Creative Deconstruction

 Where do you host a music playlist, your song collection, where it won't be altered by the host? I go to YouTube, and daily, my playlist is altered. I scroll through my playlist, and songs are missing because they've been blocked, or made private, or deleted. Where do you host your music playlist? How to download your music playlist titles and URLs: https://responsive-muse.com/export-youtube-playlist-video-urls-titles-js/

It's difficult to manage contradictions It's distressing to see data that contradicts your beliefs It takes courage to challenge your assumptions It takes humility to acknowledge your human fallibility, and change your mind. I argue that you've not opened your eyes to the fullest without this. I've found that people run from ambiguity, and that the desire to escape ambiguity is a strong and hidden source for addiction, dogma, and procrastination.    

     To be open minded means that you entertain all arguments. ALL of them. That's when you realize that many people who told you that they're open minded are actually not, because they'll judge you for listening to an opposing political argument, or for lending an ear to someone from another religion. I think that it's a mistake to think that we can all like each other sometime in the future. That would require a considerable amount of hegemony, and that's the opposite of freedom, that's the opposite of open mindedness. Freedom isn't rainbows and unicorns, freedom is complex and can be dangerous, and scary. In the woods, an armadillo wanders off into the road, and someone else's freedom paved a road, and ran right over it while freely traveling from one city to another. Perhaps, the root of many of our social issues has to do with the inability to sit with discomfort. The way that tribesmen had to sleep, with bears, and lions, or giant ants, and snakes ...

  First of all, I apologize. Writing is a craft that takes ample time to do well, but I live in time and society that necessitates swift communication. The two don't go well together. I'm a single father who also looks after his elderly father, so there will be some grammatical mistakes, as well as composition related ones. Please endure with me through a semi edited writing. UNO There's a reporter who's controversial Tucker Carlson. I couldn't tell you why he's controversial, I just know that he is by how people talk about him. I also heard that Tucker Carlson is on the "far right". In our ZANY society, if you identify as the opposing party, in this case that would be "the left", it is almost socially mandatory that an individual express negativity for that person. Because if you don't someone might look at you suspiciously. DOS There's a personality disorder call "Narcissist" . They come in a couple of flavors. Tucker Car...

  Oh my. I don't have time to write this. So it will be as follows:   1. What is school for? I think that Seth has a good grasp on this at the bottom, see [1] 2. There's an ongoing debate about homeschooling vs. public schooling. 3. I agree with most things about home schooling. Which is why I take the view that my kids are home schooled 5 days a week, from 3pm to 9pm, on the weekends, and all of their vacation time. 4. Home schooling should feel like art, it's enjoyable (largely), so don't worry about overloading the tone of "school" in it. 5. Everyone's situation is different: (a) Some of us have checks coming to us from the government that give us all day to do as we please. (b) Some of us have to work long hours every day to survive. (c) Some of us have a spouse that gives us all day to do with as we please. (d) Some of us are the spouse that gives the other all day to do as they please. etc. 6. Thus, our ideals aren't applicable to everyone. 7. Th...

  The tragedy in people who become influential and start a podcast is that they think that their expertise transfers to a host of other topics. Jordan Peterson is definitely an expert when it comes to psychology, and he has some beneficial philosophies. However, him, like Joe Rogan (Although Joe Rogan repeatedly admits that he's 'just a comedian but with like a billion people listening to his podcast) who hosts guest that make dubious and sensational claims, Jordan thinks that he's got the lowdown on politics, and other fields of science. We've definitely reached a point in podcasting where it's at least the beginning of podcasters becoming the mainstream media. Judging by how many podcasters refer to the mainstream media, you'd think that FOX and CNN would have substantial influence, but when was the last time that you watched either of those? (Unless you're 53+ as their demographic has been older since I started counting in 2003.) People with Podcasts that...

Music alone is not enough And being a film director is too much It's usually the case that there's nothing that I want to say badly enough to put myself through the labor. There was a time when I really wanted to say something, and I did. But, mental well being, in a way, quells the desire to express myself through art. Something about art has been about me not being seen enough, good enough, or just enough period. Feeling like enough kills the drive to express yourself in what David Bowie once called "such rarefied terms". I still make music, I still record music, almost never finish it, and share it with others even less. There's more to me than being a musician. I do have a love for it, but I need more. I always hated math, I've grown curious about it, and have gotten substantially better. The pandemic compelled me to become a roof salesman and to get my insurance adjusters license. I still laugh at that, but nothing is wasted. Transferable knowledge is tak...

  The U.K. Version   There's a moment in every episode of Downton Abbey where one of the characters say something that reveals something profound about themselves. For example, from the very first episode Carson, the butler, is talking with the head housekeeper, Mrs Hughes. They talk about how the owners of the estate in which they live and work, are under threat, and their exchange goes like this: MRS HUGHES You mustn't take it personally. MR CARSON Oh, I do take it personally, Mrs Hughes. I can't stand by and watch our family threatened with the loss of all they hold dear. MRS HUGHES (chuckles) They're not our family. MR CARSON Well, they're all the family I've got. [Mrs Hughes is surprised and humbled by his sharp sincerity.] MR CARSON ( Apologetically ) I beg your pardon. MRS HUGHES Do you...ever wish you'd...gone another way? [Carson looks up sharply.] MRS HUGHES continues... Worked in a shop or a factory? Had a wife and children? MR CARSON Do you? MRS ...

We get ready for school The time gets closer and closer for us to leave I start rushing, then I tell myself to stop rushing, and repeat We drive to school Will they remember this? Which day on our way to school will they remember? The one where we are happy? The one where I was upset? They ask me how many days until they return We get out of the car and walk My little one gives me her hand to hold My eldest sees her friend, she rushes ahead with her book bag flopping on her back My little one and I continue our steady pace At the front steps I let her hand go, kiss her forehead and pat her back with a smile It’s the last time that I’ll see them I tell them that I love them They’re going to stay with their mom for a few days They walk into the hall and others start to block my view A child, a teacher  In a matter of moments they disappear into the crowd, and I walk away I try not to go through this every week, but I worry Well, at least my worry all comes out in those moments I send...

Happy Father's Day To all of you who break your back for your family Anguish, so real to you You shield it from your loved ones Like a duck, your feet flap furiously beneath the water Meanwhile above, your little ones only see a smooth ride Happy Father's Day to those of you who lost in court That sacrificed everything, who you are, the path that you were on Tolerating and enduring an awful relationship To make for your children, a more enjoyable life And all to often, only to come out the other end at a deficit In the eyes of the court, simply because you are a man Happy Father's Day to the fathers in history Whom either from ignorance or pride, went off to war to protect their family Especially to those who were drafted While others complained back home About anything that was back home They were taken, by force And were left no choice but to go up and over the trench Into an onslaught of gunfire, and at gunpoint behind If they came home, they came home from a place wh...

Best Podcast Episodes: Jaron Lanier on Sam Harris: https://samharris.org/podcasts/136-digital-humanism/ Yuval Noah Harari: https://samharris.org/podcasts/138-edge-humanity/ something on Sam Harris Robin Hanson talks about people's hidden motives: https://samharris.org/podcasts/119-hidden-motives/ Robert Green talks about "Laws of Human Nature": https://lewishowes.com/podcast/master-the-laws-of-human-nature-with-robert-greene/ Eric Winestein's talks about the fabric of our existence, quantum mechanics, and calculus: http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/eric-weinstein-2 Bill Burr's 6th Joe Rogan appearance, funny guy.: http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/bill-burr-6 Sir Roger Penrose talks about quantum mechanics and physics: http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/sir-roger-penrose David Goggins 2nd Joe Rogan appearance: http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/david-goggins-2 Jordan Peterson's 5th appearance on Joe R...

This is unedited. Return sometime later to see how my edited writing looks compared to the initial vomiting.     I’m not a cheapskate. I’ve splurged on meaningful things. I bought a nice set of congas, an expensive riqq drum, a hand made custon lefthanded flamenco guitar. For my kids I got a Burley bicycle trailer, an Osprey Poco child backpack carrier that looks like a fucking astronaut backpack with my kid in it.     This is all nice shit. So… What happened with my clothes? The nicest suit I have is my Mariachi outfit. But right now I’m wearing a tshirt that says Daytona on it, and it’s color is what I can only call neon peach. I don’t give a shit about Daytona (don’t have anything against it either). My ex mother in law gave it to me. I’m also wearing pair of shorts that she gave me.     A lot of my clothes I don’t even know how they got there. I remember buying some of them. Once at Khols and Dilards like 8 years ago. The rest...

    This isn’t a story about a man who was defeated by the daily challenges of life. This is a story about a man who fought with everything he had to maintain his family, and to give his children the best life that he could. This is a story about a man who ventured to use his critical thinking when making decisions, and despite any demoralizing opposition, maintained the courage to do what he (to the best of his ability) thought was right. This is also the story of a man who willingly accepted accountability and responsibility for any bad decisions, and was more than willing to rectify them.     This is a story of triumph despite the pain, and a story that – ultimately – ends like all others, except this one assuredly ends while walking an honorable path. Perhaps facing doubt, and not necessarily without fear, but most assuredly with courage.     This, I give you my word on. (And can only hope the same for you, to my little ones.) ...

    One of the greatest misconceptions that I’ve had, and continue to see others hold is that anything can scale. Take Communism for example, I like my household as communist as you can get. I think a communist household is a loving household and a pleasant, nurturing place to live. However to scale communism to include the nation seems a guaranteed disaster.      Now coming from the opposite trajectory. Capitalism may work in several ways when applied to a nation, but to scale down the same predatory ideology into a household? Well, living in a home where the dominant philosophy is a zero sum game doesn’t sound like a desirable place to live.      So people still think that because something works at one scale, that it could be applied everywhere, not realizing that merely scaling something, larger or smaller, changes what it is. This seems to be a law of physics. A fly can smack into a windowpane unharmed because of its densi...

    Disclaimer: I'll proof read and edit this blog post at a later date. Remember Noni juice? What ever happened to that? I thought that that was it. If you bought Noni juice you had bought the ultimate health elixir. I worked at a health food store at the peak of the Noni craze (Blockbuster video still existed and Pier 1 Imports was the shit ). People were buying it by the cases. Pompous assholes mostly, as I recall.     Some people had even become vendors themselves and had a magnet on their car door that said something like “I sell Noni Juice.” But, then. Everyone forgot about that, and it became all about about Acai. The Acai berry it was. “This is like the stock market.” I thought. Someone says buy and everybody buys. I was like “Hey! What happened to the Noni Juice?” People were eating Acai berries by the handfuls, berry juice running down their arms and off their elbows. They were putting it in yogurt, they were drinking Acai juice. People we...

[Disclaimer: This is my blog, thus I upload my writings here without much proofreading. However, I do come back and edit my entries to make them more clear and get to the heart of what I'm trying to say in each.] Status: Unfinished (edit 2) It’s dawned on some of us that Alex Jones is playing a role in his 24/7 conspiracy work. For some people it’s always been obvious, but I can’t say that for myself. I discovered one of his 9/11 documentaries around 2003. It was alarming. It was a time on the internet where major long-standing notions and institutions were having their veil lifted, or were at least being questioned. I fell for it. It was a compelling narrative. Hell, a hefty section of the population fell for it. But, I fell off the wagon a year or two after entertaining anything produced by Alex Jones when I found a blatant shaping of narrative on his part in one of his inside job “documentaries”. He had edited a news clip in a way that made it say the total opposite of ...

My spouse is a mental health counselor, so that means I partially live in a world where mental health problems are constantly focused on. After having lived in this environment for three years, I've come to realize that I don't have any mental health issues. I would have said that timidly two and a half years ago, but I'm more certain of this today than ever, and I can't emphasize enough at how bold of a claim that is in a room full of therapists. It's almost an invitation for them to prod you. Thus, I've only said this out loud twice. I was looking at /r/preppers on reddit. It's a forum, and the topic is being prepared for when a part or all of society breaks down for whatever reason. There's something about survival situations that many are attracted to, which is ironic because we live in a fairly well-oiled machine. It's comfortable most of the time, and things work predictably. But, tying this into mental health. For most of human history our ...

I heard someone say they're tired of hearing musicians say "There's nothing good being produced anymore." I'm guilty of this to a degree. Albeit, I've usually loved about one album per year, historically. I don't mind that, as long as I LOVE at least one (and of course not that I heard them all) What I've found increasing since 2007 is the feeling coming through new songs. As I give them a-go I've found myself thinking "This is written as if they know it's not going to last." There's a feeling of half-assery, that they know it's ephemeral (especially when it comes to lyrics). And I don't blame them if that's the case, because personally I find it harder to excellently craft a song that listeners are going to chew, love, and spit out within a week. However... I've found a bright side to this. My music is getting further away from pop-music standards. Since, after listening to Melanie De Biasio's Blackene...

I t's possible that I don't know what I'm talking about concerning this, but when it comes to politics it's possible that nobody , not even those who originate policy know what they're talking about concerning its real world implications—as it seems that any policy will have unintended consequences for some group of people or other. Nonetheless, the overall tone of the Trump administration seems old-fashion in a not good way. Its idea of bringing back coal jobs like it's 1930. And, the notion that one man is gonna waltz in there like a fast talking 1950's Hudsucker style entrepreneur and revamp the whole thing like it's a casino seems out of touch. Towards the onset of the 21st century, many people online were discussing globalization as a bad thing, meanwhile those who were for it seemed to be the wealthy business and political magnates. Now, the populous seems about 50/50 on it. From my perspective, it also appears that the concept of Glob...

(And Social Media) (Image unrelated. Screw you guys, I don't have time.) When George W. Bush was president I felt like I was locked in a Texas saloon, in a small town, and W was being belligerent to everyone, but I couldn't do anything about it because he was the son of the town mayor. - As it goes with these things, I'm sure that if I ran into him today and conversed he'd seem like an OK guy. When you meet people who've been written and talked about, seldom are they the boogieman that the media made them out to be. You can say "Hi" and chat with your opposition party neighbor just fine, so long as you guys don't talk about politics. The Bush years were my introduction to politics in media, before then, I didn't care. Those years were also the first to have the internet going at full force. Social media was already born, and more-and-more newspapers were taking to the internet. Within those years I saw millions protest war ...