jadanzzy

Capitalists or Cronyists? (No Mercy No Malice)

Morality for [...] the current administration, is not capitalism but the worst type of socialism, cronyism. Rugged individualism and capitalism on the way up, privatizing the gains — and then socialism/cronyism on the way down as we socialize the losses with bailouts.

What Professor Scott Galloway (who I have a hardcore intellectual mancrush on) says so efficiently is something that I'm happy that (I think) most of the democratic party's candidates agreed on. It was absolutely the case for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Why don't Americans know this? Why are we so afraid of socialism that'd benefits the working class when we've been living a socialism for the corporate class for decades now? Why, when crisis hits, do we allow the same things to happen over and over again?

If we're going to want Congress to pass stimulus packages, then we should demand that they bail out wage earners overwhelmingly over shareholders.

Vote the right people in, folks.

Rt Covid-19

These are up-to-date values for Rt, a key measure of how fast the virus is growing.

Have you seen this? Pretty neat, although the visualization is only as effective as they data they have. The two Instagram co-founders (and now ex-Facebook employees), Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, are behind this. Don't think they'll sell this one to Fuckerberg as well, thank goodness.

“The Soup” – Gifts (Seinfeld Law)

After Bania gives Jerry a brand new Armani suit, he tells Jerry that he can pay him back by taking him out to dinner sometime. Is Jerry actually under any legal obligation to take Bania out dinner? When Jerry took the Armani suit, did he create a legally binding contract that obligated him to take Bania out to dinner?

Do my lawyer friends already know about this? This has to be one of the most amusing mashing of two worlds I never previously considered. If you really love Seinfeld (which you should), and you're into law for whatever reason, then this is heaven in blog form.

Timeline: What Trump Has Said And Done About The Coronavirus (NPR)

With near-daily task force briefings, President Trump has delivered an ever-evolving message to the American public about the coronavirus pandemic.

The constant is the inconsistency. At times he has been in sync with the public health experts advising him on the response and with actions initiated by his administration. But often he has undercut or even contradicted his experts or White House policy.

You know what? I think it's better for my mental health to believe that he's not actually stupid. Nope. Instead, he's just such a narcissistic megalomaniac that he'll troll so hard just to stay in the headlines. He knows exactly what he's doing.

It actually makes me less angry believing that.

Brian Kemp on the other hand. Yeah he's just a fucking moron.

#fridayfinds

“Am I going to die?”

“Yes.”

Have you ever thought carefully about your own mortality? It's a surreal experience, especially if you're healthy and you live in relative comfort. There are many other things that occupy my brain, but when I sit to think deeply about the fact that I will cease to exist, I sometimes lose my breath.

I might be slowly going bald. Amy noticed it a few nights ago while my head was resting on her lap.

“Um. I think your hairline's receding.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Your hairline pattern is weird and it's farther back than I expected. And you have these single, standalone, strands of hair towards the front of your forehead—like they're the last remaining stragglers.”

“What?”

“Yeah. You're showing telltale signs. Recession on the corners of your forehead. Clear balding areas.”

“What? Wait how do you know this stuff?”

”...”

“Did you learn it in school?”

“😒😠”

Turns out dermatology includes hair and nail-related medicine as well. Neat.

Look she doesn't know everything about my work either.

So I guess I'm going to start looking at hair loss treatment now.

This photo has been making the rounds on Twitter, although it was taken and shared by this photographer on Instagram. It's a drone photo of Echo Park in the foreground and downtown L.A. in the background.

It's quite impactful to see this. We all know L.A. as a traffic-congested, smog-ridden city, with a perpetual tan-and-orange-ish haze blanketing the air. And yet, here we vibrant clear blue skies. This CNN article confirms that it is indeed the drastically-reduced human activity that allows L.A. to no longer claim to be one of the most polluted cities in the world—for now.

So we might be compelled to conclude that such a dramatic negative impact of just one species—commerce down to a trickle and the resulting economy tanked, jobs decimated, social activities halted, rising death tolls—means the rest of the natural world gets a chance to heal.

But only for a little bit.

Because as soon as we figure out how to minimize the impact of this particular virus, we'll move quickly to resume all of our human activity and its resulting impact on the planet—land, sea, and air.

While I'm not quite sure if I mean it in jest or wholeheartedly, I have remarked that it is humans that are the worst virus of all. Agent Smith says as much in The Matrix. It is absurd and hypocritical for me to be so serious with this comment, me from my privileged and comfortable position. I know that, which is why I sometimes sadistically wish I was forced to reckon with Agent Smith's thesis in real life. And, thus, here we are.

We humans have used our brain and willpower to further our own special (that is, relating to species) interests for thousands of years. When will we turn our ingenuity towards advancing the health of the planet's entire natural world over just our own interests? Scientists are telling us—screaming, probably—that the pursuit of our own advancement to the detriment of all the other natural ecoystems will inevitably result in our own destruction.

And yet, the human animal is terrible at planning for the long-term. See the stock market.

I'll take a page from Anand Giridharadas' playbook and suggest that we need our governments to lead the way with strong action. Changing our own lives on our own accord, setting up more NGOs, or asking billionaires to solve the problem won't cut it. And our governments can only do the most effective job if we vote in elected officials who put reducing human impact on the earth at the forefront of their agenda.

So I hope we do just that. Vote for candidates who accept the facts of climate science (I hate the phrase “believe in climate change”) and will demand our industries adopt new ways of doing business in the interest of ecological harmony—or let the ones who can't die.

It'd be nice to see L.A. like this all the time.

#coronavirus #climatechange

He said that in 2013 during President Obama's 2nd term.

President Trump is a brutal fucking idiot and a reprehensible menace to our society.

Thank you.

Astrology in the Age of Uncertainty (The New Yorker)

In 2015, when Aliza Kelly was raising money for a short-lived astrology dating app called Align, she was mocked by prospective investors. (“Literally, this one guy wrote, ‘I usually wish people well, and in your case I don’t, because you’re defying science and the Enlightenment era,’ ” she told me.) Now venture capitalists, excited by a report from IBISWorld which found that Americans spend $2.2 billion annually on “mystical services” (including palmistry, tarot reading, etc.), are funnelling money into the area.

In America, to believe is to make money.

But also, to believe is human. This says way less about any supposed metaphysical reality and way more about the human brain.

Two years ago I sat down on an Amtrak train from NYC to Boston. Shortly afterward Senator Warren sat down in the seat behind me. (Twitter: Jelani Cobb)

I [...] thought I had [this] great story to tell about getting a ride from Senator Warren and multiple people there were underwhelmed or at least not surprised. “Yeah, that’s something she would do,” several people told me.

I'm still pretty sad.

No Cell Signal, No Wi-Fi, No Problem (NYTimes)

“I don’t like to keep my face in my phone all the time because I like to enjoy what’s in the moment.”

That was said by a goddamn 14-year old who lives in this bizarre paradise.

Also, this is fucking sad:

“We’re related to people who tend not to come visit because the teenagers are stressed out too much about not being on wireless,” said Dr. Karen O’Neil, the director of the observatory. On a recent afternoon, Dr. O’Neil stood in the observatory’s basement, where several high school students were tinkering with a computerized robot.

I've Been Stretching While High, and I Can't Recommend It Enough (Bon Appetit)

I’ve started stretching while high. And it feels gooooood. Like, orgasmic good.

Cannabis is cool.

#fridayfinds

I'm writing this blog post on the evening of March 3, 2020 while watching Super Tuesday results come in. I am expecting that Elizabeth Warren will have walked away without a 1st place win in any of the 14 states. She will earn some delegates, but who knows how much.

It's been almost one year since I've written about why I'm supporting her. It also happened to be my very first blog post on this platform as well.

I have believed—and even still do—that she is overwhelmingly more qualified to be President of the United States than the rest of the candidates. Recently, however, Elizabeth Warren's campaign has been very frustrating to experience. Yet here we are. I figured several weeks ago that her chances were in great decline, and here's what I've learned and concluded why:

  • She suffered for being the I'd-vote-for-her-if-I-knew-my-neighbor-was and I-can't-gamble-on-a-woman candidate. In any other just world, she would've swept the field. But this election is all about pragmatism and safe choices in the effort to beat Donald Trump. And it's even looking like Biden might take the nomination for that very reason. I wish this wasn't the case, but alas. This is the most painful point for me to write, and I hate it.

  • She muddied her message. I wish she had stayed clear and focused on tackling corruption and income inequality and all the ways it infiltrates real American lives and affects kitchen-table issues. But she went every which way trying to be all things to all people, and I think that hurt her. We didn't need a plan for everything. We needed a clear and simple narrative and theme for why she was running. I knew what that was because I've been a fan for years, but I'm an extreme outlier.

  • She had some bad political instincts. The debate hot mic “scandal” with Bernie, and even her very aggressive attacks on other candidates like Bloomberg likely did very well with her core supporters, but was probably less effective with less-engaged voters. I wish she stayed on message and made Donald Trump and the “corrupt” her target of ire, but she often didn't.

  • She was loved by the intellectual class. That doesn't win elections. And despite all of her messaging and outreach to middle America, it just wasn't winning. I think that had a lot to do with my first point. The New York Times has an excellent article making this point. It's worth the read.

  • She was the progressive sacrificial lamb. Bernie benefited by being vague and speaking in slogans. Warren revealed detailed plans for people to be able to criticize.

So where do we stand now? Her campaign has a strategy to try to stay in the race as long as possible and accumulate as many delegates as they can along the way to pave the way for a contested convention. The more likely scenario is that she'll have just enough delegates to play a kingmaker of sorts and give her delegates to the candidate that makes a deal with her.

If I were a betting man, I bet that she drops out in a week or so after a poor Super Tuesday performance.

Fare Thee Well? Probably.

#elizabethwarren

Why scientists believe dogs are smarter than we give them credit for (Vox)

On the whole, psychologist and dog researcher Stanley Coren estimates, the average dog's intelligence is roughly as sophisticated as a 2.5-year-old baby's.

“Well 2.5 year old babies can talk” one could say or think. Yes, but complex speech is but just one indicator of intelligence.

How Bon Appétit Accidentally Made YouTube’s Most Beloved Stars (Buzzfeed News)

“Bon Appétit has done such a great job of shrugging off the stuffy legacy media brand persona and now leans heavily on authenticity, and it's something that people really seem to appreciate,” said Martin and Kersh.

Yes, yes, and yes. I've written a bunch of times about how much I adore the BA folks, and that quote above really nails it. Of course it's produced. But it doesn't feel at all scripted. And if there's any scripting, it's loose. But most of all, they're just very delightful to watch.

One day at work, I was in our kitchen with a bunch of co-workers. One person mentioned Bon Appetit, and we just serendipitously connected over loving BA, asking each other who our favorite member was. None of us knew we were separately fans. It was a very nice moment.

The Promise and Problem of Fake Meat (Buzzfeed News)

Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger do have better nutritional profiles than beef burgers: Less calories, more protein, less fat.

...

But that case only works if you ignore the large body of evidence that processed food consumption contributes just as much, if not more, to obesity, cancer, and other disease risk.

I've had the Impossible Burger (IB) a handful of times now. It's plenty good enough, and I don't feel left wanting a cow burger. I also cooked with Beyond Meat, and it's not quite as good as the IB, but I didn't think it was bad either. Texturally, however, it wasn't as “authentic” as the IB was, compared to cow. Amy wasn't a big fan of Beyond Meat but enjoyed the IB.

But it's that second part that's most important. These meat substitutes are extremely processed. My food guidelines these days are as follows:

  1. Cook food far more than buying it.
  2. Cook whole foods far more than processed foods.
  3. Cook vegetarian food far more than food with animal protein
  4. Enjoy delicious fresh bread.
  5. Don't take things too seriously.

List of people claimed to be Jesus (Wikipedia)

Sergey Torop (1961–), a Russian who claims to be “reborn” as Vissarion, Jesus Christ returned, which makes him not “God” but the “Word of God”.

I actually saw a Vice mini documentary on this guy. Interesting, to say the least.

Full list of small companies named Atlanta Top Workplaces for 2020 (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

12. Big Nerd Ranch

Neat.

(Full List of All Winners)

#fridayfinds

The last D8 Roll of Random Thoughts post started like this:

It has been a very long time since I last updated my blog. So consider this a vomitus of life updates and random musings.

Well, it's sort that again although not that very long. But I'm not sure if I have 8 things to write about this time.

1.

I complain about work a lot. Maybe I should stop, because I fear I'm starting to sound like a broken record. Maybe I care too much about my work. Let me clarify. By caring too much, I mean to say I care more about how I think my company should be doing things than the value I place on the actual work itself. You know what this reminds me of? My former Christian life. It was an equally sad and liberating feeling when I came to the realization that the passion I had for my faith had far less to do with the radical lifestyle that is demanded of the Christian and much more to do with the practices and guiding principles of the Church.

For example, I would always have strong opinions around the format of worship services, or the activities around small group, than I had about the daily living of the parisioners by my side.

You couldn't make a 1:1 analogy to work life, but I hope I'm explaining how there's a similarity with my approach to work.

“We should be organized in this manner to run our business.” “We need these roles to do these things.” “We should be marketing ourselves in exactly these ways.” “We should be doing product development in this specific way.”

It's never “I really care about software development and how it'll make the world better” or some shit like that.

2.

According to US-based Twitter trends, yesterday was National Pet Day or something. What company or marketing campaign is coming up with these “special” days?

We really love Louie. We see him less as a pet and more as our fur-laden, 4-legged son that we cherish with all of our hearts.

A few weeks ago he did his annual dental cleaning, which is done under anasthesia. Any medical procedure done under anasthesia has its slight risks, but for dogs, and especially for brachycephalic dogs, the risk goes up. Thus needing to sign a waiver every time the procedure's done. And every time he does it, I go through these worst-case scenarios during that leave me slightly pre-occupied during the day.

The vet had to pull a tooth because it was rotting. We were really sad for Louie.

Also, really important note: a dog's dental condition is paramount to their health. Yes, that means brushing regularly is critical. Negligence can lead to significant health issues elsewhere. And, again, it appears to be worse for brachycephalic breeds. We are not the best at caring for it. We have to be more diligent.

Lastly, rest in peace Rocky. You'll always be a good boy. ❤️

3.

Elizabeth Warren.

Still my much-preferred candidate for POTUS. But she's had a month or so of a rough patch, both from an elections and media narrative perspective. And yes, while she had a big performance pounding on Michael Bloomberg in this last Nevada debate, I fear it won't be enough, despite the big post-debate fundraising numbers.

So it's been very frustrating to see some unforced errors from her campaign because I do believe she's the very best candidate in the field. We'll see what shakes out of Nevada and South Carolina, but my expectations are low.

Either way, I'll continue to show my moral and financial support until the end.

And I will, without question, vote blue no matter who down the ballot in the general.

Anybody in Atlanta (Brookhaven and Chamblee areas) want to knock on doors with me this Sunday?

4.

Someone hacked my brain. I love TWICE so much now. What's happened to me? What explains this?

I'm still parsing it out, but I think it's just still largely what I wrote in my Favorite Media of 2019 post.

I just care so much less about musical purity tests now, and can now appreciate different aspects of talent that are evident in musical acts like K-pop groups.

They'll never be able to write and produce such beautiful and thoughtful music that makes me so envious like Wilco does. But Wilco will never be able to make such catchy pop, dance, and make me feel so happy like TWICE does. And I can love them both equally. It feels liberating getting off this particular high horse. It's a shame I didn't get off sooner.

It's pretty funny watching those videos above one after the other. Life is a mystery.

This sudden and paradoxical embrace of k-pop recently has had me thinking a lot about my Korean American identity these days. I'll write next about that.

OK this is enough for now.

#RandomThoughts

Me: [watching video of LeBron James crying at the news of Kobe's death]

Amy: Who is that?

Me: LeBron...

Amy: What's his first name?

Me: ...

Keep in mind: media. I'll exercise discipline and stick with the up to the 5 best in each category—unranked.

I'm ashamed to say there is no list for books.😞

Maybe I'll do a favorite list of weird things some day, like favorite kitchen utensils. That'd be fun.

...Maybe I'll read more books...

Favorite Albums

(YouTube links for your listening/viewing pleasure)

Solange – When I Get Home Aldous Harding – Designer Men I Trust – Oncle Jazz Crumb – Jinx Bon Iver – i,i

An addendum:

My music consumption comes and goes in waves, as podcasts likely beat music in total listening time. Surprise of the year? My K-pop consumption's increased dramatically for two reasons: Amy's continuing obsession with BTS and my continuing obsession with IU. And in the last week, we've probably listened to TWICE's Fancy about, oh, 100 times. It's been amusing to think about how my college self would be so devastatingly ashamed of my current self. I just care so much less about musical purity tests now, and can now appreciate different aspects of talent that are evident in musical acts like K-pop groups. Still, the majority of my music consumption consists of what the average person would call “weird hipster music.” 🤷🏻‍♂️

Somewhere in my social media past, I remarked that my hip-hop/rap consumption has been steadily decreasing. That trend continues, although if I were to recommend just one hip-hop album in 2019, it'd be Benny The Butcher's The Plugs I Met.

Favorite Podcasts

(Links go to the podcasts' main page, but better to search on your podcast app of choice)

The Daily by The New York Times Embedded by NPR Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History by Pushkin Industries Throughline by NPR Reply All by Gimlet Media

An addendum:

One of the benefits of my commute being doubled (don't worry, it's just from 15 to 30 minutes) is that I can consume a single 30-minute episode each way. I have a dizzying number of podcasts I subscribe to, but I don't listen to every single episode from each one. The ones I find increasingly disappointing, however, are Radiolab and Freakonomics, which is a shame given their stature in the podcasting universe. I just might end up deleting the entire podcasts themselves, given I rarely listen to the episodes anyway.

Favorite TV Shows

(Links go to season trailers—beware of spoilers)

Succession: Season 2 (HBO) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 3 (Amazon) The Crown: Season 3 (Netflix) Fleabag: Season 2 (Amazon)

An addendum:

Yes yes, we're in a golden age of television. The larger problem, it's too much. Way too much. And now that Apple TV+ has entered the fray with a few shows getting acclaim (i.e. The Morning Show), the choices are now oppressive. You'll only see 4 on the list. Russian Doll made many of critics' best-of lists, but the most wonderful thing about that show to me was Natasha Lyonne. Some episodes were a slog to go through, and I had to be reminded I even saw it by reviewing critics' lists.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is everywhere! Deservedly so. Fleabag is a delight. We also watched Crashing, also her creation, which has a similar edgy comedic vibe.

Succession continues to be the show I rave about ad nauseum, although Season 2 is not as good as Season 1. But Season 2 is 100000x better than a lot of TV out there so there's that. Need I say any more about the last season of Game of Thrones that everyone else has already said? What an utter betrayal.

Currently watching: Terrace House and Rick and Morty, both with great pleasure.

Favorite Films

(Links go to trailers)

Parasite Marriage Story

An addendum:

My film consumption plummeted. Those two and Star Wars: The Last Jedi were the only three films released in 2019 that I might've seen all year? Maybe I'm forgetting some. Star Wars is a travesty. Parasite was stellar all around, and Marriage Story was emotionally exhausting, but brilliantly acted.

I hope to see Knives Out and Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood soon.

Favorite YouTube Channels

Bon Appetit: food and cooking video content from the reputed magazine Nerdwriter1: video essays on culture, film, television, and art Section4: Prof. Scott Galloway's hot takes on tech and business 이지금 [IU Official]: IU's channel, of course Daily Dose of Internet: 3 minutes of delightful videos from the internet

An addendum:

Bon Appetit is better than any food and cooking-related show, whether on TV, streaming service, or YouTube, and it's all due to the wonderful and hilarious personalities of the staff writers who host each episode. In fact, it's just one of the most entertaining and enjoyable shows, period. This is why people love K-pop groups, right? It's like an ensemble cast of a TV show, where each character has their own narrative, skills, personality, and you have fun ranking them, seeing how they interact with each other, and how each of them shines in their own way.

Bon Appetit has the same thing in Claire, Brad, Molly, Andy, Chris, Amiel, Alex, Sohla, Carla, Christina, Priya, Gaby, and Rick. Nary a celebrity host in sight. And so much better for it.

This post was not sponsored by YouTube. ٩( ᐛ )و

#bestof2019