As I Always Say...

A List of Mottos

I’m pretty unreligious. But without a religion, one is left susceptible to the temptations of nihilism, which can easily send somebody down a rabbit hole based in Bad Faith. And that sort of thought allows one’s heart to succumb to hate. That isn’t fun. So, I’ve started cultivating my own little list of values. My Catholic friend called them my Commandments. I think that name is too authoritative, though. It’s never that serious. So, I call them mottos, just something to repeat and believe as the days pass by. This list will be worked on and cultivated over the progression of this website, hopefully. Here’s what I have so far.

How'd you get your nails like that?

I like doing my nails. I’ve developed my own little gel nail kit, giving me full flexibility with what I can do, limited much less by my finances. It costs about $30 for a gel manicure where I live, and then add a tip on top of that… It’s expensive. I’ve found that it pays off to have your own stuff, especially if you buy second-hand. I like gel nails because they toughen my nails much more than acrylic, doesn’t have as long of a dry time, and lasts much longer than a typical acrylic manicure. Here’s a list of what I use.

How to be Somebody Else, Someplace Else

(A List of My Favorite Video Games)

I like the escapism of video games. Life is tough, and rather than dealing with my problems, I can put it off by immersing myself in a game. I mean, life is full of games, but here, I mean video games. From financial issues to nicotine withdrawal to problems of the heart, video games have always been there for me when I need that artificial rush of dopamine. I love games. The creation and manipulation of experience is truly an art. I love art. Here’s a list of my top five favorite video games. I do talk about video game history, if you were wondering.

On Protests and Violence

Life has been cut short. We are now left with a world completely shaped by the media. Who knows what’s really going on out there if you can’t even step outside to see it? It felt like we used to maintain a certain distance within view of the real world, but now, forbidden from stepping outside, we either choose to completely cut ourselves off or to immerse ourselves in news of the outside world.

Either way, it feels like it’s disintegrating. We used to keep pushing for our lives to be extended for as long as possible, but now, barely able to live and barely able to imagine the notion of “next week,” we grow angsty, resulting in potentially deadly consequences.

COVID-19 & Hegelian Thought, I Guess

My PSCI 203 Final: A Dialogue

For my PSCI 203 final, I was given the opportunity to write a dialogue. Here was the prompt:

“Frantz Fanon, Audra Simpson, Karl Marx, and Bill Connolly walk into a bar. You’re the bartender. Much discussion ensues, with the bartender a full-fledged participant. Write the dialogue.”

Here is the result. I think it’s mildly entertaining.