Disco

22Oct08

Is it so wrong that I love it?


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Intellectual Curiosity

16Oct08

Sound familiar?

“Joe the Plumber has now had more press conferences than Sarah Palin.” -Andrew Sullivan

I’ve become less obsessed about the election. The fear is gone. Now, it’s sort of an easy calm. For me, for my own sanity, intellectual curiosity is what causes people to reach that point of self-actualization that I talk so much about. It is thoughtfulness, consideration, reflection. I prefer blinking, thank you.


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Vertical Integration

14Oct08

The beauty of vertical integration.

Someone just yelled across the room right now on her way out of the door.

“Are the crop sweaters selling enough that we should make more?”

Silence for a good five seconds.

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay!”

And that’s how things are done in a vertically integrated environment in the U.S. No Chinese translator necessary.


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Transience, Palin and Responsibility

03Oct08

If you haven’t read Abraham Maslow’s A Theory of Human Motivation, do yourself a favor and give it a look.

I don’t know if I’ve quite reach that point of his self-actualization, but I’ve got the feeling that I’ve got to be damn near close. Discussing it with someone that I consider a mentor of sorts recently, we got onto the point of transience after the pinnacle of the hierarchy of needs is reached.

I’ve written in the past how I often turn into a blubbering mess when I never was before. I’ve become an advocate for those with less opportunity than me, in terms of immigration. High taxes and welfare socialism still irk me, sure, but compassion, understanding and communication are now my central motivation. Self-actualization shouldn’t be the final step; it’s just natural to feel the need to want to do more, be a part of something greater than yourself, after you have found your convictions. So when I spied the impassioned speech of the AFL-CIO’s Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka, it was more than his evocative delivery that delivered.

This presidential election—and my own personal struggle with connecting with people that I meet every single day—stems from this irrationality that Trumka is talking about. My obsession with this election stems from my passionate stand against this: the complete and utter disregard for the appropriate valuation of intelligence and logic from large swaths of the American population. Confidence and faith are solid stepping stones for a strong, personal character, but they cannot be the building blocks for cooperation or community. They cannot be proven wrong, they never “blink” and they polarize too readily.

And that’s where my transient campaign lies. It often leads to defensive exchanges, but I feel like I am doing a disservice to friends and family if I hear excuses for evading self-reflection and common sense. Beyond self, I would hope that those around me would feel responsible to hold me accountable for my convictions. Motivations are personal and true, but, if you truly care for someone, I implore you to set the bar high and question their reasons when they seem flimsy. Help them find their Fight Club Moment. Hold people accountable for consistent understanding without hyprocisy.

Trumka isn’t just talking about racism. He’s attacking the tenets of a culture that knows no political party or religion. He’s not only preaching tolerance of ethnicity, but also promoting the deconstruction of an attitude rooted in irrationality. For the first time ever, I take my vote seriously, and it isn’t because of flag-waving “Vote or Die” pseudo-patriotism. It’s because of a personal responsibility, one that is important to me, to promote the virtues of knowledge and rationality with my vote. Governor Joe Sixpack is literally insulting that idea and it literally makes me sick.

(I’m hyped on Vicodin. Just had knee surgery today. The crutches chaffe and the drugs have got me feeling drunk.)


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Where I’ve Been

30Sep08

I haven’t updated in a while. Why?

I’m absolutely obsessed with Sarah Palin. Seriously. It’s driving me insane. I wasn’t very political before and, as I’ve mentioned before, was formerly registered Republican. Now? I visited Huffington Post and Daily Kos for the first times in search of photos for LOLpalin and have been returning ever since. I am a completel political junkie constantly refreshing for new stories about the presidential election.

I work all day, but when I get home, I literally lose sleep as I read commentary and stories about the Republican ticket. It’s incredulous and I’m frightened for this country if we put the McCain-Palin ticket in the White House.

If I talk a lot about self-improvement and reflection, it’s the lack of introspection coming from that side of the aisle that is a scary prospect. Not blinking and the like. Malcolm Gladwell said that experts in their field often made their best decisions immediately. But what if you don’t know anything? Isn’t blinking a good idea?

I feel confident I will start posting again very soon. At this very moment, I just keep playing Palin’s response to the Couric bailout question over and over again. It’s maddening. And I can’t stop it.


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Introducing LOLpalin

29Aug08

I’ve got something awesome cooked up for you guys (think football and social media), but I had to start a new blog in light of today’s events.

I’m obviously talking about the appointment of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain’s vice president nominee.

So I did what any rational person would: I put LOLed her.

Check out LOLpalin.


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New York I Love You

25Aug08

My fridge looks like it belongs on MTV Cribs. Lots of juice and beer. But it’d all be empty and unnecessary if I had a vacation.

Too much work, and no vacation,
Deserves at least a small libation.
So hail! my friends, and raise your glasses,
Work’s the curse of the drinking classes.

- Oscar Wilde

I’d rather be in the city for my mindless entertainment. Or just a solid cart food gyro. That’d do it.


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Present

22Aug08

Science fiction author and distant relative of John Wilkes Booth John Scalzi wrote this on the Tor Books blog today:

I’ll let you into a little secret of mine, which is this: I’m the sort of dude that gets wrung out about emotional scenes in books and movies and TV. I date this tendency back to a specific event, which was the birth of my daughter. Before then, I could read or watch a scene of complete heartbreak and go “eh”; after her birth, I get choked up watching very special episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants. I hate it, man. Among the reasons I hate it is that when I go out in public to do a reading, there are entire books of mine that I can’t read aloud, because I can’t get through them without sobbing.

This totally resonates with me. I was as indifferent to everything as anyone could be before. Once you start learning about yourself and figuring out what things really mean to you, I think it’s easier to have a stronger connect with the things around you. It’s just a guess, but the numbness is gone now.

Instead, I feel like I’m actually present, an active participant in the here and now. In hindsight, it is truly unreal, especially considering I never bothered to even consider working towards this state before, but it makes all the difference now. And it is absolutely amazing.


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Aesop Rock and Part-time Perfection

21Aug08

I’m not the type of person to find substance in lyrics. But things that I think are often put better by other people. From “Labor Days”, Aesop Rock’s “No Regrets” pretty much embodies my part-time perfectionism, an idea based in sober reality.

No Regrets – Aesop Rock
Look, I’ve never had a dream in my life
Because a dream is what you wanna do, but still haven’t pursued
I knew what I wanted and did it till it was done
So I’ve been the dream that I wanted to be since day one.

If you’re not working towards that everyday or fearful that you might lose that focus, you’re doing it wrong.

(A note: I often reference past posts of ideas that keep me going. This is a reminder to me. I need it as much as anyone else. Find ways to remind yourself of what you want. It’ll empower you to do more than you could ever think you could.)


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Everywhere

14Aug08

Opportunities in marketing and relationships come from unusual places. Last week, somebody posted an interesting comment on a site writing about American Apparel. I ended up contacting him and it turns out he’s a great guy. He came down to the factory this week and I showed him around. He wrote about it at his blog yesterday and said some awesome things about me.

Shawn Shahani of American Apparel gave me a tour of the headquarters and factory right here in downtown Los Angeles. Shawn is a real dynamic, up and coming marketing guru and I have faith that he will help lead the web 3.0 revolution…

Leading the revolution. That’s me. Maybe I should dress up like these guys.


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