Arman's Antics (#049)
The latest from curious contrarian Arman Khodadoost
Hey everyone!
Coming to you live from Austin, Texas. Here is your weekly dose of Arman’s Antics. Five things I’ve been pondering and exploring that will either make you laugh, think, cry (or a nasty combination of the three).
Welcome to the four new subscribers receiving this for the first time (290 total). I respect your inbox and don’t take your attention for granted.
Essay I wrote last week
What’s the strangest thing we all do without realizing it?
We think… a lot. Humans are thinking machines. Think, think, thinking all day long.
I did some light math and calculated — 80 trillion thoughts will be collectivey thunk today.
But here’s the real kicker. Most of those thoughts aren’t useful. Even fewer are true. So it has done me a world of good to remind myself:
Don't believe everything you think
It’s no secret that there’s power in positive thinking. But plenty of smart people think it wise to harness the power of negative thinking. Which way do you lean? I used to be all aboard the toxic positivity ship. It got so bad that if a single negative thought slithered it’s way into my head, it’d send me into a downward spiral of despair.
Song I’m listening to on repeat
The three minutes that took over the internet. 47 million views in two weeks. I tried to avoid the hype but couldn’t resist. Reminds me of the old Tyler Childers we used to love. What is it with all these red heads making magnificent music these days?
Dead author I’m enjoying
Neil Postman. Few things bring me more joy than discovering a writer who’s words penetrate a nerve you didn’t know needed penetrating. One that you can’t quite put your finger on. Bonus points if they’re already dead.
This has only happened to me a handful of times, but when it does, I like to go back and start from the beginning with their earliest writing. All the way up to their final work. It’s fascinating to see how their ideas evolve over a lifetime.
Cancer and death
Nothing like a terminal cancer diagnosis and the death of a mother on the same day to shake you out of your foolish complaints.
Neither of them happened to me, but they happened to people I care about.
One of my coworkers was just diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. And one of my friends just found out his mom died after her own battle with cancer.
Yet there I was, sitting at my desk yesterday morning feeling justified to complain about only getting three hours of sleep the night before.
Random thought
Truth is like anchovies on pizza.
And most people fu***** hate anchovies on pizza.
That is it for the 49th edition of Arman’s Antics. Thank you for giving me a portion of your limited attention today. Consider subscribing and sharing with a friend if you haven’t already. Now back to your regularly scheduled nonstop scrolling.
Have a terrific Tuesday!
Cheers,
Arman
Likes and comments below.
I like your third point.
Those kinds of events really do put our everyday challenges into perspective.