I Like to Watch | Inventing Anna (2022)
Why did any of these people believe in her bullshit?
Because she didn't care if you liked her. Unlike everyone else among our affirmation-addicted bunch of apes, the Anna Delvey of Shondaland didn't give two shits what you thought of her or even if you bought her bullshit.
When the World is On Fire, Who Can Laugh About Anything?
What I miss most is the opportunity to just throw down and fucking laugh like an idiot about, well, anything.
Thank god for Jackass. I appreciate the not-so-gentle reminder.
![I Believe... [Legitimate Political Discourse, My Ass]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1644415659556-T1WV5411YJ55HWAQM9QF/6C539672-EC3F-46B6-B177-C4E275CEFD10.jpeg)
I Believe... [Legitimate Political Discourse, My Ass]
...that justifying disruptive protests, riots, and looting as ‘legitimate political discourse’ cuts both ways and is horseshit regardless of which side claims it.
If Trust Builds a Society, the Absence of Trust Destroys It
I’m an optimist at heart. I also believe without finding a way to trust a few more people today and a few more tomorrow, to openly seek out those we feel we can trust, we’re fucked as a nation.
I Like to Watch | Magnolia (1999)
When I went to see Magnolia I discovered a film that captured this concept more clearly, more beautifully, than I could have ever conceived of myself. I was transcendent.
![I Believe... [Not Nihilism. Clarity]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1644092449688-Y0OGKCA2M76M3XD5NPU8/6C2F76F2-C3D8-49F9-928F-EB32D950A08D.png)
I Believe... [Not Nihilism. Clarity]
I believe... that, at half a century plus, one starts to see how much of the world’s issues are bullshit. This is not nihilism. It’s clarity.
A New Not-for-Profit is In Town
So, it's official. Literate Ape is now Literate Ape Press, Inc. a 501(c)(3) Nevada Corporation.
The 56th Year in Lessons Learned | Notes from an Old-ish Man
I was born on February 3, 1966. I have just completed my 56th stroll around the calendar and walking those dirt roads toward the inevitable. What have I gleaned from those 365 days that merit sharing here?
The Point of Democracy is Populism
Democracy is dependent upon populism. The more of the population who casts a vote in one direction or the other determines who wins power. It's not a complicated idea. Part of the bargain requires that win your side loses, you accept the loss. We're not quite so good at that part lately.
![I Believe... [Omicron is COVID on Tinder]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1643387977280-VH5X3LF5LDAPF7ZV22U5/6F58F5D2-06CA-42BE-A116-0C1DA545FC94.png)
I Believe... [Omicron is COVID on Tinder]
...that Omicron is the Tinder version of COVID—it’ll fuck anybody once, every night, and move on to the next swipe.
Masterpieces in Sand
Roy looked down from the cliffs at the man drawing in the sand. The picture that started to emerge startled him. It was an extraordinary face, not realistically rendered, but seemingly viewed from many angles at once. In fact, it looked much like a Picasso.
![I Believe... [1619 + 1776 = A Fuller Picture]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1642541591883-NTXEDDP1Y79YAZ0KZTTZ/B233E70E-404A-471B-8442-BBFEDCB36BCD.jpeg)
I Believe... [1619 + 1776 = A Fuller Picture]
...that the 1619 Project is some solid reading and, while not a definitive history of the country’s founding, a brilliant parallel view to understanding the brilliance of the Founding Fathers creating the republic. Both are true and together provide a more complete comprehension.
It's in the Pragmatic Solutions that Salvation Awaits
While I look nothing like Joe Biden (I've been told I look like Al Franken, which is the closest to any former political seat of power I'll ever be, I suppose) I believe that most of our cultural and political issues are easily solved with some common sense, aw-shucks pragmatism.
I Like to Watch | Tree of Life (2011)
It's about the molecular connection we all have with the planet and the universe and each other. It's about primordial soup evolving over time into weeds that Jack is instructed to pull from the root, not just the top. It's about the brief glimpse of a human life, filled with pettiness and violence and sex and love and hate.
Performative Trauma is a Devil's Bargain
Complexity and marketing are not compatible lovers.
![I Believe... [A Mouthful of Shit]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1642205057069-4UMBYB3SC7RV6VIVBI9R/DDB792B9-2D97-4C73-8FDC-795897841880.jpeg)
I Believe... [A Mouthful of Shit]
...that an opinion without some factual backup is like a cake without sugar. It's heavy, flat and tastes like a mouthful of shit.
The Definition of Success and Failure Determines the Roads You Take
What would you do if you knew you would not fail?
Beware Strangers Bearing a Gift Freelance Gig
With the pandemic, lockdowns, stimulus checks, and the dramatic rise in remote gigs, the grift is in full force.
The Music of Obscenity
Favorites include "douchebag," "asshat," "shit stain," and, of course, any variation on the word "fuck." The Irish can use these words like Yo Yo Ma can play an arpeggio and I consider myself a near virtuoso.
![I Believe... [Bag of Weasels]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1641415193995-JF2W10JC59OQACSQ6F4S/E767684A-ED77-41F5-B301-4ED5BD25CBCE.jpeg)
I Believe... [Bag of Weasels]
I believe... that every relationship comes with its bag of weasels.
...that intense and deep aren’t the same thing even if you’ve convinced yourself they are. Intense is momentary and fleeting; deep is the result of time and energy.