlH2eg0v6IcyZiq4QdbIs1Kqi60kObGWHQp6eqCLikHUr7w=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7gxu7UWqXO5kuYsXNPyoMqPZRB1xEdOEqeU-nOaH1PqO3DR9Bri9DcBXa8Ez4OgPeAdMsVtxhvTKG35-BoWlwIitn2yyyaOZE2N7JuVSNOOxfpYZLVZxpzGLGvyiaId6pfXwmlH2eg0v6IcyZiq4QdbIs1Kqi60kObGWHQp6eqCLikHUr7w=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-ed8bc850-7fff-4d8a-d404-d64250425fa7"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the past half-decade my need to blog has diminished as I’ve been more active on social media. But I still like the idea of checking in on this blog for the big milestones, as a more permanent (as permanent as internet may be) historical document for myself. As 2021 nears its end, this seems like a good time.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First, I’ll drop some facts that I can reference as I go.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The household has managed to avoid Covid </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We were forced to move from our home of 12 years, but found a nice place, miraculously, in one of the worst times ever to buy a house. That happened in July.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I continue to work from home 100% of the time, and it seems like this will be an option in perpetuity. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our household is still composed of me, Heather, our youngest son Shane (22) and my brother John.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My job continues to be amazing and has been getting better and better</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heather’s health continues to decline. The biggest event was a lung surgery to remove a mysterious cavitary lesion in September.</span></p></li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think it’s fair to say that 2021 has been the best year of my life. 2020 is second place, and they more or less continue in that order. This is a nice trajectory. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s with some trepidation that I celebrate or even acknowledge how great things are for me when these past 2 years of pandemic have been so incredibly devastating for so many. But these are the vicissitudes of nature and luck. My posture therefore is to be aware of opportunities to help those I know who are struggling. (Several of whom live in my own house.) (Some of whom will be soon)</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple weeks before the pandemic I started a new job at Mythical Games. It’s located in Ballard, which is about a 45-minutes-to-an-hour drive, each way. Well, I only needed to do that commute for two or three weeks before we were sent to work from home “maybe for a couple weeks.” Almost two years later, it’s more or less accepted that many of us aren’t coming back. A lot of my friends in the game industry have similar stories, though many are also being pressured to return to the office asap. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fact that Mythical is on one end of this spectrum of allowing choice to its workers is illustrative of what appears to be characteristic of it. One of the company’s stated values is “People First”, a typically vapid and meaningless phrase, yet apparently, when push comes to shove, in this case it does mean something. This job has been absolutely wonderful for me. In the course of a year I went from ArenaNet where I was flailing and failing to find a niche after the game I was working on got canceled, to Moon, where I had the worst boss of my career who made me feel like a fool and a bad designer constantly, to Mythical where I’m being paid a lot more, made to feel appreciated, and being given more and more important responsibilities that are hugely impactful to the game. On top of that, the game I’m working on -called Blankos Block Party- is actually truly, really fun for me to play. While at ArenaNet I had pitched a game that was remarkably similar where you played as action figures in a miniature world. This game is like that, but with the added benefit of a never-ending supply of levels provided by the players. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s really remarkable about this job is that it relies on so many of my strengths, and almost not at all on my weaknesses. </span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My love of teaching is perfect for my role as “The Foreman” (more on that title later) the person who helps our community to build the levels that our game relies on. My years of experience teaching art on YouTube and decades building levels means I’ve got the experience, confidence and knowledge to lead this community. My skill at articulating art and design principles are particularly useful here. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The design work I do is idea-oriented, not implementation-focused. That means when I’m designing I’m doing one of three things. I’m making design documents, talking through design ideas with others, or evaluating the results of design iterations in the game. Importantly, none of these tasks involve coding or scripting or other highly technical implementation. My year of hell in 2018-19 was an attempt to learn to script (programming-lite) the design ideas I have, and I learned to a certainty that my brain simply does not work as one must in order to do that.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m communicating to all the different teams such as design, programing, art, UX, Audio, Communications, Marketing, Analytics, etc. While I can’t DO the programing or most of these other things, I’ve been in the industry long enough to anticipate what they need to know and how to deliver the information. I can articulate ideas well in a variety of modalities and that’s very helpful in this situation.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite having grown from a small company to a medium-sized one since I started, the team making Blankos is still relatively small. This means we get to wear a lot of hats and opportunities to expand my skillset abound. I’ve been given huge authority to shape this game in ways I never could during most of the rest of my career. Again, my experience working on many games in many teams means that stretching myself a bit is just the right amount of stretch. I can apply the lessons I’ve learned from experience and observation to an ever wider set of problems, and I’ve been successful at it so far.</span></p></li></ol><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All this to say, I fit in really well here. The game is wonderful. The company seems great, and has the potential to become a really big deal. In fact, this thought was reinforced recently when Mythical had its third round of funding and was valued at 1.25 Billion (with a B) dollars. Very unusual for a little start up with one game in beta. But see, that’s not why we were evaluated for such an absurd sum. It’s because of the technology side of the company that started working on something several years ago, which is currently exploding into the public consciousness, and has all the other big game companies scrambling to incorporate into their games. It’s called NFTs, a way for players to have proof of ownership over scarce digital goods. In other words, in our game, players can earn (by playing the game) or buy the characters they play. And they can sell them. This element of Mythical is the engine of our value, while the game I’m working on is supposed to be the proof that the engine works and can work for other games/companies as well. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I see a lot of people saying that NFTs will be the big revolutionary new frontier of gaming. (And the online world in general)</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I see a lot of people saying its a dumb fad with no practical use. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I see a lot of people (including many former co-workers and others in my industry that I respect) saying that NFTs are actually evil and anyone who works on games with NFTs are also evil. They think this will lead to a dystopic continuation of tech companies blithely destroying the foundations of civilization as social media has been doing. Preying on those with addictive personalities, and essentially being a giant ponzi scheme.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once I have a better perspective on the topic I’ll have to write more about it. I didn’t even know what NFTs were when I started just under 2 years ago, and since my focus is on making a great game, I haven’t got super in-depth trying to figure out where NFTs will lead us. My general impression is that it’s simply too early to tell. Most of the NFTs-are-evil arguments I’ve seen are conflating a lot of different issues like fine art, environmental impacts and capitalism into the mix, and none those I’ve seen really apply directly to the work we’re doing at Mythical. But I’m always keeping an open ear and mind to see if there’s something I need to be aware of to keep myself from being culpable in a big negative social trend. I’m doing what I can to combat Upton Sinclair’s maxim:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve quit a job on ethical grounds before. And I’ll do it again if need be. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, and I wanted to get back to the moniker “The Foreman”. Blankos Block Party has a handful of colorful vinyl toy-inspired characters who help the players in various ways. One of them is a character in charge of Build Mode. (As I alluded to earlier, the part of the game where players can build levels to play with others) As these characters were being concepted someone had the idea of calling this Build Mode guy The Foreman. Because it’s quite fitting that a character who oversees building would be called that. And it’s doubly-so since the real world developer who oversees the design of Build Mode -and the design of the levels that people make in it- literally has the last name Foreman. Then it was decided that it would be cute if the character actually looked like me. I do need to say for the record, that I was not the person to propose these things, as that would be both awkward and weird. But I certainly did not oppose the idea. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so it is, that I am now instantiated as a vinyl toy in a game. The Foreman.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LL86sNznshw" width="320" youtube-src-id="LL86sNznshw"></iframe></div><br />https://youtu.be/LL86sNznshw</span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But how do I have a good life while living with family who are suffering so much? There’s a pragmatic answer: that empathetically resonating with them in order to share their suffering simply makes me less happy for no practical good. In other words, me being miserable is not going to make them any less so. But there is perhaps a hidden cost in that answer. To have my mood completely divorced from those around me may be a sign of some degree of sociopathy. If not a sign, possibly still ‘practicing’ the trait. The thought makes me wonder if, living in a counterfactual world where my wife, brother and son were not all suffering so much, WOULD I be happier? Does their suffering rub off on me in ways that are mostly imperceptible to me? My daily felt experience is that they will tell me about their suffering when asked, or when things are particularly severe. I feel a pang of empathetic pain, and by the time I’m done talking to them about it, proposing ways to diminish the suffering, or just giving hugs, my brain has moved onto the larger goals in life and planning on how to tackle them. If the report of their suffering has affected me beyond that point I don’t perceive it. I suppose the sheer amount of ‘bad news’ has to eventually dull the reaction. As it does with doctors and nurses. To stay current with my family’s suffering requires several negative reports a day. And so I’ve learned to digest the emotional impact quickly.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What this says about me, I don’t know. I suppose another way my family’s suffering affects me is by spurning me to action. I take as ‘the bare minimum’ my duty to make whatever sacrifice I can make to minimize their suffering. But from what I can tell, beyond providing the physical necessities of life, some small amount of physical labor, and an always-available ear, there’s not much that I can do. I’ve asked many times. One of my least favorite things to hear is when Heather has done some physical thing that ends up injuring her (this can be as simple as opening a drink, or not asked me for some physical therapy) and she says she didn’t want to bother me because she knows how hard I work and how focused I am on my goals. Despite telling her innumerable times that taking care of her is a higher goal for me, something about me or her keeps her from ‘bothering’ me when she should. It’s tempting to think that this is her picadillo because, on a different issue, she also cannot accept the fact that she’s beautiful despite my daily reminders. But it would be too easy to pin this all on her. Ideally I would be driven just enough to be making consistent progress towards my life goal, but not so much that my loved ones feel like I’m ever inaccessible for the help they need.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which is a good segue to how I’ve been doing with my attempts to balance my various ambitions. Most people understand that a project without a deadline will expand to fill almost any amount of time. Well my deadline for my biggest life goal is quite literally my DEAD line. As in, I’ll be done when I die. And so naturally, the older I get, the more pressing that deadline feels. It’s not way off in the distant future. It’s a handful of decades if I’m lucky. And I’ve worked on creative projects that took half a decade, which means that even in a perfect scenario where Tales From Talifar becomes an overnight sensation when we start advertising the first completed trilogy, then I’ve only got a couple of TV shows, movies, or games I can realistically oversee before my DEADline. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So while my family suffering around me doesn’t seem to stress me out, the implausibility that I’ll be able to create the amount of stuff I’d like to create in the time I have left really does stress me out. In that it hounds me and pushes me to work myself to near-exhaustion all the time. It’s unequivocally unhealthy. I would think that with the absolutely glorious gift of an extra 8 hours a week I’ve been given with the removal of a work commute I’d be feeling some release of the pressure. But if anything, it has increased. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">October and November in particular were very hard on me. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’d been able to get a video out on the first of every month for several years. Even for the handful of months during and after the move we made in July. But the November video was a project that had just the right ingredients to derail my beautiful track record. It lured me into a false sense of security by being MOSTLY procedures and materials I have plenty of experience with, but then with just enough novelty to sidetrack all my experience, requiring many resets to get it right. So I was spending almost all of my free time on this for months. While the giant piles of boxed up stuff sits around our house waiting to be unpacked. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s a very obnoxious dependency holding up the unpacking process. The garage required work to get it suitable for a studio. I had to insulate and drywall half of it, which creates a TON of fine dust that covers and clogs everything. So it makes no sense to move all my art and materials into the garage before I finish that process. So all that stuff is filling the downstairs of the new house, which is keeping me from being able to unpack all the bedroom stuff for downstairs which prevents me from being able to unpack a bunch of stuff that’s sitting in boxes upstairs as well. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m so close to being done getting the garage done, but near the end of the project I found a line of mold, which will require tearing down some of the old drywall to investigate if there’s a leak somewhere, and that was the point at which I had to shift to the black hole that was the November video. Now the January video. Now that I’ve finally powered through it, I can spend the last couple days of my ‘vacation’ powering through finishing the garage. And then I can power through the rest of the moving process. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of this is leaving me exhausted. I’ve never felt so late-forties as I do now. I’ve got headaches about 50% of the time, my eyes feel heavy, and I’ve fallen completely off the healthy-diet wagon. I’d love to force myself to exercise for 30 min every day. That’s only 1/3rd of the daily commute I don’t have to do anymore! But because of the immense pressure I feel to keep making progress on My Big Dream, that opportunity cost is just enough to keep me from doing so. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the other hand, I 100% understand intellectually, that my efficiency is negatively impacted by working this much and being unhealthy. I understand intellectually that without a balance I’m jeopardizing My Big Dream. But one of the cruxes of my problem acting on this is the fact that there’s an external pressure that requires constant care and feeding. The YouTube algorithm. My understanding is that when a creator fails to upload content on a regular basis, this causes the YouTube algorithm to downregulate it’s recommendations. That is: it will show your videos to fewer people who have watched other videos similar to yours. This is where the vast vast majority of views come from. And since YouTube is by far my biggest platform, it is therefore, by far, my best chance at making My Big Dream become a reality. Therefore I’m bound by it’s inscrutable algorithm. And it truly is inscrutable. Purposefully unarticulated and undocumented so as to keep creators from ‘gaming the algorithm’. My understanding of it could be completely wrong. So in a way it’s probably good that this video got delayed two months. I will be able to look at my analytics to see what kind of an impact it has had on my channel.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the things I was hoping I’d accomplish this year was to wrap up my backlog of projects. I have a lot of miscellaneous things that feel to me like they are gumming up the pipes. I WANT to be doing 90% Tales From Talifar related videos. But I want MORE to not leave a bunch of these miscellaneous things hanging. Especially the projects that have been many years in the making. The two big ones are the final conclusion to my Shadow Of The Colossus sculpture, and The Cutscene Subversion Project: an essay series about videogames that I started writing and shooting over a decade ago. However, thanks to the move, and my inability to combat the Sunk Cost Fallacy, I have barely been able to touch these backlog items this year. Do I dare say that I will have them done in 2022? Just imagining spending ANOTHER precious year to get these done makes my stomach hurt. But imaging NOT finishing them makes it hurt more.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, I don’t have a good place to insert this, but I think it’s another exciting development in 2021. I’ve always known that in order to get My Big Dream to scale up I’d need to collaborate with other people than just my mom. So it’s really cool that one of my co-workers, Charles, who has experience working on Star Wars and Marvel comics, took a liking to me and My Big Dream. So he’s helping me develop a graphic novel set on Talifar. I always want to partner with someone who has expertise in a medium that I hope to put Talifar into, as opposed to just doing my best at it. Because one thing I’m very sure of: the first time I do anything, it’s gonna be average-at-best. And that’s not good enough for My Big Dream.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ok, so I think I covered more than enough here. Heading into 2022 the big topics for me to explore are:</span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">1. How do I balance the work on My Big Dream with my desire to be fully available to those in my home who need me?</span></div></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Is there a way to cut back on my ambitions for my Backlog projects so I can clear them and move onto what I’m calling The Josh Foreman Chanel 2.0? (Where I can focus almost exclusively on Tales From Talifar development.) </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Can I overcome my opportunity cost loss aversion enough to make time to get back into shape and stay that way? </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><p><br /></p>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-73444540660594146282021-01-11T18:51:00.004-08:002021-01-11T20:53:03.814-08:00When the Shoe Is On the Other Foot<p> <img height="591" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MfxrE2YLXUed6wiy0_q3FUU3KOmdtiqT6zl2Pg7V4yjqTJx9xn1x5fqi2DY1enooKbcZDlWmhG0rmi_4VhsiBT4YinOM0-L2-3YWSH2ajWgmpgGsD49fpOuVMT2iBQiMGeGdhleq" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;" width="540" /></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-33733bd4-7fff-5827-1474-ec9c1a4abb29"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So a mob invaded the capitol building last week. That was interesting. Here’s what I find more interesting: the accusations of hypocrisy flying in every direction right now. I find them interesting because I have a heuristic that I try to employ whenever something drastic happens to someone on one side of an issue. Especially if it’s not a side I agree with. That is, I try to imagine how I would feel if myself or someone I agreed with had the same thing happen to them. With that in mind, let’s look at some of these accusations of hypocrisy.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 756px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="756" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/5h2zi9JeJjRbB4xQOckXT5BCIiB8U7wWl-sNnRe4sseC-WExEGLYe1Vw6pSFug2WnmA97Olgvl0cee3P7NV5AnGcNScmzpB7P_7LfvaRXhxsN7Xt5b6gBnVnq7lTzpWCrjiV8T39" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here we see a liberal ‘take down’ of concerns about Trump’s Twitter ban. The question this begs is: Are liberals now ok with private companies refusing service to those they disagree with? Because last I checked, most were not. In this particular instance, we who find Trump revolting and dangerous are very happy that a private company gave him the boot. But my heuristic tells me to ask what would happen if Obama had been banned from Twitter? This tweet feels like it’s ignoring a rather large issue for the sake of reveling in schadenfreude. </span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 614px; overflow: hidden; width: 598px;"><img height="614" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Wt1DWgLDgN04ASINYnUHnXIkgRkdPXfVL_zo_fGYwmOcLoiTnqu-ZdqttjWm060xjV7B-kd-90tbZKkXB-6D14B_ZVcqIJP9m5ErQwdRTxwLffNxJ8bfKvpXv4aGRiPJ7-E-8BRQ" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="598" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I’m writing this, the details about how and why security was so underwhelming on Jan 6th are still being investigated. Personally, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that culturally, police predominantly are going to side with a politician who “stands for” Law and Order, and since the mob apparently sides with that politician, they are aligned on many issues. But put in an extremely awkward position of having to oppose each other due to the context. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This apparent symmetry that exists between rioting at BLM protests and now at the Capitol building is fertile ground for those who think they are centrists. The kind who find themselves very clever every time they intone the words "both sides" with the reverence of a liturgy. These smarty pants can see how ridiculous both sides are being. If only those sides would be reasonable, like them, what a balanced world we would live in! The irony I've discovered after my phase in that zone is that when you well-actually both sides you are de facto defending the conservative position. (just rejecting the very farthest right) You're haphazardly perpetuating whatever system you happen to find yourself in as being some kind of ideal worthy of defense. It's not clever. It's unreflective, following a simple algorithm that generates just-so narratives. There's a reason South Park has been able to return to that well hundreds of times over 20 years. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And I can’t imagine a scenario like this Capitol building riot happening if the mob was majority-black. Perhaps it’s a lack of imagination, but I sincerely don’t understand how any person who’s been paying attention this year could think that a black mob could storm and infiltrate the capitol building. They would all be dead. And my god… I HOPE that deep down, everyone knows that. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 755px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="755" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/auEeB0Elsm42BVv9VqN4iNEzjCsSwpYMcHO3WczAAYzzgChZ-IdGvlyhYRzq0Qi3VUv91yt9EsY5vYNG_2051rGOwWlCNGcKlM5tX1OhFjBNooFwgJFjabYvIgYyR76iVXBZ3hDa" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s one I made. Look how many shares it got. Why can’t stuff I share about my books get that much love? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But anyway, the multiple times that police and security moved aside and ushered the screaming mob into the building has to MEAN something. That CAN’T be normal. https://mobile.twitter.com/m3mnoch/status/1346927478732857351 </span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The most popular form of hypocrisy-accusations came from people who support BLM protests in the summer/fall of 2020 saying that conservatives are suddenly ok with violent riots. (This is not true; most are not) And conservatives saying that BLM supporters have no right to criticize the mob that broke into the capitol building because BLM protests also had plenty of examples of property destruction, vandalism and violence. I think on its face, the conservative argument is more valid. However, upon scrutiny I believe it falls apart rather quickly. And that has to do with the ostensible reason for the violent actions.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve written plenty about my thoughts on Black Lives Matter, and I'll be getting into it later. For now I will simply summarize it like this. A large percentage of a minority group in my country has lived-experience of systemic oppression. You can agree or disagree with their experience, that’s up to you. But let’s compare it with the violence that occured in the Capitol building. Many of the iconic leaders of the mob made no effort to disguise themselves, so we can see who they are and what they think on their social media. Most of them believed in Qanon. From Wikipedia: “</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">QAnon</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">[a]</span></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">/ˌkjuːəˈnɒn/</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) is a disproven and discredited </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far-right" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">far-right</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">conspiracy theory</span></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon#cite_note-far-right_conspiracy_theory-3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">[2]</span></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> alleging that a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabal" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cabal</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Satan-worshipping</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cannibalistic</span></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">[3]</span></span></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">[4]</span></span></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">[5]</span></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophilia" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">pedophiles</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is running a global child </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex-trafficking" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sex-trafficking</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ring and plotting against U.S. president </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Donald Trump</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, who is fighting the cabal.</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">[6]</span></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> QAnon also commonly asserts that Trump is planning a day of reckoning known as the "Storm", when thousands of members of the cabal will be arrested.</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon#cite_note-salon0819-8" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">[7]</span></span></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">[8]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In other words, the NOT-lived experience of thinking that a crowd-sourced internet myth is real enough to incite them to capture and possibly kill politicians that they believe are secret blood-drinking satanists. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be clear: I am NOT saying that everyone in the mob believed this stuff, or that everyone in the protest outside did. But there were a LOT of Q signs. And confederate flags. And tshirts, hats, tattoos and merchandise that praised the holocaust, denied the holocaust, or otherwise marked these individuals as racists if not some flavor of literal nazi. Again, this does not mean that everyone, or even the majority of people there, believe these things. But the vanguard did; the ones literally smashing in windows and doors and then taking selfies inside. Most of them absolutely did. I’m not cherry picking the fringe in order to make “all conservatives” look stupid. The fringe picked itself when they bashed in the doors and stormed the capitol building. Which means it is very fair to draw a comparison between the grievances that the capitol building mob had, versus the grievances that the BLM rioters had. Here, in his own words, explaining his concerns, is one of the leaders of the mob.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22d6tRXxVeg </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In both the BLM and Capitol building riots there were certainly, mathematically by necessity, some portion of chaos tourists. People who just want to be in on the action and break shit. And a riot is a fantastic opportunity to do so with impunity. I think it’s fair to cross them out of the tally for both of these instances. However, in both cases you absolutely had some amount of very sincerely upset people propelled by ideas to do violence. And it would not be fair to criticize one of these events and not the other. My point is that you can’t stop at the surface level and ‘call it even’. Or call the other side hypocritical for not denouncing the BLM rioters while denouncing the Capitol building rioters. Because reasons and motivations matter. Even if it is as so many conservatives believe, and there is no such thing as systemic racism; there’s still the issue that a large portion of a minority group in our country experiences SOMETHING. Unless you think they are all literally making it up because they want free stuff, in which case, ok, you’re just a racist and I don’t feel the need to communicate any further with you. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So again, we all recognize that if one of these theories is correct, then drastic action is warranted. If it is true that satanic pedophiles truly do control the Democrat party and stole the election from a righteous man who is saving children from them… then hell yeah, you should storm the capitol and stop the evil! Likewise, if you have been systematically oppressed, live in fear for your life from the institutions that are supposed to protect you, and every claim you make about it is ignored by the institutions that need to change, then hell yeah, you should make people pay attention to you! And historically, the only way enough sustained attention is paid to an issue… has been rioting. Here are a few short perspectives on the topic. https://time.com/3951282/riot-violence-use-american-history/ </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t like rioting. It is not pleasant. They almost always result in injury and often lead to deaths. Not a good thing. Not the preferred method for achieving one’s goals. But sometimes it is still warranted when the preferred methods have failed. (As are many forms of violence) It’s not fair for the families and businesses in the area. It’s also impossible to weigh in the balance of justice </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">which</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bad thing is more unfair. The damage to property and wealth of corporations, and the lifetime of work and investment of small business owners lost, vs. the generations of oppression a people experience. I can’t calculate that. I don’t experience the oppression that so many people of color report. I can look at statistics. But I know how easy it is to manipulate statistics. I can watch the horrific videos of people of color being seemingly maliciously or callously murdered by police. But I know that video from one perspective only tells a small slice of reality, and that I’m missing too much context to be able to make a perfectly Bayesian adjudication of the event. I also know that high-salience material like these videos can cause a distorting effect in the mind where the extremity makes me assume that there’s more of it than there really is. I can hear countless testimony from people of color -some of whom I know personally, some of whom are my siblings- who tell some really depressing anecdotes about their experiences with racism, both personal and systemic. But I know that the premises we bring to situations can have a huge impact on how we interpret ambiguous data. Was that side-eye I got from the waiter because they don’t trust me, or just because they were checking if they forgot to bus the table behind me? If I’m primed to see racism behind every bush, I could understand how I might accidentally tally up many non-racist things as racist. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know this behind-every-bush phenomenon from two experiences. The first example is from most of my childhood. I have a non verbal autistic sister who does </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> blend in. When we were kids on family outings this was often a great embarrassment to me, but more often it aroused righteous indignation. I’d see the glances, pointing, murmured words, stifled laughter, etc from people around us. And I would GLAAAARE at them. I wanted these people to know how disgusting they were. In retrospect I can’t tell you what percentage of those people deserved my ire and who were not even noticing Lucinda, but just happened to be chuckling about something else, or maybe stifling a sneeze. Who knows? How much of my anger was a projection of my own embarrassment? It seems highly unlikely to me that NONE of these experiences were real. After all, I was there when she stripped naked and ran through the park stealing hot dogs off of peoples bbqs. I was there when she used one of the display toilets at the hardware store. OF COURSE she got looks and stares and chuckles and many a stink-eye. So was this oppression-by-proxy a real legitimate social hardship I had to deal with? A bit. I don’t think Lucinda noticed or cared, but if she did, it would obviously be a million times worse for her. And I would certainly not be in a position to tell her how right or wrong she is about that experience. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This second example, I’m convinced was all in my head. This was a period of my life when I believed that literal demons could possess artifacts. (especially from foreign non-christian countries) I could FEEL oppressive atmospheres in stores that sold “New Age” music and beach shops that sold crystals and jewelry from ‘exotic lands’. On my first honeymoon, both my wife and I were convinced there was a demon in the closet in the room we were staying in because we saw a red light that seemed to have no source. Granted, we were both 18-year-old idiots. And I do NOT want to make it seem like I’m drawing a comparison of my teen-aged superstition to a person of color’s experiences of racism. I only want to highlight that ‘priming’ is a real psychological phenomenon, and I can’t dismiss the idea that systemic racism could conceivably be chalked up to it. I’m saying this because this is a serious idea that many smart conservatives hold. Including plenty of black conservative thinkers. And it needs to be addressed directly. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So IF all these cognitive biases (Priming, Availability Heuristic, Salience Bias, etc) and logical fallacies (statistics, cherry picking, etc.) are at the root of the BLM movement, then it is true that the rioting that takes place at many of the protests are truly a massive injustice. Those riots ought to be denounced. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IF. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the claims are merely flimsy excuses. Here’s the reason I stopped being conservative on this matter. That ‘IF’ us white people need to decide on when we cast our lot for or against people with darker skin in this country who DO feel that systemic racism is real… in order to answer that IF in the negative; that is to say: “No, you black people are imagining this. Calm down. Just follow the law and you’ll be fine. Work hard, study hard, pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Something about grit. Something about respect. Etc.” In order to say these things, you have to put yourself as a judge of their lives. You see reality. They see a fantasy. You proclaim yourself an expert about another person’s LIFE. (Not what I do when I decide a Qanon believer is seeing a fantasy.) It was when I realized that I was pretending to be an authority about someone else’s LIFE, that I stopped being a conservative on this issue. It was then that I realized I really needed to listen. And not just to the minority-of-the-minority who agreed with what I already thought. (And boy there sure is a cottage industry for those folks.) I felt convicted (in a spiritual sense) of arrogance. I can hold these two possibilities simultaneously: 1. The claims of BLM could be wrong. 2. I’m not the person who can adjudicate those claims. I can do my best to research and sort through the data, the interpretations, the countless think-pieces like this one. But I’m only one person with one perspective. And it just so happens to be about the worst perspective to adjudicate the claims of BLM. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not the same thing as saying that truth is relative or that a white person’s truth is different from a black person’s truth. It is saying that experience matters. That it is fundamentally dehumanizing to tell a person that their experience and interpretation is wrong, and you know better. It is arrogant to decide that I’ve read enough politics and history and sociology, and therefore I know that the claims of countless black Americans are wrong. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Likewise, it follows that I do not mean that any particular individual of any color or perspective is 100% correct. A black person is not more likely than me to know any random fact of the universe. But they ARE more likely than me to know more about life for black people in America.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a reality that we are all a part of, and none of us are completely correct about it. But for me to actively oppose the work -both inside and outside institutions composed of people who claim injustice- would require a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">much higher standard of evidence</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> against them for me to be comfortable denouncing them. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which brings us back to Qanon. Here we have a group of people who do NOT have personal experience with satanic blood-drinking pedophiles. But they DO have lots of memes and youtube videos and conspiracy forums. They claim they are oppressed. The truth they try to propagate is being suppressed by the satanic cabal that runs Hollywood, tech, the media and the government. (Except Trump, the police and probably the military? I guess?) This satanic cabal has stolen the election. Trump told them so. He didn’t need to say the part about the satanic cabal; that part was already pre-filled in for him like a Mad Lib. He told them to come and be strong. That it would be wild. That the people had to take it back. And completely unsurprisingly, some fringe of those who were moved by his words took it to the level of a violent riot complete with multiple plots involving bombs, nooses and kidnapping paraphernalia. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So just as with BLM, we have an aggrieved minority group. (Minority in belief, still predominantly white and mostly male) They have a claim about the oppression that they need to stop with violence if necessary. They have a riot. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Am I a hypocrite for denouncing them because the quality of the evidence for their beliefs is less robust (by a country mile) than that of BLM? This is what I’d like all conservatives who are currently calling BLM supporters hypocrites to ask themselves. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-46432579732635747652021-01-01T15:11:00.001-08:002021-01-01T15:11:33.063-08:00Hades as Allegory for Gen Z's Desire To Escape<p> <img height="154" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/TQ51_7kzsmqvoOUDT_NGRzQGGYDcSkERBmaYbYLLTcsS984Q9nbp7eIrlzMkcEwWJQZTk6hRF7RygVPDCK7YWe2HnBCP9MRYFvRlbXt7zqGkixir3QBMO65E09zeAmIkCKMHQEO8" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;" width="328" /></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-38badcc1-7fff-6b52-21f9-50d1e516a3fd"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first thing I did in 2021, even before getting out of bed, was to finish Hades. I deliberately took my time with this game, having spent 109.4 hours and 96 attempts. I tried to figure it out all on my own without guides or walkthroughs. Rogue-lites have been my favorite genre of videogame since I discovered Spelunky a decade ago, and it's cool to see how this little subgenre has developed. Many have said it, but I'll repeat it; Hades does everything right. It is >very< hard for a game to get me to care </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at all</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> about its story/characters. Especially cartoon characters. But somehow they pulled it off. The pacing of the various systems’ introductions and expansions and combinations is truly a masterful work of design art. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But I want to talk about one thing that struck me from a thematic perspective. And that is how the plot is speaking to a generation. Not my generation; but my kids. I read somewhere that something like half of young adults under 30 are living with their parents now. This game's narrative explores so many aspects of the tension that such a context produces. And the mechanics of a rogue-lite (a seemingly never ending series of attempts to escape) resonate with the theme super well. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My 21 year old son lives with us. He was born into a culture that, for a couple generations, had the expectation that as soon as you turn 18, you either get married and settle down or go off to college, then live on your own or with a significant other. Either way, the idea was that parents became empty nesters when their kids hit 18. This is, of course, a historical anomaly. Throughout practically every other culture in all of history homes contained 3 or more generations of the family. But thanks to several lucky rolls of the dice, the US got prosperous enough that a couple generations found mechanisms for bypassing the discomfort of forced inter-generational co-habitation. Very affordable suburban houses. Collage as the expectation for any who planned on upward mobility. Nursing homes for the elderly. These institutions become codified into cultural expectations for middle-to-upper-class Americans for almost a hundred years. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And now we have the tail end of the millennials-and-younger dealing with the inevitable decline of those lucky economic times, in conjunction with expectations from older generations that no longer fit the world we live in. Many parents just assume that because they were able to move out, go to college, (which they paid for with a part time job) buy a house and a car, etc. all by their mid-20s, that the ‘failure’ of this generation to do so must be attributable to some internal defect. So now we have a younger generation trapped by economic realities on one side, and on the other: unreasonable judgement and frustration from parents who feel trapped and deprived of the ‘freedom’ they expected once their kid turned 18. (Personally, I’m very happy to have my son living with us, for the record.) </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the central dramatic tension in Hades. Our hero, Zagreus, son of Hades, longs to leave his home, but his massive and imposing father blocks his every attempt, all the while tearing him down verbally, and emotionally manipulating him. Judging him for both trying to escape and for failing to escape. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the game maintained this beginning tension in the premise throughout the entire plot arc I would think it was clever and well done. But what blows me away is how they crafted a character arc for every character in the House of Hades. From servants to pets to friends and parents. This narrative design impulse works beautifully as a forcing function, to push characters out of two-dimensional archetypes. The fact that they managed to morph various characters motivations while maintaining the core gameplay loop is truly a work of genius. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To me, the profound value of this work is that because the premise involves parents in tension with their adult-children, AND they combined character arcs for all; the inescapable conclusion is a synthesis between opposing thesis and antithesis. Most games present a challenge to be overcome in the form of a villain. You ‘beat’ the villain and thus the challenge is overcome and you ‘win’. But instead, Hades rewards perseverance not with ‘beating’ the badguy, but by coming to terms with information that the ‘badguy’ (and others) slowly reveal. Perseverance is not a linear process of wearing a badguy down until you win. It’s learning why your obstacles exist in the first place. It’s discovering that your flawed parents have reasons for the things they think and do. And ultimately your perseverance produces a positive outcome for all involved. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a wholesome twist that I don’t think I’ve ever come across in an action game. And I don’t think it could have come at a better time for our society. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><br /></span>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-73847242671223653002020-12-31T20:53:00.000-08:002020-12-31T20:53:32.434-08:00The Year 2020<p>For whatever reason, instead of posting these as I wrote them, I just compiled them into one giant document that no one will ever read. But for the record, here's what I've been thinking about this year. </p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">5/5/2020</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b18246c5-7fff-7aa2-ac5d-ee66e212c45b"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don't think the US has a higher proportion of conspiracy theory-minded people than Canada. But it DOES seem to have a higher proportion of personal-liberty-at-any-cost type people. So for these MY RIGHTS people, having a conspiracy theory available to ameliorate their conscience concerning the effect their actions have on others is just too perfect a pairing. I don't share my friend's contempt, but I am concerned about the phenomenon.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Edit for clarity: I am not shaming people who have no way to pay their bills except for working. I'm saying you don't need a conspiracy theory to justify a return-to-work-sooner stance. Not being able to pay your bills is horrible. Everyone getting back to work and the resulting thousands of deaths is horrible. There's no perfect solution to this. But claiming that all our science and medical institutions are part of a conspiracy to... what? Help the government control you? I just don't get that.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 40px; overflow: hidden; width: 40px;"><img height="40" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/pByEYFauYpnJtN_Y3vgKer_bRqRYbRohAe4o4Cuxzew6RfldhnmkjXMrQtl_gRhsLTGkWCYUGtXBQftYOC_U-VWV07-o9XxmIF0pF4o0ubOetpZh97hDtRbQ6rZTVaLw43kz9NjY" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="40" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/LianaKRed?__tn__=%2CdCH-R-R&eid=ARApXhkjyp49_8C5GeiqSp4ukhZRwTeX27_VW-cByU4lLU5PN50X_vZRnLhNtDkNIhOaovz7DLXB28i2&hc_ref=ARSy6dy4OkJFfLb_yQ27QOXLnf6pahX9Wng3leHOZYimoeZwQsICTbCukyLCfhM0Ebk&fref=nf" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #385898; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liana Kerzner</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/LianaKRed/posts/10157267457863601" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #616770; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">May 5 at 1:38 PM</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-top: 17pt;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The US has 1.22 MILLION coronavirus cases. Over 71,000 deaths</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-top: 17pt;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Canada has 61,000 cases and 4122 deaths.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-top: 17pt;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adjusting for population, the US rates are more than DOUBLE that of Canada's.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-top: 17pt;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This discrepancy shows that federally coordinated public health measures WORK.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-top: 17pt;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And yet people continue to insist that the virus is a hoax, government measures are just fascist clawbacks of our civil liberties, and the virus will just disappear on its own if we all just go back to work and go about our business.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-top: 17pt;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You are not only being stupid, you are being reckless. You are putting your friends at risk through your behavior. It is YOUR OWN FAULT if you lose these friends because they don't like the fact that you are putting them at risk by being a massive asshole.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-top: 17pt;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm going to have to think long and hard about whether I can forgive the people who insisted that they knew better than the experts and let everyone know it. I don't think I want to be around people with that little regard for others when they need to be the smarter person in the room.</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5/6/2020</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's a thing that a lot of people somehow don't understand. So science... like... It's not a "thing". It's not a monolithic block of united fact. It's a process. And it has countless contributors, all residing on a spectrum from "very informed about their sub-specialty" to "armchair ponderer". And thanks to our </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #e648ef; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rad</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> technology, we now have access to that full spectrum. Meaning that whatever dumb fringe idea you want to back up with ""science"" you can now, with a simple Google search.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Very very few of us (myself included) have the tools and knowledge necessary to vet our sources of information. One common work-around to this problem is to blindly accept whatever we consider "the consensus" to be. Problem with that is now we all live in social/media bubbles so we are seeing different consensesueses. Consensai? So that's a garbage work around. Another even garbagier work-around is to FEEL a feeling about a thing, google that thing, and then share the results with the world as if they are FACTS! VERIFIED! PROOF! Because, you know, this one guy on a YouTube channel or on a news show panel said a thing you also feel.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's my rule of thumb. Which means it's the RIGHT rule. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; width: 16px;"><img height="16" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/zUwRpiQik9Kf2gvZACgRi77CmeNdMkOcwH8RsLTENV6AaO_xmNs8O8hDncem8vU1FsncaRNDSaXuyswdln3vtQFZmHl-uV66qbRbMo2RAKiZSGwB7gNiCqLsY6y9i2k7OTA2cZF7" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="16" /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 2.25pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">;)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The more BINARY an answer is, the less likely it is to be true. Does your theory require an entire organization to be EVIL? Does it require a country or political party to have multi-decade spanning secret plans? Does it require tons of people to purposefully lie about something to accomplish said plan? Yeah, these are all binaries that, while technically possible, are so improbable that building your interpretation of the world on them feels irresponsible to me. I prefer to work in rough probabilities. Stay open to updating my prior assumptions. Listen to dissenting opinions just in case their perspective illuminates something I (or my resources) are missing.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my rant. Now pretend to read this article before posting your response.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/bakersfield-physicians-underestimate-covid-19-mortality-using-flawed-statistics-wrongly-claim-sheltering-in-place-causes-weak-immune-system/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/bakersfield-physicians-underestimate-covid-19-mortality-using-flawed-statistics-wrongly-claim-sheltering-in-place-causes-weak-immune-system/</span></a></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5/7/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conspiracy thinking is a spectrum. You have the end that's completely unmoored from reality like the Bill Gates and 5G stuff. But much more common is the stuff like: China purposefully designing Covid as a weapon (because communists are evil) the WHO purposefully lying to the public for some sort of illicit gain. The Democrats trying to use the emergency to take away our freedom. Etc.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This end of the spectrum is less tinfoil hat, and more about reinforcing social/political narratives. It's important to recognize the difference between these ends of the conspiracy spectrum. Because:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A. Conspiracies are a real thing that really happen. (Just seldom at the scale that most theorists see) If we view the topic of conspiracy as a binary state, where ALL conspiracy is crazy then we aren’t seeing the world clearly. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B. Reasonable people (including you and me) are susceptible to bending our perception of reality to fit our worldview. So when a neatly packaged narrative is available that scratches that itch, it's really hard to resist. It doesn't require mental or moral deficiencies to be susceptible to overly-simplistic answers, whether they come in the form of slogans, platitudes, demagoguery or conspiracy.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C. The mechanism of conspiracy theory crafting can accidentally illuminate real patterns that are emergent properties of systems. I say ‘accidentally’ because conspiracy thinking is often focused on motives, while the actual causal chain is left vague. (because it HAS to be vague or it could be evaluated and disproved)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's an example of a conspiracy that I don't think exists (motive-wise) but a system of incentives still produce the same outcome.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Theory: -Democrats are purposefully lying about the dangers of of Covid in order to take away US citizens’ freedoms.- This implies some kind of collusion behind the scenes where Democratic leadership is meeting, knows and understands the reality of Covid, but decides to change the presentation in a coordinated effort to raise fears, knowing they can capitalize on those fears to curtail liberties. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Probably more likely: Turns out human understanding of the virus, like all new things, is shaky, distributed poorly, communicated inefficiently (because policy makers don't have the advanced degrees necessary to understand the facts that are known, or how to navigate the disagreements among specialists.) and constantly evolving as new data and tests are done and various models are shown to be more or less accurate. Therefore, there is no "Truth" about the virus to be had, hidden or exposed. And there is no policy decision that is "Right". Because we simply don't know all the facts, and if we did, that wouldn't mean we know how to interpret them accurately right now. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given the above... Any political party will take whatever opportunity available to progress their agenda. "Never waste a crises" can be read as a cynical and coldly pragmatic political doctrine. But also: "Charles Doyle of the University of Georgia, coauthor of the Yale Book of Modern Proverbs, has found that this expression is now commonly applied to economic or diplomatic crises that can be exploited to advance political agendas, but he traced it back at least as far as 1976, when M. F. Weiner wrote an article in the journal Medical Economics entitled “Don’t Waste a Crisis — Your Patient’s or Your Own.” Weiner meant by this that a medical crisis can be used to improve aspects of personality, mental health, or lifestyle."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In other words, a crisis can be an inflection point that can be used to pivot towards or away from your goals. The fact that in general, the Democratic party in the US wants a much more robust social safety net, and that a lot of the dangers we are facing in the immediate future stem from having a very flimsy one, means that ANY activity they pursue towards their goals can be perceived as a cynical power grab. Then, if one is inclined to assume that Democrats believe what they do because they want to repress freedom in order to secure power and wealth for themselves.... well it's not a stretch to then believe that they are purposefully inflaming fear in order to achieve their nefarious goals. And while I agree that we need a much more robust social safety net, I can't deny that it's a totally human, normal, natural thing to exaggerate a problem in order to make your point and forward your agenda. BUT...</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back to my point about what is actually "known"... it's hard to exaggerate a problem when NO ONE KNOWS what is an exaggeration or an under-estimation. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And as such, I feel like that nips pretty much every conspiracy theory in the bud. Rather than conspiracy and bad faith imputations of bad motives, it seems more fruitful to me that we discuss the systems and policy that allowed a flu bug to cripple the world. And have a debate about how we could change said systems and policy to avoid this kind of crises the next time it comes around. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5/15/2020</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not a prediction. I'm just noticing two social elements at play right now.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Overton Window-stretching talk being floated about delaying the presidential election due to Corona. An idea that a certain % of our population would like to see happen because they like their man where he is.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Precedent being set that armed civilians can gather in large protest rallies pretty much wherever they want. I can't be certain, but I'm guessing a large % of these groups fall into the camp mentioned in point 1.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I'm projecting into the future, where there is no official government mandate to delay the election, but where armed protesters see it as their duty to scare people away from voting stations. This, I assume, would probably lead to armed conflict.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not a fun idea, but curious if others have had similar ponderings. I don't intend this speculation as an attack on any political party or leanings. Just an extrapolation from current events.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">EDIT FOR CLARITY: I'm not talking about all or even most Trump supporters. I'm talking specifically about the GI JOE wannabes swarming state capitols with their bazookas and machine guns. You don't need a lot of those guys to lead to what I'm talking about.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5/16/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 775px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="775" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wn-NOJDfCszkaSUz3-KLOR_icD59SBBE0_tP-EZBiQQSrUTaxioVTOMjMyRcWwLFFLR3IwUUI_JgEg2yaVpv7tSAhV8EXq4ImtXHPRQk3nzUTw6JnJBN76sC_5nGVVwByiFHQmjr" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today's Word of the Day is "epistemology". That's the theory about how we know stuff. Most people (myself included) tend to miscategorize information they receive or discover. It's much easier to parse information in a binary way, as being either True or False. I honestly think that binary thinking is the bane of reason. What you can see in the exchange below is one person who is happy to categorize their own 'research' in the same conceptual bucket as an institution which is the aggregate of thousands of specialists who have spent their lives learning and developing a field of science. How can one come to such a conclusion?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. "Well that's just like, your opinion man." C.S. Lewis talks about how the idea of democracy has bled into every facet of our lives, including the epistemological. We have this idea that since everyone has intrinsically equal value, therefore we feel that every opinion is of equal value, no matter the source. "Who do you think you are, you're no better than me!" But this epistemology does not hold up to scrutiny. Not where there can be one person who knows some websites, vs. a person who has studied a topic their entire life. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Institutions can be corrupt. The philosophy of science is full of great examples about how bias and corruption impact the pursuit of knowledge. This can be held as true, while simultaneously pointing at the literally millions of ways our lives are demonstrably better because of scientific advancement despite the fact that the process and institutions of science are imperfect. This idea that an organization like the CDC can't be trusted is another example of inappropriate binary thinking. Like all organizations, the CDC, the WHO, et. all suffer from political influences. But to what degree is that true? 100%? 90%? 10%? The way you estimate that influence matters a GREAT deal in determining the value you put on their data and policy recommendations. If you can acknowledge that it's not literally 100%, then you need to explain HOW you know what the percentage is. Without direct oversight of that institution I can't imagine your inference holds much weight. Granted, there IS a spectrum of knowledge one may posses about an organization such as the CDC. Perhaps you've been closely following all of their policy decisions and published research for decades, and have found a trend of inaccuracy. I'm willing to bet you haven't done that. But I'll bet you've read a hot take, think piece, or facebook post that claims it. Again, if you put that "data" in the same conceptual bucket as data that is the result of lifetime of specialized study, then you are the victim of binary thinking.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Most humans draw conclusions based on emotions. Our 'tribe' is the biggest influence on our thinking, since being excluded from the tribe is an incredibly painful, potentially ruinous state of affairs. There's nothing right or wrong about this. It's simply the way human brains work. The trouble comes when you or I PRETEND that it's not the case for US. That WE are the rational skeptics armored with Truth and Logic. And yeah, there's a spectrum you and I are on, and it's different for different topics. It's easy to apply rational less-biased thinking to topics that bear little weight on our worldview or social belonging. For instance, my life doesn't change at all if there's a Bigfoot. So my emotional state hardly plays into the way I receive data on the topic and draw my conclusions. However, on the topic of medical safety, I live with my wife and brother who both have compromised immune systems and would likely be severely damaged by Covid. That makes it much more difficult for me to analyze data in a dispassionate way. But I try my best. Either way, if I catch myself saying something like "blindly listen", that's a great reminder that I need to step back and examine my own emotional state on an issue and how it's impacting my line of reasoning.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And finally, because this topic is so polarized and becoming more and more aligned with political factions, I need to state, for the record, that I recognize that no; we can't stay locked down forever. And yes, the economic impact of lockdown also produces suffering and death. And no, there's no good, right, perfect answer as to how we need to navigate the issue. My point is that this political polarization is influencing how a lot of people perceive medical advice. And when the advice doesn't line up with their tribe's politics, the natural next step is to demonize the institution giving that medical advice, as if it can only come from our twisted evil enemies. But please ask yourself... if the advice the CDC was giving DID line up wit your politics, would you still think they are corrupt and not to be trusted?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5/18/2020</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last Sunday I hit 193.6 lbs. I haven't been that heavy in many years. I'd been "letting myself go" in the sense that I stopped depriving myself of comfort eating. I wasn't eating a TON, or eating nothing but junk. But for me, for whatever reason, if I'm not brutally strict I just naturally balloon. So I got strict again, and in 7 days lost almost 8 pounds. I'm currently on the little bounce back that always happens several days into the process. Back up to 186.6. My "trick" to losing weight is simply to look at one number. Carbs. Keep it as low as possible, and I lose weight. That is literally all there is to it. For me that number seems to be around 10 - 50 g / day. I couldn't work out this week because I kinked my neck on day one of weightlifting.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, it's funny how different emotional triggers make ALL the difference in my ability to stay as brutally strict as I need to be to not have a giant gut. It's definitely not something I can just switch on or off with willpower. My only strategy is to take full advantage of the windows where my self-control becomes available. And I can't predict when or what it is that opens those windows.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All this to say, I hate being a physical creature. I hate everything about human bodies and just want to be a being of pure energy. Is that too much to ask?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 6/6/2020</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 656px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="656" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/kqLTnU_rsDxETUTvPd1BP1xbgUhZpdLDTnMgu7J4H8wuruQWjkOswwp5KyaKd3o4l-ViT9_XK_BDBOcjgdt5nB7gGZjuf92Duxd_VoxCRudw0nBTOrEnj51oTe9hgkKzJhME7qLZ" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what does “All Lives Matter” mean? To most of my friends it means that the person saying it is a white supremisicst. How else can they see such a clear message as the one above and remain unconvinced?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The answer is that they deny the premise. They have a deep emotional (this is not an attack, all worldviews and values are ultimately emotional) need to interpret the world through the lens of the Individual. An individual’s actions and attitudes. Therefore the whole world of systemic issues is invisible to them. Their need to interpret reality as a series of individual actions and attitudes because that is how their moral system is constructed. They believe that for the most part, an individual gets what they deserve. Do bad stuff and you deserve to be punished. No excuses. Do good stuff and you deserve to be rewarded. If you aren’t rewarded, it’s because of a bad individual doing an injustice to you. (Of course no one sees things as EXACTLY that simple, but that’s the kernel of their moral system.) (I know, it used to be mine)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Freewill is paramount in this worldview. So any explanations for actions/attitudes that point to reasons outside of intrinsic character traits seem like flimsy excuses to them. And thanks to the law of large numbers, they can paint vivid pictures of outliers who overcome hardship to make a great and successful life for themselves. If these cherry-picked individuals could do it, then there is NO EXCUSE for ALL individuals to fail to do so. (Except for other individuals who unjustly oppose you, and that’s why we have the legal system) If you can’t be Oprah it’s because you must lack some fundamental moral character traits. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So when it comes to instances like George Floyd, It's about an individual police officer and an individual black man; and that can NOT speak to broader societal trends because that would challenge their individualistic outlook. Note that there is valid room to find actual data on the percentage of victims of police brutality, broken down by race; and if that pure data were available it should be taken into account by everyone. But to posit that these cases are cherry-picked by BLM et. al in order to paint an inaccurate picture of oppression requires leaning on a lot of tenuous studies and statistics. The numbers are not in. And police brutality is only one of MANY vectors for understanding systemic racism. So in this context of incomplete data, why would your default setting be “disbelieve those who claim to be victims”?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So when they see the cartoon above, they think, "that person's leg is not actually hurt. They are trying to unfairly gain advantage by claiming that it is." </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because the vast majority of "All Lives Matter" people do NOT actually FEEL any racism within themselves. And to them, racism is ONLY a matter of how an individual feels, and CAN'T be manifest in systems and procedures. I think they are right that there's only a small fringe of people who actively feel like white people are better than other races. (consciously) Their bar for "what racism is" is so high that only true psychopaths can clear it. So the notion that an entire race can be the victim of what they define racism to be, is ludicrous. And their logic is not wrong. IF you accept the premise of their worldview that racism can only be an interaction between two individuals, then almost all claims of racism must be false because there are so few racists left (again, according to their definition of racist). But that’s the problem with logic. If the premises are flawed, it doesn’t matter how mathematically accurate the logical formula is, it will still yield a result that does not match reality. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can’t convince people who need to interpret reality as merely individuals. I can’t make them “see” systems at work in complex ways. Ways that were not authored by an individual, but that emerge horrible traits none-the-less. But I think if we are going to survive as a country without a second civil war, THIS is the argument that we are going to need to find a synthesis for. There MIGHT be a way to preserve the individualistic pillar for freewill and responsibility that they need, while still incorporating the acknowledgement of systemic powers that also need to be recognized and changed for REAL justice to grow. I believe that most “All Lives Matter” people DO care about justice. But because they can’t see systemic injustice due to the threat it poses to their moral foundations, they don’t believe those who claim it’s affecting them. I do think if it were white people calling out the systemic injustice, they’d be a lot more likely to investigate it seriously, and it’s hard to avoid calling that racist. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not sure what a synthesis looks like. I know there’s a tension between thinking in individualistic vs systems term for most people. Because almost no one exists on the extreme ends where reality is ONLY systems or ONLY individuals. It’s just that humans will always pick and choose the examples of both in order to confirm their biases and reinforce their tribal allegiances. I’m probably TOO FAR on one side of that spectrum to be a person who can find a workable cultural synthesis. I don’t even believe in free will, so ALL I see are systems. And ain’t nobody (else) got time for that. But I will still be looking for ways to thread this needle. (This does not mean compromise with racism. It means finding ways to make system dynamics ‘click’ for those who currently can’t see them.) It definitely doesn’t feel like it now, but excluding our hunter-gatherer years, I’m convinced that humanity has never had it so good. The fact that the segment of humans who have it the best is so far removed from those who don’t, is humanity’s next big hurdle. I’d like to help us clear that if possible. Otherwise, I think we’ll all lose everything. </span></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">XXXCondacending. </span><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But I will say, it is a work of art to be that condescending AND that polite at the same time, so kudos for that...</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ME: Do you feel like my post was condescending to people with your worldview? I'm curious, because my thoughts are grappling with my former positions as much as they are with any other theoretical human. I don't think I was dumb before. I don't think people who agree with old Josh are dumb now.</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">XXXwell if your post accurately reflects your understanding of my worldview, then no wonder you left that behind. I would to if that was even remotely accurate. I live and breathe systems, and I have no trouble seeing them. But I also have done extensive research on the data you indicate doesn’t exist (it does, by the way, and isn’t that hard to track down). And that data does not support the idea that America today is systematically racist.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If there is anywhere that systemic racism does still exist, it is ironically in the Democrat Party. They continue to fool the majority of minorities in this country into believing they are fighting for them, when in fact it is decades of destructive Democrat policies that have led to the current state of poverty and dependency on the government of a large segment of the black community today.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So yes, I felt your “matter-of-fact”, but inaccurate, portrayal of the Christian worldview was definitely condescending. We are not to judge motives, so I will not judge whether it was intentional or unintentional. I tend, knowing what I do about you, to assume that it would be the latter and stemming from an incomplete understanding of all the other possible reasons a Christian might insist that “all lives matter”. Because you didn’t come into the same planet as my reasons and the reasons of many I know, including prominent members of the black community.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thanks for the thoughtful explanation. It's very valuable to me as I practice the craft of communication. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My understanding of how communication works is like so: The relationship between communicators defines the bandwidth of the ideas that can be carried. On one end of this spectrum you've got lifelong friends who love and trust one another. In that context you can have very strong disagreements, but also the real possibility of changing minds based on the arguments put forth. The other end of the spectrum is two strangers yelling slogans at each other. Since you and I are closer to the later side of that spectrum we have to work extra hard to keep the bandwidth as broad as possible if our goal is meaningful communication with any chance of having our true thoughts and motives seen fairly. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On top of this challenge, there is the inherent problem with the dynamics of holding a contrary opinion. To have a disagreement, one necessarily believes that the other is wrong. That those holding it can not yet see the validity of their point. ("I was blind but now I see") And so if there is not enough good faith between interlocutors, then it's very easy to feel that one is being spoken down to. Again getting back to the bandwidth problem when there is not a trusting relationship to begin with. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because I was convinced of the conservative argument on this topic in the past, and now I am not, that means that I'm convinced the conservative argument is lacking. Just as you find my argument lacking. I think we can both recognize that this is inherent to disagreement, and does not automatically infringe into the arena of personal disdain. I know there are personality dispositions that literally cannot disambiguate the disagreement of ideas and the belittlement of the one holding those ideas, but I don't think you are very close to that area of the personality profile.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, I want to make another thing clear. There are pros and cons to changing from one worldview to another. Just as there are to sticking to a single worldview for a lifetime. It's easy for those who have changed to say that they were previously [insert insult here] but are now perfectly enlightened people who look back shaking their head at the ignoramuses who remind them of who they used to be. Likewise, it's easy for one who has stayed consistent in their worldview to look askance at the flip-floppers who are clearly just changing views to be popular, win the girl, get a promotion, just want to dump their morality so they can party, etc. But like I said, both histories carry advantages and disadvantages when it comes to the world of ideas, and I haven't lived enough lifetimes to be able to tell you which is superior for interpreting reality.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that established, I'll point out a few things which might help our mutual understanding. First, I was a conservative evangelical christian apologist for about two decades. I studied every christian apologist book out there. I listened exclusively to the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hanities of the day, every day. I've always voted Republican. I've always been emotionally satisfied by looking like a flaming liberal while actually being a whip smart conservative warrior. I also STILL keep current with conservative thought. In fact, to the statistics issue, I listen to every podcast from Glenn Lowrey, a black economist who has pointed to every emerging study on the topic and sees it as further evidence that BLM is unwarranted. I've looked at them all and find the sample sizes and construction of (most of) them to be weak at best. I am not ignorant of this body of work. So I find the idea that I don't understand the issues to be invalid.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know I'm not going to move the needle on your ideas about BLM, the democrat party, etc. But I would like to offer one thought that my life experience has planted in me. I believe it is conflation to package "Christianity" "Conservative" and "Republican" together as an interlocking unit. You have no idea how much I passionately love Jesus and find the fundamental root of hope in my life founded on Christ. Please don't misunderstand this as either an plea for you to see me as "a real Christian" OR as an argument that "real Christians should be liberals". Only that I, as an individual, was motivated by a desire to be as Christ-like as possible, and that lead me to listen -very carefully- to "the least of these". And that listening lead to study, and that study lead to the need to break through some garden walls that would rather not have. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also note: MY personal journey is NOT an imputation of anyone who has done the same process as me, but come to different conclusions. It is merely a testimony to how I perceive myself and my motives. I simply offer it as an exercise in the stretching of conceptual boundaries.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really hope you don't find my "polite" to be a fig leaf for condescension, but as a legitimate expression of my desire for substantial exchange of ideas with people who are every bit as worthy as I.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6/13/2020</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another attempt to understand the current cultural schism. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I tried building a model for understanding the difference between people who skew conservative and those who skew liberal. I’m not talking about technically correct political labels, just the personality dispositions. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I see a conservative person as one who finds past or current paradigms to be right, good, the best we can do, and that which keeps society from collapsing. To that end they support institutions that reinforce current or past cultural norms and legal structures that maintain law and order. They see personal responsibility as the primary foundation of a moral society. As always, here is the required >>caveat: very few individuals fit this model to a T, and my theory does not require that. This is a description of the right side of a personality spectrum.<< </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I see the liberal person as one who finds past or current paradigms to be unfair and oppressive, specifically to marginalized people. They think that maintaining current institutions and laws is the same as supporting unfairness and oppression. They see systems as the fundamental mechanism for creating a moral society. This is a description of the left side of a personality spectrum. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">>>And a double caveat. Both sides will complain that they aren’t so dumb that they ONLY see personal responsibility OR systemic mechanisms as THE basis for morality.<< This is not my claim. My claim is that in the hierarchy of importance, the right sees personal responsibility as highest, to the point where systemic arguments are usually seen with intense suspicion if not outrage. And now the left is outraged when the right claims that anyone with problems could fix them if they worked harder and had more grit. (Implying that those with bad lives deserve them)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If this is an accurate -albeit rough- model of two ends of a personality spectrum, then I have the next iteration for my theory as to why the gap between the ends is growing. This is tricky for me personally, because as I’ve moved from one end of the spectrum to the other, I’ve lost contact with a lot of the cultural touchstones that are currently felt so viscerally by those toward the right. But I remember what Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck et al. told me every day for over a decade. I also have a lot of friends and family who I still interpret (wrongly, I’m sure) as being pretty close to the archetype of the right that I painted above. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And now I have many friends who are very close to the archetypal liberal I painted, and I doubt many of them would complain about my description (though they will complain that what they call ‘liberals’ are not the true Left, but just another finger puppet of capitalism.) I’m still more conservative in temperament than many of my liberal friends. I have a fairly high ‘Openness to Experience’ but I also think that most experiments in radically altering society have ended poorly for everyone, including those for whom the revolution was intended to help. On the other hand, we’ve never had the technology we do now, and I think that’s a big game changer. Could make things worse, or… could be the key to facilitating a successful reformat of society. I just don’t know. All this biographical description is intended to help you, my gentle reader, to parse my theory. Understand the source, and calibrate accordingly. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So my main contention is that the gap is coming mostly (not completely) from the liberal bloc moving further left. The conservatives have largely remained stationary. >>Caveats: The liberals I’m referring to are the pop-culture libs, not the academic Left that’s been around since the Enlightenment. The conservatives I’m referring to are the masses, not the media pundits and newly emboldened hate groups.<< </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So why would I say something so controversial, yet so brave? Am I saying that liberals are to blame for bringing us to the brink of a cultural civil war? Not really. Well kinda. Well it’s complicated. What I’m claiming is that there was -pre mass internet- a large dormant Fat Middle between the liberals and conservatives. But something activated a large part of the middle, converting them to liberals. What was that activation agent? Quite simply, it was the platforming of previously marginalized (unheard by most) voices. It’s easy to write off ‘those lazy people’ who have the problems with crime, drugs, poverty, etc. when the primary voices in your life are those who are successfully established in the status quo. When your media, education, church, coworkers and neighbors are all doing alright. Us middle class white suburbanites had our worldview shaped by our own voices, valorizing that which keeps us comfortable. Those on the margins need not be ‘explained’. They probably made bad life choices. We didn’t. Nothing to see here. Move along. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But hey, look, it’s the internet! Suddenly the conglomerated institutions of media are being displaced by kids streaming Fortnite and some guy in his truck ranting into his cellphone. Suddenly there is no “the media” but a cacophony of discordant voices coming from millions of perspectives. Suddenly this giant mass of white suburbanites had access to voices and opinions they never heard before. And suddenly it’s harder to write off the marginalized because they have faces and personalities and stories we have witnessed. So while it’s still very possible to prioritize personal responsibility as the primary factor for determining financial success and social acceptance… it’s HARDER to do so when faced with PEOPLE who seem to indicate the contrary. If it CAN’T be all chalked up to personal responsibility, then a new explanatory mechanism is required; at least subconsciously. Well thanks to hundreds of years of political philosophy there’s no lack of systemic explanations available. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So my contention is that over the past decade or so, a bunch of us white suburbanites formed parasocial relationships with people we otherwise never would have heard of or cared about. I think those who were ‘activated’ by this mostly skewed liberal due to the nature of the relational dynamic of these here social platforms. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So the ranks of ‘liberals’ has grown rapidly. This is naturally very concerning, -indeed terrifying- to those who are conservative by nature. Because you gotta remember, the KEY to saving us all from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is to KEEP the current, or previous, institutions in place and unchanged. And suddenly it seems like everyone wants to change everything! And what do you do when you feel like someone is pulling you into the abyss? You pull BACK as hard as you can. Not just for yourself. But for the children. This, I think, explains the visibility of the far right and hate groups. I do not mean that all conservative people started sewing white hoods. I mean that those who are aligned with fascism and racism had new tactics for getting getting clicks from worried conservatives. All they needed to say was anything along the lines of ‘the old ways are best’. Of course the more specific they get about those old ways, (blatant racism) the more conservatives they lose. But again, with a widening chasm, there’s less and less room on the edge of the cliff, so the traditionalist and the radical facist are pressed closer and closer together. >>Caveat: I don’t know any of my conservative friends who have any overt fascist or racist personality dispositions.<< </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But that brings me to my next point. Everyone has a threshold at which another person’s beliefs are beyond the pale. Their beliefs are so extreme and distasteful that you can’t imagine being friends with them. (Pedophiles, KKK, etc.) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘Beyond the Pale’ originated as a phrase that was literally about political boundaries where one could and could not go. Well the liberal bloc has been moving the boundary line of what they can perceive as a moral decent human being. Maybe the conservative bloc has been doing the same. I can’t tell from over here. But I think the reason the liberal bloc has been moving the boundary for the Pale is thanks to systems-oriented morality. The more aware one is of the facts (assuming them to be true) concerning how our systems, institutions and cultural norms hurt, oppress, coerce, imprison, drive to suicide, and murder so many marginalized people, it’s hard not to associate support </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for those systems</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as support for the </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">results</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of those systems. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IF the claims made by many marginalized are true, THEN anyone party to the defence and celebration of the things they claim cause so much wanton death and misery is truly monstrous. This puts them beyond the pale. Literally evil.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And for someone who is convinced of the claims made by many marginalized, what choice would you have? I hate the feelings it churns in me to know how my liberal-minded friends think so many of my conservatve-minded friends are literally evil and equivalent to nazis. But I have nothing I can say to argue that their feelings aren’t valid. All I can say is that because I have reservations, and am less perfectly convinced, I don’t see it that way. It’s hard to advocate that people have </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">more doubts</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, especially when revising systems requires bull-headed conviction. I don’t know how to get my liberal friends to ‘see’ my conservative friends as good people who simply have different fundamental premises about justice and morality. I think those conservative premises need amendment, which is why I’ve been moving the direction I have been. I think the conservative’s support for many systems DO cause harm to the marginalized. But I know they are not the same as a nazi. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also have a premise that existing systems produce stability through a mechanism that has been called cultural capital. I think my experience with game design has taught me that radically changing a system will always ‘break things’. And usually break things we didn’t expect or want to break. If we do a revolution on any given system in our culture I’m fairly certain we will lose very important infrastructure. Supply lines, internet, water, food production, etc. No one can anticipate how the ripples from one system collapsing while others are being built will affect other stuff. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I’m happy to work to knock down the level of comfort and affluence the traditionally privileged have in order to redistribute that comfort and affluence to the traditionally marginalized. (My conservative programming is screaming in the back of my brain about a ‘growing pie’…) But I don’t believe we have a mechanism for doing so without blowing something up in a way that will backfire or be counterproductive. I love researching theories for these mechanisms. I hope I’m wrong about the intrinsic problem with systemic revolution. I don’t think my concervative friends are wrong to be worried. They aren’t merely worried for their own sake, but for society at large. Not just for the status quo, but civilization as a whole. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But because their resistance necessarily requires defending the powers-that-be, their motives can be interpreted as being ABOUT keeping the marginalized disempowered and oppressed. And look, we’ve always had racists for whom it IS about that. But all the conservative friends and family I know well don’t WANT injustice, racist results from our systems, or needless oppression. It makes me sad how so many of them seem to have a premise that those who are vocal about their systemic oppression are wrong about the sources of their problems. It’s seems condescending for me to tell someone who is claiming to suffer that I know better about what is causing their pain. Or to point to the couple of prominent figures from their group who disagree with them and agree with me. And yeah, Facts are super important here. Statistics are great to help interpret reality. If the number of POC deaths by cop are proportional, that’s important, and should inform both side’s views and strategies. If there are better models for crime prevention that require fewer gun-toting police, that should inform both side’s views and strategies.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not a BOTH SIDES argument. I’m not pulling a South Park. When you’ve got advocates of killing 100 innocent people, and advocates of killing none, the proper stance is not centrism. My personal convictions have to do with having a very low opinion of my own interpretation of reality, as well as skepticism about humans being able to control the outcome of complex systems. At the same time I am compelled by love to seek out and listen closely to those with the least. To try my best to understand the perspectives of those with very different lived experiences than my own. And use whatever resources and privilege I have to assist however I can when I’m convinced that a prescribed action is warranted and effective. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think my ponderings here will upset almost everyone I know (who has the sheer audacity to read so much on Facebook). The emotional valence of the extreme attacks coming from ‘the other side’ is so powerful that it’s very hard to still see “them” as human. “They” are so ridiculous. So evil. So far beyond the pale. But I think to continue down this road means literally civil war. And that’s probably going to hurt a lot more people than it’s going to help. :/ </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I apologize if this post isn’t long enough. I’ll endeavor to write a longer piece soon. Love, Josh </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6/21/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a certain critique I keep hearing regarding the topic of systemic racism. It goes something like this: “You can’t fix systemic racism because it’s only one expression of the darkness of the human heart. Unless you can fix human nature, it will always exist.” </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My friend Travis put it this way: “</span><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Systemic racism itself is a conceptually easy way to account for issues that in fact are much more complex than racism.” </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I completely agree with this. My concern is that this statement could be easily read as a signal to give up, because, after all, we can’t change 7 billion + human hearts. Even if you’re coming from a spiritual framework and believe that the solution to systemic racism is for everyone to convert to your beliefs, I don’t know anyone who thinks that’s going to happen without some world-ending event. (Apocalypse, Ragnarok, Rapture, Mayan calender runs out of days, etc.)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I’m going to use a metaphor (Actually a simile, but when you say that it just confuses people) to articulate my view on institutional reform as the appropriate mechanism for addressing systemic racism. Matching the scale of the treatment to the scale of the problem is important. As a surgeon, you could say, "Diagnosis: Patient has a bad arm. Treatment: Amputate... or dab it with antiseptic? Who knows! We just know it’s bad! Actually, let’s just ignore it and maybe it’ll stop being bad." Or. "Diagnosis: Patient has 6,974,399,220 abnormal quantum fluctuations. Treatment: re-write the rules of physics to change abnormality.” Or. "Diagnosis: Patient has a potentially cancerous mole on arm. Treatment: cut off the mole. Check patient’s skin all over on a regular basis afterward to ensure cancer does not return." </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think that's where I land on systemic racism. It can't fix human nature or the evil hearts of men. (My allusion to quantum) And it's not a purely symbolic catchphrase like "color blind". (My allusion to antiseptic.) It's a level at which human activity is possible to address, given the fact that our institutions that produce racist outcomes were created by humans in the first place. Will it FIX all problems for all times? Of course not. But if you survey human history you can see institutions that were worse than many we have now. That leads me to believe we can construct ones that are better than what we have now. I don't think we've tapped our potential at creating better institutions by hitting the ceiling of human nature. I think that conceptually that is possible. But I don't see evidence that this is the state we currently find ourselves in now.</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7/7/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why do you trust X about Covid 19? Don’t you know they are trying to control you / take over the government / keep you from breathing the way God intended / make you disrespect Trump?! Don’t you know you can’t trust what X is saying?!”</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rely on scientific consensus as organized and distributed through various established scientific publishing organs and organizations. I do this because:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.I am not a scientist. (Even if I was I would need to rely on the network of other scientists because no single field contains all the answers)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. I don't know how to interpret raw scientific data.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. I've learned from the history of science that attempts to apply "common sense" or "folk wisdom" to complex technological issues usually leads to stupid things like flat earth.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. I recognize that science is a process, which means that best practices evolve as new data is discovered.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. I recognize that no organization of human endeavor is perfect. So the fact that "what we are being told changes!" or "The X is corrupt!" is not a disqualifying event for me. Because:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. The alternative is to randomly assimilate whatever "information" and ideas I stumble across on social media or sensationalist news outlets. That is a guaranteed way to confirm my biases. I'm just not into that when there's a chance I could be endangering others because “I just have a hunch that I know better than the experts. “</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reply: </span><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Authoritarian politics and scientific institutions seem to be too intertwined for me to put much faith in the establishment. I try to make up for it by allowing for more uncertainty within my worldview.</span><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Josh: </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm always happy to hear that others allow for uncertainty in their worldview.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f2f3f5; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are, no doubt, complex interactions between all the powers-that-be and authority structures. And those create perverse incentives that introduce a lot of noise into the system. I can rank my trust in them by looking at the forces that keep these institutions from running completely off the rails. Religious institutions have financial and cultural-capital concerns. Governmental institutions (in our semi-democracies) theoretically have to answer to popular opinion. The entertainment/news complex is also held to account by markets. And while the scientific community is certainly buffeted by all of these forces as well, they do have one big differentiating factor, which is the theoretical adherence to The Scientific Method for finding truth. And while any individual or organization within the institution of science can be overly influenced by corrupting forces, the fact that they are surrounded by other people and organizations that PROFIT from getting closer to truth, and further from untruth, means that the corrupt will be out-competed in the long run. This is not the case in government, religion, entertainment.</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7/22/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let me paint an imaginary picture. Let's say in the near future an evil atheist liberal president is elected and he outlaws Christianity. As a response, Christians hold protests in the streets for weeks that stretch into months. There's a spectrum of protesters. The vast majority are totally peaceful, holding signs, chanting, singing, speaking into bullhorns. Some are more riled up, and sometimes throw water bottles at the police, or vandalize buildings. And because their's chaos, there are always the chaos tourists who see a chance to loot some businesses. Now the Far Left Mainstream Media is saying that "Christians are violently rioting and looting, causing millions of dollars in damages! They must be stopped at all costs!" The police force is militarized. They arbitrarily attack the protesting Christians, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at their faces. Shooting at EMTs attempting to help, and at the press that are trying to cover the events. Then, at some point the evil atheist president loses his patience. It's time for Law and Order! Time to send in unmarked vans and grab protesters off the street for questioning. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is this all ok, "because don't break the law and you'll be fine."?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 399px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="399" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ugb-1I3GFWxU1VMJmhDILOtRNgRAq9aGoTZwEHdlGSK32w3Y-ApVAQp1nqvz0w5uWLdlWjgyb5gGxQDHqu-H4BldId4TkMwJTghvnImx-vX8UGIemu2b6hYPnB0nq22cg2uvX1jv" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/17/whats-happening-portland-shows-trump-is-ignoring-constitution-attacking-america/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/17/whats-happening-portland-shows-trump-is-ignoring-constitution-attacking-america/</span></a></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm not basing my understanding of systemic racism on individual acts of police encounters. That's my point. The system I'm referring to comes up when you start to ask WHY do black people account for such a large percentage of arrests and incarcerations. Why are they so disproportionately poor? (A leading indicator that leads to crime.) And oh my god yes I know there are individuals who are poor and not criminals. And also rags-to-riches stories. I’m saying that statically, there are all sorts of indicators here. The natural question is WHY. There are two broad categories of explanation. One is internal, the other external. And because life is complicated the two affect each other. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you go full-Internal, (the conservative view I grew up around) you're typically arguing that there's a problem with black culture that stems from...? Hard to avoid actually saying something racist when you go full-internal. Is it "their nature" that "makes them this way"? Does that explain why other minorities are doing better, statistically speaking, in the US? If black people would just clean up their acts then everything would turn around for them. They'd pull themselves up by their bootstraps out of poverty and drugs and fatherlessness, etc. After all, look at all the examples of successful black people. If THEY can do, there must not be any reason why they ALL can't do it. But again... there's no way to avoid coming back to the brass tacks of WHY such a high percentage of black people in the US have these problems in the first place. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So it’s possible that black people have a higher percentage of “bad traits” that drives their “bad culture” that produces their disproportionately bad statistical outcomes. But because outright saying that there’s something inferior about black people is not said in polite society anymore I’ve never seen my conservative friends delve this deep. They always stop one step above, at “It’s a cultural problem” without honestly confronting WHERE culture comes from. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So then. There is also the External family of proposed reasons why black people have the disproportionately bad statistics in the US. These include the history slavery, repression of education and more recently of their exclusion from home ownership which was enacted through several mechanisms including redlining, home owners associations and lending institutions that avoid lending to black-sounding names. Having a non-poor family is the leading indicator of financial success in life, and having a home with accrued wealth is the leading indicator of growing financial success. So these policies have had long-tail effects that ripple through the generations. White people who have not had to deal with these systemic issues got homes and accrued wealth, while black people predominantly had to rent, and thus not only did they NOT accrue wealth, but actually contributed to adding MORE wealth to predominantly white landlords. This is a SYSTEM, whether it was purposefully designed or not. Same with the prison system that gives much longer and more severe punishment to black people for the same activities. And I can already feel the retort brewing, (because I used to think this way myself) that Asians and other immigrants don’t have the same problems. And you should look into why that would be. And honestly grapple with the underlying question I asked above. “it’s possible that black people have a higher percentage of bad traits that drives their bad culture that produces their disproportionately bad statistical outcomes.” It that’s the conclusion you come to then you should really own it. Acknowledge it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So on the systemic external factors: there are many more that are just a google search away. But if you find the redlining system unconvincing, then I don’t think you have the receptors necessary to accept any systemic explanations. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One REALLY big hurdle for me to develop the receptors necessary to research systemic racism with an open mind and heart, was my deeply held conviction that Personal Responsibility is THE foundation of morality and success. And these systemic explanations erode this narrative. A sharp conservative mind will notice that erosion, and then, because we are all human, that mind will over-react by building a strawman to replace the whole notion of systemic racism. The strawman looks like this: A black guy saying “Nothing bad I do is my fault! It’s all the system! I have no choice, that’s why I do the bad things!” </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is where things necessarily get complicated, because I agree with the idea that the narrative we tell ourselves GREATLY impacts our actions and attitudes. And I agree (and every liberal and leftist I know ALSO agrees) that if you tell yourself you’re not responsible then you’re in great danger of doing irresponsible bad things. And for an influencer to convince someone that they don’t have to take responsibility for anything because of bad systems is to disempower them. But that does not mean you cannot hold both truths at once. A group can both be oppressed by systemic factors AND a certain percentage of any group will have some ‘it’ factor that works well enough in a society for them to be able to succeed. But you can’t expect and demand that every member of a group be exceptional in that way. If there are systemic barriers, then it is right and just and loving to work to remove those, so even the unexceptional in an oppressed group has the same chance at success as the unexceptional of the non-oppressed group. And messages of self-sufficiency, personal responsibility and resilience are important to EVERYONE. But those messages come off as mockery if you pretend that those way have way more obstacles don’t have those obstacles. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">___</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's a fundamental disconnect in the whole conversation about property vs. lives that stems from a difference of opinion concerning systemic racism, and the extent to which one thinks it is a real life and death struggle worth causing damage over. There's a spectrum on which one can be placed in regard to how much they agree that systemic racism is an explanatory mechanism for the sad statistics concerning black people in the US. More systems-oriented thinkers will be more on board with more radical action taken to address systemic racism. Because systemic answers are the best way to address systemic problems. For those who tend to interpret the statics as a result of a bunch of individual bad life choices, and don't think there's anything to look at beyond that, then the entire BLM endeavor is sadly misguided, and ANY amount of property destruction is going to FEEL viscerally like a terrible waste. I think most people in the US are somewhere in the middle on this spectrum, and so for them, anything other than holding hands and singing kumbaya is outrageously disproportionate. They think the answer is to moderate some bad apples, maybe enact some policy changes.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another big part of the alarm we who were raised very whitebread (not an insult, just a description) have is that we've had it pounded into us since birth that "being nice" and being polite is how you get things done. And to fail to be nice and polite at all times is a moral failing. So you combine this visceral reaction against footage of impolite protesters, along with no real conviction that fundamental systemic problems need to be addressed, and you have a powerful recipe for focusing on very different things... like property destruction and graffiti.</span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Defund the police" is a slogan I'm not a fan of. I've heard "Unbundle the police" as a substitute. Here's a very simple illustration of the concept.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 661px; overflow: hidden; width: 469px;"><img height="661" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/mtJxI0G8G9MP4_4qXb5PrDMWex10k_4l-UToJZnFrkGb4jFtmA8kBx85OmlcPmWh0BNEHNo5iPiUkXutd2sHM5MF0VS8abcHwNIeS274ZIivuZMaiUKO4BCGxpk99txsdwS__HXc" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="469" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Interlocutor: "I'm hopeful my friend that you are not in fact engaged in groupthink"</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, I'm a human, which is a social animal, and as such I'm constantly engaged in groupthink. My hope is that by keeping my group diverse I'm honoring as many people and ideas as possible, but I'm sure that I'm always failing at that. And that failure will manifest as harm to some and benefit for others.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Surely you must think independently and it must be that I just don't see all the times you deviate from standard Progressive thought"</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm interested in hearing how people from all perspectives think about ideas that are new to me. As one who strives to be "like Christ" I've been exploring as many ideas for how to manifest maximum compassion to 'the least of these' over the past couple decades, and found the conservative social-political thought world I was raised around wanting. That worldview COULD be the most compassionate to the downtrodden. I just can't have that confidence unless I truly tried to understand other worldviews. I suppose I could post a picture of my bookshelf full of the classic conservative texts that I've studied over the years. Or the hundreds of thousands of words I've typed as an apologist for conservative worldview ideals back in the day. But I think you'll take me at my word that I'm intimately familiar with perspectives that fall outside of progressive circles.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Progressives not only frequently fail to understand historical examples of human nature (such as security comes first in the heirarchy of needs over almost everything else) ... without appreciating the potential downsides to their optimistic plans."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This just seems like a your-mileage-may-vary sort of thing. Depends on who you talk to and who you read. For my part, any progressive thinkers that don't engage with the concerns you listed are not interesting to me, though I still try to listen when I encounter ideas that operate outside of my comfortable paradigms. And while pragmatism is a vital ingredient in almost every endeavor in life, there is a time and place for vision-casting and utopia imagining. I wonder if you're confusing the imagery of the cartoon above for a blueprint that the left is going to use to pretend to fix the world. It's not. It's vision-casting. Of course the brass tacks of implementation will be fraught and full of failed experiments that lead to injury and death. But that is already what our current policing experiment has lead to. You are convinced the experiments would lead to MORE injury and death. I look around the world at other countries and don't see the evidence of that. There are certainly a lot things that set the U.S. apart from these other countries that could foil such attempts at change. But if you agree with that then I think you've lost your appeal to historic patterns as evidence for what will or will not work in the here and now.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"But it doesn't seem (from my POV) to occur to you that while new and better methods are possible, they aren't easy--so an opinion cluster of any flavor (a.k.a. any tribe or group) is unlikely to be entirely right."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What about the ideas I've been bringing up makes you think that I think they would be easy solutions? And clusters of solutions can indicate a good source just as easily as they can indicate group think. However, I know for certain that *I* don't have the epistemological justification to interpret ANY idea accurately. I CERTAINLY don't think any political organization has a better chance. What I want to advocate is a more brave approach to experimentation. I think we, as a civilization, reached a local peak when it comes to the well-being of humans a couple decades ago. I think the formerly marginalized voices that are now less-marginalized have been making us aware that it may have been a peak for some of us, but much less so for them. That, to me, warrants the risk of exploring through some valleys in order to find a higher peak that is better for everyone. Are you familiar with Explore/Exploit strategy? Check out this cool article about it. I think you'll like it. (This is not related to politics, it's usually explored in the domain of computer science and business, but has application in almost everything.)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scotthyoung.com%2Fblog%2F2019%2F09%2F17%2Fexplore-exploit%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2XOFIQljGcIbUEco133q649jgvrLXP1JgX54KedNyhmk1SxQpvc_JZTRc&h=AT1P44ExUmKx5SD3Ig8kB4SYBZ5wN8k9F8OQ1UntoCs67AvByt4_pkZx8QIvjAf_r9FetxAiIT6B8e7e2X4Ez12BTpMuJ9Mie59v-rWvkkhklkZIEL44J-etzUp8Uf4H5Q&__tn__=R]-R&c[0]=AT3TvbVPdWeSZl_W_UfWZzNVu389FQGDrMPx_ThGiKNwKRcDu6rIA6hO5dFKXAvHJBB32BZzx5zLvzrar9Sy2UFr-2WDTpr9BaqyWJNNjYAgXMbYG0KQewY0LSSVJ_wKqkzC5P9_q0IvU9JFV8zt2A" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2019/09/17/explore-exploit/</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Note I am in favor of addressing housing issues and doing more mental health treatment etc. I'm in favor of increasing social welfare spending, if properly focused. "</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That's wonderful to hear.</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7/28/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In case you haven’t noticed I like thought experiments where you take a proposal and imagine it coming from a different source. For me, that helps to remove the bias I have for or against the source so that I can evaluate the idea of the proposal better. In videogames this would be something like removing the mechanics from the aesthetic theme. An example of this would be if you had a game where you’re in a military hanger and run from person to person stabbing them in the neck and watching them bleed out. You gotta stab ‘em ALL dead to win. Stay with me. Now take those same mechanics of running from person to person, and change the art so that instead of stabbing them you are hugging them. And you’re at a family reunion. And instead of bleeding out they smile real big. You could have a game that has all the same level design, win-states, and pacing, but produce a very different visceral reaction. The mechanics are the same. The salience is different. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To whit: Imagine a social movement called Suburbia Matters. It’s not race-based, though most suburbs in the movement are predominantly people of causian origins. One thing they are very upset about is that their taxes are going to a police force that they rarely utilize. It’s not fair, they say, to pay for law enforcement when they aren’t the ones breaking the law! When THEY need emergency services, 9 times out of 10 they need something like mental health experts, traffic enforcement, or dispute resolution. So rather than pay all this money for a giant organization filled with people who carry around guns in order to stop violent crime, they’d like to have THEIR needs addressed in a way that is customized to their experience. They ARE the ones paying for it after all. THEY should get public service that reflects their needs. They would like a police department that is about 10% of the size it currently is, based on the statistics of how often violent crime is a problem for them. And they want 90% of their tax dollars to go towards other emergency services and other systems that are shown to reduce the social ills they face such as substance abuse and mental disorder. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PLEASE don’t read this as a GOTCHA bit of rhetoric designed to OWN the other side. I’ve never had an interest in winning rhetorical debates. And if I did I’d be bad at it. I want to talk about the MECHANICS of this idea separate from the current culture war it has been contextualized in. That may be impossible, immoral, or irresponsible. But it’s something my brain just automatically does. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I’m curious. Does this framing shine light on any facet of the idea you hadn’t considered before? Or am I still just a schill try’n to turn you into a marxist? </span></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7/28/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is my FEEEEEEEEEEELING about what's driving a big part of the culture war that's manifesting throughout politics and social media. I hope that by talking through the lens of my feelings and interpretations that my more-conservative-leaning friends will be able to see my heart and motives. No one needs to agree with me. But it could be helpful to see the values and premises in the foundation, right? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I'm claiming here is not REALITY. It's my FEEEEEEELINGS. And we all know facts don't care about them. This is a story about MY psychology and MY reasoning that lead me to the changes in opinion I’ve had over the years. I’m Present Josh (Likely to be wrong about anything) explaining the journey from Past Josh. (Also likely to be wrong about anything) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a metaphor that I found illustrates my journey well. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine we as a society are searching for the best way to organize ourselves in a just and compassionate way while also maximizing for freedom of expression and personhood. (There's a general consensus among most people I know from all social-political flavors that these are all good things) I'm going to shorthand call this Human Flourishing. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now imagine that search takes place on a landscape with unknown boundaries and topography. (Or topology depending on how mathemagical you are.) There are peaks and valleys on this landscape. Valleys represent the opposite of those values we are all perusing. So totalitarian dictatorships, slave economies, etc are down there. And peaks represent the human flourishing we want. When we survey history it's easy to compose a narrative (cue Hegel) about how we've slowly been ascending a slope, and at some point... let's say it's when Boomers came of age, but the specifics don't matter... At some point we got to a peak, and now the consensus is that we have either got as high as we can, or that we are sliding back downhill.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the more conservative side they'll say we are sliding down due to socialism and cancel culture. And the lefties will say those "best days" were only best for those with a lot of privilege, and were never great times for the marginalized. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So now we have a culture that is bifurcated with two impulses. One is to slam on the breaks and stay on this peak. Because as far as we can tell, there's no taller peak out there. We can tinker with things a bit to maybe add some elevation to this peak, but any fundamental change will mean heading back into the barbarous past full of anarchy and despotism. This was my view for most of my life. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But also imagine it's very foggy, and there isn't actually a way to see if we ARE on the tallest peak. Maybe there's one just on the other side of the fog. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some personalities are risk-averse, (Generally a good thing to be when you’re responsible for others) and will camp out on their Local Maxima. Not only that, but they will insist that any movement from that Local Maxima is destined to ruin and misery. They are happy to Law and Order those who disagree into submission because it’s for the greatest good. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then there are those who say that the Local Maxima is not acceptable. They point to the newly heard (historically speaking) previously muted marginalized people. These people were never invited into “the system”, in fact; often violently excluded. And now we need to account for THEIR human flourishing as well. This counts as >>NEW INFORMATION<< that should prompt a recalculation concerning the risk/reward of venturing into the fog in search peak that higher and better for everyone. This is where I’m at now. I consider the voices of the marginalized that I had not heard before to be >>new and important information<<. I feel this way because I directly connect “marginalized voices” with “The Least of These” that Jesus referred to in His admonition concerning who we ought to focus our resources and energies on. As one who strives to be “Like Christ”, this is where I’ve been led. Don’t hermeneutic me, we can do that elsewhere. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think the risk-averse can always find a million reasons for staying put. I spent over a decade imbibing all the conservative talk radio, books, magazines and websites. And being a fervent evangelist for these ideas. I would type equally long-winded and confusing posts attempting to articulate them as you see now. I am intimately aware of these arguments. I can’t speak for all conservatives but I can speak with confidence for my former self and probably some chunk of them. I used to think that any other peak will mean that the previously marginalized will become the new power, inverting the paradigm and enslaving the old guard. After all, this has happened in many revolutions in the past, and yet things always somehow end up resolving back to those with wealth dominating. It’s a futile and pointless exercise that can only diminish human flourishing. The risk-averse like Past Josh can also argue that the claims of the marginalized are greatly exaggerated, so movement away from our Local Maxima is really not in their best interest. Or that the desired systemic changes that the marginalized seek are actually bad for them. After all, you can always find some in the marginalized groups who will say so. (How an outsider ought to approach and interpret the internal struggles of a marginalized group is a really important subject I hope to learn more about.) </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can sum up Past Josh’s arguments with one core impulse. Fear. Am I saying all conservatives are cowards? Of course not. I’m saying that in a risk/reward analysis that does NOT account for marginalized voices, the risk of tipping into totalitarianism of whatever flavor is too great to warrant venturing into the valleys in search of a higher peak. That is a rational fear. Fear can be good and healthy. But now that I’m forced to recon with the voices of the marginalized, I’ve changed my risk/reward analysis. I’m not foolish enough to believe that there’s some peak out there that is a utopia where there is no longer haves and have-nots. But I believe that the potential for human flourishing has not been exhausted. As long as we have “The Least of These”, those who are marginalized by systems we have created, then we have potential for growing human flourishing by making better systems. Doing so has inherent risk. Though it could be argued that NOT doing so ALSO carries a different kind of risk, but I’m not into fear as a motivator anymore. My motivation is love, and love ESPECIALLY directed at those who need it the most. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 355px; overflow: hidden; width: 500px;"><img height="355" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/5Lxm083djydHfs07OO43rjR92jqzd7n146IcSWSiFYX4Cr1dAgsMvoM5alcUpR8659D1uE6UqPbtF0T2d9fRJ4ViPwo20qzqzehxceE3bMe1nVCWcgu0POdth9ZeSNDGvl2VqwPo" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="500" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7/29/2020</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ok, so let’s talk about dangerous posts. I was told by several people who I respect that a meme I posted as an example of truly ridiculous ‘whataboutism’ was dangerous. Rather than keep it up and argue about ‘muh rights!’, I’d like to learn more. So I deleted that post and would like to hear people’s perspectives about their philosophy behind dangerous posts. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s what I was thinking. Tell me where my thinking went off the rails:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From my perspective there is a spectrum of how convincing an argument presented on a meme or article is. The danger inherent in that content has to do with how well the rhetoric works to convince people that a dangerous idea is correct. This can be done through several channels: logical argumentation (not generally effective for most) and emotional appeal (much more effective) which can come in every emotional flavor. Disgust, anger, embarrassment, need-for-belonging, need-to-feel-clever, etc. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The meme I posted presented SUCH a bad logical argument that to my perception, it COMPLETELY undercut the emotional appeal it was meant to convey. To me, the meme was rendered innocuous by its utter failure to connect the emotional appeal to the structure of the argument. I could see how a very, VERY stupid person could maaaaybe be swayed by it. But I largely find those people unreachable by any argument that isn’t completely based on the emotional appeal of need-for-belonging. (“All your friends believe X, so you should too or you’ll lose your friends.”) </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I thought that posting it as an interesting cultural artifact could provoke some talk about the structure of rhetoric as found in a current hot topic. Because the example was so extremely bad I thought it could serve as an example of one end of the effectiveness spectrum. (So bad it can’t possibly BE effective, yet not containing anything that isn’t technically true.) (Though it contained a number so I’m sure that number wasn’t right but it really didn’t matter to the core conceit.) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since my reasoning and understanding are fallible, and the last thing I want to do is to hurt anyone, I rely on my friends to tell me when I’m inadvertently doing so. But this does lift the lid on a very sticky topic concerning how ideas (good and bad) ought to be dealt with in an open and free society. I don’t know if a single thread has the ability to hold such a large topic PLUS the individual example I’m referencing, but we’ll see. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The meme:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 583px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="583" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/8wTWf-TZd1iqmbV_8gPpvdw-7b9sdOJsR0AsKGFP8-BsChf_Mw7qY9AKXMVMs73Zfn2phcT68GNQuwmYtnP_A14VkEYFiUKjrsy95Bo8IfuNaB0KyZPP41Dt0T7FmHH4Bkay0lQB" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7/30/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a Facebook friend who has been going to observe (not participate in) the protests going on in Portland multiple times for many hours at a time during different times of day, specifically so she can see for herself what's going on, free from the media spin. (without going into too much detail, the reports are mostly mundane most of the time, and when she saw people being destructive it was a tiny fraction of the crowd.) And now I'm having the surreal experience of seeing people who have NOT been there in person arguing with her about the nature of the protest and protesters. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Sorry... not buying into the "peaceful protests”. I see with my own eyes what’s going on. These people are mentally ill and most on drugs. They are getting paid by George Soros. I’m sorry that you believe what you believe. Maybe someday you’ll really see what’s going on"</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm not quoting this person to make fun of them (I consider them to be a victim) or to convince you of anything other than this: The commercial systems that reward engagement with pay-per-click have created perverse incentives that have been gamed by almost all companies that produce news content for the internet. (this obviously has been the case for TV news since forever) 1. Find as many examples of highly emotional, outrage-inducing quotes, footage, images, etc. (In other words: people saying or doing the stupidest straw-man version of a position) 2. compile those into the best format for the consumer. Because there are multiple examples of an outrageous thing being said or done it taps into our pattern-seeking bias and gives the impression that these clips are representative of a whole "side". 3. distribute. 4. Profit. 5. Try to tell themselves that it's not their fault the culture is collapsing around us.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8/5/20</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In response to an article my pastor asked me to read: </span><a href="https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com/a-biblical-critique-of-secular-justice-and-critical-theory/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com/a-biblical-critique-of-secular-justice-and-critical-theory/</span></a></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fun article. Nice references. Really love Rawls’ thought experiment. Agree with most of the critiques of the systems presented. Also think the way the systems were presented was necessarily (for space and time) over-simplistic, and many of the critiques could be cross-examined in perpetuity. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But ultimately, I believe the fundamental argument put forth is one that doesn’t work for me for one simple reason. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is no Biblical Morality. There’s no Biblical telos. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are many moralities and teleological theories at play and in in conversation in the Bible. Every attempt to synthesize them is simply a matter of which sylLAble you decide to place the emPHAsis. The fact that you can survey both the Bible itself and history, and see countless examples of people applying what they thought to be “Biblical” morality and teleology to their church, government, policy, etc, being manifest as torture, war, slavery, oppression, etc, makes it pretty clear to me that either: A. Everyone who THOUGHT they were being ‘biblical’ in the past were wrong, and we, the blessed, who know how to hermeneutic right, who are ACTUALLY in communication with God, in our particular denomination finally figured it out. Or B. There are countless ways to interpret what “biblical” means, thus destroying the argument that Biblical Morality is the “rich, strong, comprehensive, complex, and attractive understanding of justice”. It’s possible that one of the many proposed moralities that one could articulate while referencing the Bible is really great. Sadly, it gives us no access to which of those proposals that would be.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As such, you can deconstruct all the proposed secular moral systems to your hearts content, as others also deconstruct any given “biblical” moral system, and we’re at a stalemate. Well, not you and me. But everyone and everyone. Even if whatever Keller thinks “Biblical morality” is, unless he has a way to make the rest of society agree with him, we’re still in the stalemate. We still have countless moral frameworks in competition. Keller keeps talking about the problem of the inability for society to form a consensus on this topic. But putting forth his version of “ancient, rich, strong, comprehensive, complex, and attractive understanding of justice” does not address the consensus problem. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It seems completely arbitrary to me that Keller thinks there are “five facets of biblical justice” and when he places that grid over competing theories they fall flat. Of course they do. Just as his theory falls flat when examined by any other arbitrary litmus test. I could spend all day picking apart his theory, cherry picking Bible verses to back up my claims, and present yet another form of “Biblical morality”. Granted, this guy is far more educated and possibly more godly than I am, so I’m sure he could tear me a new one in a debate on the topic. But then I can point to someone who’s more educated and possibly more godly, who disagrees with him. ad infinitum. This solves nothing. This brings nothing to a person who wants to be Christ Like in our current world. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You cannot insist that all morality is culturally constructed and relative and then claim that your moral claims are not.” I totally agree with this. And agree that most people don’t think through the premises of their moral framework. I simply disagree that anything Keller has presented here represents a useful solution. I think it IS useful to point out flaws in moral frameworks. I think it’s important to sow epistemological humility in moral zealots who haven’t realized that their pet moral frame isn’t perfect. I simply think Keller needs this just as much as those he’s critiquing. Being able to reference Bible verses is something that’s been done by countless others and to many different ends. Many of which were tragic. </span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a side note, I so tired of seeing what I’ve called the Jordan Peterson Maneuver, where Marxism and Post-Modernism are lumped together into some kind of bizarre misshapen strawman of both. I mean… points for the rhetorical strategy. But boy is it lazy or dishonest. </span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8-20-2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've been weighing myself daily for over 6 years now. No, I'm not obsessed with my weight, but it does correlate to a lot of other things I find interesting. Mostly I'm interested in the psychological side. WHAT is happening in my life when I have Cookie Monster cravings that I can't control, and what is happening when I don't?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like many people, eating delicious food is an emotional life raft that keeps my head above water. I binge eat to not feel sad. The more vectors that exist for making me experience feelings I don't like, the more uncontrollable my cravings become. I know this is all very "no duh", BUT what reminding myself of this fact does is help me to avoid the proven-failure-of-an-idea that eating healthy is simply a matter of discipline. At least, not the moment-to-moment kind of discipline. Instead it's about thinking strategically about my life, evaluating my values, and organizing my life accordingly. Understanding that this is a process that takes time to figure out, and managing my expectations. Also having grace for oneself when life throws curveballs, or when I make stupid mistakes. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me, personally, I've organized my life around one tentpole value, and the extent to which I'm living that value through all the channels of my life, the more at peace and joyful I am. And that makes the sugar cravings stay below the threshold at which I'm able to will-power myself through them. Right now I'm at the lowest/healthiest weight (I recognize these are not correlated for every body) I've been for over 3 years, and I can see why my recent breakthrough is happening. You can see from my graph that I have a sort of trampoline effect that kicks in right around 180 pounds. It's like a magical force field that takes incredible sustained effort to penetrate. And the few times I do I can only stay there for a day or two. But as of today I've been well under that force field for two whole weeks! </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's what's happening in my life that has allowed this.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. My life goal of creating an entertainment franchise designed specifically to make the world a more loving place. This past month I've had a couple promising breakthroughs in regard to how I can produce more, and higher quality visual development for it. (This has slowed progress on finishing Book 2, but the long term returns will make this a negligible sacrifice in the long run) I've also made a friend who is excited to be helping me navigate the tricky social issues that creating a new fantasy setting can bring with it, meaning the raison d'être of my life goal is ALSO progressing. Also, the latest book Lelia Rose Foreman is working on now is SO fun. Can't wait for you all to read it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. My life partner is disabled and always in pain, and usually needs help due to having recently been through one surgery or another. And the way I look at it, she could have these problems and ended up alone. She could have had these problems and been married to a guy to resented the 'work' it takes to help her. Or in the best world (that includes her illness) married to a guy to adores her and actively feels GREAT about helping her. Which means I get the opportunity and blessing to be able to LIVE my values AND bring the best possible world to a person who deserves it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. I found a day job working on an incredibly creative and challenging game where my very specific skills are both needed, wanted, and APPRECIATED! And my job is all about facilitating creativity in others, which again, is tied into my deepest held value. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So that combination of things is, I think, what has made my need to self-sooth with sugar, diminish to the point where it's not a huge concern. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8/29/2020</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before you tear into that obnoxious commenter, please remember... It's a statistical necessity that 49.99999% of people are below average intelligence. And being below average intelligence is not a choice and should carry no moral opprobrium. Also the fact that you can rarely tell if a stranger on line is any of the following can weight your perception of ill intent due to the emotional valence their words carry. Keep in mind, Internet strangers could be:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Literally children.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Intellectual disabled</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Emotionally compromised (just got in a fight with partner, just lost their job, etc.)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Emotionally compromised from medical issue (head trauma, chronic pain, etc.)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Under the influence of drugs or alcohol</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. Have used all their reservoir of self-restraint for the day</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. Emotionally triggered by the medium of social media which has algorithms custom designed to emotionally trigger all of us.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8. In too much of a hurry to express themselves well.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9. Legitimately misunderstood your point due to the medium of written communication. (responding to perceived tone or attitude.)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10. Have an outdated mental model of you</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11. Be responding to the worst bad-faith strawman version of your words because that's all they have ever experienced.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12. New or inexperienced in the medium of social media.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13. Not strong English speakers.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">14. Desperate for physical or social goods they are currently deprived of.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15. Either a click farm worker or a bot who is paid to provoke division.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">16. Simply communicate/interpret the world very differently than you due to culture, autism spectrum, personality type.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">17. I'm sure there's more but I'm too tired to keep going. Oh: Too tired to communicate well.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">None of this is meant in any way to excuse, encourage, or normalize bad/abusive/obnoxious/illegal/etc. activity of individuals on social media. It's meant only as a reminder that no interaction with another human is ever "an even playing field". And often, asking for a little clarification can help tease apart the ideas from the needs that drive us to share them. Can elucidate the compromised state from which an interlocutor is operating out of. And that can lead to more compassion, even with those who disagree with us. Even with those who we believe to be making the world a worse place. Again... It's good to be in this arena of ideas, opposing what you think is wrong. What I don't find good is aggressively going after a person who may be doing wrong, but is suffering from one or more of the conditions listed above. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do think that this general heuristic becomes less and less applicable as we leave the world of one-on-one interactions with strangers and into the world of holding political leaders, pundits, and those with large platforms to account for what they are doing or saying. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also have zero tolerance for threats. I have way too many friends who receive a daily deluge of death and rape threats. I don't care WHY a person does so. The platform needs to dump their asses immediately and the fact that this isn't the case is a massive indictment.</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9/6/2020</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My understanding of abstracted beliefs (such as political, moral, philosophical, religious) is that they serve the primary function as a group solidarity signifier. People don't "choose their beliefs". They are in a social context where some beliefs are rewarded by inclusion and others are punished with exclusion. Given the incentives, and the evolutionary programming that compels us to belong to our groups or die, I can't blame anyone for their terrible beliefs. I do however, try to articulate why more inclusive and loving beliefs are valid, so that if/when their group identity context changes, they will have an least some other options for replacing retrograde anti-social ones.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9/8/2020</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I want to try an experiment in conversation that I don’t think anyone will like or participate in. Are you hyped!?! Here goes. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m going to attempt to abstract an idea AWAY from current politics to the point where it can be debated in as open a way as possible. And to that end, I’m going to… *gasp* DELETE any responses that reference specific current or historical events. Deleting comments is SO against my nature that I don’t know if I can do it, but I’m gonna try. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">THE TOPIC: “Can rioting that includes violence ever be justified?” </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Again… in the abstract. What kind of context do you believe would justify violent riots? And what KIND of violence would cause you to draw the line and abandon the movement? Or would you say that there can never be a context wherein violent riots are ethically justified? Historical and current events are not allowed, but you can postulate hypotheticals. As long as they don’t rhyme with Yatzi or Matt Bive Ladders. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ll get the ball rolling... I can imagine a scenario where a government oppresses some group of people by forcing them into slavery, killing them for simply being in that group, or taking everything they own. I would say this group is justified in rioting, and I would say that destruction of property is very easy to justify in this context. It would be harder for me to justify burning down buildings because of the innocents who might die, so that’s in the gray for me. I think it would be less gray for rioters to attack troops/police who are actively attacking the riot. I think it is more gray to kill those troops/police. But ultimately, the amount of discomfort I feel for this level of violence is predicated on the kind of oppression the group is undergoing. For example, if the oppression that the group suffers is being never allowed to walk on the grass, then I’m far less comfortable with the violence that happens in riots opposed to that policy. If the oppression is literally a government killing that group on sight, then I’m much more comfortable with even violent behavior that kills troops/police and/or risks the lives of innocents. (I can’t think of a scenario where I’d ever be comfortable with TARGETING innocents.) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And a final thought… I recognize that in this abstracted thought experiment, I can’t embody the life of a person suffering the oppression. So I will naturally be weighting my feelings in a much different way than one who is in such an oppressed group. And therefore I should not mistake my armchair philosophizing as actual real-world ethical work. But I DO think it’s helpful to simply contemplate the issue divorced from the preconceptions that come with political affiliations.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">______</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An evangelical friend asked how any Christian can ever vote for a democrate since they are pro-abortion. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe a Christian can have the following views on abortion. (plus many more)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. When a sperm meets an egg a soul enters that clump of cells and God now has made a human that has all the same rights that God wants for all humans.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. At some arbitrary point, (say when the heart starts beating, or the brain starts signaling) a fetus becomes a baby human with all the same rights that God wants for all humans</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. When a baby exits the vagina it's now a human with the same rights that God wants for all humans. Before that it's not much more than tissue.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. All things are predestined so it really doesn't matter when a fetus is considered human.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Human is not a binary state that pops into existence at any arbitrary point. It's a spectrum that grows from a fertilized-clump-of-cells to fully-finalized-brain of a mid-20s adult. The amount of human rights we afford that entity grows along with their humanity and is balanced against the rights of others differently in accordance. (Mother's wishes Vs. fetus' abstract right to live)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. We also can't forget the prevalent historical view that infants outside the womb aren't even considered humans with human rights until some developmental milestones are reached. This is why it was common practice to leave infants who were deemed undesirable, not-flourishing, or sickly/deformed outside to die. This view was also held by many historical Christians.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B. And outside of that whole paradigm is the notion of human rights which is a modern invention that gets pulled into the debate in an ad-hoc sort of way, and which historically, Christians have been mixed on. As far as I can tell, most Christians care what God would consider murder more than they are concerned with human rights as a concept, but it does muddy the waters and is worth considering if you care about thinking deeply on the topic.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me, personally, options 1 - 3 break down under their own logic when pushed to the extreme. 4 is unhelpful for making ethical decisions. 5 does not break down logically unless you attempt to apply binary legal concepts to it. 6 is an extension of 5 but in a different legal context. I was raised in a cultural and ethical framework that would make this impossible for me to stomach. Just as anything other than 1 or 2 is impossible for most evangelical Christians can stomach. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It comes to this. If you feel like God demands a binary human/non-human distinction for His ethical framework to function then you have the emotional valiance of "This political party wants to rip babies limb from limb in a gory satanic ritual sanctioned by the state". I do not have that binary distinction as foundational to my ethical or religious convictions, so I don't share that emotional valiance. I know that's a sharp dividing line for most evangelicals and one of the main reasons they can claim other Christian denominations are "not really Christians". </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, beyond the religious/ethical dimension there is the practical world we live in, where abortion is legal, and the process of criminalizing it would bring with it a host of problems that reach into far too many areas for me to try to summarize with the time I have now. But since the number of abortions may or may not actually decrease if it's criminalized, I can't see the price it would cost our society as ethically defensible. Even if we completely zero out the rights of a mother, (as the pro-life camp is wont to do) and pretend they don't matter, the price we pay in other kinds of death and violence needs to be considered. The civil war that would probably be instigated. The rise of fascism in order to facilitate said criminalization of abortion. (I am not claiming that any state with criminalized abortion IS fascist, but in our current political context it would require many of the definitions of fascism to be increased to insure that such laws were enforced.) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beyond the issue of Abortion and the fallout that criminalization of it would bring, there's the whole REST of the context of how political policy affects other lives. It's possible that more people suffer and die under Republican policy than Democrat policy. Or visa-versa. A Christian can believe either of those claims. Or neither. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TL;DR</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's more complicated than : Republicans = good guys who want to save the babies & Democrats = bad guys who want to kill the babies. While many Christians DO hold that view, I, and many other Christians do not.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Based on relationships with Trump supporters I have this is my mental model of why they support him.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. They sincerely think that Democrats = Socialism = death camps for conservatives, their kids taken away to be brainwashed into atheists (which means their children will literally be tortured for all eternity in hell literally forever), and complete economic collapse.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. They think abortion is literally the same thing as murdering a baby. To vote for anyone who is pro-choice is the equivalent to wanting more babies to be murdered.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. They feel the general cultural move to the left is all about shaming them, and Trump is like a thumb in the eye of those mean SJWs.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. I honestly don't >personally< know any Trump supporters who are personally racist. (I think they support policy that upholds white supremacy, but they don't perceive it)</span></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Something that I found very inspiring during my evangelical Christian days was this mental model for how to witness. It went like this. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First, we acknowledge that any relationship where one party has a goal, is not a good relationship. As long as our goal is to convert a person, that will poison everything. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Second, we realize that almost no one ever changes their worldview after one conversation. Realistic "progress" doesn't look like someone going from -10 on a topic to +10 because someone dropped a truth bomb on them. Instead, the natural power of a healthy relationship is that as we are inspired by each other, our admiration draws us closer to a consensus. This is where I need to mention that because evangelicalism starts with the premise that evangelicalism is The Truth, that naturally this process means that the "unbeliever" will be drawn toward evangelicalism. But having an a priori that "I'm 100% right" is NOT necessary for this model. The point being that "progress" looks more like dozens or hundreds of small interactions over a period of some time causing a person to go from -10 to -5. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Third, we recognize that it's not our job and our job alone to convert our loved one. Again, evangelicalism has the premise that God's coordinating some 4-D chess by bringing just the right people into your loved-one's life to give them the maximum opportunity to "accept salvation". But again: not necessary for this model. The point is that if I take on the full responsibility to change someone, that is the path to madness, frustration, shame, and ultimately a bad relationship. So we recognize that it takes a community to convince a person that an idea is good.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, we recognize that people are rarely motivated to change their beliefs by abstract concepts and arguments. People are motivated by being inspired by people who are aspirational. That doesn't mean unrealistically perfect. It simply means authenticity. Lead by example. Be a good, kind and just person. Be honest when you disagree, but disagree in a spirit of good faith and patience. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So that's been my approach. Right now I see my role as simply being someone who can try my best to explain why a left-leaning person thinks the way they do. I can do this for my conservative friends and family without shame, judgement or anger. I know that many of them have an idea in their head of what "a liberal" is like, and it's a strawman built by Fox and Hannity and that whole apparatus. So for me to simply exist in their mind as a counterweight to that strawman is doing something. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beliefs are not abstract disembodied entities in our psyches that can simply be swapped out willy-nilly. Beliefs are embedded in relationships, community, culture, and one's self-perception as a good person. The detangling progress is not fast, nor should it be. Often changing a belief can be very costly both in emotional labor and sometimes literally, as many people's jobs rely on implicit social/political agreement with their boss. Some people need financial or other kinds of support form family that would be at risk if they "change sides". None of which is a great excuse for supporting policy that endangers and oppresses others. But it is a very human thing that I think we can all understand. </span></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we prepare for another round suggested Covid restrictions advisory I feel compelled to do yet another post about this stuff because I see SO many bad arguments out there. First of all, for the crowd that claims that hospitals are paid to exaggerate the death toll from Covid, when you think the deaths are actually complications from other things... please refer to the chart below. SOMETHING explains that giant spike in "deaths from all causes". I mean, maybe it's not Covid. Maybe it's serial killers, strangling from masks or ghosts. But I think occam's razor is helpful here.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And... if you frame the suggested restrictions as a matter of an infringement on YOUR PERSONAL liberties, or a matter of you being responsible for your own personal risk, you are really missing the point. >> It's not about you. << (If YOU get Covid you'll probably be fine. ) It's about those who are at high risk that you pass it to. It's about giving a fuck about OTHER PEOPLE that you probably don't even know, but who's lives are just as valid and important as yours and your self-righteous freedom. Americans are so heavily indoctrinated with this individualistic mindset that so many of us can't pull our heads out of our own asses long enough to recognize the heroism in small acts of sacrificially, voluntarily giving up a little bit of comfort and normalcy for some time in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives. As if we will spin off into an Orwellian dictatorship because we didn't go to thanksgiving this year and wear uncomfortable masks when we go out.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you feel like "life is full of risks, we can't stop them all." Like; should we never drive because car accidents happen? Well, that argument swings both ways. If we increase risk radically we can also increase efficiency for some individuals radically. A better comparison is seatbelt laws, which infringe on personal liberty, were strongly opposed by freedom fetishists, and had all sorts of edge-cases brought up as counter arguments. (seat belts can crush your organs or trap you in a submerged car!) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fact that I see this fetishization of legal rights and personal liberty as a fig leaf over incredibly selfish and reckless behavior predominantly from my Christian friends and loved ones honestly makes me feel sick to my stomach. That of all people, this community that is ostensibly ALL ABOUT sacrificial love is ready to die on this hill of "personal freedom"... No, not die on it. SACRIFICE STRANGERS on it. This is SICK and perverted, and I've never been more ashamed of this community that I was once so embedded in.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This isn't about politics or religion. It's about being a fucking human being who cares about the lives of others. I don't think you understand what being Christ-Like is at all if you think your responsibility to your fellow humans ends at the exact legal limit. You are the pharisaical priest ignoring the dying man on the side of the road because it's not >technically< your responsibility to do anything. If you can't recognize that the United States is WAY on the radical fringe of a political spectrum of personal liberty vs communal responsibility, you may be blind to how this is twisting you into complete asshole. Yes, you don't HAVE to, BY LAW, wear a mask, skip group dinners for a while, or care at all about another human. But if you like to think of yourself as a follower of Christ... what the fuck is your problem?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now... if you know me, you know I'm normally not like this. I don't usually cuss. I don't usually "attack" people. But I hope that it's shocking enough to shake at least a few people into being a little less likely to be a vector for LITERAL DEATH. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 303px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="303" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/SaDTDXezLFtxU_WHaA5BFBNMw-btTxjix9EvRZbcmgkq5UaW_6fOrMhxZsQqrlaHIC_yGOLUWBmHqpl2cdeyeV4Zs1iCeZK_H3nTqJsqVirrMJsBrLUgPUF3Mja5pPNCiA4yN3lB" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a really fun episode about how language (especially written) is evolving rapidly thanks to the internet. If you're a curmudgeon who thinks that these changes are a sign of lazy kids and a dumbing down of communication you owe it to yourself to listen to this. At 45, I've got a LOT of ye olde fashioned habits such as double spaces after a sentence, capitalization, use of periods, and using ALL CAPS to emphasize rather than to yell. But I also work in the videogame industry which is very closely tied to the internet, so I think I'm a bit more in tune with the changes that are happening and why. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The thing that really resonated with me was their talk about sarcasm and irony. Gretchen articulated something I've always felt deeply, but never been able to explain. She says that this mode of communication is like a trust fall, in that for it to work there HAS to be risk involved. This is why it's so emotionally painful for me to signal that I'm being ironic/sarcastic. It undercuts the whole point of that mode of communication. Putting a wink after a sarcastic/ironic statement makes me cringe in the same way as seeing a bad high school skit. (Another quirk of mine is that I feel crushing embarrassment just watching live performances of drama. This is probably unrelated.) Anyway, this thing about undermining the mode of communication I'm naturally inclined to use has caused me to embarrass, hurt, confuse, annoy and pester countless people over the years. And while the explanation given in this podcast helped me diagnose why I'm prone to do this, it doesn't excuse the negative feelings I've caused throughout my life. But dwelling on the root of this proclivity might help me sort out what it is that makes change in this area so difficult, which could, in the end help me to be a better person. Like that time I recognized that I was using cutting jokes with my friends all the time. I was under the impression that they knew that when I called them dumb, ugly, etc. I actually felt the opposite. That was a dumb and ugly assumption. So I (mostly) changed that about myself. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm curious if anyone else has gone through a similar communication journey. And if so, I'd love to hear any tips about how you manage irony/sarcasm output while minimizing negativity. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/youarenotsosmart/194-because-internet" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://soundcloud.com/youarenotsosmart/194-because-internet</span></a></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every group needs some percentage of contrarians or else that group will stagnate and ossify into mindless orthodoxy. (Political, religious, cultural, etc.) Sadly, most of the time the contrarians are still wrong. The personality profile that makes a person a contrarian requires them to interpret the consensus argument in bad faith, rendering them immune to logic and reason because there is always the chance that the consensus is indeed wrong. On the other side of the spectrum are the orthodox. Those who mindlessly repeat the consensus line. Also immune to logic and reason. However, they are usually right, just for the pathetic reasons. A contrarian will assume that everyone who agrees with the consensus are of the mindless orthodox echo chamber type. The "sheeple". But statistically, the sheeple are correct more often than the contrarians. This has been borne out in many studies. Groups make better estimations than individuals. Not all the time in all matters. But enough to make my point.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_of_the_crowd" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_of_the_crowd</span></a></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not an argument for mindless centerism either. Both-sidesism is seductive because it makes you feel balanced and wise to be able to discern flaws on both sides of any given disagreement. But that’s easy, shallow and vain. My point is that as obnoxious and dangerous as people can be because of the way they are constituted, they exist for a reason. Which does not mean they should receive support, solace, agreement or a platform to say and do dangerous things. But for me, having a model of the social system in which different types have evolved to serve a purpose in the big picture of survival helps me to not be enraged at what I deem to be stupid or deeply mislead people. I recognize that I could be the stupid or deeply mislead person.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The internet has given the contrarians an outsized (by historical standards, not some arbitrary moral standard or anything) reach and platform. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And I think that's exacerbated by the fact that orthodoxy fractured as everyone discovered that their former high school friends, aunts and their favorite sports celebrity all believe X crazy thing. Without that general cultural consensus (that never truly existed except in our shared imagination) the 'penalty' for dissent was drastically lowered. That used to be a barrier to entry for the contrarian-minded. Lowering the threshold for the price one needed to pay in cultural capital means raising the number who would have been on the fence. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But what this new balance of power leads to is our “post truth” age, where no one knows what to believe because when you look deeply into virtually any topic you can find people with degrees cherry picking things that seem prima facie ridiculous to a layperson. This didn’t used to be a problem for the majority of people because the contrarians were limited to pamphlets or shouting from a soapbox on the street corner. Now the average person is under a daily barrage of this kind of “criticism”. And there’s no more shared imaginary consensus to retreat into. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is my diagnosis of the widening cultural rift. Take it for what you will. </span></p><br /></span>Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-81848172442673780212020-02-08T15:38:00.001-08:002020-02-08T15:38:44.991-08:00On my wife's 40th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGp6ql3OcAcMmnrND8KXCu7EznzLPCi8dwBeeZtPYMd1bzFamH2lNg4dLmaQfn5n9G927losudAnufNbHNIVz1j0HvIRoxGGjWIB5jN2eN_cfZBZ-MWUgHxwjw_YXIf-PWf4o/s1600/HeatherBirthday40.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1192" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGp6ql3OcAcMmnrND8KXCu7EznzLPCi8dwBeeZtPYMd1bzFamH2lNg4dLmaQfn5n9G927losudAnufNbHNIVz1j0HvIRoxGGjWIB5jN2eN_cfZBZ-MWUgHxwjw_YXIf-PWf4o/s320/HeatherBirthday40.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /><br />I came across this quote on a friend's timeline a week or so ago and loved it so much. I decided to save it, to post it on Heather's birthday. Then I forgot I had it. But now I remembered. Anyway, this idea of letting go of the interpretation we had of our partner as they change resonates really hard for me. It's not just a funeral for who we thought they were, but also for future hopes we held that were predicated on who our partner used to be. Which all sounds like kind of a downer, but I don't feel that way. For me, love is demonstrated when put to the test. If everything is like a choreographed honeymoon in perpetuity there would be no chance to be stretched, to be forced to grow, to learn to be open to different paths and perspectives. It would be perpetual adolescence. I'd rather grow, as painful as the process may be.<br /><br /><br />When we met, Heather assumed that like herself, everyone was always in pain. Through the last 15 years as she underwent one awful medical ordeal after another she learned otherwise. She got diagnosed with EDS and has undergone a whole bunch of surgeries that attempt to make her body fall apart slower. The past year or so has been very difficult for her as her disability became more and more apparent, severely limiting the things she loves to do: Long walks, photography, and working. (She loved her job at Starbucks because she loves people.) <br /><br /><br />So dealing with the physical, logistical, financial and emotional repercussions of her rapid decline has been rough. So there’s been a lot of ‘funerals’ to attend to lately. But one beautiful thing this has brought about is a crystal clarity of what is at the core of her being; and that is to love others. To be there for them, to help them, to advocate for them. All the experience and knowledge she has gained navigating her health problems and the health system has made her an incredible asset to anyone who needs help with that stuff. She’s learned SO much about how to do GOOD research on medical issues, as opposed to naive googling, how to parse professional vs. colloquial wording in articles and white papers, how to spot the good and helpful doctors, and the red flags to look for, etc. She marshals all this into a passion for helping others to get through their medical difficulties. <br /><br /><br />Yesterday I took her and her friend to the state capitol where they were advocating for a bill that would reduce the chilling effect that the ‘opioid epidemic’ has caused for the treatment of patients with chronic pain. Heather doesn’t actually use any opioids, but through her network of friends in the rare disease community she can see the issues that an blind over-reaction has caused. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x1dIGDcg_XZgIXssJvT3rCBy7Z3kzzOq_uPbcfo6JGje_1exE6TR2Y2oMRUYcz8Y48XNANdSDv6pfqdveAUG8uSPDLC8oM3UaisvKnuILYQIO598JkQsUFp_BUUSVIj7DH0b/s1600/HeatherAtCapitol.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="896" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x1dIGDcg_XZgIXssJvT3rCBy7Z3kzzOq_uPbcfo6JGje_1exE6TR2Y2oMRUYcz8Y48XNANdSDv6pfqdveAUG8uSPDLC8oM3UaisvKnuILYQIO598JkQsUFp_BUUSVIj7DH0b/s640/HeatherAtCapitol.JPG" width="356" /></a></div>
<br />Because Heather is a magical creature, she instantly connects with people in a way I don’t understand at all. And because she loves taking pictures, she was photographing up some stairs when a woman was walking down them, and somehow that turned into a conversation between them. After talking for a bit we found out the woman was actually a representative, and we got to tell her why we were there. <br /><br />All this to say, I’m so lucky to have married this woman and attended a thousand funerals of her past selves as we’ve learned how to find joy and love in an increasingly constricted life together. The perspective we’ve gained is invaluable. Happy 40th to My Love. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-30385106873686865352019-12-31T17:42:00.000-08:002019-12-31T17:44:10.622-08:002019 Review<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuNsVNNQ9LiCrrazrNAD18OexiacUm6RpUYAwsGk306VII4szeI9IkvjUhkISHJHsE6e9Lub-2YMqrprnfAMqHHq_tcSxhqEz_yyPigJVmDd4N9IdiS69-KXhXiriABcbtbp0/s1600/Sad-new-year-quotes-for-alone-people.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuNsVNNQ9LiCrrazrNAD18OexiacUm6RpUYAwsGk306VII4szeI9IkvjUhkISHJHsE6e9Lub-2YMqrprnfAMqHHq_tcSxhqEz_yyPigJVmDd4N9IdiS69-KXhXiriABcbtbp0/s400/Sad-new-year-quotes-for-alone-people.jpg" /></a><br />
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It sucked. <br />
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But I suppose that when several pillars of your life are knocked out from under you, you can appreciate the ones that remain. The three main ones that were lost:<br />
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1. Job/Financial security. Having been in the game industry for well over 20 years I assumed I’d have no problem landing a job if I needed to. And, I guess that’s true. The problem is that the field has become very narrow due to life circumstances. I need a job that both provides the same health insurance plan, and is local. That’s because I need to keep Heather in the same network of providers who understand her disease. (More of that in the next point.) That’s the external narrowing of the field. Internally I can see I made a career error by not keeping up with the art pipeline for the way art assets are created in games. As my focus shifted to design I COULD have worked harder to stay current on the art side. But I didn’t, and because my transition to designer was still in the mid-way point when I got laid off, it’s hard to demand a design position that pays commiserate with my experience. Except in level design. I’m very confident in my level design experience and skill. However, the fates have decreed that almost all the game studios in my region are making games in a particular genre that isn’t EXACTLY what I’ve been doing for the past 15 years and so these studios are not hiring me because I can’t show them a published game just like the one they are making with my level design in it. I spent a LOT of time and sanity doing design tests, I’ve had a lot of really great interviews, but keep getting turned down. <br />
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Fortunately I was able to get a work-from-home gig that comes close to paying the bills, but since we have to pay over $2,100 a month to keep our medical insurance (This studio I’m doing this work for is in Europe and does not offer medical insurance for obvious reasons) there’s no way we can sustain ourselves over the long run. The system that so graciously allows us to keep our insurance runs out next September, so if I don’t have a job that provides medical insurance by then… I honestly don’t know what we’ll do. It’s too bad, because I love this job. Working from home has been a big blessing, especially because of…<br />
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2. Heather’s Health. This year has seen a rapid decline her health. She’s lost the ability to do so many of th things she loves. She used to walk for miles and take pictures almost ever day. But now, so many of her joints are so messed up, and she’s had a bunch of surgeries on her hands/wrists that can’t do that anymore. She’s a VERY social person, so getting out and doing things with friends is her favorite thing in the world, but she’s become so limited in her capacity that this is rapidly diminishing as well. She can’t even be on social media for long due to the strain holding a laptop of phone puts on her hands, shoulders, neck and back. <br />
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She finally got approved for disability, so it’s officially acknowledged by the government that she’s disabled. But the emotional journey of accepting that, not being able to work at the job she loved (because of all the customers she loves) and coming to grips with all the things she can’t do anymore is long and arduous. And there’s no signs of things getting better any time soon. <br />
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On top of all that she’s having to deal with the company that Starbucks hires to vet the disability claims being stupid, working on a statement for the judge of the guy who sexually assaulted her last year, and of course the worry about our financial situation… well it’s a lot.<br />
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So that’s a lot of pressure we’ve been dealing with. Here’s stuff that COULD have also fallen apart that didn’t. <br />
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1. Our marriage. This kind of stuff would probably take a heavy toll on many marriages. But for whatever blessed fate of personal chemistry we’re just as strong as ever. We are both processing a LOT more stress, but I don’t think either of us takes it out on the other. I recon the main reason we’re both doing… OK right now is because through all this we never doubt the love and respect we hold for each other. <br />
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2. Family. While neither of our parents in in a position to help us financially, we know they love and support us however they can. My mom and I got our first co-authored book out. My son, Shane, has who is 20 now and still lives with us is doing an amazing job at teaching himself all kinds of computer art stuff from animation to game development and video editing. He’s actually getting to the point where’s he’s able to contribute to joint projects that could eventually become professional projects. So that’s encouraging. <br />
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3. Friends. I still see a lot of my friends on a fairly regular basis. (we have a ‘buddy lunch’ that meets weekly even though we all work at different companies now) I do creative projects with some. And a friend from ArenaNet donated a LOT of money to our medical bills that will allow us to survive for several more months. On top of that I got a lot of great letters of recommendations from former co-workers. <br />
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So that’s my year in review. Hoping for some stability next year. Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-56464578676576875102019-11-29T22:59:00.003-08:002019-11-29T23:04:09.101-08:00In Defense of the Procedural In Television<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvSdhILtLfRtnrKh_UifMf_tE0dTy1RSgV-Qlq8XTkiQSLpgIe-VTRc1H5lU5pzwAvPojw95ngMMKGIB0SjlRRcFJqV2t9WUiWkBOv78V1_VITxnVki0vC6hHmoPsZ29yTAD5/s1600/TheMandalorian.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvSdhILtLfRtnrKh_UifMf_tE0dTy1RSgV-Qlq8XTkiQSLpgIe-VTRc1H5lU5pzwAvPojw95ngMMKGIB0SjlRRcFJqV2t9WUiWkBOv78V1_VITxnVki0vC6hHmoPsZ29yTAD5/s640/TheMandalorian.jpg" /></a><br /><br />I haven't seen these yet, but I'm expecting to see complaints about Ep 4 of The Mandalorian because "nothing happened". We watched The Travelers recently and that show made me realize something that had been bugging me about this current golden age of television. Imagine a spectrum with Procedural on one side, and Novel on the other. Shows like Murder She Wrote, Law And Order and Star Trek The Next Generation are very Procedural. That is, every episode is self contained and you can watch them in any order because Novel things (Meta-Plot progression) almost never happens. The closest you have to that stuff on those shows is when an actor leaves the show.<br /><br />TV shows back in the day were mostly Procedural for non-artistic reasons, and I would never want to go back to those dark days. (Though I DO love me some ST:NG)<br /><br />But when those shackles were removed, guess what happened? The same thing that happens in all industries when shackles are removed.... everyone went overboard in the opposite directions. <br /><br />I'm calling this end of the spectrum "Novel", by which I mean "Every episode pushing the meta-plot forward at a breakneck speed" And by "meta-plot" I mean the a larger season, or total-show arc. So the desire to put as many new or Novel things in every episode that changes or twists the plot… that’s over-ridden the fundamental stability that Procedurality brings to a show. <br /><br />So I see it this way. Too much Procedure and you’ve got a stagnant, safe, predictable show. But too much Novelty and you’ve got an incomprehensible mess of too many plot threads to keep straight, and too many things happening to remember. <br /><br /><br />I think this would be fine if I only watched one TV show a season. But I can’t keep 20 different shows that are constantly throwing as much meta-plot progression as possible straight in my brain parts. Maybe you can. In which case, feel free to ignore the previous stuff. But there’s another problem I think I’m perceiving with the push for maximum Novelty in modern TV. And that is the creative and story-telling problems that come into play. If you’ve watched any behind-the-scenes of these shows, something you’ll hear again and again is “It’s like making 12 movies in less than a year!” And in a lot of ways that’s clearly true. But here’s the thing. Most movies are bad. Most movies that ARE good have a script that went through a ton of revisions and edits (But not by committee) and also went through an extensive pre-production phase where all the various disciplines came together with their input. AND, the END of the movie is ALWAYS (mostly) known before shooting begins. For TV, many of these processes are either drastically reduced or non-existent. Instead you have a room full of writers who have been incentivized to evolve the story as much as possible. Yes, they usually have some rough outline of a season arc that they can’t totally break, but my experience as a viewer is that most TV stories are a collage of set-pieces and cool stuff that happens. That stuff may or may not be thematically or tonally coherent or fit into a pleasing flow or narrative arc. The important thing is that every episode’s plot synopsis should require a 5 page essay. I mean, of course that’s not an articulated goal, but SOMETHING is producing that effect, and I don’t like it. I think it’s generating more quantity of Novelty than quality of Novelty. When an earth-shattering revelation happens on a show I want to feel shattered, not like I do now; which is: “I guess THIS earth-shattering revelation -the fourth one on this episode- might be important… I guess.”<br /><br /><br />I think TV shows could be better if they rolled in a bit more Procedurality. The Travelers had a pretty good ratio. I’d say it was about 40/60, Procedurality to Novelty. The mix changed in the last season (closer to the modern standard at about 10/90) as you could tell they were wanting to wrap up the meta-plot, and I think that worked great because I didn’t need to remember all the complicated Novelty a year later. <br /><br /><br />I think if TV show-runners made a decision to consciously determine a ratio that works best for their goals, we could see lots of neat ways to incorporate procedurality into shows. Ep. 4 of The Mandalorian is a very Procedural feeling episode. The intro felt STRAIGHT out of Star Trek: The Next Generation. We have a new character introduced, and learn a tiny bit more about the Mandalorian’s past. But mostly it’s a contained story of a village with a problem, and the cowboy drifts into town and saves the day. So it was like 95% Procedure, 5% Novel. That’s a pretty conventional way to do procedure. But there’s no reason a show couldn’t mix Procedure in a more fine grained way. If you commit to a 30/70 split for a season, you could do each episode approximately 30/70. I think. I think that could work. Either way, you get my point, I’ve blathered enough. <br /><br />Also, keep in mind I’ve never written for film or TV. So a lot of my assertions are based on hearing from friends who have, industry podcasts, and behind-the-scenes specials. I’m happy to be corrected on anything I’ve guessed incorrectly.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvSdhILtLfRtnrKh_UifMf_tE0dTy1RSgV-Qlq8XTkiQSLpgIe-VTRc1H5lU5pzwAvPojw95ngMMKGIB0SjlRRcFJqV2t9WUiWkBOv78V1_VITxnVki0vC6hHmoPsZ29yTAD5/s1600/TheMandalorian.jpg"><br /></a><br />Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-66035366333351349682019-07-12T21:49:00.001-07:002019-07-15T11:17:16.223-07:00Stranger Things Season 3 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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1. The Plot. Escalated without being too redundant. </div>
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2. FX. They're good. You know... Like pretty much everything these days. </div>
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3. Teen Drama Garbage. Hear me out. In most media representation of teenage drama the TONE is such that the feelings they have are as important as the characters experience those feelings to be. I guess this is "good" in the sense that it could theoretically put you in the headspace of the characters. The problem for me is that teenagers are very stupid and very arrogant and very inexperienced. I hate being in that headspace and recoil from depictions of it. What Stranger Things 3 did -which is something I haven't seen often- is present the teen drama with a TONE that views it for the silliness that it is. I think it was handled expertly because doing that could easily lead to being alienated from the characters and not caring about their experiences. Instead I felt like "aww... I remember those kinds of feelings. Poor kids."</div>
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4. Monster speed. This is a pet peeve of mine. Since CG came along, virtually all monsters move too fast for their size. These ST monsters are still too fast. But compared to what else is out there, they did good.</div>
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5. Conspiracy-guy and Russian-scientist becoming best buds. I want them to have a spin-off show. </div>
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6. El and Max's friendship. I've never been a teenage girl but their friendship felt authentic. </div>
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7. Sad feels seeing the nerd being left behind as his friends are becoming more interested in girls than DnD.</div>
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<b>Bad: </b></div>
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1. Hopper and Joyce. I'm guessing they were trying to do a Moonlighting thing where the leads are snarking at each other due to sexual tension. In fact, they explicitly call out the purported tension. But no. This did not work for me. It COULD have worked if they played with the trope in a less-heightened (ham-fisted) way. What made seasons 1 and 2 work so wonderfully for me was the way most of the characters, most of the time, acted like real people trapped in a plot full of 80s tropes, but did not BECOME 80s tropes. But in S3 the apparent desire to make them SO snarky overrode the desire to have them act like real people in those situations. SO much yelling in inappropriate places. Infiltrating a base full of badguys with machine guns? Let's yell at each other. Hiding from a giant body horror creature? Let's yell at each other. Nope. Ya broke it.</div>
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2. Hopper. Used to like that guy. By the end I felt nothing at his 'death'. It was practically a relief. That guy had enough abusive personality red flags to choke a camel. The redemption letter at the end was nice, but too little too late. </div>
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3. Erica. She was a fun spice sprinkled around Season 2. She could have been a fine addition to the main cast in S3 if they didn't write her as cliche'd-line/attitude-spouting machine. It just reminds me of when a kid does something cute and all the adults laugh... and then for the next nine hours the kid does the same thing over and over and over. It's embarrassing. They can do better. The writers... not the kid. </div>
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4. They took the wrong lesson from The Thing. The Thing (80s version obs, duh) worked by doing a slow build of dread. The way that was accomplished was by <i>hinting</i> at the edges and silhouettes of a slowly emerging horror. When there were full glory shots of the monsters they were brief and the lighting was always very carefully placed. (This was due to technical limitations, but accidentally worked very well.) The first ep or 2 of ST3 did this, but before the halfway point (I think) they had fully-lit full-body shots of monsters running around. Clearly a case of being so preoccupied with whether they COULD that they didn't stop to think if they SHOULD.</div>
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5. "This is cute, ISN'T IT CUTE?!?!" music. Another pet peeve of mine. I don't know why I'm fine with music "telling me" that a scene is supposed to be epic, tense, romantic or sad, but DON'T EVER TELL ME I'M SUPPOSED TO FIND SOMETHING FUNNY!. Either they didn't use those music cues in the first two seasons, or I didn't notice because I was actually FEELING the intended feeling. </div>
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<b>Odd and Annoying, But Not Enough to Qualify as Bad:</b><br />
1. El's nosebleed. Just stick a tissue up there before you do your thing.</div>
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2. Reloading your guns ads tension you guys. Please just do it!<br />
3. The Portal Opening Machine didn't look 80s at all. It looked like a prop from an Avengers movie.</div>
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4. Lounging and flopping all over movie theater toilets. Just ew. Could not hear what they were saying over the internal screaming in my head. </div>
Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-11355247083214041532019-06-22T21:50:00.000-07:002019-06-22T21:50:18.108-07:003 Strikes and I'm OUT... of Options<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />This week I got news back from two really incredible interviews with companies I probably would have loved to work for. Both were a No. So that is now 3 places where I had an extended interview that went super well, everybody clicked, jokes were made and received, "We'll get back to you soon!" with smiles were given. </div>
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I've been on the other end of interviews many times. So intellectually, I understand that there are SO many reasons -that have nothing to do with the candidate- for not going ahead with them. I know that taking any of this personally -as a reflection of my worth to my chosen profession- would be silly. But man... I sure FEEL like this is a reflection of my worth to my chosen profession.<br />One thing that should theoretically help with these emotions is the fact that I really impressed a VERY fickle and high-prestige company, landing this contract at Moon Studios.<br /><br /><br />It's great that I get to work on an amazingly gorgeous and well-designed game along with some award-winning super talented folks all around the world. But as long as I don't have health insurance, and I'm paying over $2,100 a month for our coverage, we will always be financially sinking. <br />I'm supposed to be happy that we're SLOWLY sinking instead of quickly sinking. Again, I am... intellectually, rationally understanding that this is good. But I'm also 44 and have almost no retirement. I'm 23 years into a career in an industry that really doesn't care, and in fact, probably sees my experience as 'too much'; as a detriment. </div>
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<br />I think the thing I'm feeling the most is that what I'm truly gifted at is exactly what I'm doing on-the-side. And so far the only people paying me for that are the handful of the beautiful people on my Patreon, some Twitch subscribers, and folks who bought my book. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOztpuqsRHng-0IqpaX9Sf0fTzFCSDZPR4E6-dDKL95YUGTMG99wrOaJbet05C2IsSJZNmoulm6hfBuMeb9ZJNwX5lFj22USYlZGNwJZeU7BxOWGeCuUXqm3aZhtC4VlkquX5h/s1600/FacebookEventBanner.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOztpuqsRHng-0IqpaX9Sf0fTzFCSDZPR4E6-dDKL95YUGTMG99wrOaJbet05C2IsSJZNmoulm6hfBuMeb9ZJNwX5lFj22USYlZGNwJZeU7BxOWGeCuUXqm3aZhtC4VlkquX5h/s320/FacebookEventBanner.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />(All of which is about 1/50th of what I need to live) And so, emotionally, what I see as my destiny, and the mark I want to leave on the world is something that has to be relegated to evenings and weekends. (Welcome to the club, right?) It didn't used to be this way. Making games used to be my raison d'être. And it still would be if the industry hadn't failed to grasp what it is I have to offer. Or if I hadn't failed to capitalize on opportunities to do so that I'm just not inclined to see. Or if I didn't have some ineffable repellent personality that interviewers only come to understand after I leave the room... <br />I suppose with all the options I know of now exhausted (at least for now), I can begin to find a new normal. I'll get serious about dividing my time appropriately, figuring out a good and healthy schedule that includes my Moon contract work, Talifar progress, eating right and exercising, etc. Maybe I'll even find a way to squeeze some AAA gaming time in. (Probably not) I guess in a way I'm mourning the loss of what any of those 3 jobs would have brought me. A retirement account, enough money to fund faster/better development of Talifar, and peace of mind. Once I'm able to accept that those things are simply not going to be in my life at this time I can move on to making the best of what I've got. (Which, by historical standards, is astounding wealth, prosperity and health) <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-8EYIfL1uskeSQNiDXSWm0k0Fq89m5oF7HL7aRNb3pgKYgMyIGEMo_HK_ScUyYdkITFCHjCWo-I4WY4j5uIc5sHTEGo6WWYMOVnpw1W2VLj2JYEFJ8myoZyihXA00T_QWmGu/s1600/LovelyMuck.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-8EYIfL1uskeSQNiDXSWm0k0Fq89m5oF7HL7aRNb3pgKYgMyIGEMo_HK_ScUyYdkITFCHjCWo-I4WY4j5uIc5sHTEGo6WWYMOVnpw1W2VLj2JYEFJ8myoZyihXA00T_QWmGu/s320/LovelyMuck.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />So closure is what I'm aiming for this week. I'm still getting that tearing at my soul when a random thought pops into my head about how one of those jobs could have lead to X, Y or Z. I know those painful thoughts will fade with time. </div>
Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-68486280853617976442019-05-12T00:00:00.000-07:002019-05-12T00:00:29.998-07:00Mother's Day 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I’ve probably written about moms and mother’s day several times on this blog before. But I’m in a position in my life now where the topic is striking me in a new way. I’ve been unemployed for over 2 months now, hoping against hope that this one particular place that has the right health insurance hires me. I’m just now trying to get into the groove of unemployment and maybe try to turn it into funemployment! <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/26795241">https://www.patreon.com/posts/26795241</a> <br />
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I’m not super good at math or money, but I’m noticing that when I’m not MAKING money, our account balance keeps going down. Like a ticking time bomb. And the lower it gets the more desperate I get to do stuff I really really don’t wanna do. So that’s really stressful. Like a candle, burning slowly down. <br />
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But there was a time when I was the proverbial candle burning at both ends. And the reason was because of someone who was really really bad at momming. I was married to her, and we had two itty bitty kids. I was in an almost year-long crunch mode at work, and every moment I wasn’t at work I was taking the kids as far away from the house as possible. This meant every weekend I spent about 10 hours walking around the mall with a stroller and toys. Or McDonald’s Play Space, or on the rare occasion when it wasn’t painful to be outside in Ann Arbor Michigan: at the park. Then our company got shut down. All the money disappeared from our bank account. (Turns out she was also really bad at not doing drugs) I moved back to Washington so I could be by my parents. That’s when my hero of a mother saved us all. I couldn’t legally take the kids with me since my wife at the time felt like she could use the kids for government handouts, so I had to trust that she simply couldn’t handle the responsibility of dealing with them full time. Turns out I was right, and my mom got to fly out the Michigan and bring them back to Washington, where she basically cared for them full-time for months while I got a new job, dealt with custody battles, etc. <br />
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My point is that I know what it’s like to have massive external stress from the world bearing down on you. And I know what it’s like to have massive internal home-stress bearing down on you. And when you’ve got both, that’s a special kind of hell. <br />
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After things settled a bit I found a woman who was foolish enough to marry a guy with two hyper boys that needed mothering. Turns out she’s super good at it. And that meant I could direct my limited energy at excelling at my career and other creative endeavors. And since I was able to do that, I’m in a strange place now where I’m working full time on a project with my mom. One that I only had the emotional and cognitive overhead to start because I found someone to mother my kids. <br />
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Maybe this is sounding really patriarchal, as though mom’s are ‘good’ for clearing the way to facilitate the success of dads. That’s not my intention. I’m simply speaking as a witness to the power of what good mothering has accomplished in my life. I want to recognize that the success I’ve had in life is not because I’m super awesome. It’s because of massive amounts of invisible runway that mothers have built for me. Recognition, appreciation and hopefully compensation are what I’d like to give to those mothers. It’s the least I can do. Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-44543122785919632172019-04-28T22:19:00.001-07:002019-04-28T22:20:30.283-07:00Two Months Out of Work<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyb3tJMpAuS8CKn-8OW6-5mEkeFcdyAVpiG1Y-lWF6h5YaQIorr7pm6NkAuWcJtr5HcHKdVh7IreyUfpbHzdfkN1EvR2mkvluZYPkzKOpFCI-uUcU8n8RycyiISpy75BPV40vU/s1600/Best.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyb3tJMpAuS8CKn-8OW6-5mEkeFcdyAVpiG1Y-lWF6h5YaQIorr7pm6NkAuWcJtr5HcHKdVh7IreyUfpbHzdfkN1EvR2mkvluZYPkzKOpFCI-uUcU8n8RycyiISpy75BPV40vU/s320/Best.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The past 8 weeks have been a blur. After 15 ½ years of stable employment, my work-home laid me off along with about a quarter of the staff. I did NOT see that coming, though in retrospect I really should not have been surprised. Statistically most gigs in the game industry don’t last a quarter as long as I was at ArenaNet. And I saw problems at work for the past several years, but since everything had been so stable for so long I just kept my head down and figured we’d weather the storms like we always had. But not this time. I've worked at several game studios over the years and have never quit any of them. I think I’ve just been really lucky to land at places with good people that matched where I was in my journey.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />The beginning of my time at ArenaNet was a new beginning for me in a lot of ways. I had just escaped a suffocating marriage, moved back close to my parents, and shortly after I started my new job I found the love of my life then married her. ArenaNet provided stability during some VERY tumultuous years. Years of custody battles. Years of worse and worse medical diagnoses for Heather. Years of teenager problems so bad I shouldn’t put them in writing. Through all of that I had steady employment with people I loved and was working on a good and popular game. Sadly, ArenaNet seldom fully utilized my talents. I had a lot of promising starts to taking on the leadership roles I could have excelled at, only to see them peter out. I got to work on exciting new projects that also petered out. And I was never paid what I was worth. But the plus sides I already mentioned, along with the massive peace of mind that stability and a good work/life balance, kept me quite content. <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />But it was more than those perks that kept me there. Over the past decade we’ve discovered more and more about Heather’s health problems, and she’s gone through COUNTLESS doctors and specialists before FINALLY getting a diagnosis that explained everything a couple years ago. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is still fairly newly understood, and a lot of doctors don’t know how differently they need to work with people who have EDS. For that reason, the ‘shackles’ that actually kept me at ArenaNet was their premium health care plan, under which we had access to the best specialists who know and treat EDS. Heather has had 14 surgeries now, many of which have basically been preemptive patches to slow the entropy that her degenerative disease causes. And she’s going to need many more. For that reason, I feel like I NEED to get a LOCAL job that has the SAME health insurance. Even other premium plans might not cover the same doctors and specialists. What that means is that there are maybe 2 or 3 companies in the world that meet those two requirements. Compromise on this matter feels to me like I’m literally jeopardizing Heather’s life, or at least her longevity/quality of life/amount of continual pain she will be suffering. <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />On the plus side, I’ve had a really great couple of phone screenings, then an all-day on-site interview at one of those places. On the down side, it’s been two weeks and they haven’t got back to me despite the customary “Hello, I’m still really excited to work with you!” email reminder I sent. I’ve been on the other side of the hiring process, having interviewed many candidates at ArenaNet and former companies, so I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. They probably have another candidate they like better for the position, but are keeping me in stasis until they lock that down, THEN they will send me the rejection letter. At that point… I honestly don’t know what I’ll do. I haven’t had so much as a nibble from any other local studio. On top of that, it’s a really bad time to be looking for work in the game industry. Several very large companies have also had massive layoffs recently. There’s instability all around. <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />The slow realization that I’m probably not getting this one-and-only life preserver tossed my way has led me into an emotional cave that feels like depression. But I won’t claim that’s what it is. I’m very lucky to have only brief dips in my generally sunny disposition. Every couple of weeks or months I’ll be struck by an epiphany where I “see through” the constructs of culture and psychology that we all play in. I’ll realize that love is just candy coating on basic selfish impulses, friendship is just fancy dancing around approved ways to use each other, our bodies are just really gross sacks of degrading meat, etc. I think, ultimately, these insights are true to the extent that we dwell on them. But to do so ignores the experiential aspects of life, and it’s ok to hold both the dark and light as true for the proper context. Then I’ll “snap out of it” within minutes; a day or two at most. From what I’ve read and heard, that’s NOT depression. But it’s as close as I’ve come in a long time. <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />I keep a daily log where I track my weight, exercise, projects, media I consume, medications, etc. My Mood number is between 0-5, and 95% of the time it’s at 3. But this past week has been all 2s and 1s. I’m so tired. But not because I’m not sleeping. When I’m sad I get sleepy. My natural defense against stress and sadness is sleep, so I’ve been doing a lot of it.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />But I’ll tell you what… when I’m NOT sleeping I’m tearing myself to pieces trying to get things done. I’ve always seen the time when I’m not at the office as more precious than gold. So now I’m sitting on a giant pile of gold. 8 weeks of it now. And NOT tearing myself apart to take full advantage of this abundance would be too much mental anguish for me to handle. So ask me how many movies, games and TV binges I’ve been doing in my “funemployment”. Very little. The answer is almost none. First, I spent every waking minute of the first month after getting laid off finishing my first book. My mom/co-author, and my… first book. Then it was crunch mode to get everything ready for our big debut at the Norwescon convention. Since then it’s been getting the advertisements for the book created, the next YouTube video out (I’ve been committed to a new video on the 1st of every month) Cleaning and re-organizing my disaster of a garage/studio, and as soon as that’s done it’s balls to the walls to get the cover and maps done for book 2. <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />Oh, and if I don’t get this job, I’m going to need to expand my opportunities by teaching myself a new tech-art program that all game artists need to know these days. (I’ve been trying to get a level design job, but I can also do art as soon as I’ve updated my skill set with the latest software) <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anyway, that leaves me feeling like a slice of bread with too little butter scraped over it. I’m tired. I’m flabby. (My normal gym routine was based on having access to my office gym) I’m sad. I’m terrified I’m going to let my wife down and that she will be the one to pay the consequences with her life and health. She’s already literally always in pain. Now she gets to … what? I don’t even know. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight. Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-14408503720352179262019-02-17T21:20:00.001-08:002019-02-17T21:22:54.894-08:00My Top 10 Movies<br /><br />It’s time for a top 10 list because why not. Here you go, in no particular order. Also, yeah I’m grouping franchises together. Sue me. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcUHkGv_1gcEAWud9tmydfwzRi2AwJJCQMbhhbSp2UjIoXSzI5UzQXPfkPRKuaE6fFNsFE46s2ff6a93yIt8ly1Hh0IBXNfpatlU6MPeY6gOZRThiT88BrCg4YhFz7dCjiKYB/s1600/MovieUHF.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcUHkGv_1gcEAWud9tmydfwzRi2AwJJCQMbhhbSp2UjIoXSzI5UzQXPfkPRKuaE6fFNsFE46s2ff6a93yIt8ly1Hh0IBXNfpatlU6MPeY6gOZRThiT88BrCg4YhFz7dCjiKYB/s320/MovieUHF.JPG" /></a> <br />UHF <br /><br /><br />Some of my favorite movies are great art. This one is probably not, but I still love it to bits. UHF has too many "I recognize that popular culture reference" jokes to be "Great Comedy" imo. But it also has an incredible sincerity and heart that I've never seen in another goofball comedy movie. And enough quotable lines to choke a camel! And what a shocking structure Mr. Yankovic signed off on for his big shot at a feature length movie. You'd think with a plot about a wacky character who catapults a failing TV station into sudden popularity, that character would be Weird Al. Instead they found a no-name comedian (Michael Richards: later Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld) to be that character. And Weird Al is a ... almost straight man, stepping back and letting Richards steal every scene he's in. Really makes me love Weird Al more.<br />If you're a fan of wacky comedies like Naked Gun, Airplane, Hot Shots, Top Secret, etc, I highly recommend you give this a try. I think it transcends that sub-genre. Tell me if you agree.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhjN87vAxYFtEpTZiwyU3_EJnVFAsaBevFP7utSviKM4oX_Rdh5qbcKMeDtMKQIVp2ku63ZZkZmo0tEsFN-6NdxxNbvMH-Cac8p1PxxbXwZ3_Fl2-zzfeKbGxG4bNn7DcdaDe/s1600/MoviePrincessBride.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhjN87vAxYFtEpTZiwyU3_EJnVFAsaBevFP7utSviKM4oX_Rdh5qbcKMeDtMKQIVp2ku63ZZkZmo0tEsFN-6NdxxNbvMH-Cac8p1PxxbXwZ3_Fl2-zzfeKbGxG4bNn7DcdaDe/s320/MoviePrincessBride.jpg" /></a> <br />The Princess Bride <br /><br />Some of my favorite movies are great art. This is one of them and I will fight you if you disagree. I mean physically. I've never been in a physical fight. But it's worth the risk. Is there a more quotable movie in existence? Maaaaybe one. Holy Grail gives it a run for the money. But this movie has more heart that 10 Holy Grails. I don't know of another film that walks this line between satire, absurdity and sincerity without stumbling. The cast is perfect in every way, the chemistry impeccable, the pacing never flags, and there's only one "I recognize that reference to a popular culture thing" joke but you don't actually have to know the popular culture thing for the line to still be funny. Eleven out of ten stars. If you don't love this movie you're dead to me.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBaXW0R83X4fi5DzWUKhvEZW9MyeMS1CGDKdG_OOUO-y2x9WCoXXg3bJaHB75espXx8vKzOE8KeQQtgNRJZYS2zZExY0OmvzuzN2v63-2t-ZoPlXx7DnouuVyvhEAm9BxikIK/s1600/MovieLOTR.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBaXW0R83X4fi5DzWUKhvEZW9MyeMS1CGDKdG_OOUO-y2x9WCoXXg3bJaHB75espXx8vKzOE8KeQQtgNRJZYS2zZExY0OmvzuzN2v63-2t-ZoPlXx7DnouuVyvhEAm9BxikIK/s320/MovieLOTR.jpg" /></a> <br />Lord of the Rings <br /><br />If you don’t understand why this film trilogy is on my top 10 list you really don’t understand anything about me. Since it’s release I’m still waiting for a fantasy film to top it. I may be waiting my whole life. I’m also left wondering… How the hell did this happen? Peter Jackson and company have had several chances to recapture the magic, and have fumbled miserably every time. This is a sobering reminder to me how fragile and precious the environment in which good complex art occurs can be. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2VPxOaysfaVpwB-MEtgikRBuJBRu5O-S9228r2JK5PwN3xm1kj_nUW0b7AdXSPMbJVOLcXZJFEuUgS_luait5vL8NBpGlZ8OKGCKB8leT0ENfhV-To2wGycX1DWgMxUvK-oq3/s1600/MovieLabyrinth.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2VPxOaysfaVpwB-MEtgikRBuJBRu5O-S9228r2JK5PwN3xm1kj_nUW0b7AdXSPMbJVOLcXZJFEuUgS_luait5vL8NBpGlZ8OKGCKB8leT0ENfhV-To2wGycX1DWgMxUvK-oq3/s320/MovieLabyrinth.jpg" /></a> <br />Labyrinth <br /><br />Here’s a movie full of whimsical puppets, fart jokes, pratfalls and funny voices, and it’s about girl’s sexual awakening. I didn’t know that last part until fairly recently, and it snapped a lot of things into focus. Hey look, metaphors don’t need to be heavy-handed. Here’s an excellent article about it. Read it and watch the movie again. It’s powerful. <a href="https://the-artifice.com/labyrinth-1986-power-sex-coming-of-age/">https://the-artifice.com/labyrinth-1986-power-sex-coming-of-age/</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBoWSy4J4TFCT1AqaFJrwQrYR4WLKn6Q9VqJfm2cLN0qM2R3yRrx4k70YLw_niqIWum73O38RT6N2z7ZT4CfgyTxDi5-D3wxgxPWDpzr-fThxisN4ex__UaeMaIdyr2fYLd2f/s1600/MovieHolyGrail.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBoWSy4J4TFCT1AqaFJrwQrYR4WLKn6Q9VqJfm2cLN0qM2R3yRrx4k70YLw_niqIWum73O38RT6N2z7ZT4CfgyTxDi5-D3wxgxPWDpzr-fThxisN4ex__UaeMaIdyr2fYLd2f/s320/MovieHolyGrail.jpg" /></a><br />Holy Grail<br /><br />Oof. This one kinda hurts. I honestly don’t WANT to include this on the list for reasons that have nothing to do with the intrinsic merit of the work. And this is simply that Monty Python and the Holy Grail is overquoted. (By people in my circles/industry.. ie: nerds) I’ll go out on a limb and say that not a week goes by where I don’t hear a line from it, or slip up and quote it myself. But the historical importance and influence this movie has could fill a book. And I can’t deny that a giant, ridiculous grin never leaves my face when I’m watching it. <div>
<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wV26Omp4Sho4MgCTD0MCt7GKeSLCDukzzKKg-E_ZY786etUO61aDbp6KhjoFnnt-tb7d-fPwkcdoleQpSS8J3o5L6aREMnG7ljIQAS6GD8U8RMl4sZgUdxegORBjcLA6wCnS/s1600/MovieSpiritedAway.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wV26Omp4Sho4MgCTD0MCt7GKeSLCDukzzKKg-E_ZY786etUO61aDbp6KhjoFnnt-tb7d-fPwkcdoleQpSS8J3o5L6aREMnG7ljIQAS6GD8U8RMl4sZgUdxegORBjcLA6wCnS/s320/MovieSpiritedAway.jpg" /></a> <br />Spirited Away <br /><br />Listen. I really don’t like anime. I’ve tried. Many times. I even spent 5 formative years growing up in Japan. Still didn’t help. If there are deeper themes at work, they are overwhelmed by my perception that the technical quality is so low. And the ones that are technically higher quality seem to me to be about who has more power, and have bland male protagonists being fought over by 3 hot ladies with baby voices. (Yes, I know there are a billion anime that are different. Geez, anime evangelists are almost as bad as conspiracy theorists when it comes to an overriding NEED to convince you.) Everything about all the anime I’ve seen just screams teenage power fantasy, and appeals to me at about negative 100. But hot dang, everything I hate about anime, Spirited Away is the opposite of. The charm, mystery, artistry and well-paced story make this my favorite animated movie, and certainly deserving of a spot in my top 10. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXg_YEBwi23k5o6_-ziFR0KEYbi1qIiLZc7Il5THy9g0vgGo5SB0c_rM_Q_OOxvIqA4v1IOhk1jZcTQgHBGOqifnS0M0qOBQnMR50SSdlXGNyuaY9A2L7kdlrTqHZc0JUS5PM0/s1600/MoviePansLabyrinth.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXg_YEBwi23k5o6_-ziFR0KEYbi1qIiLZc7Il5THy9g0vgGo5SB0c_rM_Q_OOxvIqA4v1IOhk1jZcTQgHBGOqifnS0M0qOBQnMR50SSdlXGNyuaY9A2L7kdlrTqHZc0JUS5PM0/s320/MoviePansLabyrinth.jpg" /></a> <br />Pan's Labyrinth <br /><br />I guess I like labyrinths, because now I have two on my list. (Also I have a weird proportion of little-girls-in-jeopardy on this list...) Pan’s Labyrinth was a total surprise to me. I never saw previews for it (which I’ve heard is really helpful because they were misleading) and just walked into it because of the poster. (I usually never do that) I had no idea it was subtitled either. Anyway, everything about this film is so rich and dense and packed with symbolism that was thought through. And everything is so beautiful as well, even the gore and horror. (minus the torture scene) The performances are amazing, the creature design impeccable, and the tension is palpable. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoczEnmvQsti2pJZF_-tsF9Q73LVzAlTo3b-49EStKiTWkw6M56HkYlV6sErlGgWlFcU82sAUptJ-3mrPvOCKo5GDOxoUcJJNY29RuEHMZ2L_SwB1Ox9wZ8iSTE9hS3JnIoGoo/s1600/MovieHP.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoczEnmvQsti2pJZF_-tsF9Q73LVzAlTo3b-49EStKiTWkw6M56HkYlV6sErlGgWlFcU82sAUptJ-3mrPvOCKo5GDOxoUcJJNY29RuEHMZ2L_SwB1Ox9wZ8iSTE9hS3JnIoGoo/s1600/MovieHP.jpg" /></a> <br />Harry Potter <br /><br />If I could wish to grow up with one movie series it would be Harry Potter. It has a perfect tone-range within a spectrum I love from charming and whimsical to dark and brooding. It’s sprawling, epic, beautiful, varied and fun. If the worldbuilding weren’t so slip-shod this might be my number one. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9X4Ze5R7V-8NPfa-qvLaB2C8kjb2O29d52glrPVp6j2RsN9q2xbXKuJgi8aSrGMN-mwz0dtM6tPkuGmhWxNKDMTaW5VxWTTd-sYyjN6ejgn8PoN2a4R5nGQcNQCd56GgwKHo/s1600/Movieindiana.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9X4Ze5R7V-8NPfa-qvLaB2C8kjb2O29d52glrPVp6j2RsN9q2xbXKuJgi8aSrGMN-mwz0dtM6tPkuGmhWxNKDMTaW5VxWTTd-sYyjN6ejgn8PoN2a4R5nGQcNQCd56GgwKHo/s320/Movieindiana.jpg" /></a> <br />Indiana Jones <br /><br />Indiana Jones, sadly, introduced me to my love of ruins. The setpieces in these films are so inspirational and endlessly copied in every medium. These movies do not age well from a social perspective. Even as a kid I remember feeling offended on behalf of Indians by the “exotic” meal in Temple of Doom. But man, the creativity, energy, charisma, and action in these movies is still top of the line. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtUL363kcJOkp3Qi0vk6gI3JRZYNMGsaqthP6bfNSihbztgkjCtitPuAFKyR5rLAU2Z7QMP4i98xo0YQEjNwv4WNudkiSXuvvR2E8It6GgEz6WnvPp16kuzddwuCXOq-O717G/s1600/Moviestar-wars-movie-posters.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtUL363kcJOkp3Qi0vk6gI3JRZYNMGsaqthP6bfNSihbztgkjCtitPuAFKyR5rLAU2Z7QMP4i98xo0YQEjNwv4WNudkiSXuvvR2E8It6GgEz6WnvPp16kuzddwuCXOq-O717G/s320/Moviestar-wars-movie-posters.jpg" /></a> <br />Star Wars <br /><br />My final movie(s) is Star Wars. Duh. It’s Star Wars. I’m a nerdy white American boy born in 1975. How could this franchise NOT exert tremendous influence on me? Star Wars is historically important for plenty of reasons, but I’ll just talk about how it impacted me. I’m sure the story, mythical framework and characters had something to do with it, but I never really cared about those elements much. For me it was all about the mix of exotic aliens and robots in cool action setpieces. Since the first trilogy we’ve been assaulted with hundreds of movies full of exotic aliens and robots in cool action setpieces. Nothing has come close to capturing the magic spell that Star Wars put on me. I think it hit me at such a young age that my creative and artistic vision for my own work will always be indelibly marked in innumerable ways by these movies. <br /><br /><br />One of the most interesting things to me about this franchise, as I reflect on it as an adult, is how little respect I have for the talent or artistry of its visionary founding father. MOST of the talent that I stand in awe of is the incredible team of collaborators he managed to cobble together. Ralph McQuarrie's concept art, Joe Johnston’s effects, Stuart Freeborn’s creature designs, John William’s score, etc. I don’t know if it was luck that assembled that team, or George Lucas' talent, or someone else’s talent. But as someone who has similar aspirations, THAT’S the goal I’m shooting for. Assembling incredible talent around a core vision that lets the talent push their own unique skills to the surface. For that reason, Star Wars remains my favorite movie franchise, despite the uneven final results.<br /></div>
Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-55939045539217172452019-02-05T12:20:00.004-08:002019-02-05T12:30:40.954-08:00A Theory of Creativity<br />
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My theory on creativity: The brain does two major things above and beyond basic stimulus-response and regulating body function. First, it generates narratives to make sense of the sensory impressions that your sense-organs deliver. Secondly, it edits those into meta-narratives that tie groups of impressions together into heuristics. This is how we model cause/effect, figure out that calling someone a mean name will make them angry, and that people who look like X probably will act like Y. (So pushed too far, or left to go unchallenged leads to racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc.) <br />
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That meta-narrative meaning-making process is coordinated by the pre-frontal cortex (massive over-simplification) and is (mostly) shut down during sleep. During sleep our body is still receiving sensations and so the brain is still doing its narrative-building work, but without the benefit/detriment of the pre-frontal. This is why dreams feel like they make sense while you experience them, but on waking introspection you realize they don't follow many heuristic patterns your waking brain has constructed. <br />
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In my theory, creatively is a skill at regulating the pre-frontal cortex in a more nuanced way; to be able to slip further towards the dream-state mode of brain actively. Suppressing the heuristic-building/reinforcing analytic mode of our waking brain. This is theoretically what is happens during 'brain storming' where we say "no idea is a bad idea". And some people are better at embodying that than others. I think it goes to the skill of down-regulating the pre-frontal cortex enough to not let it stomp all over your dream-like juxtapositions. <br />
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And I think juxtaposition is the the fundamental building block of creativity. It can be literally juxtaposition in the case of coming up with chimera for creature designs. (what if you had a rhino with frog legs?) or conceptual. (what if we sold underwear on street corners like drug dealers?) (What if I decided to do all my weightlifting while upside down?) So that's part 1 of 'being creative'. Generating a bunch of juxtapositions is like creating a bunch of lego pieces to work with. Part 2 requires re-engaging the pre-frontal and applying your reason/logic/heuristic frameworks to those wacky dream juxtapositions and seeing if any of them fit into the real world in innovative ways. Being careful to slowly ramp back up the pre-frontal so as not to crush the precious little building blocks you've brainstormed with the weight of cold logic. They need time to grow and develop; to be incubated. <br />
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If all of that sounds like nothing you've experienced than my best advice is to use outside prompts with random connections to facilitate brainstorming. For example, if you wanted to create a fantasy animal, make a list of real animals, then a list of plants, then a list of minerals, etc. cut them up, and mix them all together, then pull 3 things from each pile and see what the result is. (Iron Ivy Horse) (Quartz Oak Snail) Or if you want to make a character, make a list of attitudes, beliefs and professions. Or many other possibilities: phobias, passions, physical or psychological disabilities or strengths, etc. (One armed, bi-polar, jazz loving, atheist priest.) Of course, coming up with the lists of what you're going to throw together is a creative act in itself, but I feel like more analytically-minded people can accomplish it because you can observe the real world and break down what is actually there to generate the categories, then google them. eg. put "personality traits" in your search bar and write down the first 10 you see. <br />
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In summation: Creativity is the practice of down-regulating your pre-frontal cortex at-will to generate a lot of garbage juxtapositions, then up-regulating it slowly to curate the results. Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-62564243174536209032019-02-04T10:42:00.000-08:002019-02-04T10:42:13.164-08:00Heather ForemanToday my lil' wifey turns 39. She's also currently getting cut up by a surgeon. This is her 15th or 16th surgery (we've both lost count) in the 13 years we've been married. The last several have been for various symptoms of EDS. It's become pretty mundane at this point. So I'm going to take this time to blather about Heather Kerekffy-Foreman. Pull up a chair.<br /><br />Her birthdays are hard for me because now my wife is older... no wait, that's not why. It's because her menagerie of diseases means that nothing normal girls like give her pleasure. Here's an incomplete list of things she doesn't like or that actively hurt her: Massage, hot tubs, delicious food, alcohol, jewelry, flowers. Sounds like a miserable life, doesn't it? But incredibly, she is one of the sweetest, kindest people I've ever known. She sees every pain and disease (and she is literally always suffering multiple pains) as opportunities to share her experiences in order to reach out to those who have similar issues, to make them feel not-alone, and to advocate for them to get the best medical care they can. <br /><br />She is like an ascended being, and I can't even comprehend how she takes what normally debilitates people making them miserable to be around... and turns that into a blessing to those around her. So that list of normal stuff normal people love... having those cut off from her leaves her one simple pleasure in life. Connection with others. And I think because it's so focused and refined, she's a connoisseur. She does not settle for surface level relationships. If someone's not going to be real and deep and honest, their relationship with her will not last long. Never because she ditches them, but because they can't handle the deep honesty that naturally emerges from people when they encounter her pure and open essence. <br /><br />She leads by example, not shy to discuss ANYTHING, happy to dive into her own flaws and weaknesses. Not only is she honest to a fault, (but never to be mean) but she's intuitive to the point of bordering on psychic powers. So she will blurt out truths about people that they didn't even know themselves, or -quite often- that they thought no one would find out. Again, never in a confrontational way... because she would honestly welcome anyone blurting out HER hidden depths, so there's no judgement or shaming in it. She just... KNOWS, and so beating around the bush is a pointless waste of time for her. She's interested in growth in love, and all her emotional energy goes towards that end.<br /><br />Being married to this woman has been the most incredible experience of my life. She is such a dichotomy. At once, a fiery ball of energy that will encourage, empower and love towards anyone, and simultaneous so physically frail that most touching hurts and damages her. She continually challenges me on both fronts, and I've grown tremendously through the process of loving a woman with degenerative diseases, as well as being awed and inspired by her single minded focus on loving and helping others. <br /><br />I should also mention that she's whip smart and has an incredible sense of humor. She's also a connoisseur of puns and memes. So please submit any wishes of get well sympathy in the form of a pun or a meme below. It will make her day! Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-46647392993041848362019-01-05T18:48:00.001-08:002019-01-05T18:48:21.897-08:00Adjusting My Platform Direction a Bit<div class="_2TO-components-SimpleRichTextEditor--paragraphElement" data-block="true" data-editor="dgo2r" data-offset-key="8atut-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #052d49; font-family: America, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 1em 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="1apgr-0-0">I’ve had a slowly emerging epiphany concerning the direction I want to take my platform. It came into sharp focus yesterday. One of the pieces was the process of building a backdrop (dungeon) so I can take better pictures of my Colossus, and then I had the idea of making it multi-purpose so I could use it as a booth for conventions as well. That got me seriously researching foam carving techniques for rocks and ruins. Previously I’d always used heave super strong material like apoxie sculpt for that sort of thing. But researching that lead me to more info on dioramas. Now… I’ve always LOVED dioramas. I’ve started and failed to finish several of them throughout my life. (The pictures here are all very old and I'd like to think future projects would be much better.) But haven’t tried again seriously until recently. Thanks to the internet and YouTube there’s an endless well of free, high quality education on the artform. </span></div>
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That’s where part two of my epiphany came from. I came across a diorama channel called Luke Towan that has 632 thousand subscribers. For some reason I thought the upper limit on art tutorial channels (that aren’t hosted by hot young women) was maybe 50K. But now, knowing that a diorama channel can get above half a million, that’s getting me thinking. </div>
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I’m looking at this category and seeing how my personal brand and style could help me stand out in that field. Granted, there may be something about the psychology of that demographic that finds me and my style/brand off putting, but the opportunity is THERE. I think a big chunk of that demo is middle-aged and up men who build model railroads. (I’m guessing they won’t like me just because of the way I look.) But I think there’s also a substantial chunk that are tabletop gamers, and THOSE folks are prime candidates for being interested in my fantasy books about Talifar, which I hope to be the end-game of my life’s work. </div>
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The final piece of the epiphany was the process of putting together a list of dioramas I’d love to do for Talifar. THIS is EXACTLY the kind of natural cross promotion I was hoping to discover. Before, I had this vague notion of doing art tutorials and occasionally throwing in a “buy my book” call to action. But having the projects I’m tutorializing be fundamentally part of the world I’m creating, there’s not way NOT to mention the books and talk about the scenes I’d be building.</div>
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Here’s 3 things I think I’d bring to that space that I don’t see a lot of. </div>
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<span data-offset-key="8vh8p-0-0">1. Scientific notes on WHY things like rocks and ruins look the way they do. I’ll need to find a balance so that the video’s don’t end up seeming like lectures, but I think this kind of stuff can add flavor that almost anyone would appreciate. Since I love geology so much this will be a natural expression and excitement for the creative process. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="d8plh-0-0">2. Sculpting skill. This could potentially be a downside since most of the audience will not have this skill, so that could make the builds less approachable. I have one idea about how to address this though. And that’s to include a non-artist in the videos, and part of the video will show me teaching them (and by-proxy, the viewers) key techniques so that viewers will feel like they could do what I’m doing with enough practice.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4l81k-0-0">3. My “brand”. Which is a lot of dorky humor, off the cuff ad-libs, and my general teaching style. I’ve built up a lot of confidence in this pillar of my brand because the vast majority of comments under my videos complement me and many of them say I’m by far the best teacher on the subject they’ve ever had. Again, the demographic for diorama art my generally prefer the drier presentation that pervades that space, but on the other hand, maybe my brand will pull in a whole ‘nother demographic slice that the current channels don’t tap. </span></div>
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All this to say, I’m SUPER EXCITED right now. I’m on the tail-end of a two week stay-cation and I’ve been KILLING IT in the getting-things-done-department. I’ve purposefully limited my game time by NOT starting a big AAA videogame like I usually do on stay-cations and that has made a world of difference. Also, this week I just let my body/mind dictate my sleep schedule and that has been incredibly freeing and energizing. I normally feel like I’m suffering injury from waking up and getting out of bed. (I’m not exaggerating.) It’s not a mental thing. I’m almost always happy and excited about the day, I just feel like absolute crap when I wake up, no matter how much or how little sleep I get. I recently read an article that explained that a normal person’s brain starts releasing some chemical that makes people feel good when they wake up after having enough sleep. But some percentage of the population doesn’t get that chemical. I’m clearly in that percentage. But “this morning” (which today was 5pm) I woke up and felt… fine. Like, just ready to get out of bed and start working. Turns out my body is not tuned to the rotation of the planet or business hours. It wants to stay up for 20-something hours, then sleep for 12-ish hours. Makes me really wish I could make this book, art, YouTube thing my full time career. But now with a more clear strategy for the channel, I’m feeling like my chances of that happening went from 0.01% to something like 3.02% Wish me luck! </div>
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Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-24265821392195054202019-01-01T23:53:00.000-08:002019-01-02T00:14:39.099-08:00Dead Pharisees<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5OwAiPTOh87Cx8oeqYAIxwnPWI5FhbM7s-qsopX9QuhktXAX1rvjAkNSr5R9M1aFxCyUMGHVmJ2QXjJ6D90zWu65GGjUsL4zuJJ6SlW6-Vg-b6iW1GhAbCI_zjbPWqlotSNG/s1600/DeadPharisees-MummifiedPriestCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="1411" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5OwAiPTOh87Cx8oeqYAIxwnPWI5FhbM7s-qsopX9QuhktXAX1rvjAkNSr5R9M1aFxCyUMGHVmJ2QXjJ6D90zWu65GGjUsL4zuJJ6SlW6-Vg-b6iW1GhAbCI_zjbPWqlotSNG/s320/DeadPharisees-MummifiedPriestCover.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I finally got around to uploading an album from a band I started when I was 18. (Or maybe a tad </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">earlier) Since I was 13 and discovered heavy metal I had fantasized about being in a metal band. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And since I was thoroughly embedded in a Christian Evangelical subculture where metal bands </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">were allowed to thrive (as long as they were actively promoting themselves as evangelistic tools </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">for ‘ministry’) there was a powerful synergy between my fiery faith and my testosterone induced </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">love of metal. I was hugely influenced by “Christian bands” from the early 90’s such as </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Mortification, Tourniquet and others. The harder, faster and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">growlier, the better.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I was living in a small town of a couple thousand called North Pole in Alaska. So the prospects of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">finding enough like-minded individuals to start a Christian metal band seemed slim at best. I had </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">one friend who was a year older than I, and we started taking guitar lessons together, but it turned </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">out that was hard, so that didn’t last long. But fantasizing about screaming on stage and writing </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">zealous lyrics was easy, so I did a lot of that. I was also busy getting engaged at 16 and married </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">at 18. (The only way to have God-approved sex according to my sub-culture) But at some point in </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that whirlwind of insanity I found that some of my Bible Quiz compatriots were also metal musicians. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(Brothers: Luke and Mark Burcell, and friend Jeremiah Patterson.) They were several years younger </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">than me, but had an incredibly supportive dad and so I guess when I came along with a very clear </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and defined vision for a band, that was something they were excited to jump on board with. I had </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">several songs written -lyrics, not music- and so we got together and they started writing music for </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the lyrics and I started teaching myself to scream. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Sadly, shortly after starting the band, my wife and I decided my t shirt airbrushing in a tiny town in </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Alaska along with an indie Christian metal band with young teens wasn’t going to pay the bills. So </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">we left for Seattle so I could attend the Art Institute of Seattle. (I thought I’d learn to build animatronic </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">monsters for movies) But the band went on! Luke moved from bass to vocals, and the Kovacs </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">brothers joined. (Sean and David; another set of evangelical metal-loving brothers with a supportive </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">dad… what are the chances?) They did some inter-state touring, got a song in a compilation album, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and eventually recorded the album in this video.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The recording must have been around July of 1996 because my first son had just been born and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">we drove straight from Seattle to North Pole when he was a month old. Ostensibly to visit my wife’s </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">parents, but I was excited to be able to lay down some vocals for the album. The studio was just </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">some dude’s log cabin. The sound quality of the recording bear witness to this quite plainly, haha! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I spent a couple hours and ended up with 20 seconds of verse on the album. (That’s right at the 50 </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">min. mark.) I remember it took a LONG time to get the recording guy to understand what I meant by </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">overlapping vocals. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKq37QY5wt2JcTVDsWNUYvi8Ez7S9_t39P8LdVl2xuI4LL8qErcTQvZm0wiPlj9KNG2gXc7spdyzO3MARNpjE7FHHKy5hOvL8s-IgM1XITqMTEBr48thaWDAEXasmH8SAQ2uQI/s1600/PromoPic+%252820%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="595" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKq37QY5wt2JcTVDsWNUYvi8Ez7S9_t39P8LdVl2xuI4LL8qErcTQvZm0wiPlj9KNG2gXc7spdyzO3MARNpjE7FHHKy5hOvL8s-IgM1XITqMTEBr48thaWDAEXasmH8SAQ2uQI/s320/PromoPic+%252820%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So that’s how this artifact came to be. Now I want to reflect on it, and on my teen self and the lyrical </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">content I created for the album. As mentioned previously, this KIND of artifact was created in the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">cultural context where everything in life, including art, was presupposed to be a tool for evangelical </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">outreach. Remember, according to this subculture, EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the world who </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">wasn’t in our specific subculture, believing the exactly the right thing, was going to spend eternity </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">being tormented in hell. It would be incredibly selfish to put ANY activity above spreading our gospel </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">so fewer people would be tortured forever. And one of the best ways to convince young people that </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">they should believe our message is to scare them with threats of the hell that will await them if they </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">don’t believe. This insight is absolutely necessary to understand how lyrics like I wrote came about.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The mechanism is fear, but the motivation is love. That doesn’t make me less embarrassed by them. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But I’m also glad they are recorded for posterity. They are a time-capsule of a very passionate young </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">man set on a trajectory by this odd confluence of culture, belief and practice. To anyone outside that </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">subculture the messages in the lyrics are… monstrous… pathological, really. Endlessly dwelling on </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">hell, torture, suicide, satanism, abortion, and fear fear fear. So much fear. But again… that’s what a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">belief like eternal hell will do to you if you take it seriously. (Well, for ME, specifically.) There was no </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">way to ever promote love or </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">life above the ever-present threat of eternal torture. It colored </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">EVERYTHING in my life. But I’m not going to </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">ramble on about doctrine and religion any more. I had </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">my fill of that about a decade ago. If you want </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">my thoughts on that do a search for hell on this blog. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">It’ll be a GREAT time! (not) </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrAxjcawJehSnn0JjM9I446s7lDp_n3N-ouafZGn_tS4mytk_tJq71lB-WVWQpKCSyfLr9mfg8TmMw45y0E_FBw-mM0FyiFzU74DL31sjvwKIwEJPP96MOjaDCxorQn6gNwrh8/s1600/48363903_362023741230358_7603402993773314048_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1119" data-original-width="704" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrAxjcawJehSnn0JjM9I446s7lDp_n3N-ouafZGn_tS4mytk_tJq71lB-WVWQpKCSyfLr9mfg8TmMw45y0E_FBw-mM0FyiFzU74DL31sjvwKIwEJPP96MOjaDCxorQn6gNwrh8/s320/48363903_362023741230358_7603402993773314048_n.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But it wasn’t all bad to this now-40-something-year-old. There are some glimmers buried in there of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the more peaceful Loving guy I grew into. In the song Knock Me On My Face, I’m pleading for God </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">to knock everyone on their faces. The “world” (ie: those not in our subculture) the “church” (ie: those </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">in our subculture but not as wise and mature as ME) the devil (ie: God’s enemy who we believed to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">be literal entity) but the final line always jumps out at me. “But most importantly, let it always be, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">remembered that it starts with me.” It’s interesting to me that one of the core tenets of my Christian </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">evangelical tradition was the seed of its own undoing. That is the idea that are fallen fallible creatures </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">in constant need of correction and self-examination. I was good at parroting that sentiment without </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">ever actually internalizing it… for decades. But eventually that parroting paid off. At some point the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">right confluence of influences that triggered some epiphanies that lead to actual deep soul-searching. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj277qWN8IVXm7r40HaGdSJuGAw_PoatvrlZM0kwY9IVQPhOhft3I9QyCOqADW6q8npraRrfGgddTwEbbj1zwJrPM_Cj6f_ZaDJd8X4vo7b4Tinpk3qI03FvT_s9DSk3evB8g2X/s1600/Scrybe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="538" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj277qWN8IVXm7r40HaGdSJuGAw_PoatvrlZM0kwY9IVQPhOhft3I9QyCOqADW6q8npraRrfGgddTwEbbj1zwJrPM_Cj6f_ZaDJd8X4vo7b4Tinpk3qI03FvT_s9DSk3evB8g2X/s320/Scrybe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And here’s just random thoughts and observations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Sadly, because I felt a need to write an entire sermon for every song, so while I did SOME iteration </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">with the band before I left, most of the music was written after. Meaning poor Luke inherited these </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">massive sermon-lyrics that they were trying to cram into normal-length songs. This resulted in… not </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the best blend and lots of slurred/skipped words.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The song ‘Suicide’ was not written by me and has what find to be the most tasteless and damaging </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">lyrics. The old Christian tradition that suicide means you go straight to hell. The intention -as with all </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">these scare tactics- was to help people. Just a tragic misfire here. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The terribly poetry on the last track was my attempt at adding some classy depth to the record. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Needless to say, my poetry career skyrocketed and I’ve been a celebrity poet every since! No, wait… </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">oh… I meant the opposite of that. Anyway, it’s so cringy I thought adding the visuals I was trying to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">evoke in the video was a fitting homage. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The cover art was my first (and possibly last) attempt at an illustration done entirely in Photoshop. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If you’re curious why you can’t find my name anywhere in there, it’s because i thought it’d be super </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre;">cool to have a mysterious alter-ego by the name of Scrybe. Super. Cool. </span><br />
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Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-76707293113675191422018-12-10T18:30:00.001-08:002018-12-10T18:32:05.617-08:00The Douche Tax<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyAyCt7KxVyvaN7cfsYWHTkA-eE9CdRvhFvZgUys_FEx_rZJSaY9VSzmcYZArQhYHlxsZdbZc98taZKbbVqnGytZjGg7qFfDsOg6F2JvENuwoWN8-i-zDWYEjluPGsHAKUgRyE/s1600/BreadAndCircuses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyAyCt7KxVyvaN7cfsYWHTkA-eE9CdRvhFvZgUys_FEx_rZJSaY9VSzmcYZArQhYHlxsZdbZc98taZKbbVqnGytZjGg7qFfDsOg6F2JvENuwoWN8-i-zDWYEjluPGsHAKUgRyE/s1600/BreadAndCircuses.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Bread And Circuses is a food truck. My lunch plans fell through so I didn't bring my lunch from home </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">like I usually do. (That's the only way I can safely avoid carbs.) My homemade lunches cost me maybe </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2-3 bucks a meal, so it's really tempting to drive home and make one there, but the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">opportunity-cost/gas-cost seemed like just getting a bunless burger at this food truck was the better </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">choice. But still, when I saw it was $14 I about choked. And I grumbled to my friend, and maybe the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">guy working the counter heard me. Because when I asked if it was any cheaper to get a burger without</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the bun and fries he got a little snide with me and said "This isn't Burger King."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not wanting to hold up the line and feeling trapped by my series of bad choices I put in my order. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Additionally I tipped him a dollar.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My friend who was with me keeps telling me how wrong I was to tip them. But I have a few quirks that </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">made me do it. First, I've worked several food service jobs and I know how often you get crapped on </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">by rude customers. I have a great job where I get to be creative, comfortable and fulfilled, so I don't </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">feel right about punishing a food service worker for having a bad moment.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Second, I understand that to many or most people who don't know, (and probably many who do) I look </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">like a douche. So I pay the douche tax in social capital to look the way I do. My 'look' intersects with a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">lot of sub cultures that are indeed known for having a lot of douche bags. So I can't really blame anyone </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">for making those associations and drawing inaccurate conclusions about me. So I try to have grace for </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that kind of misunderstanding. And maybe I overcompensate.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This is a great example of how we tell ourselves narratives about ourselves and our actions. How we </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">interpret ourselves as agents of goodness and righteousness. The REAL reason I tipped a rude food </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">truck guy is that I’ve been conditioned to feel shame if I don’t tip. I payed a monetary price to maintain </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that opinion I have of myself and what I hope others see me as.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Anyway, my friend who sees the scenario as a grave injustice just got me thinking about these things </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">so I thought I'd share.</span></div>
<br />Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012825.post-37405047167487080862018-11-13T18:41:00.001-08:002018-11-13T18:43:11.577-08:00Doctrinal Purity <br />
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My church is going through a phase of doubling down on
doctrine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My pastor posted this parachurch
Statement that was the basic evangelical thing about how we need to take
scripture as literally as possible and if we don’t believe that the Bible is a
perfect document where every word is perfect from God then we are all
doomed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I posted the following on that
Facebook thread.<br />
_____________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, as far as I can tell, here's the mechanics that are work under the game of
life... In every kind of social group there is a balance between cohesion and
openness. (This applies to everything from political parties to art enclaves to
sports fans to religious denominations) When a group creates policy that moves
the slider more towards openness they start to lose the essence of what defines
them as a group. This has the advantage of bringing more people to the group
and the disadvantage of miscommunication/contention regarding the things that
make the group special/worthwhile/important/etc. This happened to Goth in the
90's. The scene was so tilted towards openness to individual expression and
fresh injections of ideas and aesthetics from the outside that it got watered
down and fractured into a million pieces. Now you have Steam Goths, Pastel
Goths, Cyber Goths, Romantic Goths, etc. And there's no longer a strong
inherent worldview associated with the scene as a result. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the other hand, when a group creates policy that moves
the slider towards cohesion they block outside influences, remain static in
their beliefs and as a result are much more clear about their identity and
who's in or out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Creeds, Confession and Statements of Belief are all
mechanisms that are utilized to move the slider towards the cohesion end of the
spectrum, and as such, move the threshold for who's in or out. If I was a
sportsball fan who attended a game or two a year of the local sportsball team,
but the team decided to release a statement saying "If you don't come to
ALL our games, you aren't a TRUE fan, so don't bother coming at all." That
would put me (and a bunch of others) in a situation where we'd either have to
radically shift our priorities, adjust our budgets of time and money and
relationships in order to comply so we could be "True Fans". That, or
just silently keep watching and cheer quietly, tacitly admitting that the team
we love doesn't accept us where we're at. OR, give up, and stop being around
the team/fans all-together. If my presence is disturbing, annoying, troubling,
etc. to the True Fans who have all signed on the dotted line, then my continued
presence is not a loving thing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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None of this is an admonishment for or against Creeds,
Confessions and Statements of Belief. It's simply a description of what they
do. Groups tend to swing between the poles on this spectrum between openness
and cohesion throughout time. It seems that at this time, my home church is
swinging towards cohesion, and since I can't in good consciousness sign on the
dotted line, the loving thing to do is to let my home church move to where its
leadership is leading, which simply leaves me out of its Venn diagram. I can't
personally agree with inerrancy any more than I could force myself to love the
Seattle Sportsballhawks. But I also have no desire to try to convince anyone of
my particular convictions. As cohesion becomes more important to the church,
folks like me in the periphery will be ... dun dun duuuuun... LEFT BEHIND! A
'great falling away' if you will.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then
there was some responses which I won’t put here… And my follow up....<o:p></o:p></div>
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To be very clear, I'm not intending to DO anything. I'm not
upset by anything, nor would I sever relationship because of doctrinal issues.
All I'm indicating is that at some point, those who see a particular doctrine
as central to not being dangerous will see me as dangerous. And I don't want to
make anyone uncomfortable if I don't have to. That's all. (Since I don't
physically attend church almost ever any more -but still stream all the
sermons- it's not like my presence is some great grace that my withdrawing
would hurt anyway) <o:p></o:p></div>
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Really, the thing that got me
thinking this way was the word 'dangerous'. I absolutely "undermine
scripture" if your definition and interpretation of it is as described in
that Statement of Belief. And I don't want to rock anyone's boat. I like
talking about theology and philosophy, so when I engage with Christians who
need to see the Bible as it is described in that Statement they could be
influenced by my words to not see it that way. I don't want to be responsible
for that. I suppose the better part of valor is to just not talk theology to
those kinds of Christians. (According to them, the only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> Christians as far as I can tell.) I don't mind being
considered not-a-Christian. I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">would</i>
mind being considered dangerous. Does that make sense? Either way, I'm not
threatening a walk out, and I see now the use of my word "sever"
carries too much emotional content for what I meant to convey.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So here’s how I see the tradition I inherited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(American Protestant Evangelical Christian) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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How to “get it right” when it comes to following God”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that God wanted to create a perfect
text for you read for guidance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that people who don’t believe the
right things will be tormented eternally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that reading the text of the Bible is
the necessary way to learn the right things to not be damned. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that believing that the texts in the
Bible are meant to be read as literally and historically as possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that every apparent contradiction is
either not a real contradiction or is, but in the good paradoxical kind of way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that God inspired/guided all the
writers of the documents that got included in the Bible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that God ensured that every time
those documents were copied it was done perfectly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that God ensured that every
translation was a done perfectly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that God ensured that every time the
documents that got included or cut from our current Bible they were the right
ones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that God ensured that every language
the Bible was translated into had the same idioms and words to precisely match
the words and ideas of ancient Israel, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that our current culture hasn’t given
us presuppositions that would corrupt the intent of God’s meaning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that God put YOU in the right denomination
that interprets the Bible correctly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">13.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have faith that your denominational leadership
is guiding you properly in your interpretation effort. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">14.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->NOW… Given that all humans are prone to error, and
somewhere in the previous 13 steps something may not have landed perfectly, have
faith that God will guide you when you seek to be Christ-Like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
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That’s how I used to think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Over the years I seem to have Occam Razor’s some of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Here are my current steps: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Trust that God will guide you when you seek to be
Christ-Like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s not that I think God couldn’t have provided all the
miracles to provide the other 13 steps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I just think they still end up leading you back to the same place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I don’t trust my own interpretive
faculties enough to give me warrant to judge any of those points, I simply can’t
claim they’re true anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may or
may not be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I simply don’t care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m very much at peace with taking the great
things that the Bible has infused into my soul and do my best to emulate the
Christ that inspires me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That Christ
didn’t need to be literal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t need
to be born of a virgin or rise from the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Again, not saying those things couldn’t have happened or that I believe they
did not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply that it doesn’t matter
to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ is in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And my best efforts at ‘getting at’ the ‘real’
Jesus are dust in the wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I strive to
be Christ-Like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either there’s a God
that’s guiding me towards that, as described in step 14 (or my step one)… or
there isn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that God is mad at me
that I’m unconvinced about those 13 steps… sorry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I mean… as far as I can tell I can’t really control what I believe or
don’t believe anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Fundamentally, what those other 13 faith steps did to me was
keep me from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">truly</i> listening to other
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find that truly listening to
people is foundational to love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure
others have different reactions to those doctrines, and if they can love like
Christ with those doctrines, that’s great! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I simply could now. <br />
<br />
The reason I couldn’t listen to others is that I had to protect my
worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, if I develop the
wrong worldview I would be tormented forever, or worse, convince others to
believe the wrong thing and be tormented forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that’s why the hell doctrine was the
first thing that had to be challenged for me to become more Christ-Like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to stop protecting myself from ‘evil’
ideas like homosexuality being a sinful disease that corrupted society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or that everything the Democrat party stood for
was sinful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns out that –like the
Bible- a more nuanced and critical approach to my worldview yielded amazing new
insights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, like the Bible, I don’t
have to simply accept every word a person tells me as verbatim Truth in order
to love and accept and gain insight from them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Fierce Love is my goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve determined it is my true north.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the extent that any
posited real God IS Love, then that is the God I worship and strive to
emulate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My upbringing put that God in
the clothing of a first century itinerant Jewish prophet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My fumbling human attempts to embody Fierce
Love are surely hit-and-miss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having a
perfect literal Word-of-God didn’t make me hit the mark more often back when
believed in that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sure don’t see
people with a perfect literal Word-of-God doing a better job than me now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t seem to be
the deciding factor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m super grateful
that I was raised with those beliefs and that structured worldview that helped
me with constructing a Christ that I wanted to embody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And who knows, maybe someday God will bless
me with faith again and I’ll become convinced that Jesus and the Bible have to
be literal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I am convinced that where I’m at now, I’m
more Christ-Like in my ability to listen to others and care what they say. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Josh Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05522491775240272109noreply@blogger.com0