pop culture

AMA with Liv Boeree on incentive traps, game theory, and win-wins. AMA with Liv Boeree -poker champion with a background in astrophysics here to slay Molog- & Jordan Myska Allen on incentive traps, game theory, and win-wins | UpTrust launch event | #heywait, can we do better?

AMA with Adrian Grenier. Wednesday 2/4 at 7:00 PM CT

Entourage star who at the top of the Hollywood game pivoted to an integral spiritual path and farmstead

Godzilla Minus One was surprisingly good! Redemption story, more about character development than monsters. Brought me to tears at times.

Have y'all seen it? What'd you think?

If you think my bicycle metaphors are too much ... If you've ever heard me on a rant, you may know that I can go down a few rabbit trails when trying to make some obscure point through metaphors. I just posted about  language being a reverse bicycle, as one example (interesting to me, but we'll see if anyone else agrees).

But sometimes I even shake my head at myself. Today is one of those days.

You may have seen this perspective taking meme that is one of my favorites:
 
and of course, I like to take this to another level, so here is the version I like better:

And of course, one can extrude this example even further by moving into another dimension. And someone did by challenging AI to navigator a 4D universe: https://youtu.be/1BDYSxsVMAE?si=jj0PWlJ8mFewhmQg

I'll never be able to use this as a metaphor to explain anything except why it is that nobody likes my metaphors. You don't even have to understand this video fully, but watch it to see if it tickles your brain. It tickled mine.

But then, I live in the Meta-Phorth Dimension.

Reading as Interaction, as Encounter. This is something I've been reflecting on, and which I wish had been shown/taught to me earlier.

I used to think of books as something like repositories. Of knowledge stuff, of stories, of experience.

And so reading was like a process of extraction. Extract entertainment, joy, information, knowledge. Get thee into the reading mines!

Note: this model of what reading is isn't wrong. It captures some important things, but it feels incomplete. And leads to bad pedagogy, I think.

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Now I see reading as interaction.

A book (or piece of media, or person, or world) is no longer a static repository. It's a potential. 

What feels more important now is the reading itself, the whole process of encountering material and, well, meeting it. 

This feels like it opens up more possibilities. There are certainly uncountably many kinds or modes of encounter, but here's one that has been very rewarding: treating reading as conversation. How do I respond to this idea, this turn of phrase? What does it make me think of and feel? How am I implicated by this? What is it missing? What does it point me toward?

This makes reading different. Slower, in many ways, but more rewarding. I'm more engaged, and putting more of myself into the reading, which seems to result in getting more out of it.

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This leads me to something I want. I want there to be recorded traces of readings (this is what notes/marginalia are, in a way), performances of reading.

The performance would not be like a poetry reading, restricted to just the text, but like a public performance of an individual's (or group's) live encounter – including thoughts/asides/etc.

I want this to exist for two reasons: (1) I wish I had learned about this way of reading much much earlier in my life. So having examples of this and venerating it might help more people encounter this way of reading sooner. (2) I want traces of past encounters, for historical reasons. I want to be able to see how my (or our) relationship to a text has changed over time. 

Why having kids is bonkers (if you’re addicted to comfort). Hot take: If your life is all about chasing pleasure, getting the newest shiny thing, and looking for your next dopamine hit, then yeh – having kids is nuts. They’re messy, noisy, and they’ll likely ruin your dreams of becoming a social media influencer. But look around: something bigger is going on with those dropping birth rates.

Sure, economics matters. But my Irish grandparents had five kids, and they didn’t exactly summer in the Bahamas. I’ve seen families in Africa with seven or eight kids despite barely scraping by. So maybe it’s not just about money.

We’ve built a culture that’s an adult daycare for the comfort-addicted. We’re encouraged – by society, marketing, and that little voice in our heads – to stay immature consumers. It’s profitable and predictable, right? Because if you’re constantly shopping, scrolling, or swiping, you’re not rocking the boat.

From a purely “maximise pleasure” angle, kids are a bonkers choice. They’ll cost you sleep, money, and the ability to go to your hot yoga class. But historically, people saw beyond short-term gratification. They had kids out of a sense of meaning, continuity, legacy. Today, we’re not just lacking cash; we’re starved for connection to something bigger than our own endless entertainment feed.

So, it’s about more than just economics. It’s a spiritual crisis. We’re collectively disconnected from the deeper stuff: community, purpose, “God” (call it what you like). And until we find our way back to that, birth rates might keep plummeting because, honestly, who wants to sacrifice the “me me me” of their Netflix-binging comfort for “grown-up responsibilities”?

I’m not saying everyone has to have kids. But maybe it’s time we grew up. I’m certainly thinking about it 😉 Or at least started asking the uncomfortable questions: Do we want a life that’s only about the next hit, or might there be more to it? Believe me, I’ve tried it and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. That’s why I’m planning some pretty big life changes.

Anyway, that’s just something to chew on. Just do so before your next Amazon package arrives.

Have you heard the controversy surrounding Sabrina Carpenter's new album? For a taste, check out this article on the album art or this twitter thread.

What do you think of Carpenter's work, the public's reaction? Does it even matter?

I think Lalo, from Better Call Saul, is the only deeply embodied villain I've ever seen portrayed on television. He's embodied in both the sense that he has strong physical energy in every scene, and also importantly the way the character seems to navigate the world through intelligent, but 'non-conscious' actions. He's like, a Taoist hero.

It sharply contrasts him with the other villain, Gus, who is a cerebral planner thinking everything through. This difference goes hand in hand with their conflict. I thought both actors portrayed their roles and their mindsets magnificently; here's a great analysis of the subtle ways that Tony Dalton brought that to the role https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddXnhoQ1I-4&ab_channel=JustanObservation

#quicktakes

I think Lalo, from Better Call Saul, is the only deeply embodied villain I've ever seen portrayed on television. He's embodied in both the sense that he has strong physical energy in every scene, and also importantly the way the character seems to navigate the world through intelligent, but 'non-conscious' actions. He's like, a Taoist hero.

It sharply contrasts him with the other villain, Gus, who is a cerebral planner thinking everything through. This difference goes hand in hand with their conflict. I thought both actors portrayed their roles and their mindsets magnificently; here's a great analysis of the subtle ways that Tony Dalton brought that to the role https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddXnhoQ1I-4&ab_channel=JustanObservation

#quicktakes

Significance of Kendrick Lamar's Superbowl performance. Here's what I've learned so far, would love to hear everything others find!

The Drake Stuff

• As the lights in the audience at the end said, this is Kendrick's "Game Over" in his ever-increasing beef with Drake. They teased the song "Not Like Us," in which Kendrik calls Drake a pedophile, nodding to the immense talk over whether he would perform the song there. When they did do that song, they added insult to injury by panning the camera over a cameo of Drake's ex, Serena Williams, dancing.

Black Culture

• Every human in the entire halftime show was black, including the prime old-school representative of the USA, Uncle Sam, portrayed by Samuel Jackson.
• When the dancers were in the american flag formation made only of men, there was a potent dance move of them all simultaneously did the Black Power fist.
• One youtuber referenced the significance of the colors, when Kendrick was wearing mostly blue and the only other color on stage was dancers wearing red, that it was a powerful reference to last year's "Pop Out" concert in LA which was a groundbreaking moment in music creating unity because the stage was filled with members of both the Bloods and the Crips, two gangs that have had decades of violence between them, going so far as to gather for a group photo at the end of the concert. During the photo, Kendrick said "This is unity at its finest... this shit makes me prouder than a motherfucker..."
• The choreography was jam packed with black culture, all the way to one of the most successful tennis players in history Crip Walking.
• Black culture is also celebrated with the souped up Grand National car, streetlights, and clothing styles.

Things I want to know more about:

• There had to have been a lot of commentaries on America with how blatant that theme was. I'd love to learn what all people find, beyond what I've heard about the boldness of doing that while Trump was also there.
• Symbolism, including the colors and all other things I missed.
• Significance throughout the lyrics and phrases that were added in during transitions, etc.

Wholesomeness culture. I was listening to a cool album Dara and Forest recommended called ten days, and as I was listening to it I had this surge of: ahh yeah, wholesomeness is so cool, I wish it was a bigger trend. And then I'm like: how is it already a big trend to be wholesome, which I'm just not aware of yet? This album feels that way to me. I guess in some way sustainable living, recycling, reusing is wholesome and trendy these days, as well as being honest and kind  (Relatefulness and AR seems to be a little trendy these days), living healthy, supporting local businesses etc.  what else is wholesome and trendy these days? 

Wholesomeness culture. I was listening to a cool album Dara and Forest recommended called ten days, and as I was listening to it I had this surge of: ahh yeah, wholesomeness is so cool, I wish it was a bigger trend. And then I'm like: how is it already a big trend to be wholesome, which I'm just not aware of yet? This album feels that way to me. I guess in some way sustainable living, recycling, reusing is wholesome and trendy these days, as well as being honest and kind  (Relatefulness and AR seems to be a little trendy these days), living healthy, supporting local businesses etc.  what else is wholesome and trendy these days? 

Wholesomeness culture. I was listening to a cool album Dara and Forest recommended called ten days, and as I was listening to it I had this surge of: ahh yeah, wholesomeness is so cool, I wish it was a bigger trend. And then I'm like: how is it already a big trend to be wholesome, which I'm just not aware of yet? This album feels that way to me. I guess in some way sustainable living, recycling, reusing is wholesome and trendy these days, as well as being honest and kind  (Relatefulness and AR seems to be a little trendy these days), living healthy, supporting local businesses etc.  what else is wholesome and trendy these days? 

Timeline of Events in Brian Thompson Assassination. On December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated outside the New York Hilton Midtown. The suspect, later identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, shot Thompson multiple times before fleeing on an e-bike. Thompson was pronounced dead shortly after. Mangione, who stayed in NYC for 10 days prior, was arrested on December 9 in Pennsylvania and charged with second-degree murder. The attack is believed to be a symbolic act targeting the healthcare industry.

November 24, 2024

• 10:11 p.m.: Suspect arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia.

November 24 – December 3, 2024

• Suspect checks into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side using a falsified New Jersey ID and pays in cash.
• He stays at the hostel for ten days, checking out on December 3.

December 4, 2024

• 5:30 a.m.: Suspect leaves the hostel, likely by bike.
• 6:15 a.m.: Suspect exits the 57th Street F Train subway station.
• 6:17 a.m.: Suspect purchases coffee, water, and granola bars at a Starbucks near the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.
• 6:30 a.m.: Surveillance footage captures the suspect walking while talking on the phone.
• 6:39 a.m.: Suspect arrives in front of the New York Hilton Midtown hotel and waits.
• 6:44 a.m.: Brian Thompson leaves his hotel. The assailant shoots him multiple times, then flees northbound via a pedestrian walkway.
• 6:46 a.m.: Police respond to a 911 call reporting the shooting.
• 6:48 a.m.: Officers find Thompson with multiple gunshot wounds. He is taken to Mount Sinai West hospital. The assailant is seen riding an e-bike into Central Park.
• 6:59 a.m.: Suspect is seen riding a bike on West 85th Street.
• 7:04 a.m.: Suspect enters a northbound taxi at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
• 7:12 a.m.: Thompson is pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West hospital.

December 9, 2024

• Morning: Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection with the assassination.
• Afternoon: Mangione is charged with second-degree murder and other related offenses.

December 11, 2024

• Mangione appears in court, contests extradition to New York, and is held without bail pending a governor’s warrant.