This week, we look to The Bachelor. I know many of you hate the show. But that doesn’t mean that the people who write about it aren’t hilarious.

On plastic toys:

On books that put forth a grand theory of everything:

It’s been hard to focus enough to read anything, so I bring you some podcast episodes that you can listen to:

An interesting read about abolishing work (link):

I love this roast of Drake’s new house:

A couple of weeks ago, I included a quote from All the Smoke, one my favorite new podcasts. The hosts are 2 former pro basketball players, but they talk about a lot more than sports. The only way I can describe is sitting in a room with the two guys at the barbershop who can size people up in 2 seconds and aren’t afraid to say what they think about that person.

First, if you’re an athlete who doesn’t want to be sober, go from being a small fish in a big pond to a colossal fish in a microscopic pond:

First, When you’re taken hostage by Somali pirates, it’s important to focus on the right things:

First, from reader Rachel, an important avenue of inquiry at the highest court in the land:

First, former University of Miami football coach Randy Shannon:

From Shane Parrish:

How to Play Black Spades, Part 1

First, writing about Gordon Ramsay eviscerating a pretentious douche is very satisfying:

First, a lawyer for the superrich who both exploits the tax code to save his clients money and sounds the alarm when a loophole feels too outrageous:

First, how a black man and his white mother became estranged because of Trump:

First, a couple of fans get close to their idol.

First, a great quote from Deion Sanders:

First, Drew Magary went to a Trump rally back in 2016. His base hasn’t changed much since then:

First, Matt Taibbi talks about the politicization of facts:

In 2010, Matt Taibbi went to a Tea Party rally and saw the people who later voted Trump into office:

I really appreciate the fact that we’re getting more aware of the racist core of our society. But, we must be careful to not let ourselves become as terrible as those we oppose. There are some good quotes about the so-called liberal media below.

I know someone who thinks the world is controlled by the Deep State. I wish there was a Deep State, because then perhaps we could talk to someone to see how the election will go.

Our brains are ravaged by a constant barrage of information. We aren’t meant to be in a state of such constant and persistent stimulation. I’ve really gotten into Cal Newport over the past few years. I highly recommend reading his books. He talks about the need for people to focus so they can do deep, meaningful work.

This week, I present an excerpt from a book called Anti-vaxxers How: to Challenge a Misinformed Movement. I’ve often wrestled with a person I know from law school who can’t distinguish between scientific/medical facts and legal facts. This is a good summation of the difference:

Yesterday was one of the most shameful days in American history. We saw a group of domestic terrorists storm the Capitol and face no real consequences. This country is broken, and I don’t know how we can fix it.

Since this past October, I’ve been in a state of constant anxiety. First it was the election. Then it was the terrorist attack on January 6. Then, it was the impeachment. But, I realize now that there’s no sense in me worrying about these things. I can’t control them. It also helps to have an actual human being as president, instead of the sentient Youtube comments section we’ve had to endure over the past 4 years.

In theory, I should be able to get a vaccine on May 1. I’m getting some some snacks, a lawn chair and a power bank. Me and my pal Steve might even tailgate at the line.

I’ve recently been watching a lot of the original “Head of the Class” series on HBO Max. This type of nostalgia has been very prevalent in my life recently.

I had an ethical conundrum a few weeks back. I saw that I could go to a small town in the southern part of the state and get vaccinated. After thinking about it, I decided to wait my turn here at home. It ultimately seemed unethical to me to take a dose from someone else in that community.

I got the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine on April 29. On Sunday, I got sick with flu-like symptoms. It passed by Monday night. I’m sure there are some people out there who would use this experience to argue for “safe vaccines”. Those people are morons.

I recently read Dave Parker’s new autobiography, Cobra. There are tons of good stories in the book, but this one about what happened after a black player was unfairly fined by the league was my favorite:

I read this great article about denialism this week. I cast out a denialist from my life earlier this year, after realizing that he was entirely malignant and was employing “whataboutism” as a cover to say increasingly insane things.

Over the past 3 weeks, I’ve begun venturing back out into the world. It’s been odd, but not nearly as jarring as I thought it might be. I feel bad for folks who are having a lot of social anxiety being around people again. If you read this newsletter and are one of those people, call or email me and I will come to you.

One good thing about the pandemic: there is no longer a social obligation to hug people. I’ve never been a big hugger, but have grown to tolerate it. No more! I’m finally going to shake off the yoke of the Hug Industrial Complex after all these years.

J.D. Vance is now one of the people he talks about it in this book. People say that it was plain to anyone that he would make his current heel turn into a die-hard Trumper. For me, this raises a larger question: if someone turns out to be a terrible person, can you still enjoy the art that they made? I don’t actively listen to R. Kelly or Michael Jackson anymore, but I won’t change the song if they come on. At the end of the day, I don’t have the answer. If you have thoughts, please reply to this email.

By the time you read this, I will have had some eye surgery. So this newsletter may or may not be getting sent to you from a blind man. :)

I’m worried that we’ve got an impassable gulf between the Trump faction and the rest of America. In times like this, I read history and it shows that there were times in the past when were similarly divided. America made it through. But can we keep on repeating history? I don’t know.

I have a mixed relationship with what people would call self-help. I think most of it is bogus nonsense. But there are some people who make sense. The point here is that there aren’t any absolutes. There is usually at least a modicum of value in most things.

I couldn’t pick just one or two of the points in this post, so I’m going to repost it.

Samantha Bee is one of the funniest people out there today. You may not agree with her political views, but her book is filled with some great-lines:

I really hope all of you are doing well. I write these way ahead of time, so the Delta variant of Covid may be a distant memory by the time you get this. But something tells me that won’t be the case.

For those who don’t know, I’ve decided to find a new job. I didn’t want there to be any ambiguity, so I told my boss the day after I’d made my decision. I feel both lighter and more anxious about taking the next step in my working life. But, the worker shortage is real. In the 3 weeks I’ve been applying, I’ve gotten 3 interviews and they’ve all gone to a second interview. I’ve never been this in demand in the job market.

I write these ahead of time. By the time this publishes, I’ll likely have a new job. It took me exactly 5 weeks from the time I told my boss I was leaving my job to get the new one. This is a great time to be looking, so get out there if you have any desirable skills.

I’m going to be starting a new job on Monday. I’ve given a lot of you the blow by blow account of how the negotiations with my employer went. But the main takeaway from this exercise for me are the fololowing:

The “Other Side” Is Not Dumb:

For the entire time I’ve been here in the US, I’ve never understood performative overwork to cover for bad processes. The week after I joined JPMorgan, the boos of my old team had us all working until 11pm on 3 days of that week. We had to manually review every single document being sent to a client. All I could think of was, “How terrible are your processes that it was even necessary to do that?”

It finally happened: I had a direct Covid exposure. I’ve been working in the office at my new job, and found out that my boss tested positive. In a not-so-great move, I hadn’t been wearing a mask at work because everyone at work is vaccinated. I allowed my guard to come down; I traded safety for a sense of normalcy.

I love Twitter memes. You’ll be seeing more of them like this one:

Naval Ravikant is a wise dude, but is put into that weird class of individuals deified by Silicon Valley. Remember, he’s just a man:

Welcome to another baseball season! In honor of this event, here are some great-lines about the 2015 Royals.

This quote by Andy Warhol has always resonated with me as a way to explain my youth:

Mookie Wilson, when he was playing for the New York Mets, had an interesting way of looking at batting slumps:

First, this was something a friend’s dad told me when I first started working:

This quote perfectly sums up how I felt about some of my relationships before meeting my wife:

English translations can sometimes be so spot on:

Either George Carlin or Drew Carey said this, but it’s still a classic.

This is some good game from The Boondocks:

I’ve become more and more radicalized against the current capitalist system. Here are some memes that say what I feel much better than I could.

I finally made the switch to Spotify. That means that I can now easily share interesting podcast episodes here as well. See below for more.

To commemorate the beginning of the NFL season, here’s a story about how Lamar Hunt and his brothers tried to buy up all the world’s silver:

First, I love Gabby’s vibe on the Bachelorette this season:

First, a great quote about Jesse Palmer as the new host of Bachelor in Paradise:

I love me some Samantha Irby. I haven’t read her books, but if you haven’t subscribed to her Judge Mathis recap newsletter, get on that immediately.

First, this description of Marjorie Taylor Greene is devastating and wonderful:

It’s now the second time I’ve sent a Thanksgiving newsletter. This officially makes this newsletter the longest creative endeavor I’ve ever engaged in.

First, this obituary is very honest about the departed:

First, this is how I feel whenever I see a bumper sticker:

First, this is one of the more extreme reactions to messing up a poker game:

Elon Musk has dedicated himself to run Twitter into the ground as quickly as possible. So why not rethink how you interact with the platform? Our old pal Ed Zitron wrote a couple of Twitter focused posts that get to the heart of how to make Twitter less of an anxiety factory.

First, The Simpsons are always good for a great line:

By now, everyone knows that I have been radicalized against the power differential in the employer-employee relationship. Here are some memes that say it much better than I ever could.

First:

First, I appreciate when someone takes accountability.

First, I like puns and this one is a classic:

First, this wisdom should be heeded by everyone.

First, I feel this way every time I have a chocolate bar after dinner.

First, this child is beyond his years.

First, this kid is guaranteed to have gone places since this incident.

First, I wish I could say this every day to at least one person: