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

Perk liked the idea of a digital shrine to his beastliness.

Second, a message to the 2020 graduates:

Who has time for grace right now? Who has time for grace or patience when the world has been blown to shit? All through the pandemic, I’ve seen ads and billboards ...

First, a great quote from Deion Sanders:

“If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good.”

Second, a man plays “The Boys Are Back In Town” on a bar’s jukebox until he gets kicked out:

I left with a full heart, flush with new knowledge about the town, and the bo...

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

“I know the greatest negotiators in the world,” he said. “Now some of these people are horrible human beings. You wouldn’t have them to dinner. They’re vicious. They’re crude. They’re unhappy. They treat everybody badly. Who cares? I want them negotiating against China. Think of Carl Icahn, a friend of mine. He’d be great. I’d say, ‘Carl, take China’.”

Now, people applauded this, which al...

First, Matt Taibbi talks about the politicization of facts:

We’ve become incapable of talking calmly about possible solutions because we’ve lost the ability to decouple scientific or policy discussions, or simple issues of fact, from a political argument. Reporting on the Covid-19 crisis has become the latest in a line of moral manias with Donald Trump in the middle.

Second, Thomas ...

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

Scanning the thousands of hopped-up faces in the crowd, I am immediately struck by two things. One is that there isn’t a single black person here. The other is the truly awesome quantity of medical hardware: Seemingly every third person in the place is sucking oxygen from a tank or propping their giant atrophied glutes on motorized wheelchair-scooters. As Palin la...

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.

First, Matt Taibbi makes some good points about the “liberal” media:

The media in the last four years has devolved into a succession of moral manias. We are told the Most Important Thing Ever is happening for days or weeks at a t...

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.

First, a good explanation of alternative medicine vs. quackery:

Good alternative medicine can be any variety of new treatments, including those derived from plant sources, as long as it is still evidence-based and rooted in the scientific process. Bad alternative m...

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 past week, Newport ran a series of posts for Focus Week on his blog. I recommend reading all of them. Here are some excerpts:

First, give your brain...

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:

Legal rulings have no bearing on scientific and medical truth. Like scientists, legal professionals are interested in finding the truth (well, at least sometimes). However, the means that the legal profession uses to arrive a...

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.

First, the great and now resurrected Today In Tabs newsletter perfectly described Kelly Loeffler:

The less-surprising race was between the Reverend Raphael Warnock, holder of at ...

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.

So I’m back. I’ll do my best to keep the issues flowing. You do your best to keep reading them.

Read More

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.

This is absolutely something I’d do:

😹😹 pic.twitter.com/l4FJdnNK2x

— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) Read More

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.

Over the past 3 months, I indulged in a very self reflective exercise. I found all of the links I’ve felt were worth saving, scattered all across various online repositories. I got all of the links together, tagged them with their subject, and organized them in the way I’d always dreamed of. It gave me a small bit of control in an uncontrollable time. When all was said and done, I had almost 29,500 links catalogued.

...

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’ve been sitting inside for the past year. What’s a few more months?

First, a look into how police unions see those who they protect:

Imagine a nurses’ union that h...

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.

The human body is so unique that we can all have an unexpected reaction. I used to take NyQuil almost every night in my sophomore year of college because of insomnia.That caused what’s called a parodoxical reaction. I now have to take NyQuil to stay awake and DayQuil to sleep (I don’t take either anymore). That didn’t make me int...

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:

Charlie had some idea of what this was about and found George Sisler Jr., son of the great first baseman for the St. Louis Browns, sitting very properly on a stool in the bar. In an extremely stern voice, Sisler demanded to know the details of the incident with Rochester police. Charlie once again was forced to explain himself. Sisler wasn’t convinced.

...

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.

The majority of denialists cannot be reasoned with. Stop talking to them and do something that will actually bring you joy.

First, the difference between denial and denialism:

Denial is furtive and routine; denial...

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.

On to the show…

First, an accurate recap of the Trump team’s press conference in Philadelphia in November:

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.

First

What you have to realize is that you are always saying ‘no’ to something because anytime you say ‘yes’ to one thing, you are simultaneously saying ‘no’ to an infinite number of others.’”

<...

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.

Anyways, the following quotes are from J.D. Vance’s book, Read More

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. :)

First, John Scalzi accurately captures my feelings about people who refuse to wear masks:

…at this point if you are choosing to be unvaccinated because of a political position or because “you don’t trust the science” or whatever dimwit rationale you have, you’re being an asshole, and if you get sick, I’m not going to waste any sympat...

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.

This is an old article, but it shows how little things have changed over the years.

… the most obvious question no one has the guts to ask: “What if Americans don’t want to be enlightened? What if they’re a bunch of mean, mi...

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.

First, a quote about failing to achieve goals. This goes with my feelings when I hear some version of “They’re so smart, if they’d only apply themselves.” To me, those are the...

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

Stay calm. Remember, you can’t become worse off than when you started.

Cultivate a professional mindset. You are above the company, descending to help them. Do the work required, do honest work, help them achieve their goals, but don’t become mentally trapped.

Negotiate. Books can help with this. There are thousands of good books to help develop “soft skills”, read them and ...

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:

Who among us didn’t enjoy unwinding with liquor and smokes in the company of unsupervised children?

Hitting puberty excavated a wellspring of evil energy in me that led me to the discovery that my parents were vulnerable and had made mistakes that could be exploited in an interesting way.

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.

From Eric Barker’s book, Barking Up the Wrong Tree:

I know plenty of people for whom grit is a liability because it allows them to stick with something that makes them or others miserable a...

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.

If a yahoo like me can get this much interest, then so can you. If you are feeling like you could use a change, there may not be a better time to look for a new ...

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.

First, I’ve never been able to put conspiracy theorists’ attitudes into words before, but this hits it on the head.

This gets to the core of the anxiety dr...

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:

• No one will advocate for me as well as me. My boss may be awesome, but they will still never be as interested in getting me as much as I want.

• Loyalty should be for people, not companies. It was very apparent to me that my old employer didn’t value my institutional knowledge and other intangibles as much as they valued saving money....

The “Other Side” Is Not Dumb:

Sharing links that mock a caricature of the Other Side isn’t signaling that we’re somehow more informed. It signals that we’d rather be smug assholes than consider alternative views. It signals that we’d much rather show our friends that we’re like them, than try to understand those who are not.

From reader Jen, I got the following story:

“A father said to his daughter “You graduated with honors, her...

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?”

I realize that there are times when working late is unavoidable. But it’s not something I aspire to do on a regular basis. Working at all hours of the day isn’t a personal goal for me. ...

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.

Normal will likely be different moving forward. I think masks will be a permanent part of our lives now. Hell, I like having a mask on at the store so that people don’t recognize me. I also hope this means less hugging strangers, but that still remains to be seen. Mos...

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

This has been an issue for me all my life:

A co-worker told me he says the following to his kids when they just come to him to solve their problems:

Use your own brain before you try to use mine.

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:

Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want…

From the ever wise Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I’ve linked to the translation I think is the best...

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

I love this quote from Grant Brisbee’s article about this team:

They took the momentum into the 2015 season, and they’re a fully functional death machine right now.

From Joe Sheehan’s baseball newsletter:

The Mets seem to have real edges on both sides of the ball, ones that should be enough to make them t...

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

When a situation develops gradually, no matter how weird that situation is, you get used to it.

I spent way too much time making this mistake. There’s no need to engage toxic trolls to understand their beliefs:

This quote endeared Carlos Gomez to me for the remainder of his career:

Read More

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

I love reading Naval Ravikant and listening to his podcast appearances.

How to Get Rich (without getting lucky):

Specific knowledge is knowledge that you cannot be trained for. If society can train you, it can train someone else, and replace you. ...

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

If you’re consistently working more than 40 hours per week, you’re either bad at your job or the company is taking advantage of you. Either way, you need to make a change.

Second, this guy could easily have also been from the Subcontinent:</p>

Finally, I love Maureen Johnson’s writing. This is a line from her Read More

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

[They] invoke the same sort of emotions one feels watching Werner Herzog movies: despair, hopelessness, and the exhaustion of doing loads of tedious work for almost no payoff.

This quote from Voltaire’s Candide sums up my attitude towards the things I choose to read:

For my part, I read only to please myself. I ...

English translations can sometimes be so spot on:

If you’re not getting paid what you feel you’re worth but can’t leave, follow this gentleman’s lead:

I loved the way different members of the British aristocracy were described in Read More

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

Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.

Coach Finstock from the movie Teen Wolf said the following wise words:

There are 3 rules that I live by: never get less than 12 hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.

Finally, t...

This is some good game from The Boondocks:

I love the book Unplugged by Joe Barrett.

Here are a couple of good quotes from the book:

You have to admire a man who has so thoroughly given up on life.

Allow me to congratulate you on your bizarre but effective work.

This pe...

Ever since I saw this, I can never stop laughing when I see it:

This Reddit post about Adolf Eichmann has some very deep insights about why people choose to believe in things like...

Judge Lynn Toler from Divorce Court said the following to a guy who claimed he liked to make it rain at the strip club:

At $7.25 an hour, how much precipitation can you cause?

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.

When I was interviewing for a new job, the HR person at my old company was still operating from the paradigm that the company held all the cards. Spoiler alert: they didn’t.

Read 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:

Eventually, the Hunts ran out of money to pay for all the silver that was thrown at them.

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

She’s deeply invested in the power of therapy and making men feel bad about themselves in a fun way.

Second, I saw this quote on Reddit:

It must be hard taking your car to 100 mechanics before you get to one that tells you your brakes are working just fine. It must be hard going to 100 doctors before you find the one that tells you your cholestero...

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

“…let me be the first to say that I think Jesse will actually succeed as a Paradise host. He’s at his best when he’s a little disgusted and confused by what’s happening around him.

Second, I’ve begun reading Ed Zitron’s newsletter. He’s one of the few people who’s saying th...

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 is how I describe my life:

i had to take a break because the universe won’t stop testing me, god’s weariest lieutenant…

Second, this should b...

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

And sentient Applebee’s margarita Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a lengthy and unhinged Twitter thread,

Second, while we’re looking at insults, here’s a few solid ones from a list of G- rated:

‘Oh honey, you’re not pretty enough to be acting like that.’”

“I hope the rest...

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, don’t ever hate on Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce:

Second, here’s a piece of advice I gave my nephews when they were younger:

My sister in law was once discussing threesomes at a family dinner. I told my 2 teen nephews, “Don’t ever do that. You never wan...

First, this obituary is very honest about the departed:

His love was abundant when it came to himself, but for his children it was limited.

Second, this line from a Bachelorette recap describes why a lot of people may not be introspective:

… the only thing left to do is stare into the abyss that is our own soul and find ourselves wanting.

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

Given the existence of car magnets and window clings, anyone who rocks a bumper sticker is a person of limited intellectual means.

Second, this line describes how I want to feel all the time:

Sometimes things get heated and I have to stand up to a charlatan with a spontaneous but...

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

Sam Peckinpah’s later movies - He had a crew and some actors he hired for different movies, so they’d gotten to know each other. On the set of The Ballad of Cable Hogue, they had a regular poker game going. Even on a good day, Peckinpah was a cantankerous alcoholic. On one of his worse days, he was standing by the poker table. In a fit of pique, he mixed up everything on the table, so the hands were screwed up, the pot was a mess, and everyone’s money was hopelessly confused. With that the...

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 responsibility for how people consume Twitter (or any content) cannot be outsourced:

People have fundamentally broken their brains by giving up any responsibility for the content they consume.

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

“My foolish capering destroyed more young minds than syphilis and pinball combined.”

Second, As someone who has had coffee with almond milk, can confirm:

Third, I feel like Ed Zitron needs his own section in this newsletter at this point:

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, let these jokers know when they’re not paying what you deserve:

Second, we must all renounce hustle culture. It’s not realistic to be on the grind 24/7: Read More

First:

Second:

Third, these are a couple of lines from a list of the most brutal entertainment reviews of all time:

“calling Timberlake an “abjectly poor” lyricist prone to dropping clunkers that “engen...

First, I appreciate when someone takes accountability.

Second, if you take your loved one to the ICU, cool it with the pseudoscience. You’ve already conceded that what you were trying isn’t real.

Third, in honor of the baseball season starting soon, a truth that may only be true through this season. Unless the ...

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

Second, this is an accurate description of the Supreme Court:

Third, this is sad but true:

First, this wisdom should be heeded by everyone.

Second, pets are so entitled!

Third, don’t believe execs who claim companies need to run “lean” and then boast record profits.

<...

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

Second, I always want to convey this to people who email me with idiotic requests at work.

Third, media that runs stories like this about work is not to be trusted. Honestly, what else would you expect from a paper owned by notable human...

First, this child is beyond his years.

Second, I wish we could be this forthright at interviews.

Third, am I spiritually a hippo?

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

Second, I call this phenomenon “The Curse of Competence”. I wish I was capable of being terrible at my job and feeling OK about it, but I’m not. That’s my toxic trait.

Third, I’m fully on board with how the younger ge...

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

Second, anyone who has a significant other can relate to this. Men and women:

Third, this is the pun of the millenium:

Read More