Month: July 2019

On recent pessimism, or not being born or staying alive


Two pessimistic articles that made a big impact on me recently are this The Case for Not Being Born | The New Yorker  and this I am not always very attached to being alive.

I think there is a strong case for being born (many, in fact) and also many reasons to be attached to being alive. But it is not nonsense to think otherwise. I think those articles bear that out.

I like that image: depending on your frame of mind, it is someone floating and enjoying the water, or someone reaching out for help. No form of thinking is more important than how you align your thoughts; everything follows from there.

On the ridiculousness of airplane boarding


If you are travelling soon and you are sitting in the boarding area wondering why the whole process is ridiculous / dumb / insane, then you should read this Here’s Why Airplane Boarding Got So Ridiculous. It may not change your mind, but at least you will get a better understanding behind the rationale for it.

Also, don’t expect it to change soon.

Congrats! You have a day off! What should you do?


Well, there’s a lot of options, if you go through this list: What to Do With a Day Off – The New York Times. My take is you can either tackle those things you have been putting off (hello! Finances!) or you can literally vacate your normal life and take it easy. Either is good. Better yet: consider being productive this time off and extra lazy the next time.

Enjoy your day. You deserve it.

On Jeff Koons


Two worthwhile pieces on Jeff Koons: this Stop Hating Jeff Koons – The New York Times, and in a way, this.

I used to have great disdain for Koons, but the more I think about his work, the better appreciation I have for it. There is a ceiling to that appreciation: the emptiness of it imposes that. But Koons and his work gets me to think about art and the art world and the meaning of art and culture, and for that his work appeals to me.

However you think about him, those pieces are worth reading.

(Image via link to the NYTimes.com piece)